CHAPTER XXII._History of the Jews, Vol. 2 (of 6)

THE LAST AMORAÏM.

Decline of the Roman Empire--Ashi and the Redaction of

the Talmud--Jezdijird II--The Jews under the Emperors

Theodosius I and his successors--The extinction of the

Patriarchate--Chrysostom and Ambrosius--Fanaticism of the

Clergy--Jerome and his Jewish Teachers--Mar-Zutra--Fifth and

Sixth Generations of Amoraïm--The Jews under Firuz--Jewish

Colonies in India--Completion of the Babylonian Talmud--Its

Spirit and Contents.

375.500 C. E.

The period during which the Roman empire was approaching a state

of complete dissolution marks an epoch of decay and regeneration,

destruction and rejuvenescence, ruin and reconstruction, in the history

of the world. The storm, which burst in the north, under the wall of

China, brought down a black thunder-cloud in its train, and shattered

the giant tree of the Roman empire, which, sapless and leafless, had

only continued to exist thus far by the force of gravity; nothing now

remained but a wreck of splinters, the toy of every capricious wind.

The uncouth Huns, the scourge of God, drove before them horde upon

horde, tribe upon tribe, whose names the memory refuses to retain

or the tongue to utter. The period of the migration of the nations

confirms almost literally the words of the prophet: "The earth staggers

like a drunken man, and her sins lie heavy upon her; she falls and

cannot rise, and the Lord Zebaoth punishes the bands of heaven in

heaven, and the kings of earth upon earth." Small wonder indeed that in

the Goths, the first wave of the migration of tribes which inundated

and devastated the Roman empire, the Jews did not fail to discover Gog

from the land of Magog, of whom a prophet had said: "Thou shalt ascend

and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land,

thou and all thy bands, and many people with thee" (Ezekiel xxxviii. 9).

In this remarkable alternation of disappearance of nations and their

formation, the conviction forced itself upon Jewish thinkers that

the Jewish people was eternal: "A nation arises, another vanishes,

but Israel alone remains forever." The barbaric tribes, the avengers

of the long-enslaved nations, settled on the ruined sites of the

Roman empire, wild plants only to be cultivated by the master-hand of

history, uncouth savages, to be civilized by earnest teaching. In this

iron time, when no man could be certain of the next day, the leaders

of Judaism in Palestine and Babylonia felt deeply the necessity of

placing the treasure which had been confided to their hands in safety,

so that it might not be imperiled by the accidents of the day. An epoch

of collection commenced, during which the harvest which had been sown,

cultivated, and reaped by their forefathers was brought under shelter.

The subject-matter of tradition, which had been so greatly augmented,

enriched and purified by a long series of generations and the diversity

of schools, was henceforward to be set in order. This tendency of

compilation and arrangement was represented by Ashi.

Rabbana Ashi (born 352, died 427) was the son of Simaï, and the

descendant of an ancient family. He so early gave evidence of

complete maturity of mind, that while still a youth he restored the

long-desolate Soranian academy to its former place of honor. He was

certainly not more than twenty when he became principal of that school.

Coming of a wealthy family, Ashi possessed many forests, the wood of

which he had no compunction in selling to feed the holy fire for the

worship of the Magi. It is remarkable that nothing is known of the

history of his youth and education; there is even no indication of

the reason which induced him to infuse new life into the half-decayed

Soranian academy; probably Sora was his native town. He pulled down and

rebuilt the school which had been erected several centuries previously

by Rab, and which was already beginning to exhibit signs of decay; and

in order that no delay should occur in the rebuilding, he brought his

bed on the site, and remained there night and day until the gutters of

the house had been put up. The Sora school was built on an elevation

so that it might overlook the whole city. Ashi's splendid qualities

so impressed his contemporaries that he was regarded as the supreme

authority, a position to which no person had been able to attain since

Raba's death. Ashi united thorough knowledge of the entire body of

the Law, characteristic of Sora, with Pumbedithan dialectics, and

thus satisfied all claims. His contemporaries conferred upon him the

distinguishing title of Rabbana (our teacher). During the fifty-two

years over which his public labors extended, seven principals succeeded

each other in Pumbeditha. Nahardea, which had made no figure since its

destruction by Ben-Nazar (Odenath), also began to come into some repute

again on account of the academy opened there by Amemar (390-420). But

none of these teachers really disputed the supremacy with Ashi, and

Sora again occupied the honorable position into which it had been

placed by Rab. The oldest Amoraim, Amemar and Mar-Zutra, voluntarily

subordinated themselves to Ashi's authority, and resigned to him the

task of restoring unity. The most distinguished among them, even the

two successive Princes of the Captivity of this period (Mar-Kahana and

Mar-Zutra I), submitted to his orders. It was in Sora that the Princes

of the Captivity now received the homage of the delegates of all the

Babylonian communities; this ceremony had formerly taken place, first

at Nahardea, and then, during the prime of its academy, at Pumbeditha.

