The Mishnah Standard of Practice

Chapter 6AntisemitismTribe

Halakhah often translated as Jewish law is really a complete guide to how a Jew should live his or her life from rising in the morning to even how you sleep at night. In some ways it really can be compared to house breaking a dog so that it should not do damage to itself, others or the environment. The Mishnah the first code of the Halakhah is a product of its time and place but has been amplified through two great disquisitions on it the Talmuds of Israel and Babylonia, which themselves have been subject to many commentaries, and at the same time codes of conduct have been extracted from the gamut of text and commentary and the codes themselves subject again to commentaries; besides the literature of responsa from rabbis of renown in answer to questions of practice. If anyone would learn how Jewish thought and action was formed you must explore the Mishnah that was the inception of the purposeful attempt of the rabbis of the centuries after the destruction of the Second Temple to mold how the Jewish people would face the future. The Mishnah is the first Jewish work to have the influence of the Aristotelian method of classification. It is the product of Rabbi Akiva who knew Greek well enough to debate with philosophers in Rome (1) and his student Rabbi Meir, who was reputed to be a convert to Judaism. The Mishnah in contradistinction to Midrash is arranged by subject matter while Midrash followed with commentary each succeeding verse of the Biblical Book commentated on. The Mishnah builds up from a single “Mishnah” to a chapter (Perek) to a Masechet (tractate) to a Seder (Order) to the Six Orders thereof.

The Six Orders are: “Seeds” - Agricultural laws except for the first Tractate-“Blessings” which deals with prayer. “Appointed Time”- Sabbath and Festivals. “Women”- Laws of Marriage and Divorce “Damages”- Civil and Criminal law-Law Courts “Sacrifices”- Dealing with the Temple Services and offerings “Purity”- Ways of becoming impure and remedies thereto.

The first tractate, “Blessings” is one of the major revolutions the rabbis accomplished in the Western World. Hitherto every significant place of worship was a place of sacrifice of animals, grains and liquids. The replacement of sacrifice by prayer not only turned the religious experience from a physical to an intellectual one but at the same time devalued the position of the priest and empowered the one who could lead the prayers as there were no books for anyone to follow but they would show assent by the saying of “Amen,” meaning I believe and consent to that which is said. Even before prayer service the institution of the command to say parts of Scripture both on arising and at night instilled in the worshipper the feeling that their actions were overlooked by a concerned and demanding Deity. The request verses were in order Deuteronomy 6:4-9: 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41. The beginning verse: “Hear O Israel YHVH, our God, YHVH is one,” is the identification of the individual Jew as a member of the “Tribe” and the faith of the “Tribe.” Said on a deathbed it is the last words, a confessional of faith. In a prayer service with a quorum of ten men it was preceded by a call to Prayer followed by two acknowledgments of God’s power, the first in morning and evening a testimonial to the power of YHVH in the natural world, as the song “Sunrise-Sunset.” The second the gift of YHVH’s laws to Israel that distinguishes them as belonging to Him and His “Tribe.” The sense of community and shared purpose is inculcated in those that participate in this recitation twice a day. Every Jew raised in this community whether he or she practices it or not is aware of this practice and recitation. It would be distracting from my purpose to mention all the particulars of the Mishnah even those relating to prayer. But to keep the focus on how the views and mores of the “Tribe” were formed as a product of the rabbinic influence on subsequent generations. Beyond the recitation of the “Shema” the verses from the Bible the other chief element of the early Mishnaic prayer service was the “Tefillah (The Prayer). The” Tefillah” and its introduction three times a day was the work of Rabban Gamliel II of Yavneh as well as the insertion of a special benediction that would exclude ‘Nazarenes”(2) The standard framework of the “Tefillah” was three benedictions in the beginning and three at the end. In between the benedictions varied from one on Sabbath and Holidays to thirteen during ordinary days.

