- Beskriv billedet. Hvem fremstiller det? Hvordan er personerne klædt? Hvad foretager de sig? Hvor befinder de sig?
- Hvilken genstand ses i midten af billedet? Hvilken trosretning stammer den fra? Hvorfor bliver den båret? Hvilken historisk begivenhed henviser den til?
- Hvilken værdi har denne historiske kilde? Hvad kan den lære os om jødernes og jødedommens historie?
- Hvem er forfatteren? Hvilken rolle spillede han i Romerriget? Beskriv tekstens beskaffenhed og dens historiske interesse
- Hvilke historier bliver beskrevet i de to tekstuddrag? Hvad resulterede de i?
- Hvordan bliver jøderne portrætteret? Hvorfor? Hvad fortæller dette os?
- Hvad er Dura-Europos synagogen? Hvor findes denne fresko i dag?
- Beskriv hvad der kan ses på freskoen.
- Hvilke begivenheder henviser detaljerne på freskoen? Hvad fortæller de os om jødedommen og om jøderne?
- Hvad kan man se på kortet?
- Hvad kan man konkludere om jødedommens og jødernes historie efter ødelæggelsen af Jerusalem og dens tempel?
2. Rabbinic Judaism – For teachers
Ancient Judaism was very diverse and in the 1st century AD it was split into various currents, the most important of which included:
- The Samaritans were made up of the Israelites who stayed after the fall of the Northern kingdom in the 8th century BCE, and the populations that had settled after the Assyrian conquerors. In their view, the Pentateuch was the definitive text since they did not recognize the other biblical books and the Oral Law. They had their own sanctuary, located in Mount Garizim, in the biblical city of Schehem (a few kilometres from Nablus)
- The Sadducees were the true aristocracy among the Judeans for whom the Temple of Jerusalem and worship were the essential elements of Jewish practice. Described as particularly attached to traditional practices and the respect of the written law, they did not value the Oral Law. They were very attached to the Temple and they disappeared after its destruction.
- The Essenes are known from several ancient authors, but also from recent discoveries, especially those in the caves of Qumran in the middle of the 20th century. The Essenes created a very hierarchical Jewish sect and lived a monastic life in various places in Eretz Israel (land of Israel). They were a very strict community and prescribed the common sharing of property and income, chastity and physical purity, but also the strict respect of Halakha rules. They were against any practices of animal sacrifices in the Temple of Jerusalem.
- Finally, the Pharisees, as spiritual leaders of the Jews, considered themselves to be the defenders of Esdra and Nehemia, who, according to the tradition, were the creators of a Judaism based on the Torah. They prescribed the double authority of the written and oral tradition. They were also very attached to a rigid practice of religious prescriptions and advocated belief in eternal life, the resurrection, and the future coming of a messiah. It is essentially on this group of Pharisees that most currents of Judaism were founded in the next few centuries.
The destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem was a major theological and liturgical challenge for Judaism. Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai was a great Rabbinic figure that, according to the tradition, was responsible for the revival of Judaism. In the absence of a sanctuary, daily sacrifices could no longer be made and were replaced by daily prayers in the direction of Jerusalem. The seventh day of the week, the Shabbat, was entirely dedicated to rest, prayer and the family. Major holidays were based on stories from the Bible or the history of the Jewish people through the centuries. While Jewish worship and liturgy were dominated by the idea of Jerusalem and its Temple, the biblical text became essential in the practice of Judaism and a symbolic alternative of the land.
In 132 AD, a second revolt erupted in Jerusalem, led by Simon Bar Kosiba, also known as Bar Kokhba. It was a revolt connected to emperor Hadrian’s wish to transform Jerusalem (renamed Aelia Capitolina) into a Roman city and erect a pagan sanctuary in lieu of the Hebrew Temple. The Jewish resistance provoked the wrath of the Roman leader who, as retaliation, prevented the Jews from living in Jerusalem and removed the name Judah, calling it Palestina instead. For the first Christians, these successive defeats seemed like a sign from God that he had abandoned his people, so they supported the idea of following the path of a “new Israel”, the Christian religion.
After the destruction of the Temple, Rabbinic Judaism succeeded Pharisean Judaism and became the norm. Centres for the study of Judaism flourished, a phenomenon that had a significant impact on the history and future of the Jewish religion and on the communities that practiced it. Rabbis, who were above all scholars, had to recreate a Judaism that was in a state of turmoil and ended up focusing exclusively on prayer and study.
