Tagged: Dan Gruber

The reliability of the rabbis?

Prior to Rabbi Akiba, Pharisaic Judaism, which ultimately became modern Judaism, kept its scope and authority somewhat limited. While his predecessor, Rabbi Eliezer, preferred to keep the scope of Oral Law limited to its until-then traditional scope, Rabbi Akiba had a more ambitious agenda.

Under Rabbi Eliezer, Pharisaic Judaism was like a set of Powell furniture; solid, sturdy and based on reliable ingredients. In other words, the scope of the Oral Law was confined to matters of keeping the social order.

Not so under Rabbi Akiba. Under his guidance and direction, nearly all matters of life, be they public, personal or intimate, came under the control and ruling authority of the rabbis. This move had more to do with political than religious control, though in the first century the two concepts were nearly inseparable. As such, rabbinical authority extended not only to dietary matters and property rights, but even when so far as to dictate the nature and frequency of the intimate relations between a husband and wife.

The problem with Rabbi Akiba’s direction for Judaism is not that he was a politician trying to establish the authority of his sect, but that in doing so, he overtly overthrew the authority of the Torah in favor of the rulings of the Rabbis. Under Akiba’s version of Judaism, even G-d himself could not challenge rabbinical authority, but must submit to it.

Of course, with the Gentile-ization of the Talmudei Yeshua into the state-church of Rome, in the form of Catholicism, Christianity ultimately went in error toward the same direction. All of this leads one to wonder where first-century messianic Judaism went shortly after the first century, and how it could ever be recovered in purity, nearly 1900 years later.

Food for contemplation. Books like Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah, as well as The Church and the Jews, both by Daniel Gruber, get my highest recommendation.

Pondering rabbinics

It sounds simple enough. Write a five- to eight-page paper on the topic, “What is the value of rabbinics to today’s messianic believer?” using Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah: The Origins of Rabbinic Authority by Dan Gruber as a primary source. Yet picking out an HDMI cable that will work seamlessly between a PlayStation 3 and a 1080p HDTV would in many ways be an easier task.

Yet the assignment’s simplicity is deceptive. Sure, I can pump out a paper of that length in a matter of a few hours, but the point is to prove I’ve mastered the reading material. More than that, even, is to prove to myself that I understand the material enough to have an informed opinion on it.

That’s not easy; with this topic – the origins of rabbinics – I am out of my familiar territory. Much of the information is fresh and new to me. The next class – the Church and the Jews – won’t be quite so alien. I could almost write the paper now. Not so with this one.

Although it may not seem like it, even this first class is vitally important. It very easily could determine much of my doctrinal outlook on rabbinics. It’s going to require some deep thought.

Building a thesis from the outside in

Mastering the history of the origin of messianic authority is complex stuff; I sometimes wonder if mastering financial consolidation software would be simpler. But it’s interesting stuff.

The book Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah by Daniel Gruber is heady, intellectual stuff that’s not necessarily an easy read. Most history books share their general thesis statement early on, than build out from there, providing the evidence to support it.

Not so with Gruber. He spends several chapters laying the groundwork and establishing background before even venturing into the realm of what his general thesis is that he’s out to prove. The book’s structure is the exact opposite of what I’m accustomed to.

Still, it’s a great challenge and his approach, once you get used to it, makes his arguments quite powerful.

History written by the victors?

An old adage – one that Dan Gruber holds to be true in his book Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah – is that history is written by the victors. I guess it doesn’t take a genius to see the truth in that, but sometimes I wonder whether it is as thoroughly true as some make it out to be.

Don’t misunderstand; I get the point, and it’s true in this case. The Pharisee movement, and the specific sect to which Yochanan ben Zacchai belonged, as well as Rabbi Akiba after him, won the political-religious power struggle in Judaism in the wake of the destruction of the Second Temple and the fall of Jerusalem in the first and early second centuries. Considering that prior to this, there was a wealth of sects that comprised Jewish life from the Maccabean era to first-century period, and none of those sects survived, our modern view of Jewish orthodoxy is certainly colored by the Pharisaic movement that won the power struggle.

We don’t have more than scant hints about what the temple service should have been like, for example, from a priestly perspective, or from the perspective of the Sons of Light, the Fourth Philosophy, the Essenes, the Sadducees or any number of other sects that comprised Jewish life prior to the fall of Jerusalem.

Still, if history were as completely Darwinian as academics suggest, one must stand back in wonder at the very survival of Judaism itself. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have experienced more defeat and oppression over the millennia than they have victory and dominance.

From slavery in Egypt to the Babylonia exile to dominating rule by the Greeks and Romans, the Jewish people have rarely been victors in battle, over the long haul of world history. After the Bar Kokhbah Rebellion, it would be another 1800 years or so before they would even have a homeland again.

Yet despite the horrors of the various pogroms, inquisitions and even the Holocaust, Judaism has survived. Their scriptures have survived. The writings of many of their historically significant thinkers have endured.

Heck, most societies fall at one time or another, and eventually fade from power. Which all leads me to conclude that while there are many examples of victors writing the history in a very general way, it is not always the complete truth, or even the whole story. Societies, religions, cultures and movements that are not victorious may not be as well-documented as those who are, certainly; but there are exceptions to every rule, and the survival of Judaism in general is a fine example of this, even if the surviving form of it is a version defined by the victors.

Of course, if one is unable to understand that there are exceptions to such rules of history, I suppose one would be better off not pursuing a career in ministry. Perhaps one would be better-suited to a career in Cary NC real estate? Yes, perhaps.

The path to ministry isn’t all Torah study

I’m slowly learning that the path to ministry involves a lot more than just deep study of the Torah. One must engage in history, language, public speaking, counseling and a wealth of other skills that are not exactly the first things that leap to mind when you think of the ministry. While not exactly out of left field, like the study of say, home furniture, it has not been the intense Torah study coursework, so far, that I envisioned.

I mean, sure, they are all essential skills and highly important to a successful ministry venture; but when one mentions entering study to become some form of minister, be it a rabbi, a pastor or a messianic ministry, I think the first thing that flashes through one’s head is Torah study.

I’m beginning, at last, my advanced study coursework under Rabbi Stan and one of our first studies is focused on the history and origins of rabbinic authority. The text we’re using, Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah by Dan Gruber, is a well-researched book that at times is slightly ponderous, even though he eventually explains himself.

I’m learning a lot from the book, but I guess I’m surprised that the first book I’m cracking open in my path toward a possible ordination is by Dan Gruber, rather than Moshe.