The first three are:

  1. The establishment of the continuity of the “Tribe” from its ancestral progenitor Abraham and his descendants.
  2. The ultimate power in the Universe is YHVH whose power is manifested in the resurrection of the dead.
  3. The Sanctification of the name of YHVH and His praise every day.
  4. Either one blessing for a special day or thirteen including the petition for the remission of sin
  5. Petition for the acceptance of prayer as of the sacrifices of old.
  6. All people will praise the name of YHVH
  7. Prayer for Peace Whereas the first of these benedictions established the tradition of an acknowledged progenitor of the “Tribe,” in the last benediction the rabbis chastened by the results of the various revolts against Rome which decimated the people and precluded further proselytization activities were insistent that the “Tribe” be indoctrinated from any more attempts to either gain independence or dominance by martial means by placing “Peace” as the desired desideratum for all time. The nineteenth benediction of this prayer speaks of the universal aspect of a God whose miracles are manifest in daily life and not in those that would question one’s credulity:

We proclaim that You are Adonai our God and God of our ancestors throughout all time. You are the Rock of our lives, the Shield of our salvation in every generation. We thank You and praise You for our lives that are in Your hand, our souls that are in your charge, for your miracles that daily attend us, and for your wonders and gifts that accompany us evening, morning and noon. You are good, Your mercy everlasting; You are compassionate, Your kindness never-ending. We have always placed our hope in You. For all these blessings we shall ever praise and exalt You.

May every living creature thank you and praise you faithfully, God of our deliverance and our help. Praised are You Adonai, the essence of goodness, worthy of acclaim. 1
The following tractates of the first order of the Mishnah (Berakhot) deal with the laws and regulations dealing with agriculture specific in most cases to the land of Israel. Doing a “mitzvah” in common Jewish parlance means helping someone either by personal performance or the giving of charity. But the word’s current meaning is a development from its original meaning, a commandment of YHVH. The rabbis gave certain measurements as to the amount that the tithes given to the Temple had to contain. However, they enumerated certain acts that had no fixed measure or time limit. The second tractate of the first order of the Mishnah is devoted to the commandment to leave a corner of the field unharvested by the owner so that the poor may come and take the grain by right. This gives the rabbis opportunity to command: “These things have no proscribed measure: The corner of the field left unharvested, the First Fruits brought to the Temple, the sacrificial offerings brought on the Three Festivals as presentation gifts, doing deeds of loving kindness, and studying Torah (All of Biblical and rabbinical literature). 2 Deeds of loving kindness go beyond charitable gifts it is helping other human beings and even animals. The concept of “Pain to Animals” precludes the observant Jew from hunting and fishing with hook and line. The sport of enjoying the death throes of an animal is inimical to the character the rabbis wished to inculcate in the mind and actions of members of the “Tribe.” The story of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (the purported editor of the Mishnah) who turned away a calf fleeing the slaughterer and then suffering stomach pains (psychosomatic!) until he stops his servant from disturbing a nest of weasels. He quotes Psalm 145:9 “the Lord is good to all; and his mercies are over all His works.” 3
The Babylonian Talmud further amplifies this Mishnah to include the following to which no limit may be applied: visiting the sick, helping a needy bride, attending to the dead and making peace. 4
These laws of loving kindness extend to non-Jews as well as Jews to visit the sick, burying the dead, comforting a mourner, as well as helping a bride. 5 Both Christianity and Islam owe their concept of charity to the ideas first promulgated in the Jewish Bible and later amplified by the rabbis in Mishnah and Talmud. Furthermore, and in contrast to every other tribe, the foremost Jewish authorities grant the “righteous non-Jews a share in the “World to Come!” (Heaven). 6 A cursory overview of the Mishnah will reveal how the mandates of the rabbis influenced the “Tribe” in generations to come. The first order of the Mishnah except for the first tractate that deals with prayer is devoted to agricultural laws. The Tractate Shevi’it (Seventh (Year) deals with the laws relating to the Sabbatical year. Leviticus 25:1-7 is the biblical basis and the Mishnah spells out how the laws are to be applied and practice. The idea that the world is a “Holy Place” and a gift from God are the last words of the rabbinical scrap book -Avot a part of the Mishnah noted for sayings of the rabbis by which each is remembered. In the addendum thereto known as “Acquisition of the Torah or the Extraneous Mishnah of Rabbi Meir,” an anonymous rabbi is quoted as saying: “All that The Holy One Blessed Be He created in this world; He created only for his glory….” The idea that the world is Holy and belongs to God and not to humanity has the corollary that all beings and things have intrinsic worth and are manifestations of God’s glory. Every Seventh year the soil is to be left fallow and all that is in the fields, orchards and vineyards are res nullius. All the fruit and vegetables belong to any animal or human who will collect them, and no one is permitted to prevent their collection! Beyond that, the earth itself is holy and must be given time to refresh itself. Rape of the earth is a sin and the destruction caused by the apex predator humans is condemned as sin! The idea of a sabbatical, a period of rest from toil is from the teachings of the “Tribe.”

