Wow...what a meaty lecture. Seventeen minutes and three pages of notes. Thank goodness for RU-vid, I was able to stop the video and write things down. I loved this video and the coverage of a topic that I hear/read about (Rabbis) but know so little. Thank you.
Dr. Abramson, I was always taught that the chief function of Our Sages (certainly at that time, when the Oral Tradition had not yet been put to papyrus) is not to intuit texts, but rather to pass on the tradition as they received it from their rabbi, and up through the chain back to Moshe Rabbenu.
This is a major debate that runs through much of Rabbinic literature, contrasting the pure memorization of texts ("Sinai") with their critical analysis ("oker harim," or "uprooter of mountains"). Both are valuable, but the Sinai usually gets the nod.
"No hard questions, please". It is important to understand that the Rabbis and the Priests were in fact rivals, and when the second temple was destructed the Rabbis took the opportunity to overthrow the Priests. This is important, since it was the priests who held the keys to our spiritual tradition, and those keys were not passed down to their rivals, the rabbis... So any jew must ask himself - is his Tradition really the same tradition of his Forefathers ?
This can not be true what you say as the Jewish synagogue services have retained tradition of kohanim. And if there was ever such a fight as you describe, you would see evidence in the synagogue services.
This not a complete displacement by any means; but there is certainly an enhanced role for the Sages. The privileges of the Priests (and their added responsibilities) are inviolate, but the merit-based status of the Sages gains new prominence in the Persian period onward.
I have asked several Rabbi's about the origin of the Rabbinic authority, they rarely answer, and never tell the history, thank you for your candor and explanation.
As a christian I have long knew this bit of info but find it affirming he mentioned this bit here. Nice. 13:25 "through a process which is not at all clear, they eventually become canonized.".............."there's no question that these text are circulating in the second century, but we dont know exactly the process by which they were exactly canonized." NOTE: Second century era- The 2nd century is the period from 101 through 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Jan 1, 101 AD - Dec 31, 200 AD.
Great short lecture!! Thanks so much for creating all this great content, my family and I really enjoy your lectures!! I was wondering if you know a good book for people interested in Sephardi Jewish history? As a child, I mostly learned about the story of my ancestors in Germany and Poland, but I have a knowledge gap when it comes to non-Ashkenazi Jewish history
Hazaka baruch hu very nice shiur i love and watch your videos with very much interest Dr Henry Abramson a true yidden yahoodi ✋🇮🇱❤👃🇮🇱💚👃✋😘😍as a chabadnik follower of the lubavitcher movement and as a Pakistani Farsi speaking yahoodi I admire all of gadolei yisrael and rabbi rav rov Chacham the San Hadrin are called the assembly of judges also ?
Dr Abramson, I really look forward to seeing you discourse on the famous Jewish miracle workers of the first century, Honi the Circle-maker and Hanina ben Dosa.
Dr. Abramson, A student of mine asked a question in church history today: If the Sadducees rejected the notion of life after death and the existence of angels or spirit, then how did they maintain their belief in God?
I don't really understand the question. On a philosophical level, why does belief in the existence of a deity require belief in any other proposition? It's perfectly consistent with a theistic standpoint. The argument is: how could they maintain their belief in a _Jewish_ view of God and still deny key elements of pharisaic _Judaism_ (life after death, etc.). Which is precisely why the Rabbis (and the early Christians) considered the Sadducees a heretical movement.
I’d be interested in hearing what hermeneutical principles were employed at the time and the suppositions that make up their foundation. It is apparent to me that all the schisms who find roots in the biblical text exist because of their particular use of hermeneutics. As I listened to video I am reminded of Micaiah’s words for which earned him a smack on the face, “Behold the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets”. Truth eventually vindicated Micaiah, by that time it was too late for Zedekiah to repent. If my observation comes close to the truth, then the Almighty’s vindication rarely ever sides with those who handle the Bible haughtily or with political motivations.
I always assumed it was derived from 'Rosh Av' becoming R'av, ר'אב as in spiritual head or spiritual father of the community... Anyway, thank you, shall subscribe. שׁלום..
Another great info indeed. Sir, I would like to know (if I have missed), in Historical context, what era was Rabbi Ezra or אלעזר El Azer’s teaching was known, (the one to whom the “Book of Ezra” is associated) Is it after the Destruction of the Temple (in Babylon) or is it right after the reign of Cyrus the Great.? Thank you.
Perhaps I misunderstood and you can disregard this part, but Ezra the scribe and Elazar ben Pinhas were different people. To answer your question though, most scholars say he returned during the reign of Artaxerxes I though some say Artaxerxes II which is who I think is more likely and a little over a century after Cyrus maybe around 397 BCE or if it is Artaxerxes I around 458 BCE. Either way though you can get the general era from there.
@@jacobbarker544 thank you for the correction, you are right, I find many entities associated with the name Eleazar in the Hebrew Bible, i.e: 1. Eleazar (son of Aaron, brother of Moses), known as second Hight Priest, after his Father’s demise. (Numbers 20:26-28) 2. Eleazar (son of Aminadab), who was entrusted as a keeper of the Ark of the covenant (1 Samuel 7:1-2) 3. Eleazar (son of Pinhas), one of those in charge of the sacred vessels brought back to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile (Ezra 8:33) I guess this name must have been in use by different people in different Eras.