Even though the biblical text was progressively set and canonized, the written law was interpreted and completed by oral teachings aiming to unify the practice. In the century after the destruction of the Temple, the oral tradition was progressively written down in important centres, including Yavneh or Bnei Brak. During the 3rd century, a set of laws from the oral tradition was written to later form the Mishna. Later, between 200 and 500 AD, the non-legal part of this oral tradition (the Aggadah) was transcribed again. The collection of all these texts, to which the Gemara (a commentary developed from the Mishna) was added between the 3rd and 5th centuries, became the Talmud. It holds an important place in the study of Judaism and in the daily life of the Jewish communities. These texts allowed the consolidation of practices in Judaism despite the dispersion of the Jewish communities. The life of every pious Jew is regulated by the Halakha, a legal system made up of religious laws, judgements and commandments (the mitsvot). Even though they have been dispersed, Jews continue to consider themselves a unique people with the vested mission of making God known to other nations and prepare the world for universal redemption. During this period, the universalist tendencies of Judaism were weakened with assemblies of scholars putting greater emphasis on the elective nature of Jewish affiliation.
The first scholars in Eretz Israel (land of Israel) and in Babylon, and their successors, were the creators of a wealth of Rabbinic texts, which changed through the centuries and became a fundamental element of Jewish culture.
Introduction to religious traditions | Introduktion til jødedom I: Jødedommens historie
2. Rabbinsk jødedom
Til trods for templets ødelæggelse og den periode af sorg, som fulgte, var jødernes liv fokuseret mod bøn og lærdom. I perioden fra 100-tallet til 300-tallet strukturerede den rabbinske jødedom sig progressivt. Som arvtager til en lang religiøs og kulturel tradition efterfulgte rabbinsk jødedom den farisæiske jødedom og etablerede mange af de stadigt gældende normer inden for jødedommen.
Triumftog, detalje fra Titusbuen, år 81, Rom
Denne triumfbue blev opført af den romerske Kejser Domitian i år 81 til minde om hans bror og forgænger Titus’ sejre i Judæa, især ødelæggelsen af Jerusalem og dens tempel i 70. Den her viste detalje fremstiller den romerske sejr. Siddende på en stridsvogn (quadriga) leder Titus et optog, som bærer på sejrsbyttet og er på vej ind gennem imperiets port. Byttet inkluderer en gylden syvarmet lysestage (menorah), et bibelsk symbol, der blev opbevaret i templet. Dette er den eneste visuelle fremstilling af lysestagen fra samtiden.
Triumftog, detalje fra Titusbuen, år 81, Rom
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Dio Cassius Historia (’Roms Historie’), Liber LXVI:6, 1-3
Though a breach was made in the wall by means of engines, nevertheless, the capture of the place did not immediately follow even then. On the contrary, the defenders killed great numbers that tried to crowd through the opening, and they also set fire to some of the buildings near by, hoping thus to check the further progress of the Romans, even though they should gain possession of the wall. In this way they not only damaged the wall but at the same time unintentionally burned down the barrier around the sacred precinct, so that the entrance to the temple was now laid open to the Romans. 2 Nevertheless, the soldiers because of their superstition did not immediately rush in; but at last, under compulsion from Titus, they made their way inside. Then the Jews defended themselves much more vigorously than before, as if they had discovered a piece of rare good fortune in being able to fight near the temple and fall in its defence. The populace was stationed below in the court, the senators on the steps, and the priests in the sanctuary itself. 3 And though they were but a handful fighting against a far superior force, they were not conquered until a part of the temple was set on fire. Then they met death willingly, some throwing themselves on the swords of the Romans, some slaying one another, others taking their own lives, and still others leaping into the flames. And it seemed to everybody, and especially to them, that so far from being destruction, it was victory and salvation and happiness to them that they perished along with the temple.;
Dio Cassius Roman History, Book LXVI:6, 1-3
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/65*.html
(09/02/2015)
Dio Cassius var en romersk historiker, som levede i 100- og 200-tallet, og som skrev på græsk. Han blev født i Lilleasien og kom af en magtfuld og privilegeret familie. Han førte en karriere som fremtrædende embedsmand (cursus honorum) og var tæt på kejserne. Han er kendt for sit 80-bind værk Historia (’Roms Historie’), der fortæller Roms komplette historie fra begyndelsen til 229. Hans beretninger er ikke altid objektive, men de udgør en særdeles vigtig kilde til studiet af Roms historie. Uddraget inkluderet her omtaler Titus’ hærs’ ødelæggelse af Jerusalem i 70 og nedbrændingen af templet. Dio Cassius understreger jødernes modstand samt deres tilbøjelighed til at ofre samtidig med, at de forsvarede deres helligdom. Byen blev fuldstændig ødelagt, kun Davidstårnet og templets vestlige mur stod tilbage. Denne begivenhed, som tilendebragte fire års på hinanden følgende krige i kølvandet på det jødiske oprør mod Rom, blev også startskuddet til den anden jødiske diaspora. Den fik vigtige religiøse konsekvenser, der førte til ødelæggelsen af det vigtigste helligsted, og skabte en stor ideologisk og liturgisk udfordring for jøderne.