It is a natural segue from the laws of Agriculture to the next section of the Mishnah that deals with Holidays. Speaking of the sabbatical Year of course brings us to the discussion of the Tractate Sabbath itself. The idea of a Sabbath of rest or prohibited tasks is ultimately of Babylonian origin. 7

However, in the Bible brought back to Israel it takes on a completely different rational. From the start of Genesis to the two formulations of the “Ten Commandments” in Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 12-16 the Sabbath is described as a Day of Memorial remembering God’s six days of creation and the Exodus from Egypt. The idea that everyone, master and slave, human and animal must rest as a commandment of God was novelty that has now been accepted throughout the world. It is an idea and concept that originated in its propagation by the “Tribe.” The Yiddish witticism about a non-Jew who returns a horse he bought from a Jew because the horse refuses to work on the seventh day is no joke but the reality of a commandment in practice. The third order of the Mishnah is entitled: “Women.”

That the rabbis devoted so much attention to laws, customs and attitudes towards women is not as strange as it looks prima facie. The reality of life for women in ancient times and in so many instances even today is that they are as Roman law would put it: “in potestate paterfamilias (under the power of the head of the family-father-then husband) 8. Or as the rabbis put it a girl went from being subject to the will of her father to the will of her husband.9 It must be understood that in ancient times there was no police force to enforce law. Those who were independent of the restraint of others could appeal to law courts. Inheriting from the Bible the sense of caring for the most unfortunate the widow, the orphan and the slave, the rabbis realized that women would always in their society be subject to the whim of their fathers and husbands. The rabbinic exclusion of women from positive commandments dependent upon time for their performance might strike moderns as a gross inequality. But for both those who would uphold these restrictions and those who rebel against them is the misunderstanding that in rabbinic times a girl or woman who would wish to observe these commandments could meet the strong objection of father or husband accompanied by the power to forbid their observance. Rabbinic exception freed a girl or a woman of any sense of guilt for non-observance. The praise of the “Materfamilias” is found in the last part of the Book of Proverbs (31:10-31). Not a virgin, but a wife and mother who cares for her husband and children, “eats not the bread of idleness and gives charity to the poor.” The sexual needs of wives come before that of their husbands. The Tractate Ketuvot 5:6 lists the minimal times a husband must turn his attention to his wife’s sexual needs. The great grandson of Rashi, Rabbi Isaac ben Shemuel of Dampierre France dictated that the purpose of sexual intercourse was for mutual pleasure not procreation and that all acts with consent were permitted. (12) Rabbinical courts were the first to force a divorce if the husband did not attend to his wife’s sexual needs. Quaintly the wife could ask the court to dissolve the marriage because: Heaven is between him and me!” Also, if he was repulsive. 10 Unfortunately, no law or custom can stop abuse by individuals whose psyches encourage them to deviate from established norms. What could be considered in a secular way of thinking as Criminal and Civil Law is grouped together in the Fourth Order of the Mishnah-“Nezikin-Damages.” Man as the Apex Predator is responsible for all his actions even if asleep, even if unintentional, he is liable for his actions. 11 Not exactly like the Roman proverb “homo homini lupus,” 12 because it is the purpose of rabbinic rules to housebreak humans, so they do not damage to themselves, others and the world in which they live. After the destruction of the Temple and the Roman victory of 70 CE Roman veterans were settled in lands formerly belonging to Jews in Israel. The Decapolis were Gentile cities and the pressure on the Jewish population was intense. Certain aspects of this situation gave rise to a prejudice for Jews in Jewish law courts as noted by the incident of two Roman legalists (probably in the formation of the ius gentium) visiting the Academy of Rabban Gamliel. Rabban Gamliel changed one of the legal opinions noted by the Romans because it would be a “Hillul HaShem (A profanation of the Name of God). 13 The treatment of non-Jews was interpreted by later authorities to demand care as actions that would not be meritorious would be considered a “Profanation of the Name of God.” 14 The most radical interpretation that Christians and Muslims were not to be considered as idolaters of old as found in Talmudic texts is that of Menachem ben Solomon HaMeiri (1249-1315). Who according to some scholars treated the Christians and Muslims of his day on an equal par with Jews. 15 The Biblical law codes inheriting the Lex Talionis of past codes were too severe in their corporeal punishments and in their stead the rabbis interpreted “an eye for an eye” to mean compensation. Loss of value, pain, medical bills, unemployment compensation, and loss of dignity. 16 On the one hand one is obligated to save a person from murder or rape. 17

