Scholastic Magic: Ritual and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism
Michael D. Swartz
In exploring the social background of early Jewish mysticism, Scholastic Magic tells the story of how imagination and magic were made to serve memory and scholasticism. In the visionary literature that circulated between the fifth and ninth centuries, there are strange tales of ancient rabbis conjuring the angel known as Sar-Torah, the "Prince of the Torah." This angel endowed the rabbis themselves with spectacular memory and skill in learning, and then taught them the formulas for giving others these gifts. This literature, according to Michael Swartz, gives us rare glimpses of how ancient and medieval Jews who stood outside the mainstream of rabbinic leadership viewed Torah and ritual. Through close readings of the texts, he uncovers unfamiliar dimensions of the classical Judaic idea of Torah and the rabbinic civilization that forged them.
Swartz sets the stage for his analysis with a discussion of the place of memory and orality in ancient and medieval Judaism and how early educational and physiological theories were marshaled for the cultivation of memory. He then examines the unusual magical rituals for conjuring angels and ascending to heaven as well as the authors' attitudes to authority and tradition, showing them to have subverted essential rabbinic values even as they remained beholden to them. The result is a ground-breaking analysis of the social and conceptual background of rabbinic Judaism and ancient Mediterranean religions. Offering complete translations of the principal Sar-Torah texts, Scholastic Magic will become essential reading for those interested in religions in the ancient and medieval world, ritual studies, and popular religion.
Avodah: Ancient Poems for Yom Kippur
Michael D. Swartz & Joseph Yahalom
Avodah: Ancient Poems for Yom Kippur is the first major translation of one of the most important genres of the lost literature of the ancient synagogue. Known as the Avodah piyyutim, this liturgical poetry was composed by the synagogue poets of fifth- to ninth-century Palestine and sung in the synagogues on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Although it was suppressed by generations of rabbis, its ornamental beauty and deep exploration of sacred stories ensured its popularity for centuries.
Piyyut literature can teach us much about how ancient Jews understood sacrifice, sacred space, and sin. The poems are also a rich source for retrieving myths and symbols not found in the conventional Rabbinic sources, such as the Talmuds and Midrash. Moreover, these compositions rise to the level of fine literature. They are the products of great literary effort, continue and extend the tradition of biblical parallelism, and reveal the aesthetic sensibilities of the Mediterranean in Late Antiquity.
Liturgy, Poetry, and the Persistence of Sacrifice
Michael D. Swartz
This chapter is dedicated to reexamining the premise that underlies much historiography of the early rabbinic period - namely, that the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE brought about profound changes in the nature of the Jewish people and of Judaism as a religion. It addresses one aspect of this paradigm: the idea that Judaism was transformed in the first several centuries of the Common Era from a religion of sacrifice to a religion of prayer. Jonathan Klawans, in his Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple, shows the degree to which this narrative was informed by a theologically conditioned ideology of antisacrificial triumphalism that can be traced to medieval philosophy but that emerged in its fullness in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Avodah piyyut is an epic form. The poems customarily begin with an account of creation, and then describe each major generation, culminating in the selection of Aaron as priest.
Lawrence H. Schiffman
Dead Sea Scrolls expert Lawrence H. Schiffman shifts attention away from the sensationalism surrounding who has control of the scrolls by focusing on how these texts shed light on the history of Judaism and early Christianity.
The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus
Baruch A. Levine
The JPS Torah Commentary series guides readers through the words and ideas of the Torah. Each volume is the work of a scholar who stands at the pinnacle of his field.
Every page contains the complete traditional Hebrew text, with cantillation notes, the JPS translation of the Holy Scriptures, aliyot breaks, Masoretic notes, and commentary by a distinguished Hebrew Bible scholar, integrating classical and modern sources.
Each volume also contains supplementary essays that elaborate upon key words and themes, a glossary of commentators and sources, extensive bibliographic notes, and maps.
(א) עָלֵֽינוּ לְשַׁבֵּֽחַ לַאֲדוֹן הַכֹּל לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוֹצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית
(1) It is our obligation to praise the Master of all, to ascribe greatness to the Creator of the [world in the] beginning:
יוסי בן יוסי
ָA sort of confession of sins for the evening of the Day of Atonement (Kol Nidre), with quadruple alphabet and two alternating refrains, included in the Polish and German rituals, although in most communities only a part of it is recited.
קרובות לתשעה באב | Ḳerovot for Tishah b’Av
Elazar ben Kilir
The poetic genre known as ḳerovot, brief poems woven throughout the repetition of the weekday Amdiah, is nowadays most closely associated with Elazar ben Killir’s Purim “Krovets”, a majestically interwoven piece of piyyut if ever there was one. But there are many other ḳerovot that have historically been recited. This set of ḳerovot, also written by Elazar ben Killir, is traditionally recited on the Ninth of Av in some Ashkenazi communities. A second-letter half-acrostic with a complex poetic structure incorporating many verses and midrashim, instead of continuing to the end of the service it concludes with the prayer to rebuild Jerusalem, appropriate for a day like the ninth of Av. Like most recored ḳerovot, it was probably originally written for the ancient Eretz Yisrael rite, but because it doesn’t continue past the prayer to rebuild Jerusalem that doesn’t affect the structure. The version presented here is included with the Ashkenazi liturgy, since Ashkenazim have traditionally been far more likely that Sephardim to preserve poetic additions to the service. Elazar ben Killir’s poetry is incredibly rich with meaning — to the point where many have claimed it to be written with ruaḥ ha-ḳodesh — and there are certainly aspects that the translator has missed, so feel free to comment with anything else that needs to be pointed out.