This homage was paid every year on a Sabbath, at the commencement of

the month of Marcheshvan (in the autumn), and this Sabbath was known

as the "Rigle" of the Prince of the Captivity. The extraordinary

assemblies of the people, which met at the command of the Prince of the

Captivity, were henceforward also held in Sora, and for this reason

the Patriarchs were obliged to repair to that town, even though they

had fixed their residence in some other place. Ashi had thus made Sora

the center of Jewish life in Babylonia, and had connected it with

everything of public or general interest. The splendor with which its

numerous assemblies invested it, was so great that Ashi expressed

surprise that the heathen Persians could be witnesses of it all, and

not feel themselves moved to embrace Judaism.

In consequence of this concentration of power in his own person,

Ashi was enabled to undertake a work, the consequences of which were

incalculable, both as regards the fate and the development of the

Jewish people. He began the gigantic task of collecting and arranging

the explanations, deductions, and amplifications of the Mishna, which

were included under the name "Talmud." The immediate motive which

suggested this undertaking was undoubtedly the consideration that

the immense accumulation of matter, the result of the labor of three

generations, ought not to be allowed to vanish from memory through

lack of interest. This would certainly be the case if some means were

not provided of impressing it easily upon the mind. Ashi even then

complained of the diminution of the power of memory in his time as

compared with times gone by, without, however, taking into account that

by reason of the accumulation of matter the memory was infinitely more

charged than formerly. His successful treatment of this exuberant

material was rendered the easier by the fact that he was permitted to

work at it for more than half a century. Every year on the occasion of

the assembly of all the members, disciples, and pupils during the Kalla

months, certain tractates of the Mishna, together with the Talmudical

explanations and corollaries, were thoroughly gone into, and thus in

about thirty years more than fifty of them were completely arranged.

In the latter half of his period of office Ashi went through the whole

of the matter which had thus been put in order for the second time.

What remained after this double process of winnowing and testing was

accepted as of binding force.

This arrangement of the bulky matter of the Talmud was not committed

to writing. The conservation in writing of oral tradition, the

incarnation, as it were, of what is spiritual, was still regarded

as a crime against religion, more especially at this period, when

Christendom had taken possession of the Holy Scriptures as its own

spiritual property, and considered itself as the chosen part of Israel.

According to the views of the times, Judaism was now possessed of no

distinguishing feature, except the Oral Law. This thought frequently

found expression in a poetical form--"Moses requested permission to

commit to writing the Mishna or Oral Law, but God saw in advance that

the nations would one day possess a Greek translation of the Torah,

and would affirm: 'We are Israel; we are the children of God,' while

the Jewish people would also declare, 'We are God's children,' and He

therefore gave a token for this purpose: 'He who possesses my secret

(mysterion) is my son.' This secret is the Mishna and the oral exegesis

of the Law. Therefore did the prophet Hosea say: 'Were I to write the

fulness of the Law, Israel would be accounted as a stranger.'"

It is not at all astonishing that this multitude of ordered details

could be retained by the memory, for before the time of Ashi they had

been retained though not yet reduced to order. By his compilation of

the Talmud, Ashi completed the work which had been begun by Judah two

centuries previously. But his task was infinitely more difficult. The

Mishna embraced only the plain Halacha in artistically constructed

paragraphs of the Law. The Talmud, however, gave also the living

part of the development of the Law and its spiritual tenor, and this

with dialectic exactitude. The first impulse to the compilation of

the Talmud marks one of the most important epochs in Jewish history.

From this time forward the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Babli) became

an active, potent, and influential element. Ashi, however, did not

entirely complete this gigantic task; for, although he directed his

ardor wholly to the work of compilation, the creative power was not

so completely conquered either in him or his contemporaries, that

they were content to entirely restrict their energies to the work of

compilation. On the contrary, Ashi solved many of the questions which

had been left doubtful, or had been unsatisfactorily answered by the

preceding Amoraïm, and his decisions are as forcible and ingenious

as they are simple; in fact, one often wonders how they could have

been overlooked by his predecessors. About this time the Jerusalem or

Palestinean Talmud was compiled and concluded. The name of the compiler

is not known. The latest authorities whose names have been preserved

are Samuel bar Bun and Jochanan bar Moryah, contemporaries of Ashi.

The period of Ashi's activity falls within the reign of Jezdijird

(400-420), a king of the Sassanian dynasty, who was favorably disposed

towards the Jews. The Magians gave to this noble prince the surname of

"Al Hatim" (the sinner), because he refused to surrender his own will

and allow himself to be ruled by them. He was exceedingly well affected

towards the Jews, and at the same time favorably disposed towards the

Christians. On the days of homage there were present at his court the

three representatives of the Babylonian Jews: Ashi, of Sora; Mar-Zutra,

of Pumbeditha; and Amemar, of Nahardea. Huna bar Nathan, who, if he

was no Prince of the Captivity, must nevertheless have been possessed

of considerable influence, held frequent intercourse with Jezdijird's

court. This mark of attention on the part of a Persian king, who

proclaimed himself the child of the Sun, a worshiper of Ormuz, and the

King of the Kings of Iran, may be regarded as a proof of high favor.

Ashi was devoid of all exaggerated enthusiasm, and seems to have

attempted to suppress the hope of the coming of the Messiah, which kept

the minds of the Jews in greater suspense than ever at this time of

the migration of nations and of universal revolution, when sin-laden

Rome was suffering the punishment of God. An ancient sibylline saying,

attributed to the prophet Elijah, was current, according to which the

Messiah would appear in the eighty-fifth jubilee (between 440 and 470

of the common era). Such messianic expectations were always certain

of creating enthusiasts, who aimed at converting their silent belief

into fact, and without exactly intending to deceive, attempted to

carry away such of the crowd as were of like opinions, and to excite

them to such a pitch that they would willingly sacrifice their lives.

In point of fact such an enthusiast did appear during Ashi's time in

Crete, and he gained as adherents all the Jewish congregations of

this important island, through which he had traveled in a year. He

promised them that one day he would lead them dry-footed, as Moses

had formerly done, through the sea into the promised land; he is said

to have adopted the name of the great lawgiver. For the rest, this

Cretan Moses was able to convince his followers so thoroughly of his

divine mission, that they neglected their business, abandoned all their

property, and only waited for the day of the passage through the sea.

On the appointed day, Moses the Messiah marched in front, and behind

him came the entire Jewish population of Crete, including the women

and the children. From a promontory projecting out into the sea, he

commanded them to throw themselves fearlessly into the ocean, as the

waters would divide themselves before them. Several of these fanatics

met their death in the waves; others were rescued by sailors. The false

Moses is said, however, never to have been found again. It was against

such false hopes as these, whose consequences were so sad, that Ashi

warned the Jews. At the same time he suggested another interpretation

of the prophecy which had been set in circulation: "It is certain,"

said he, "that the Messiah cannot appear _before_ this time, before

the eighty-fifth jubilee, but after the lapse of this period the

hope, although not the certainty, of his coming may be entertained."

Ashi died, greatly respected by his contemporaries and the Jews of

after-times, at a ripe old age (427), two years before the capture of

Carthage by Genseric. This Prince of the Vandals, who wrested from

Rome her accumulations of spoil, also carried to Africa the vessels of

the Temple, which Titus had added in triumph to the plunder of so many

nations. Like the sons of Judæa, the Temple vessels wandered much.

By reason of the Patriarchate, Judæa was still regarded as their head

by the Jewish communities of the Roman Empire. During this period it

presents an even more gloomy picture of complete decay than formerly.

The oppression of hostile Christianity bore all too heavily upon the

country, and stifled the impulse to study. Tanchuma bar Abba, the

chief supporter of the later Agada, is the last Halachic authority of

Judæa. There also, as in Babylonia, the last Amoraïm collected the

traditions and planned and arranged the Jerusalem, or, more correctly,

the Judæan or Western Talmud (Talmud shel Erez-Israel, Gemara di Bene

Ma'araba). But so defective is the history of Judæa that not even

the names of the compilers or the originators of the movement are

known. Doubtless the example of Babylonia suggested the making of this

collection. Only so much is certain, that Tiberias, the seat of the

Patriarchate and of the School, was the birthplace of the Jerusalem

Talmud.

It was during this period that the Patriarchate, the last remnant of

former times, met with complete destruction. Three patriarchs are

mentioned by name: they are Gamaliel V, successor of Hillel II, his son

Judah IV and Gamaliel, the last (370-425). But only indistinct traces

of their activity can be recognized. It is true that they still bore

the pompous rather than influential title of Highness, together with

its attendant privileges, and that they still drew voluntary subsidies

from the communities of the Roman empire, which their envoys were wont

to collect from the congregations. But their authority was considerably

diminished. The sole influence of the Patriarchs now consisted in the

one fact, that they excluded from the Jewish community its apostate

members, who had gone over to Christianity either voluntarily or

through deceit or persuasion. But even this power proud Christianity

refused to recognize. By means of the secular arm, the Bishops

compelled the Patriarchs and the heads of the communities, who bore the

name of Primates, to readmit into the community such of the members as

had been excommunicated. But Theodosius the Great (379-395), although

continually incited by the Catholic clergy, Ambrosius, among others, to

persecute the Arians and other heretics, consistently protected the

Jews against their fanatical attacks. He promulgated a law confirming

to the Patriarchs and Primates the right of excommunicating the members

of their community, and forbidding the secular authorities to meddle

with the domestic affairs of the Jews. He proved to Gamaliel V his

justice towards the Jews by condemning to death the consular agent

Hesychius, whom the Patriarch had accused before him of surreptitiously

gaining possession of important documents. For the rest, nothing more

is known of the circumstance to which these documents referred.

Theodosius frequently had to restrain the religious zeal of the

Christians, which regarded as heroism such deeds as the disturbance of

the religious devotions of the Jews, the pillaging or destruction of

the synagogues, or their appropriation and conversion into churches.

The principal fanatics against the Jews at this period were John

Chrysostom of Antioch, and Ambrosius of Milan, who attacked them with

the greatest fierceness.

The former, who had been called from the solitude of the cloister to

the ministry, thundered against the Jews from the pulpit with his

bombastic and cynical eloquence; even made them the subject of six

successive sermons. The behavior of the Jews of Antioch, however,

was indeed too provoking: without any active endeavor on their part,

Christians became interested in their customs, their divine service,

and their court of law. On Sabbaths and festivals many Christians,

especially of the female sex, ladies of rank and women of lower

position, met together regularly in the synagogues. They listened

with devotion to the blowing of the cornet on the Jewish New Year,

attended the solemn service on the Day of Atonement, and participated

in the joys of the Feast of Tabernacles. They were all the more

attracted by the fact that all this had to go on behind the backs of

the Christian priests, and that the neighbors had to be entreated not

to betray them. Christians preferred to bring their lawsuits before

Jewish judges, the form of the Jewish oath appearing more imposing and

forcible to them. It was against such voluntary honoring of Jewish

institutions by the Christians that Chrysostom directed the violence of

his Capuchin sermons, bestowing all manner of harsh names upon them,

and proclaiming the synagogues as infamous theaters, dens of robbers,

and even still worse places.

Ambrosius, of Milan, was a violent official, ignorant of all theology,

whom a reputation for violence in the church had raised to the rank

of bishop; he was even more virulent against the Jews. Once when the

Christians of Rome had burnt down a synagogue, and the usurper Maximus

commanded the Roman Senate to rebuild it at the expense of the State,

Ambrosius called him a Jew. The Bishop of Callinicus, in Northern

Mesopotamia, having caused a synagogue situated in that district to

be burnt to the ground by monks, Theodosius ordered him to build it

up again at his own expense, and punished all who had participated in

the act (388). Hereupon Ambrosius' anger was most violently inflamed,

and in the epistle which he addressed to the emperor he employed such

sharp, provoking terms, that the latter was thereby led to revoke his

order. Ambrosius accused the Jews of despising the Roman laws, and

mockingly taunted them with the fact that they were not permitted to

set up any emperor or governor in their midst, nor to enter the army or

the Senate, nor even to eat at the table of the nobles; they were only

there for the purpose of bearing heavy taxes. To this pious misconduct

Theodosius endeavored to put a stop by means of laws. Starting from

the premise that Judaism was not prohibited from existing in the Roman

empire by any law, he was desirous of extending to it the protection

of the law against violent attacks. He therefore enjoined the Comes

of the East to severely punish the Christian religious rioters and

desecrators of synagogues (393). But of what avail could the imperial

edicts and commands be against the tendency of the times to be

malignant, to accuse of heresy, and to persecute? The Jews could not

complain, for they were not treated any worse than the adherents of the

various Christian sects whose opponents had gained the upper hand. The

savageness which the invasion of the barbarians had introduced into the

historical parts of the world tainted the province of religion with

its contagion; Vandalism reigned everywhere, in the Church as well as

in the State. Meanwhile the exceptional position of the Jews in the

Roman empire had been either re-established or confirmed by Theodosius

I. Constantius' law relative to the possession of slaves was revived

afresh; any Jewish slave-owner who admitted his slaves into the pale of

Judaism was to be severely punished. The privilege of exemption from

the onerous municipal offices on the grounds of religious scruples,

which the Jews had succeeded in obtaining under his predecessors, was

abolished by Theodosius.

This emperor bequeathed his dominions to his two sons, and thus

lastingly divided the Roman world into two parts, and into two

different camps, thereby intensifying the strained and unsympathetic

relations of the different parties to each other. Henceforward the

Jews of the Roman empire belonged to different masters, part of them

being subjects of the eastern, others of the western empire. Arcadius,

the eastern or Byzantine emperor (395-408), was a monarch merely in

name; his all-powerful chamberlains, Rufinus and Eutropius, were

extremely favorable to the Jews. Rufinus loved money, and the Jews

had already discovered the magic power of gold to soften obdurate

hearts. Numerous laws were therefore promulgated in their favor. One

of these laws decided (396) that the Jews should remain possessed of

independence in the matter of choosing their own market inspectors

(Agoranomos), and that whosoever should dare encroach on this right

should be liable to severe punishment by imprisonment. Another law of

the same year protected the "illustrious patriarchs" from insult. In

Illyria synagogues were attacked, probably by the clergy, who would

have liked to see the Jewish houses of prayer as completely destroyed

as the heathen temples; thereupon Arcadius (or Eutropius) commanded the

governors to resist this movement with all possible energy (397). In

the same year he also re-enacted and confirmed the law of Constantius,

whereby the patriarchs, as also all the religious officials of the

synagogue, were exempted from the burden of the magistracy, as were

the Christian clergy. Another right was also preserved to the Jews by

Arcadius' administration (February, 398); they were allowed to retain

the privilege of submitting their lawsuits to the patriarch and other

Jewish arbitrators, if both parties consented to this course, and the

Roman authorities were obliged to execute these judgments, without

prejudice to the fact, however, that in so far as their religion

was not concerned, they were subject to the Roman law. We must not

be surprised by a capricious change under the arbitrary rule of the

Byzantine court: a law was published in 399, subjecting all Jews, even

the religious superiors, to the Curial burdens. This had, perhaps, some

connection with Eutropius' fall in the same year.

Not much is known of the course of conduct pursued towards the Jews by

the Emperor of the West, the feeble Honorius, or his master, Stilicho.

The abolition of exemption from the Curies pronounced against the

communities of Apuleia and Calabria does not prove that a systematic

hostility already existed against the Jews. Another law (of April,

399) forbade, in the name of the Western Emperor Honorius, and under

severe penalty, the collection of the patriarch's tax throughout

the whole extent of the prefecture. Such sums as had already been

received were confiscated to the imperial treasury. The motive of

this prohibition may, however, have been that the Western Emperor

regarded with envious eye the withdrawal of such considerable sums

into the prefecture of his brother. But as if the legislation of this

period desired to ridicule its own capriciousness, this prohibition

was revoked five years later, and the Jews were henceforward permitted

to collect the Patriarch's tax as before, and to forward it without

concealment (404). While on the one hand Honorius forbade the Jews

and the Samaritans to take any share in the military service, on the

other hand, he protected the Jews from molestation on the part of

the authorities, and decided by an edict that the Jews should not be

summoned before the court on the Sabbath or the festivals (409).

The Middle Ages really begin for Judaism with Theodosius II

(408-450), a good-natured but monk-ridden emperor, whose weakness

afforded impunity to the fanatical zeal of many a bishop, and offered

encouragement to cruelty. Edicts of this emperor prohibited the Jews

from building new synagogues, from exercising the office of judge

between Jewish and Christian suitors, and from possessing Christian

slaves; they also contained other prohibitions of less interest. It

was under this emperor that the Patriarchate finally fell, although

Gamaliel (Batraah), the last of the patriarchs, enjoyed great

distinction at the imperial court, such as none of his predecessors

had ever possessed. Beside the title which had long been borne by

the Patriarchs, the high dignity of Prefect (_Præfectura_), together

with a diploma of honor (_codicillus honorarius_), had been bestowed

upon him, and although these were but hollow honors, they were of

great importance at a time when appearances constituted everything.

It is not known what was the particular merit for which Gamaliel

gained this distinction, but it was probably on account of his medical

acquirements. He was a physician, and was credited with the discovery

of a much-approved remedy for diseases of the spleen. In this elevated

position Gamaliel considered himself privileged to be lax in his

observance of the emperor's exceptional laws against the Jews. He

therefore built new synagogues, exercised jurisdiction in disputes

between Jews and Christians, and disregarded other similar imperial

commands. In consequence of this, Theodosius deprived him of all his

higher dignities, took from him his diploma of honor, and suffered him

to retain only such distinctions as he had enjoyed as Patriarch (415).

But Theodosius in nowise abolished the Patriarchate during Gamaliel's

lifetime; it was not until after the latter's death that this occurred,

his male heirs having died, it appears, at an early age (425). Thus,

with Gamaliel (Batraah) the last remnants of the noble stock of the

house of Hillel disappeared. For three and a half centuries this house

had stood at the head of the spiritual affairs of Judaism; many of its

members had been promoters of the Law, of liberty, and of national

feeling, and the history of their lives had become an important part

of the history of the Jewish nation. Fifteen Patriarchs had succeeded

each other during this lapse of time; two Hillels, three Simons, four

Judahs, and six Gamaliels.

During the reign of Theodosius in the East, and Honorius in the West,

Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, notorious for his love of quarreling, his

violence, and his impetuousness, was suffered to illtreat the Jews and

to drive them out of that town. He assembled the Christian mob, incited

them against the Jews by his excessive fanaticism, forced his way into

the synagogues, of which he took possession for the Christians, and

expelled the Jewish inhabitants half naked from the town which they

had come to regard as their home. Disdaining no means, Cyril handed

over their property to be pillaged by the mob, ever greedy of plunder

(415). Thus the Christians inflicted on the Jews of Alexandria the same

fate as 370 years before had fallen to their lot at the hands of the

heathens. The Prefect Orestes, who took this barbarous treatment of

the Jews greatly to heart, was powerless to protect them; all he was

able to do was to lodge a charge against the bishop, but the latter

gained his cause at the court of Constantinople. How great was the

fanaticism of this bishop may be seen from what occurred in Alexandria

soon after the expulsion of the Jews. Not far from this city was a

mountain called Nitra, where dwelt an order of monks whose thirst for

the crown of martyrdom had almost made wild animals of them. Incited

by Cyril, these monks fell upon Orestes, and almost stoned him to

death as a punishment for not sanctioning the expulsion of the Jews.

It was this same fanatical band that tore to pieces the body of the

celebrated philosopher Hypatia, who had charmed the world by her

profound science, her eloquence, and her purity. Only one member of

this unlucky community of Jews, Adamantius by name, a teacher of the

science of medicine, was induced by this disaster to allow himself to

be baptized; he repaired to Constantinople, and was there granted the

right to settle in Alexandria. All the rest willingly bore banishment

and affliction for the sake of their convictions.

