translation and have it read out to the Jews of Egypt, the large assembly
bursts into applause, a dramatic expression of the unity of purpose.
Historical events reinforce the evidence of literary creations. As we
have seen, the demonstrations of Roman Jews on behalf of their compatri-
ots in Asia whose contributions to the Temple were in jeopardy reveal a
strong sense of Jewish fellowship across the Mediterranean. Another, very
different, episode adds conformation. At the height of the Roman civil war,
Julius Caesar found himself besieged in Alexandria in 48/47b.c.e.Atroop
of three thousand Jewish soldiers marched to his rescue. But Egyptian Jews
who dwelled at Leontopolis, site of a long-standing Jewish enclave, blocked
their path. The stalemate, however, was swiftly broken. The Jewish com-
mander overcame the resistance of the Leontopolitans by appealing to their
common nationality and their common loyalty to the high priest in Jerusa-
lem. No further persuasion proved necessary. The Jews of both Leontopolis
and Memphis declared themselves for Caesar and helped to turn the tide of
war. The connection between Judea and Diaspora held firm.
A similar conclusion derives from quite a different occasion. The
death of Herod the Great in 4b.c.e.prompted a major discussion in Rome
on the future of the regime. Fifty envoys came to Rome from Judea urging
Emperor Augustus to put an end to the rule of the Herodian family. And
8,000 Jews resident in Rome, so we are told, joined their fellow Jews in this
lobbying effort. A network of connections across the Mediterranean made
it possible. And the interests coincided. When a pretender to the throne of
Herod emerged, claiming to be a reincarnation of one of Herod’s sons, he
found widespread support from Jews in Crete, in Melos, and in Rome it-
self. The network was extensive. Such events provide a revealing window
upon the lively interest and occasionally energetic engagement of Dias-
pora Jews in the affairs of Palestine.
The affiliations emerge most dramatically in the grave crises that
marked the reign of the emperor Caligula (37-41c.e.). Bitter conflict
erupted in Alexandria, bringing harsh sufferings upon the Jews of that city.
And a still worse menace loomed over Jerusalem when the eccentric and
unpredictable Roman emperor proposed to have a statue for pagan worship
installed in the Temple. When Alexandrian Jews were attacked, says Philo (a
contemporary of the events), the word spread like wildfire. Reports swept
not only through all the districts of Egypt but from there to the nations of
the East and from the borders of Libya to the lands of the West. Philo’s
claims of such speedy communications may stretch a point, but the concept
of tight interrelationships among Jews of the Diaspora is plain and potent.116erich s. gruenEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:03:56 PM