Chapter 8 describes a shift toward the development of
rabbinic Judaism that happens after the fall of the Temple. The characteristics
of rabbinic Judaism are much more familiar to me and relatable to my own
experiences than the practices of animal sacrifices in the time of the Temple.
In particular, the reading highlights a shift in recognizing God’s presence
being found whenever a group of Jews studied Torah together or prayed.
The reading also discusses the practicing of mitzvoth (good
deeds, charity, compassion, loving kindness) rather than animal sacrifice,
which I relate much more to Jewish practice today.
I especially
appreciated the section on page 166 that discussed how the home (mikdash m’at, small sanctuary) came to replace the Temple. Home ritual is such an important
part of my practice of Judaism, which includes our weekly Shabbat meal. For
example, Shabbat meal is a series of blessings, hand washing, candle lighting
and a special meal. It is much more elaborate than just having a nice meal together.
It takes me awhile to get everything planned and prepared. Shabbat observance
is a day of rest and to study the Torah, this was also discussed in the
reading. Therefore, the home is a very important place, not only the synagogue,
in contemporary Judaism. It was interesting for me to read about the early
emergence of rabbinic Judaism in chapter 8 for these reasons.
In the other two chapters, the history on Christian history
was also familiar. I was deeply saddened by the section that described Constantius
II’s anti-Semitic legislation that forbade Christians to convert to Judaism and
that described Jews as “savage,” “abominable,” and “blasphemous.” The section
that described the 66,555 Christians that died when the Persian army attacked
Jerusalem also saddened me.
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