וא"כ בשארי מדפיסי' כ"ש במי שהוציא דבר חדש ובתנאי שלא יהי חי' תורה ופסקי הלכות שאסור ליטול שכר וליהנות ממנו בעה"ז אבל מגיהי ספרים ופוסקי טעמי' דמותר ליטול עליהם שכר וכגון החכם השלם מו"ה וואלף היידנהיימר שי' שנודע לי מהגאון מחנה לוי ז"ל כילה כמה זמנים בהגהת הפיוטים ולתרגמם בלשון אשכנז ואלמלא הוא הפיוטים כבר נשתקעו ולא נאמרו בדורות הללו כידוע והוא טרח וקיבץ כמה ספרי' למאות הנצרכי' לזה העסק והוציא ממון רב והשכין ספריו ועדיין נשאר חייב כל זה כ' לי הגאון הנ"ל ז"ל וגאונינו רבותינו חסידי אשכנז זצ"ל קבעו שכרו למינקט לי' שוקא על כ"ה שנין שלא ישיג אחר גבולו אלא שלא הי' ביכולתו להדפיס בפ"א מה שיספק לכל ישראל על כ"ה שנין ע"כ מדפיס וחוזר ומדפיס והכל הוא ליטול שכרו כאילא ביבנה וכמגיה' ספרי' בירושלים וכת"ח שמלמדי' הלכ' שחיטה וקמיצה שיטלו שכרם מתרומת הלשכה וכחנני' בן חזקי' בן גודי שהעלה לו ג' מאות גרבי שמן פ"ק דשבת ע"ש ומשמע משל ציבור העלו לו דאל"כ ה"ל למימר והעלה לו אע"כ משל ציבור ואלו הם נטלו בשעת מעשה ומעות מזומן והוא נוטל עכשיו לפרוע חובותיו ממה שעבר ואינו נוטל מעות מתוכן אלא נקיטות שוקא בעלמא ושארי המדפיסים ידפיסו מחזורים אחרים או ספרים אחרי' ולמה יהנו במה שהמציא הוא וה"ל כציד דגים אליבא דר"מ אביו של ר"ת בתו' פ' האומר שהוא הציד גרם קיבוץ הדגים ע"כ ירחיקו שארי הציידים רחוק פרסה כנ"ל וה"נ דכוותי' בשגם שהוא מלאכת שמים ואתי לאיתרשולי דמי פתי יעסוק באופן זה ויפסיד זמנו וממונו ויבואו אחרי' וישיגו גבולו ע"כ יפה עשו הגאונים לגדור בעד המדפיסי' ולא יצאו ולא יהי' שלוחי מצוה ניזוקי' מחדשים לבקרים לרומם בית אלקינו ולהעמיד חרבותיו ויפוצו חוצה מעינותיו כנלע"ד ללמד זכות על אבות העולם ולא יוסג גבול עולם יהי שם ה' מבורך מעתה ועד עולם הכ"ד אדם מועט לעולם. משה"ק סופר מפפד"מ:
"Yoma from Babylonia to Egypt: Ritual Function, Textual Transmission, and Sacrifice"
Michael D. Swartz
As recent research has emphasized, the Mishnah tractate Yoma is a model par excellence of the category of Mishnah tractates that take the form of narrative and describe key institutions of the lost Temple and its rituals. But even among those tractates, Yoma is unique in that it served as a source for liturgical recitation in what became the Avodah liturgy. This paper will look at the complex relationships between textual transmission and liturgical recitation in the history of the tractate by examining internal and external textual evidence. In particular, this discussion includes a detailed analysis of a papyrus fragment from Oxyrhynchus that has received insufficient attention so far. It is argued from this evidence that the tractate's literary nature coalesced with the substance of the tractate to produce a virtual enactment of sacrifice for its reciters and performers.
Liturgy; piyyuṭ; letter (T-S 10J14.8)
Recto: part of a liturgical composition, perhaps from a piyyuṭ.
A guide and online database for the Oxyrhynchus Papyri
Do not, we beseech You place upon us the sin, wherein we have acted foolishly and sinned. We have sinned, our Rock; Pardon us our Creator.
