THE CAMOUFLAGED TA'AM ("MOTIVE"): REDEMPTIVE IMPLICATIONS OF RABBINIC THEURGY* Shai Cherry (original) (raw)

Abstract

Fifty years ago, Abraham Joshua Heschel highlighted a constellation of aggadot that pointed to our ability to strengthen God's power. The topic of this essay deals with 1) the priestly philosophy of halakhah that enables such augmentation, 2) the redemptive implications of such augmentation, and 3) the difficulty in discerning this stream of halakhic philosophy in Rabbinic literature.

Key takeaways

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  1. Rabbinic theurgy posits that human actions can strengthen divine power and restore God’s presence.
  2. The Rabbis interpreted mitzvot as essential for national security and divine sovereignty post-Temple destruction.
  3. Language holds extracommunicative power in Rabbinic thought, capable of affecting reality and divine action.
  4. The text explores redemptive implications of mitzvot, emphasizing their role in attracting God's protective presence.
  5. Heschel identified a tradition linking God's perceived weakness with the need for human action to restore divine strength.

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References (31)

  1. Sifrei Bamidbar on Korach 119, on Numbers 18:20; and B. Hagigah 13b.
  2. Green, Keter, p. 35.
  3. Ibid., p. 36. The Book of Lamentations (5:16) records an image in which "the crown has fallen from our head." Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael on Beshallach 6, on Exodus 15:18, also features mutual coronation.
  4. Marc Zvi Brettler, God is King: Understanding an Israelite Metaphor (Sheffield: Continuum International Publishing Group, 1989), p. 150. His emphasis.
  5. M. Sukkah 4:5. See Heschel, Heavenly Torah, pp. 107ff.
  6. Tanchuma Vayyikra (Buber) on Acharei Mot 18.
  7. Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, The History of Sukkot in the Second Temple and Rabbinic Periods, (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995), p. 179.
  8. Rubenstein, p. 245. Rubenstein points out on page 248 that prooftexts for the protective nature of the clouds include Psalm 18:31, the same verse used in the midrashim concerning the mitzvot given to refine/separate humanity. See above.
  9. Rubenstein, p. 253.
  10. B. Avodah Zarah 2a-3b. See also Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Composition, and Culture (Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1999), chapter 7.
  11. M. Pesachim 10:6 bears no indication of militarism. Akiva's purported identification of Bar Kosiba with the messiah (Y. Ta'anit 4:8/27 and Vayikra Rabbah 2:2) is, I believe, a later interpolation (in Aramaic) which conflates his restorative messianism, seen here, with the military messianism that emerges again in the Amoraic period. Elsewhere, Rabbi Akiva is explicit that only God is king (B. Ta'anit 25b). See Peter Schäfer, "R. Aqiva and Bar Kokhba," in William Scott Green (ed.), Approaches to Ancient Judaism, vol. 2 (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Scholars Press, 1980). For a recent treatment on this issue, compare Matthew Novenson, "Why Does R. Akiba Acclaim Bar Kokhba as Messiah?" in Journal for the Study of Judaism 40 (2009), pp. 551-572.
  12. B. Berakhot 61b.
  13. Ephraim E. Urbach, "Redemption and Repentance in Talmudic Judaism," in R. J. Zwi Werblowsky and C. Jouco Bleer (eds.), Types of Redemption (Leiden, 1970) [repr. Collected Writings in Jewish Studies (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1999), pp. 264-280].
  14. 146 Gershom Scholem, "Toward an Understanding of the Messianic Idea," in Gershom Scholem, The Messianic Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality (New York: Schocken Books, 1971), pp. 10ff.. B. M. Bokser, "Messianism, the Exodus Pattern, and Early Rabbinic Judaism," in James H. Charlesworth (ed.), The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992): pp. 239-258.
  15. Scholem, "Toward an Understanding," p. 3. On Scholem and messianism, see Moshe Idel, "Messianic Scholars: On Early Israeli Scholarship, Politics, and Messianism," in Modern Judaism 32:1 (Feb. 2012), pp. 22-53.
  16. Scholem, "The Messianic Idea in Kabbalism," in The Messianic Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality, p. 38.
  17. Schiffman, p. 1062.
  18. Ibid., pp. 1060ff.. Midrash Halakhah constitutes a genre of early Rabbinic collections of legal material linked to biblical verses.
  19. Robert Goldenberg, "The Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple: Its Meanings and Its Consequences," in Steven T. Katz (ed.), The Cambridge History of Judaism, Vol. 4: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 201.
  20. Gruenwald: "At times, the scholarly liquidation of the mythic factor in Judaism reached the level of an intellectual crusade." 188
  21. Vayyikra Rabbah on Tzav 7:2, on Leviticus 6:2.
  22. Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus, pp. 323-325 on Leviticus 26:43-5. Many of the sources I have reviewed in this essay come from priestly circles and rely on priestly sources.
  23. Silman deals with repentance in "The Source of Authority," pp. 16-24.
  24. Pesikta DeRav Kahana on Selichot 25:1, on Deuteronomy 32:18; and Psalm 60:14.
  25. Sifrei Devarim on Ekev 38, on Deuteronomy 11:1.
  26. Rabbenu Bachya's introduction to the Torah portion Balak.
  27. Gershom Scholem, "The Messianic Idea in Kabbalism," 46. Silman identifies the Kabbalah with a realist philosophy of law, as well. Silman, "Introduction," p. 13, n. 10.
  28. Tanchuma Bereshit (Buber), Lech Lecha 12, to Genesis 12:6.
  29. See, e.g., Levenson, Creation and the Persistence of Evil, p. 46, and Boyarin, Intertextuality, ch. 6.
  30. Rachel Elior, "Exile and Redemption in Jewish Mystical Thought," in Studies in Spirituality 14 (2004), pp. 1-15.
  31. B. Baba Metzia 21b-22b and M. Tamid 4:3. See also Paul Mandel, "The Loss of Center: Changing Attitudes towards the Temple in Aggadic Literature," in Harvard Theological Review 99:1 (Jan. 2006), pp. 17-35, and Schremer, ch. 1.

FAQs

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What explains the Rabbinic view on God's need for human mitzvot?add

The paper demonstrates that some Rabbis viewed God's need for human actions, suggesting that the performance of mitzvot can augment divine sovereignty and facilitate redemption, aligning with Heschel's insights from 1962.

How did the performance of mitzvot relate to national security in Rabbinic thought?add

The research indicates that Rabbinic literature links adherence to mitzvot with national security, asserting that moral purity through commandments could attract divine presence essential for the Israelites' safety.

What role did prayer take after the destruction of the Second Temple?add

Post-destruction, prayer was seen as a transitional replacement for sacrifices, with Rabbi El’azar noting its elevated value in restoring divine presence, emphasizing its integral role in ongoing spiritual life.

When and how did the concept of mitzvot helping God emerge in Rabbinic texts?add

The concept finds roots in midrashic texts dated to as early as the second century CE, framing mitzvot as instruments through which humans could strengthen God's power and facilitate divine action.

Why is messianic thought nuanced in post-Temple Rabbinic literature?add

The paper posits that the trauma from failed rebellions led Rabbis to adjust messianic discourse, shifting from militaristic themes to a focus on restoration through spiritual observance and divine sovereignty.