The Jewish ideological system is the result of the intervention of God in human history at Mount Sinai.  Through this singular event the promises made to Abraham were fulfilled and the people of Israel were formed into a nation by God's revealing Himself to them and by His giving them the Torah (Law).  From this it is clear that the idea of God revealing Himself is a fundamental element within the Jewish intellectual system, but two additional elements are contained in this revelation, the Torah and the people of Israel.  Along with these three elements there is an additional principle, the principle of authoritative interpretation.  This principle of interpretation is implicitly contained within the Torah and the concept of the community as a living reality.  I will briefly look at how these elements interact with each other in order to show how they operate synergistically within Judaism.

          At Mount Sinai God revealed Himself and His will to the people of Israel by giving them the Torah, and by establishing a covenant with them thereby making them His chosen people.  In the Torah He established a set of laws and principles which would guide the people of Israel and which would also require that they fulfill certain obligations in order to receive  the gifts He promised them.  In the revelation received on Sinai, "the people of Israel are . . . bidden to serve God with faithfulness and love," [1] He sets them apart as a people for Himself and makes them a priestly nation, so that through their avodah (worship) they help "maintain the civilized and beneficent order of life." [2]  From what I have said so far it becomes clear that the three major elements of the Jewish system (God, Torah, and Israel) are interconnected, and so they do not stand alone in isolation; instead, they are bound together in a living tradition of interpretation.

          Clearly, exegetical interpretation is the glue that holds the entire system together, and it is what enables the people of Israel to know how they must act in order to fulfill the Torah and offer avodah to God, at both the level of the individual and as a community.  Concerning the Torah, Michael Fishbane points out that "all was believed to be contained in it — both the written Torah of Moses and the oral traditions of the 'wise' — and the unfolding of the new applications of Torah was considered to be the ongoing historical unfolding of God's infinite word." [3]  In this way the later decisions of the Rabbis are seen as a part of God's revealed will for His people, and this unfolding view of revelation is what gives the rabbinic interpretations their normative character for the Jewish community.

          The process of interpretation is also evident in the ritual observances of the Jewish religion.  God decrees that man must rest on the Sabbath day and keep it holy, but what exactly does this mean, and how does one accomplish this task?  This is where the authoritative interpretation of the Rabbinic Schools comes into play, because their interpretation of mitzvah (commandment) determined what kind of work was forbidden on the Sabbath, while also indicating when one should begin and end the celebration, for it was held to be expedient to celebrate the Sabbath by beginning it early and by delaying its conclusion.  Moreover, interpretation became a means for for adapting Jewish practice after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70.  The Rabbinic Schools, after the loss of the temple, reinterpreted elements within the Torah and came to the conclusion that the physical act of sacrifice was not essential the fulfilling the commandments of the Law, for the Rabbis came to the conclusion that "through the study of the rules for sacrifices it was as if they [i.e., the sacrifices] had actually been offered." [4]  In fact, this ability to reinterpret the Mosaic tradition gave the Jewish ideological system a dynamic quality, which has enabled it to survive and adapt to major historical changes, and in the process keep its unique identity in the face of the vicissitudes of history and even open opposition from outsiders.

          It is evident from what has been said that these three elements (God, Torah, and Israel), which form the core of the Jewish ideological system, along with the vital principle of interpretation, have produced a religious community which is both united in its major outlines, while simultaneously diverse in its ritual applications and in its ability to adapt to new situations.  The concept of interpretation has helped Judaism to survive not only the upheavals of the Babylonian Captivity and the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, but also the more recent tragedy of the Shoah.  It is thus a resilient system founded on an historical event, that is, the revelation of God at Sinai and the giving of the Torah, which through interpretation is embodied in the customs and rituals of the Jewish people.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Michael A. Fishbane.  Judaism:  Revelation and Tradition.  (San Francisco:  Harper Publishers, 1987).

Judaism as an Ideological System

by Steven Todd Kaster

San Francisco State University

Jewish Studies 300:  Introduction to Jewish Studies

Professor Fred Astren

14 September 1999

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End Notes:

[1]  Michael A. Fishbane, Judaism:  Revelation and Tradition, (San Francisco:  Harper Publishers, 1987), page 29.

[2]  Fishbane, page 37.

[3]  Fishbane, page 35.

[4]  Fishbane, page 39.

Copyright © 1999-2024 Steven Todd Kaster