"Society and the Self in Early Piyyut"
Michael D. Swartz
The question raised by this volume, that of diversity within Judaism of Late Antiquity and the process of rabbinization, is at the forefront of the scholarly agenda for those who study rabbinic literature, ancient history, and the history of religions. And yet this question is not always faced head-on, especially in a forum that allows us to look at it from so many angles. This volume is therefore an opportunity to examine the complex relationships between the rabbis and others without necessarily presuming one or another was ‘central’ or ‘marginal’. Because of the nature of the evidence, this means taking a new look at the relationships between the rabbinic canon and corpora that have been considered to be at the margins of rabbinic literature, or for which the relationship has been contested. These corpora include the literature of early Jewish mysticism, ancient Jewish magical texts and artifacts, and the poetry of the ancient synagogue known as piyyut. This essay is an exercise in exploring methods by which we can determine the social location of the liturgical poets, known as paytanim, from internal evidence in the poetry itself.
Ritual about Myth about Ritual: Towards an Understanding of the Avodah in the Rabbinic Period
Michael D Swartz
If we wish to understand the place of myth and ritual in the history of Judaism, then we must appreciate the importance myth and ritual had for the ancient Rabbis and their contemporaries. This has not always been recognized. In a recent article, Michael Fishbane argues against a common tendency to deny the mythic aspects of ancient Judaism. Rabbinic Judaism, he shows, preserves and fashions striking examples of mythopoesis. Among the sources he cites as evidence are talmudic legends regarding divine sorrow and a liturgical poem (Piyyut) by the sixth-century poet Eleazar Kallir, who stands in a particularly ancient mythic tradition in his elaborate poetic depiction of the battle of Behemoth and Leviathan.
This essay concerns another case of mythic persistence, taken as well from the literature of piyyut, and one that can serve as an example of the interaction of myth and ritual that is the subject of this volume: The Avodah piyyutim, the liturgical compositions for the Day of Atonement that recount, in poetic language, the ritual of the purification sacrifice and scapegoat ceremony performed by the priest in the ancient Temple according to Leviticus 16.
דְּתַנְיָא לְאַהֲבָה אֶת ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וּלְעׇבְדוֹ בְּכׇל לְבַבְכֶם אֵיזוֹ הִיא עֲבוֹדָה שֶׁהִיא בַּלֵּב הֱוֵי
As it was taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “To love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 11:13). Which is the service of God that is performed in the heart? You must say that this is referring to prayer.
Abraham O. Shemesh
This article focuses on the burning of incense in synagogues subsequent to the destruction of the temple, in commemoration of the incense formerly used in the temple rites. We hear about the implementation of this custom in Samaritan and Rabbinic synagogues only several centuries after the destruction of the Samaritan and Jewish Temples. The Samaritans still burn incense in their synagogues at certain times, but among Rabbinic Jews the custom came to an end, probably in the Middle Ages. Burning incense in the synagogue was a point of controversy between the Karaites and the Rabbinic Jews. The Karaites argued that acts involving burning incense and lighting candles are only appropriate for the Temple and their status is like that of sacrifices or offerings that are limited to this complex. It may have been that the rabbinic custom discontinued as a result of the strict Karaite objections to this custom for concern of idolatry. In fact, burning incense in commemoration of the Temple indeed ceased, but this practice remained in evidence until the 19th century for purposes of conveying respect or on festive occasions.
The Signifying Creator: Nontextual Sources of Meaning in Ancient Judaism
Michael D. Swartz
For centuries, Jews have been known as the "people of the book." It is commonly thought that Judaism in the first several centuries CE found meaning exclusively in textual sources. But there is another approach to meaning to be found in ancient Judaism, one that sees it in the natural world and derives it from visual clues rather than textual ones. According to this conception, God embedded hidden signs in the world that could be read by human beings and interpreted according to complex systems.
In exploring the diverse functions of signs outside of the realm of the written word, Swartz introduces unfamiliar sources and motifs from the formative age of Judaism, including magical and divination texts and new interpretations of legends and midrashim from classical rabbinic literature. He shows us how ancient Jews perceived these signs and read them, elaborating on their use of divination, symbolic interpretation of physical features and dress, and interpretations of historical events. As we learn how these ancient people read the world, we begin to see how ancient people found meaning in unexpected ways.
Philo, Migration of Abraham 100−104 (tr. Colson & Whitaker)
CHAPTER 7. CONCERNING THE GARMENTS OF THE PRIESTS, AND OF THE HIGH PRIEST.
Flavius Josephus, Josephus: The Complete Works
"Illustration showing the garments of the high priest from Exodus 28"
(ז) וּמְפַתֵּחַ עַל הָאֲבָנִים שְׁמוֹת הַשְּׁבָטִים כְּתוֹלְדוֹתָם וְנִמְצָא כּוֹתֵב עַל הָאֹדֶם רְאוּבֵן וְעַל יָשְׁפֵה בִּנְיָמִין. וְכוֹתֵב בַּתְּחִלָּה לְמַעְלָה מֵרְאוּבֵן אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב וְכוֹתֵב לְמַטָּה מִבִּנְיָמִין שִׁבְטֵי יָהּ כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּהְיוּ כָּל הָאוֹתִיּוֹת מְצוּיוֹת שָׁם: