Subject: Hellenism and Alexandria Egypt
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From: JUICE Administration <juice@virtual.co.il>
To: diaspora@virtual.co.il
Subject: JUICE Diaspora 2
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World Zionist Organization
Student and Academics Department
Jewish University in CyberspacE
juice@wzo.org.il birnbaum@wzo.org.il
http://www.wzo.org.il
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Course: Actors on the World's Stage: Jewish Life in the Diaspora
Lecture: 2/12
Lecturer: Rabbi Zvi Berger
Alexandria and Hellenistic Judaism!
Shalom! Today we're going to visit a colorful port with a vibrant
Jewish community, the Hellenistic city of Alexandria. Let's begin by
taking a general look at the overall cultural milieu of the period,
which we call "Hellenism". "Hellas" is Greek for Greece, and classical
Greek culture (e.g., that of Athens, during its "Golden Age"), is known
as "Hellenic" culture. "Hellenism", however, refers not to the
"Hellenic" age, but rather to the "Hellenistic" era, which begins with
the conquests of Alexander the Great in the latter half of the 4th C.
B.C.E.. Hellenistic culture, unlike its earlier Hellenic counterpart,
was not totally Greek, though it was certainly built upon Greek
foundations. It reflected a blend of Greek culture with the local,
native cultures of the Ancient Near East, which gradually developed in
the various lands which were conquered and administered by Alexander and
his successors. This culture did not change dramatically after the
Romans conquered much of this territory, therefore historians commonly
refer to the "Hellenistic-Roman period", (c. 300 B.C.E.-300C.E.).
If you could jump back to the Hellenistic world of antiquity, I think
you'd find it to be a very exciting and dynamic time to be alive.
Cultural life was flourishing, with rich expressions in literature, the
arts, and architecture. The natural curiosity of the mind found its
outlet in remarkably advanced scientific investigation, particular in
the areas of astronomy and mathematics. Traditional Greek religion was
also affected by the prevailing intellectual currents, as Stoic
philosophers reinterpreted the classical Greek myths concerning the
Olympian gods, who were now seen as personifications of abstract,
universal forces. The environment in which Hellenistic culture reached
its most complete expression was that of the Greek city, the polis. The
polis functioned as a city-state, an autonomous political entity with
its characteristic institutions, such as the assembly of citizens, the
city council elected by those citizens, the gymnasium, the civic cult,
etc. But above and beyond the civic loyalties found in each particular
polis was a larger sense of identification with the oikoumene, (lit.
"inhabited land"). The oikoumene, referred to the "civilized world",
that is, those areas conquered and administered by Hellenistic rulers.
While this region was usually divided politically, (primarily between
the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria), there nonetheless
was a significant level of cultural unity throughout the area, rooted in
the universalistic ideal of oikoumene and the common language of the
koine, the Greek dialect used throughout the Ancient Near East.
While this culture might well sound enticing to our modern ears, (and
may also remind us in many ways of our own contemporary cultural life),
it certainly posed a clear threat to traditional Jewish life. First of
all, the civic cults, including the colorful ceremonies which took place
during the numerous municipal and regional athletic events, included
sacrifices to the various Greek gods, (who had in the meantime become
identified with the preexisting local Oriental deities). But in and of
itself, the danger of idolatrous practices was not a new phenomenon;
Jewish monotheistic purists like the prophets of Israel had been
struggling against syncretistic and idolatrous practices for centuries.
What was new now were the underlying philosophical premises and the
overall attractiveness of Hellenistic culture. For all of its
appropriation of the traditional religious cults, Hellenism was still
fundamentally humanistic in its orientation. Ancient Judaism, in all of
its varied forms was clearly theocentric. But above and beyond this,
let's face it; Hellenism was FUN! Sports, the arts, a devotion to the
pleasures of life; it is enticing! Judaism, with its stress upon Torah
study as the basis and primary element of all education, and its overall
goal of living a holy life in accordance with the mitzvot (commandments)
of the Torah, had much to fear from Hellenism. At worst, Hellenism
could lead to total apostasy, at the very least it may well lead to
laxity in observance of mitzvot and to bitul torah; to a neglecting of
Torah study. The challenge of Judaism in the Hellenistic-Roman period,
was to "filter" Hellenistic influences, in order that Judaism could not
only survive, but creatively develop as a result of the intercultural
contact. Inside Eretz Yisrael, the Pharisees found ways to integrate
Hellenistic forms and customs into traditional Jewish life. In the
Diaspora, particularly in Alexandria, a distinctly Hellenistic Judaism
was to emerge.
With this general description in mind, let's deal with the city of
Alexandria specifically. This city was founded by Alexander the Great
on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, and it quickly developed into an
important port and economic center under the rule of the Ptolemies.
(The city, of course, continues to exist to this very day). Hellenistic
Alexandria was divided up into five residential quarters.By Roman times
two of these quarters included a large Jewish population. According to
the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, Jewish settlement in Alexandria
dates back to the period of Alexander the Great, i.e. the initial years
after the city was founded, and other ancient records make clear that
Jewish settlement dates back at least to c.300 B.C.E. The first Jews to
reach Alexandria lived near the port itself, suggesting that many of
them were involved in trade and maritime activities, which is attested
to by contemporary records. As the community expanded, however, Jews
became involved in a variety of occupations, including artisans,
craftsmen, the civil service, laborers, etc. Many Egyptian Jews living
outside Alexandria proper also engaged in agriculture. A description in
the Babylonian Talmud concerning the Great Synagogue of Alexandria sheds
light on the occupational diversity and social organization of the
Jewish community there:
"Moreover, they were not seated together, but the goldsmiths sat
separately, the silversmiths sat separately, as did the blacksmiths,
the metal workers, and the weavers". - Succa 51b
The community prospered and grew, to the point where Philo of Alexandria
could speak of a community of one million Jews living in Egypt in his
time (the 1st C. C.E.). Most of these Jews lived inside of Alexandria.
And while a portion of them descended from Jewish captives, brought to
the city by Ptolemy I after his Egyptian Greek kingdom consolidated its
rule over Eretz Yisrael around 300 B.C.E., most of the Alexandrian Jews
seem to have arrived there by choice. These Jews were no doubt
attracted by the economic opportunities as well a the rich cultural life
that the city offered. The fact that Eretz Yisrael was part of the
Egyptian kingdom and territorially contiguous to Egypt was certainly
another factor which encouraged Jewish migration. Jewish settlement was
also facilitated by the establishment of an organized and legally
recognized Jewish community structure, with its accompanying communal
institutions. Let's take a closer look at the nature of this communal
framework.
Alexandria, as a Hellenistic polis, included a mixed population of
citizens, (who were almost always of Greek origin), the local Egyptians,
who were viewed as conquered subjects with few civil rights, and other
groups of unassimilated foreigners, who were granted the right to
organize themselves as a politeuma, which was a largely autonomous
communal entity. The Jews received the right to organize themselves as
a politeuma, after lobbying hard to receive this coveted status. Within
their community, Jews enjoyed self-government under the leadership of
the ethnarch. Under the Romans, Augustus Caesar disposed of the
ethnarch and replaced him with a council of Elders, which consisted of
71 members and was modeled after the Sanhedrin, the High Court and
executive authority of the Jews of Eretz Yisrael. Within the politeuma,
Jews were in effect "quasi-citizens", enjoying most of the privileges
that citizenship offered. Alexandrian Jews were also capable of
climbing the social and cultural ladder and some achieved positions of
influence in the larger Hellenistic society. These Jews had taken
advantage of their freedom to assimilate to Hellenistic ways, which they
became familiar with through years of study and practice at the
gymnasium, (which was not only a center for athletics and Phys. Ed., but
an all encompassing Greek educational institution, devoted to the full
development of body and mind). We'll return to the cultural
implications of these developments a little later on, but for now let's
think about the social aspects of our situation. On one hand, things
sound great! Our community rights are legally recognized by the
Ptolemies, we're able to develop and maintain our community
institutions, and we also are allowed to support the Jewish community
in Eretz Yisrael through the payment of the half-shekel tax to the beit
Hamikdash (the Temple) in Jerusalem. So what's the problem?! Well,
think for a moment how you might relate to the Jews if you were an
Egyptian subject living under Ptolemaic rule. These Jews aren't Greeks;
so why should they have special status? Why should they be above the
locals on the social ladder?! I certainly don't mean to justify
anti-Semitic activity, but unfortunately, I can understand how it could
develop in these circumstances. Jews, as foreigners and as members of a
minority, were dependent upon the rulers to ensure their protection.
And if they wished to advance and prosper under Hellenistic rule, it was
critical for them to ensure that their communal rights be recognized.
It all makes perfect sense, but it also paves the way for anti-Semitic
agitation, which is documented in ancient writings, and which
occasionally led to riots and persecutions of the Alexandrian Jewish
community. Such persecutions, though few and far between, took place
both in Ptolemaic times, as well as under Roman rule. We'll observe a
similar dynamic, (involving an alliance of Jews with the local rulers,
leading to increased hatred of the Jews on the part of the local
populace), when we examine Jewish life in Christian Europe during the
Middle Ages.
Let's move on now to the area of religious and cultural life. Here we
find a variety of examples which testify to great richness and
sophistication. Alexandrian Jews succeeded in bridging the gaps between
their ancestral traditions and the new Hellenistic culture. Basically,
these Jews assimilated a great deal of Hellenistic forms and concepts
into their Jewish life, by maintaining a distinction between the Greek
cultic practices, (which they rejected), and Greek cultural and
philosophical expression, which many of them enthusiastically accepted.
Not only did they accept them, sometimes they even "Judaized" them! But
enough idle talking. Let's give some concrete examples!
According to Jewish legend, Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.E.)
summoned together a group of Jewish scholars to have them individualy
translate the Bible into Greek. According to the legend, al the
translations came out identical, and the translation was accepted and
became known as the "Translation of the Seventy", or the Septuagint.
Most historians today believe that the formulation of the Septuagint was
actually the result of a gradual process over 200 years or so, and that
the purpose of the legend was to provide Divine legitimacy for the very
act of translating the scriptures into the vernacular. At any rate, it
is interesting that there was a need to embark upon this translation.
Was the Septuagint created primarily for gentile readers, in order to
acquaint them with the Bible and its teachings? If so, it appears to
have failed in its mission, since most Greek contemporary writers do not
mention its existence. It seems more likely that the primary purpose
for translating the Bible was to ensure that the Hellenistic Jews
themselves would retain their knowledge of scripture, implying of
course, that their knowledge of Hebrew was insufficient to understand
the original text! (Does this phenomenon sound familiar to any of
you?!) At any rate, translating the Bible into Greek no doubt aided the
process of Hellenizing the Jews. For more than Greek words appear
here. The rich koine vocabulary also conveys Greek philosophical
concepts and literary forms. A rich Jewish literature also developed in
Egypt, including writings designed to be supplements to the Bible, some
of which ultimately found their way into the literature known as the
Apocrypha, (Jewish Second Temple literature which was not canonized in
the Tanakh, but is included in the Catholic Bible). An example is the
pseudepigraphic work known as the Wisdom of Solomon, which views divine
wisdom as the source of all good in the world and the means by which God
operates in the cosmos. Stoic and Platonic influences pervade this
work. Other types of Jewish literature characteristic of the period
include poetry, epics, and drama. The dramatist Ezekiel (don't confuse
him with the prophet!) wrote a tragedy entitled Exodus, and historians
described the glories of the days of the Biblical kings, in the style of
the classic Greek historians! But it is in philosophy, (that most
characteristic of Greek disciplines) that we witness the greatest
literary achievement of Hellenistic Judaism. Let's take a look at the
granddaddy of Jewish philosophy, Philo of Alexandria.
Philo has been described by the scholar F.E. Peters as "a dazzling
example of the promise of Hellenized Judaism". He was a man who
exhibited not only a deep understanding of Biblical literature, but also
a broad familiarity with Platonic and Stoic philosophy, the works of
Homer, Attic tragic writers and lyric poets, the theater, the plastic
arts, athletics and more. And though most of the specifics of his
philosophical thought are rooted in the Greek philosophical tradition,
he nonetheless was a pioneer in many areas. Hans Lewy has called Philo
"the first theologian, i.e. the first who tried to bring into harmony
the teachings of a supernatural revelation and the conclusions of
speculative thought". In this undertaking, Philo truly ranks as the
first to attempt to formulate a Jewish philosophy. Though it isn't
possible in this lecture to go into great depth, I'd like to give you a
brief description of the general nature of Philo's thinking, as well as
a sense of the literary frameworks in which he expressed himself. Let's
start with the frameworks.
Though Philo did write some thematic philosophical essays, most of his
literary output are commentaries on the historical and legal material in
the Five Books of Moses, (the Torah). Of course, there is nothing new
in the actual writing of such commentaries, the Midrashic literature of
the rabbis is also composed of various types of commentary on the
Biblical text. There may also be a similar source for Philo's
commentaries and the Midrashic collections, namely, both seem to be
based in large part upon earlier sermons or homilies delivered in
synagogues. Even Philo's frequent use of allegory seems to have its
counterpart in the midrashic interpretations, which are often far
removed from the simple, literal meaning of the Biblical verses. What's
unique in Philo, however, is his utilization of allegorical commentaries
on Biblical laws and stories in order to arrive at a comprehensive
philosophical system and overall view of reality. (You're probably
thinking, "WHAT'S HE TALKING ABOUT?!") All right, it's like this.
Philo believed that Judaism included within it a complete system of
philosophy, but this system had not been described in a clear, concise,
and orderly fashion. The philosophy was also "hidden", in that it could
be revealed only by probing to a deeper allegorical understanding of
well known Biblical accounts.
The content of Philo's philosophy was strongly influenced by Platonic
and Stoic teachings. From Plato, Philo posited the existence of the
eide, ideal "forms", which are absolute and perfect spiritual beings
which serve as the prototype for all things which exist in the
imperfect, material world. For Plato, however, these forms had an
independent existence. Philo conceived of these forms existing in the
mind of God Himself. The division of reality into two worlds
corresponds to the division between soul and body in man. The soul is
pure and is a true reflection of the Ideal, upper world, the body, being
material is imperfect and functions within the framework of everyday
material reality. The goal of humanity, for Philo is to achieve
liberation from bodily needs, in order to elevate the soul to a
completely spiritual existence. If this sounds mystical to you, I'd
agree; Philo believed that we must strive towards mystical union, i.e.
unity with the Divine. But God does not act directly in the world. He
is felt in this world, according to Philo, through Divine emanations,
the most primary of which was Divine Reason, known as logos. This is a
complicated doctrine, whose roots lie in the "seedlings of reason", the
logoi spermatikoi of the Stoics which permeate the cosmos, as well as in
the Platonic theory of ideal forms mentioned earlier. Logos, for Philo,
was both an abstract force and a personal entity. What's important for
our purposes is that while Philo insisted that the source of all
emanations and indeed of everything which exists is God alone, the
concept of logos could easily be understood as referring to a cosmic
force separate from God. It is certainly no coincidence that Philo's
writings were preserved and highly regarded by the early Christian
church, which also built on the idea of the logos in its view of Jesus
(see the prologue to the gospel of John, where Jesus is spoken of as the
Word (logos) of God which became flesh). Ironically, Philo's work does
not appear in the great collections of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah,
Talmud, and the various midrashic collections! Jews would only
rediscover the ancient pioneer of Jewish philosophy in the 16th Century,
(when he is mentioned in the works of the Renaissance Jewish thinker,
Azariah dei Rossi). The neglecting of Philo by the rabbis parallels
their general approach to Hellenistic Judaism, which leads us to the
larger question of the overall legacy of Alexandria and its Hellenistic
Judaism.
On one level, it is quite possible to view the unique Jewish culture
which developed in Alexandria as little more than a historical
curiosity. For it is difficult to trace clear signs of influence of the
ideas of Philo or the forms of expression of Jewish poets, epic writers,
dramatists, etc. in the Jewish literature of the Rabbinic period. On
the other hand, the importance of Hellenistic Judaism in general, and
especially the writings of Philo, for Western Civilization as a whole is
clear and far reaching. As Ralph Marcus has written, "Philo's theory of
the Logos as the manifestation of the transcendent God in the physical
universe and in the human mind was the most important immediate source
of the doctrines of the Christian Trinity". Moreover, the translation
of the Bible into Greek and its circulation among Jews in the Diaspora
and the "God-fearing" gentiles who had adopted a number of basic Jewish
customs, set the stage for the successful preaching of Paul and other
early Christian missionaries in the lands of the Roman Empire. Again,
the irony is clear. If anything, the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria
seems to have encouraged the development of ancient Judaism's prime
competitor, early Christianity! Personally, however, I would refrain
from viewing this type of Judaism as a negative force in Jewish
history. For it seems to me that this unique fusion of Jewish
commitment with love of Greek culture sounds surprisingly modern. It
seems to me that many of us today are engaged in a similar quest, to
create a lifestyle and world view which includes both a strong
commitment to Jewish living and values, alongside of a true involvement
in the larger secular society and culture. As many of us know, it isn't
easy to be truly Modern (or perhaps even "Postmodern") and Jewish at the
same time!
Well, next week we move on again, this time to Babylon. We'll examine
how the focus of Jewish life gradually moved from Eretz Yisrael to
Babylon, the complexity of the relations between the Jewish communities
of Babylon and Eretz Yisrael, the development of the Babylonian Talmud,
the institution of the Exilarchate, the emergence of the great yeshivot
where Talmud was studied, and more. For those of you that are
interested, the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center (located in Israel),
has an interesting Web site. It tends to stress the modern history of
Babylonian Jewry, (i.e., the Jews of Iraq) and their aliyah to the State
of Israel, but you can find information on the classical period of
Babylonian Jewry, ( the time of the Talmud and the Geonim) as well.
Check it out at:
http://www.babylonjewry.org.il
See you next week, and again, I'd like to hear from you on line!
L'hitraot.
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