Tympanon fra Dura-Europos synagogen (2.-3. århundrede)
Dura-Europos synagogen, som i dag ligger i Syrien, var del af antikkens hellenistiske og romerske provins. Ifølge de oplysninger, vi har i dag, har bygningen været kendt siden 200-tallet, men der har formentlig ligget en tidligere bygning før den. Den blev opdaget i 1920 og fremstiller en række førhen ukendte billedfreskoer fra en ældgammel synagoge. De er nu en del af National Museum of Damaskus’ samlinger.
Dette er nichen i den hellige bue fra synagogens vestlige mur, der vender mod Jerusalem. Dens formål var at opbevare skriftrullerne med Toraen. Gavlpartiets midterstykke er dekoreret med en fremstilling af templet i Jerusalem, hvor Pagtens Ark befandt sig indtil dets ødelæggelse. Det kan ses som en visuel repræsentation af et ønske om at mindes den ødelagte helligdom, jødedommens uforgængelighed samt håbet om en national renæssance.
Til venstre for templet er der en syvarmet lysestage (menorah), et bibelsk symbol fra den hellige tekst i Moses’ Tabernakel, fra Salomons tempel. Den visuelle fremstilling af denne menorah er et gennemgående motiv i diasporaens synagoger. Der er også to andre symbolske jødiske elementer: en palmegren (lulav) og en citrusfrugt (etrog) – henvisninger til helligdagen sukkot (eller løvhyttefesten), en hentydning til indvielsen af Salomons tempel.
På den modsatte side, til højre for templet, findes en fremstilling af den bibelske fortælling om Abrahams ofring af Isak, som ifølge historien fandt sted på Moriabjerget. Dette er den ældste visuelle fremstilling af denne velkendte bibelfortælling. Abraham ses fra ryggen og med ansigtet mod alteret, hvorpå han fastholder sin søn Isak, mens han i sin højre hånd holder en kniv – klar til at foretage ofringen. Men Guds hånd i freskoens øverste del stopper Abrahams hånd. Nedenfor står en vædder bundet til et træ, som Abraham ikke kan se, og ovenfor er der et kegleformet telt og en lille figur, der – ifølge rabbinsk tolkning – forestiller Sara, sendt af Satan for at hjælpe til med at udføre ofringen.
Alle tre scener, der pryder gavlpartiet, hentyder til templet i Jerusalem.
Tympanon fra Dura-Europos synagogen (2.-3. århundrede)
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Den jødiske diaspora i det 1. og 2. århundrede
Den jødiske diaspora går forud for ødelæggelsen af templet i Jerusalem i 70, idet den dateres helt tilbage til det babylonske eksil og ødelæggelsen af det første tempel i 500-tallet f.v.t. Den anden jødiske diaspora hænger sammen med ødelæggelsen af Jerusalem og dens tempel såvel som med store bølger af jødiske udvandringer fra Palæstina og mod det romerske kejserrige. Men disse jøders separation fra deres åndelige centrum indebar ikke noget brud med deres religiøse tro og traditioner. Jødernes ”spredning” gav anledning til, at mange forskellige jødiske fællesskaber udviklede sig rundt om i verden, hvilket har medført en meget varieret jødisk kultur.
Forfatter: Renaud Rochette
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