Not so resolute were the Jews of the little town of Magona (Mahon)

in the Spanish island of Minorca, in the Mediterranean. Severus, the

bishop of that place, burnt their synagogues, and harassed them with

attacks in the streets, until at last he succeeded in compelling many

of them to embrace Christianity. The Jews had settled early--probably

in the time of the Roman Republic--in Spain and in the surrounding

islands, and lived there in friendly relation with the original

inhabitants. Even after the Iberians had become Christians, the

husbandmen still caused the produce of their fields to be blessed by

the Jews. It was in Spain that the Christian clergy first aroused the

fanaticism of the Christian population against the Jews. The same

bishop Osius (Hosius) of Cordova, who had sat in the Council of Nice,

and had convoked a council at Illiberis (Elvira, near Granada), also

succeeded in passing a resolution which prohibited the Christians,

under pain of excommunication, from trading with the Jews, contracting

marriages with them, or causing them to bless the produce of their

fields. Nothing now remained for the Jews of Christian countries but

to take up the weapons of mockery; they accordingly made merry over

their enemies behind their backs, which has everywhere and at all times

been the manner in which the weaker party has attempted to lighten its

burdens. At times also they made use of coarse jokes to express their

feelings with regard to Christianity. Such jokes were most usually

made on the occasion of the feast of Purim, when the cheerfulness of

the festival led to intoxication, and intoxication to irresponsible

expressions and demonstrations. On this day the Jews in their

merriment were accustomed to hang Haman, their arch-enemy, in effigy

on a gallows, and this gallows, which used afterwards to be burned,

took, accidentally or intentionally, the form of a cross. Naturally

the Christians complained of profanation of their religion, and the

Emperor Theodosius II directed the ruler of the province to put a stop

to such misconduct by the threat of severe punishment, without being

able, however, to repress it. On one occasion this carnival pleasantry

is said to have led to horrible consequences. The Jews of Imnestar,

a small Syrian town between Antioch and Chalcis, having erected one

of these Haman's gallows, were accused by the Christians of having

suspended a Christian lad crosswise upon it, and of having flogged him

to death. Thereupon the emperor ordered the culprits to be punished

(415).

The Christians of Antioch were not inferior to their brethren of

Alexandria in fanaticism. They once begged the emperor not to remove

the bones and relics of their martyr Ignatius, as they afforded their

city as great a protection as strong walls. They also, on their side,

avenged the deed of the Jews of Imnestar, by forcibly dispossessing

their Jewish fellow-citizens of their synagogues. It is a remarkable

phenomenon that the prefects and rulers of the provinces for the most

part expressed themselves in favor of the Jews against the clergy. The

Syrian prefect notified the emperor of this robbery of the synagogues,

and must have painted this act of injustice in very vivid colors, for

he thereby moved Theodosius II, steeped as he was in monkish bigotry,

to issue an injunction to the inhabitants of Antioch, ordering them

to restore the synagogues to their owners. But this decision was

denounced by Simon Stylites, who led a life of extreme asceticism in

a sort of stable not far from Antioch. From the height of his column

he had renounced the world and its ways, but his hatred of the Jews

was sufficient, nevertheless, to cause him to interpose in temporal

matters. Hardly had he heard of Theodosius' command relative to the

restoration of the stolen synagogues, than he addressed an insulting

letter to the emperor, informing him that he acknowledged God alone,

and no one else, as master and emperor, and demanded the withdrawal

of the edict. Theodosius hardly stood in need of such intimidation;

he revoked his command, and even removed the Syrian prefect, who had

raised his voice in favor of the Jews (423).

The bigotry of Theodosius II operated also on Honorius, Emperor of the

West, and by their absurd laws both of them placed the Jews in that

exceptional position in which the newly-formed German states found

them. The Jews were no longer allowed to hold any public offices, or

to fill any military posts such as they had formerly been permitted to

occupy. All that now remained open to them were the doubtful honors of

the municipal offices; but not content with having deprived them of

their position of equality, Theodosius restricted the free employment

of their property for religious purposes, as if the fortunes of the

Jews belonged to the emperor. After the extinction of the patriarchal

house the Jewish communities had not discontinued their practice of

forwarding the taxes of the Patriarch; they were handed over to the

primates, who most probably employed them in supporting the schools.

Suddenly there appeared an imperial decree directing the primates to

deliver up to the imperial treasury such sums as had already been

received for the Patriarch's taxes, and commanding that for the future

they should be collected by imperial officials after exact computation

of their amount, and even that the moneys received from the Western

empire should be handed over to the treasury (May 30, 429). New Rome

had inherited all the knavery and covetousness of Ancient Rome. In

the same manner as the heathen emperor Vespasian had appropriated the

Temple dues, so now did this Christian emperor seize upon the taxes

of the Patriarch, thus adding to the injury of the robbery an insult

to the conscience, for that which had been voluntarily offered out of

piety was now imposed as a compulsory tax for the benefit of foreign

interests.

