Summary Of Rabbinical Judaism By Jacob Neusner

The article by Jacob Neusner follows a description of the rabbinical Judaism in the late antiquity. Rabbinic Judaism propose the way of life that is practised by God, the angels, and Moses (the rabbi) that will allow the salvation of the Jewish people and the return of the promised land. The foundations of Judaism with Moses included the search to the Promised Land that will save the Jewish people from injustice. The exiles and invasion of the Jewish land and tradition following the long period after Moses led to the rabbinic Judaism which was the attempt to save the religion in the late antiquity; it approached to synthesize messianic and legal components of the religion. “Messianic movement focused on the historic meaning and end; while …show more content…
Neusner gives an in-depth description of the rabbi who were considered the divine image and they embodied the “Whole Torah;” they not only knew the written, but the oral revelations as well. All their actions were considered to be correct and heavenly; therefore, the rabbis were free of sin and morally right. The rabbis were able to issue blessings and curses, create beings including men and animals, and had the communication with the heavens due to their mastery of witchcraft, incantations, and amulets. (7587) The rabbis were able to overcome evil desires that controlled ordinary men; this lead them to be less likely to suffer. With communication with the heavens, the rabbi knew how to pray correctly with the knowledge of times and methods of prayers; not only that, the holiness and purity allowed the prayers of the rabbis to be heightened in comparison to those of normal men. Neusner paints this heavenly picture of the rabbi with the ability to communicate with angels, the demons, and the dead. However, then he presents that all male Jews were expected to become rabbis; this in turn was expected to successfully transform the entire Jewish community that studied and kept the whole …show more content…
However, one thing Neusner fails to provide to the readers throughout is any mention of their endurance of other religions emerging at the time including Christianity and Islam in the late antiquity. Neusner provides scriptures to show the synthesis of messianic and legal formation of the whole Torah; however, the picture created of the rabbi and then comparison with common men creates a confusion among readers. First, the vivid picture of a divine holy man is created which makes the readers see the status of the rabbi’ then he presents this equal image with the rabbi and the ordinary man as equal. This could be seen as his attempt to outline the anticipated results of rabbinizing the community that the rabbinic Judaism hopes for; however, it is conflicting to accept that the rabbi is an ordinary man. The attempt is though for the readers to understand that the rabbi is an ordinary man with the knowledge and understanding of the Torah that allows one being to see and do the extraordinary. Instead of writing so much about the divine image of the rabbi, Neusner could have structured his writing in a way that showed that the rabbi, an ordinary man, became a divine holy man because of his understanding of the whole Torah. The theme Neusner uses which is the combination of the logical and traditional approach to living, which