I'm glad that @Jacob Barker stepped in with some clarifications. The dating of the return from Babylon is also a bit of a controversy; planning to record a video on that later.
Don't understand why you assume that the 2nd temple period began 539BCE. That is only based upon the 2nd century astronomer Claudius Ptolmeys choronlogy of Greek Kings. We base our chronology on Seder Oilem by R Yose ben Chalafta (2nd century CE) which puts the beginning of the 2nd temple era at 353BCE.
@michelle lansky See my previous comment. I agrees with you, we've have had an unbroken literacy line from 1500 BCE which dictates our timeline just because classic chronology does not fit with our line, this does not undermine our tradition. St
Very interesting what you mentioned around 8:28 minute. The term rabbi is used or rises after the destruction of the second temple. According to the Christian writings of the book of John, this term is used several times when referring to Jesus, in the Spanish bible “Rabi” in the king James “Master” both with capital letters. Also, Mathew and Mark mentions the same term, but not as much like John. If the term was not used among kings, priests, and or prophets then this is a key factor. Who was Jesus according to John, Matthew, and Mark? So, was this Jesus a “rabi” or “master” after the destruction of the second temple? Paul says to be a disciple of the “master teacher” Jesus. According to scholars Paul’s books were written before the gospels, around the year 50 CE I also find interesting that according to scholars, Mark and Matthew were written right after the destruction of the second temple. The book of John was the last one to be written 90-100 CE and these books do use the term “Rabi” “Master”
"The oral Torah" also known as" the traditions of men".Rabbi in English is closer to "master " than " your highness" but I understand the idea.Jesus is my Raboni.thank youjesus is the word of God ,he can only be understood by ears of faith .
Horses for courses, Rabbis for alibis! but seriously it is rather curious how Rabbinic Judaism has dominated the scene for many centuries.222 likes, and 70 comments at time of writing, funny how these numbers keep coming up, LXX, abbrieviation for quite a large set of Scrolls written circa 250BCE by Greek speaking Jewish scribes. Last synagogue I was in was for the funeral of a columnist for the Jewish Chronicle, a UK weekly publication who's column I read for a few years, his name was Chaim Bermant, I loved his sense of humour, and had much respect for him, It was a couple of months after he passed on that I visited Jerusalem, Israel, I stayed in west Jerusalem, and walked to the old city everyday and explored as much as I could, i was able to go into the dome of the rock at that time, and saw the stone Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac on, don't know if that is factual, or whether it was the actual stone, there was a cave underneath the stone, which I went into, there were many rugs covering the floor in the building surrouding the rock in the middle, you had to take your shoes off inside, but that wasn't a problem, I had a wonderful time that week exploring, and to finish it I had a Pesach meal in the Hotel I stayed in, the 2 Jewish gentleman I was sat with on a side table explained everything to me, and advised me not to drink too much wine, they were very helpful. In all honesty, that was a once in a lifetime trip for me, as I was young enough and able enough to deal with walking outside the city on the terrain looking for the pool of Siloam, I found a place where there were steps going down onto a path approx 10ft down to a little channel coming in from one side, and going out the other, I never saw any trouble there, and felt at home there, though my home at that time was North London, but there was a Chabad community about a mile from where I lived, where I used to pick up the Jewish Chronicle, they were Ok, I even spoke to a Rabbi at a Lubavitch centre about Jesus, as I knew his name then, he said Jesus was a Navi(Prophet), that's how they viewed him. So I have a little experience with the Jewish community, in fact I worked for a few Jewish employers when I was an electrican, they were very fair with me, I left that trade and learned a few others over the years, I can fix most things in my house, the only thing I don't touch is gas appliances, don't really want to blow myself up. I do enjoy your short lectures. 223 likes now. Lehitraot.
Great history lesson. Is it Kohan or Cohen with regards to the priest? Seems like the descendants of Aaron kinda got kicked to the curb with the rise of the Rabbi. But I can see the need without the Temple. I love this stuff.
@@gregcollins7602 we are still here. Kohanim still perform priestly blessing on holy days. Given first part of torah reading in shabbat services. We should do more. Some are rabbis. Some are businessmen. Still around though.
@@mattnewhouse1781 that's great to hear. I have been trying to get an answer about that for awhile. I am completely ignorant and am not jewish but completely fascinated with the history. Didn't the Maccabees replace the Kohanim with their own priest? This must have caused some religious friction during the times.
Cohen/Kohan/Kagan/Kohn all English derivatives of the Hebrew term (also Katz, btw). I wouldn't say "kicked to the curb," but the Sages certainly get more prominence especially in the Persian period onward.
The zExiles, who returned from Babylon , were not, Israli Jews. They were, black Jews. There Hebrew namesake recorded in the book of Ezra, and Nehemiah.
I think it's because the Russian word is derived from rav, not rabbi, or comes from Greek together with Christianity because by the 9th century when Russia converted to Greek flavor of Christianity, the ancient Greek b changed to v.
@@eve3614 Yeshua flipped over the money changers tables in the temple do you know why ? Because they were making money in God's temple and it offended Him You will bow down and call Yeshua lord that's your future .
