What do Jews believe?
Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, who headed the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews said: “Looking to the future of relations between Christians and Jews, in the first place we appeal to our Catholic brothers and sisters to renew the awareness of the Hebrew roots of their faith. We ask them to keep in mind that Jesus was a descendant of David; that the Virgin Mary and the Apostles belonged to the Jewish people; that the Church draws sustenance from the root of that good olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild olive branches of the gentiles (cf. Romans 11:17-24); that the Jews are our dearly beloved brothers, indeed in a certain sense they are "our elder brothers."
Israel's history as a chosen people does not end in 70 A.D., with the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. This event brings Judaism into a new, often dramatic and astonishing period, but it does not cancel the Covenant that God made with Israel. The Jews continue to be the object of God's love, who has called them with an irreversible call (cf. Rom 11:28-29). For this reason, "post-sacrificial Judaism" (from the year 70) should also be viewed by us Christians in the perspective of the irreversibility of the Covenant.
On August 5, 70, Roman troops recaptured Jerusalem from the Jewish insurgents (mainly Zealots), completely destroying the Temple and thus putting an end to the temple worship that was the heart of Judaism. The Jews were faced with dramatic questions: "How, under completely new conditions, should they continue to practice their religion? How to reorganize oneself after the loss of the Temple, with which the possibility of offering sacrifices has gone?"
New Judaism
With the Temple, the authority of the Sadducees also faded into oblivion, while the Pharisees became more prominent. It was a party strongly associated with the synagogue (present in the religious life of Jews since the third century B.C.) and the biblical tradition, introduced into everyday life by observing the provisions of the Law.
They, under the leadership of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, at the synod in the coastal town of Yavne (Greek: Jamnia) updated the foundations of the faith. The previous ones, neatly formulated by Simon the Just, spoke about the fact that faith is based on the Torah (written law), worship (Avodah - temple services and sacrifices) and works of mercy. Yohanan ben Zakkai gave them a new dimension: the Torah is not only the written Law, but also its study, which in turn entails the duty to transmit oral Tradition (Talmud Torah); Avodah is not only about the Temple - it becomes a cult of the heart, the prayer of the heart of all Israel, which is always accompanied by a moral dimension, that is, a work of mercy.
As a result of the intensive work of the rabbinical academy in Yavne, a preliminary canon of the Hebrew Bible was established (inflexible as far as the Torah and the Prophets are concerned, flexible when it comes to the Scriptures: Psalms, historical books). The material that later formed the Mishnah (Unwritten Torah, regulating the rules of behavior) was put in order. Prayers were established, including the " Shemoneh Esrei " - the prayer of the Eighteen Beatitudes, and the whole order of the Jewish liturgy (e.g. what the Passover or Yom Kippur should look like, celebrated without blood sacrifices).
The Torah and the Principles of Maimonides
From that moment on, the center of Judaism is essentially the Torah that Moses received at Sinai. In addition to the written Torah (Torah she-bi-khetav), however, there is also the oral Torah (Torah she-be'al Peh, literally: "The Torah that is on the lips"). This dichotomy corresponds in a certain sense to the Catholic principle: Scripture and Tradition. The oral Torah is the way of interpretation and all the practical norms derived from the written Torah, allowing to live by it. It was written down for pedagogical purposes from the beginning of the second century A.D. To put it simply, we can say that the oral tradition (Mishnah), containing the main principles of religious law, and its supplement (Gemara) form the Talmud - the phenomenon of post-temple Judaism.
Talmud is the summa of rabbinic Judaism, the essence of which is reflected in the full name: "Talmud Torah" - "Study of the Torah". This is the proper vocation of a devout Jew, consistent with what one rabbinic commentary says: "Israel does not exist without the study of the Torah and the living of its commandments." The Talmud, as a kind of litmus test of the orthodoxy of faith, has become the subject of constant discussion and commentary of scholars. If we add to this the phenomenon of the Midrash, that is, the text that is the fruit of commenting on the Torah in the rabbinical school or during the liturgy in the synagogue, while remembering that all this takes place in the reality of the diaspora, different cultural experiences and the lack of a counterpart to the Catholic Magisterium of the Church, it is easier to understand that we will not find in Judaism a systematic theology. It is a narrative theology, a parable theology, but to a small extent dogmatic, for which it is a great difficulty for Christians to understand this religion. There were, of course, attempts to dogmatize Judaism. The most important of these was the work of the great philosopher Moses Maimonides. (Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides was a medieval Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle-Ages). It was presented in thirteen principles, which from the sixteenth century were included in prayer books. Here they are: (1) God is the Creator of all creatures; 2) He is the only one, and there is nothing else equal to Him; 3) He has no body or physical image; 4) He is the first and the last; 5) He alone is worthy of worship; 6) all prophetic words are true; 7) Moses' prophecy is higher than any other; 8) The Torah was given to Moses; 9) Torah cannot be changed; 10) God knows every action and every thought of men; 11) He rewards and punishes; 12) the Messiah will come, though he is delayed; 13) there will be a resurrection of the dead.
The most important are the Commandments
It can be said that the Jewish faith is not expressed in a creed, but in an attitude of listening to what the Lord says. Martin Buber called it an "attitude of trust." It is the " Shema Yisrael" (Listen Israel) recited by Jews in the morning and evening that unites all the essential contents of the theology of Judaism. To recite this prayer daily is, as one Talmudic commentary says, to take upon oneself the "yoke of the kingdom of heaven," to proclaim, to sanctify God's Name, and thus to affirm His kingdom already on earth. It is an act of trust in God's election, that is, giving man (the Jew) a new dignity - the dignity of a child of God, being His special property. Therefore, the heart of the chosen one must cling to the Torah, which reveals this great Truth. This is done precisely by studying it and fulfilling even the smallest of its commandments. This is to be done, as the New Year prayers said (called Malchuyot), until the coming of the Messiah, when God Himself will take control of the inhabitants of the earth and all will be subjected to the yoke of His Kingdom. Until this happens, one must fulfill the commandments (mitzvah), which are a sweet yoke, because they sanctify, bless and make man happy. Therefore, the most common Jewish blessing that begins most prayers is the formula: "Blessed are you, the Lord, our God, the King of the world, who has sanctified us with his commandments." Rabbi Simlai, who set the number of commandments regulating the life of a Jew at six hundred and thirteen, actually reduced them to one: "The righteous shall live by faith." His predecessor, Rabbi Hillel, speaking of the mystery of Judaism to a pagan who wanted to convert in a time equal to what he is able to stand on one leg, said: "What is repugnant to you, do not do to another: this is the whole Torah. The rest is just a comment on it. Now go and learn." Similarly, Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth said earlier about the commandment to love God and neighbor, on which everything else is based.
Until tomorrow
fr. george