In spite of the affliction which fell to the lot of Judaism in the

Eastern empire, and more especially in Judæa, whereby the study of

the Talmud was retarded, the spirit of investigation had not become

quite extinct in Judæa. The reigning distress offered no scope for the

profundities of the Halacha, but furthered the study of the cheerful

Agada, which, diving deep into the joyful and gloomy situations of

past ages, poured the balm of consolation on fretted and desperate

spirits, and lulled them with the magic of hope. The more clear-sighted

were fully conscious of this decay of serious studies, and expressed

their discontent. Notwithstanding the prevailing injustice of the

times, a lively interest in the Hebrew language and in the knowledge

of the Bible was still felt in Palestine. It is indisputable that this

interest in the language was greatly heightened by the controversies

which were sustained with Christians, and to such a pitch was it

excited at this period, that by its help Christianity arrived at an

understanding of the primitive text of the Bible. Tiberias was the

home and the model of this branch of knowledge; Lydda is the only

other town which is mentioned beside it. Hieronymus (Jerome, 331-420),

called by the Church the Holy, the founder of a nunnery in Bethlehem,

being actuated, like Origen, by a thirst for knowledge, was at pains

to become acquainted with the Bible in its original form, and for

this reason went in quest of Jewish teachers, such as Bar-Chanina and

others in these cities. Under their guidance, Hieronymus' acquirements

were by no means small, for he succeeded in expressing himself freely

in Hebrew. From this circumstance it may fairly be concluded that the

knowledge of the holy tongue and of the Bible was more assiduously

cultivated in Judæa than has generally been assumed. Bar-Chanina

was obliged, however, to avoid publicity, and to go in secret to

Hieronymus' cell, there to instruct him, for by reason of the hostile

use to which the Christians turned their knowledge of the Hebrew

language, it had latterly been forbidden to the Jews to teach them.

Hieronymus not only learnt the pronunciation of Hebrew and the literal

meaning of the Bible, but was afforded a more profound insight into the

interconnection of the text by the aid of tradition. He succeeded so

well in catching the form of the Agadic exposition, that at times he

was able to carry it over with taste and ingenuity into the sphere of

Christianity.

The Jews were several centuries ahead of their Christian contemporaries

as regards judging and distinguishing between authentic canonical

writings and spurious apocryphal collections. The Council of Nice,

which had thought to unite parties by means of authoritative decisions,

had decided the dispute as to the holy character of doubtful writings,

and had incorporated several apocryphal books in the canon. The Jews

with whom Hieronymus held conferences on matters exegetical, offered

such sound remarks on the worthlessness of several portions of the

Apocrypha that even at this day, when knowledge has made such immense

strides, they must be acknowledged as correct. Among others, a Jewish

teacher of the Law ridiculed the additions to Habakkuk, according

to which an angel transported the prophet by the hair from Judæa to

Chaldæa. He demanded where in the Old Testament could be found a

counterpart to this story of one of the holy prophets, possessed of a

body subject to the power of gravity, traversing so immense a distance

in a moment. In spite of the unpropitious state of the times, the Jews

of Palestine were not afflicted with that want of judgment which in

naïve faith accepts without discrimination as holy anything that is put

forward as such; they had not extinguished the light of discernment in

the temple of their faith. This power of judgment was a result of the

study of the Halacha, which afforded a counterpoise to the incapacity

of discrimination which is a consequence of credulity. Thus even in

its old age Judæa fostered the Hebrew tongue, which it had given to

its sons as an indissoluble bond of union in foreign countries. The

use of the holy language in prayer, lecture, and study constituted the

intellectual unity of the Jewish nation.

Christianity had caught up a few rays of the setting sun of Judæa, and

treasured them up in the Church as a light from heaven. The knowledge

of Hebrew, which Hieronymus had acquired from Jewish teachers, and

by means of which he had been enabled to produce a Latin translation

(Vulgata) of the Bible, deviating from the distorted Septuagint and

approaching more nearly to the Hebrew text, sufficed for more than

a thousand years, and was extended and amended with the renaissance

of learning at the commencement of modern times. But with every step

forward that Christianity took, it increased the gap which divided it

from Judaism, and the eloquence of many centuries was required before

recognition was again obtained for the fact that Christianity had

had its origin in Judaism. To such an extent had blood-relationship

been obliterated by religious zeal, that even Hieronymus, who had sat

at the feet of Jewish masters, and had found "the Hebrew truth" in

the Old Testament, was unable to free himself from the deep-rooted

hatred of the Jews. His enemies having reproached him with heresy on

account of his Jewish studies, he convinced them of his orthodoxy by

his hatred of the Jews. "If it is requisite to despise the individuals

and the nation, so do I abhor the Jews with an inexpressible hate."

In this he was not alone, for his opinions were shared by a younger

contemporary, Augustine, the Father of the Church. This profession of

faith concerning the hatred of the Jews was not the private opinion

of an individual author, but an oracle for the whole of Christendom,

which readily accepted the writings of the Fathers of the Church, who

were revered as saints. In later times this profession of faith armed

kings and populace, crusaders and herdsmen, against the Jews, invented

instruments for their torture, and constructed funeral pyres for

burning them.

It is remarkable that in spite of their repression on the part of the

state, the Jews living in Cæsarea, the residence of the Governor,

joined in the fashionable folly of the stadium. There existed among

them charioteers, horse-racers, jockeys, and parties supporting

the green or the blue, as at Rome, Ravenna, Constantinople, and

Antioch. But as in those times every act in life bore the stamp of

the confessional, religious disputes also became mixed up with the

struggles of the partisans of the various colors. The victory or the

defeat of a Jewish, Samaritan, or Christian charioteer was at the

same time the occasion of an attack by his co-religionists upon their

opponents.