The terrible ways of inflicting the death penalty commanded in the Bible were obviated by denying the infliction of punishment. In all cases of wrongdoing a transgressor had to be warned beforehand or else the harshest punishments could not be enforced. 18 The status of the worker in Mishnaic times was much higher then in the surrounding culture. Not only were so many of the rabbis’ craftsmen but they held those who worked in the same high regard as they directed to themselves. 19 Fair labor laws that mediated between employer and the employee were a standard that the rabbis of the Mishnah aspired to. 20 The importance of education albeit limited in those days to males was prized by Jews from the rabbinic period for all time. When universal education for boys was instituted, it is a question. But we know its value from the times of the Mishnah and thereafter. Rebbi Judah the Prince II sent Rebbi Ḥiyya, Rebbi Assi, and Rebbi Immi to tour the towns of the Land of Israel to inspect the school systems. They came to one place where they found neither Bible nor Mishnah teacher. They said to them, bring us the guardians of the town. They brought them the watchmen of the town. They told them, these are not the guardians of the town, they are the destroyers of the town. They asked them, and who would be the guardians of the town? They told them, the Bible and Mishnah teachers. That is what is written, if the Eternal would not build the house. (Psalm 127:1) (24) Riesh Lakish said in the Name of Rabbi Judah the Prince II: The world only exists because of the breath of schoolchildren (reciting their lessons). 21 Norms and rules of behavior can be formulated but of course it is only by the will of the general populace that they are enforced at least in public display. Up until the time of the “Enlightenment “and Jewish Emancipation after the French Revolution and encouraged across Europe by Napoleon Bonaparte; Jews obeyed at least in public the strictures of the rabbis. To do business, to have friends, to be part of the community demanded adherence. In the extreme there was the threat of excommunication that was suffered by Spinoza in 1656.
How these rabbinic ideas played out across the centuries are for the chapters to come.

Footnotes

  1. Siddur Sim Shalom for weekdays pp 42-43 -The Rabbinical Assembly-The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism ↩

  2. Mishnah Peah1:1 ↩

  3. Talmud Bavli Bava Metsia 85a ↩

  4. Talmud Bavli Shabbat 127a ↩

  5. Mishnat Eretz Yisrael on Mishna Peah 2C Preface quoting Mishnah and Talmud ↩

  6. Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 105a, Tosefta Sanhedrin 13:2, Maimonides Code Mishneh Torah, Repentance 3-5. ↩

  7. Pinches, T.G. (1919). “Sabbath (Babylonian)”. In Hastings, James (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Selbie, John A., contrib. Charles Scribner’s Sons. pp. 889–891.) ↩

  8. Frier, B.W., McGinn, T.A., A Casebook on Roman Family Law, Oxford University Press, 2004, p48 ↩

  9. Numbers 30:4-17 see commentary of Rashi (Rabbi Shelmoh Ben Yitschak and Sifre Numbers; Mishnah Nedarim Chapter 10) ↩

  10. Mishnah Ketuvot 7:10) Talmud Bavli 72:a-b Mishneh Torah Marriage 25:11 ↩

  11. Mishnah Bava Kamma 2:6 ↩

  12. A variation on: line 495 in the play Asinaria by Plautus ↩

  13. Yerushalmi Talmud Bava Kamma 4:3 ↩

  14. Rabbi Moses of Coucy 13th century-”SeMaG,” Prohibition No. 64; Commandments Nos. 7 and 74) See-Sefer Hasidim 51,75,138,358,427,552 Rabbi Yehudah ben Shemuel HaHasid (1150-1217 ↩

  15. See: The Edah Journal 1:1 Edah, Inc. © 2000 Marheshvan 5781, One Possessed of Religion”: Religious Tolerance in TheTeachings ofg The Me’eri, Moshe Halbertal and a refutation thereof by Aryeh Klapper “Meiri and Christianity: A reevaluation ↩

  16. Mishnah Bava Kamma 8:1 ↩

  17. Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 73a). ↩

  18. Yerushalmi Talmud Berakhot 1:1:8). ↩

  19. Talmud Bavli Berakhot 17a) ↩

  20. The Status of the Labourer in Jewish Law and Society in the Tannaitic Period, Joseph h. Heinemann, Hebrew Union college Annual Volume XXV Cincinnati 1954 pp 263-325). ↩

  21. Talmud Bavli Shabbat 119b) ↩

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