In Babylonia, where up till now the Jews had enjoyed quiet and

independence but seldom disturbed, troubles and persecutions also

began to increase. It was for this reason that a dearth of prominent

personages began to make itself felt. Creative power declined, and made

way for the tendency to reproduce and establish what had already been

produced. The Jewish history of this country moved within a narrow

circle; the principals of the schools succeeded one another, taught,

and died, and it was only by the appearance of persecutions that a sad

variety was imparted to its course. Of Ashi's six successors at the

Academy of Sora (427-456), not one accomplished anything worthy of

remark.

Some small importance was possessed, however, by Ashi's son, Mar, who

also bore the name Tabyome. He happened to be at Machuza at the time

when he heard the news of the occurrence of a vacancy at the head of

the Soranian Metibta. He hurried off to Sora, and arrived there just

in the nick of time, for the members of the academy were assembled for

the election. Delegates were sent to confer with him on the choice of

Acha of Diphta, and were detained by him, as were also others who were

sent after them, until they were ten in number; whereupon he delivered

a lecture, and was hailed as Resh-Metibta by all the members present

(455). Acha was exceedingly hurt by this slight, and applied to his

own case the following saying, "He who is unlucky, can never attain to

luck."

In the same year a persecution of the Jews broke out with unprecedented

rigor in the Babylonian countries. It was the commencement of a long

series of bloody attacks which the Jews had to suffer at the hands of

the last of the neo-Persian kings, and which rendered their position

as sad as that of their co-religionists of the Roman Empire. Jezdijird

III (440-457), unlike his predecessor of the same name, instituted a

religious persecution of the Jews; they were forbidden to celebrate the

Sabbath (456). The reason of this sudden change in the conduct of the

Persian ruler towards the Jews, who had always been sincerely attached

to him, is probably to be found in the fanaticism of the Magi, whose

influence over many of the Persian monarchs was not less than that of

the spiritual advisers of the eastern emperors over their masters.

The Magi of this period appear to have learnt their proselytism and

their love of religious persecution from the Christians. Besides this,

Christianity had by its proselytism provoked the Magi to resistance.

The Manicheans who had compounded Jewish, Christian, and Persian

religious ideas into a medley of their own, made accusations of heresy

as common in Persia as in the Roman Empire. Jezdijird persecuted both

Manicheans and Christians. Sooner or later the light-worship of the

Persians was bound to take offense at Judaism, and to place the Jews

upon the list of its enemies. The chronicles are silent concerning the

conduct of the Jews with regard to the prohibition of the celebration

of the Sabbath; conscientious Jews, however, cannot have failed to

obtain opportunities of evading it, and for this reason the names of no

martyrs have survived this persecution. The constraint was continued

about a year, as Jezdijird was killed a short time after; a civil war

was carried on by his sons Chodar-Warda and Firuz for the possession of

the crown.

Mar bar Ashi was the sole authority of this period; and although all

his decisions, with the exception of three, received the force of law,

he does not seem to have acquired any special repute in the Soranian

Academy. He continued his father's work of completing the Talmudical

collection, and included the latter's decisions therein. He and his

contemporaries must have felt themselves all the more impelled to

complete the work of compilation, as the persecution they had gone

through made them feel that the future was precarious. Nothing more is

known of Mar bar Ashi's character than a trait of conscientiousness,

which stands out in strong contrast with Raba's partiality towards

members of his own class. He relates as follows: "When an associate

appears before me in court, I refuse to exercise the functions of my

office, for I regard him as a near relation, and might involuntarily

show partiality in his favor."

After Mar's death the Jews of the Persian Empire were the victims of a

fresh persecution under Firuz (Pheroces, 457-484), which was far more

terrible than that which had occurred under his father, Jezdijird.

This persecution is said to have been occasioned by the desire for

vengeance entertained by this monarch, who was swayed by the Magi

against the whole Jewish community, because certain of them were said

to have killed and flayed two Magi in Ispahan. As a punishment for this

deed Firuz put to death half the Jewish population of Ispahan, and had

the Jewish children forcibly brought up in the Temple of Horvan as

worshipers of fire. The persecution extended also to the communities

of Babylonia, and continued for several years, until the death of the

tyrant. Mar-Zutra's son, Huna-Mari, Prince of the Captivity, and two

teachers of the Law, Amemar bar Mar-Janka and Meshershaya bar Pacod,

were thrown into prison, and afterwards executed (469-70). They were

the first martyrs on Babylonian soil, and it is a significant fact that

a Prince of the Captivity bled for Judaism.

A few years later the persecution was carried to a still wider extent;

the schools were closed, assemblies for the purpose of teaching

prohibited, the jurisdiction of the Jews abolished, and their children

compelled to embrace the religion of the Magi (474).

The city of Sora seems to have been destroyed at this period. Firuz,

whose system of persecution puts one in mind of Hadrian, invented a

new means of torture, which had not occurred to that emperor, which

was to remove the young from under the influence of Judaism, and to

bring them up by force in the Persian religion. For this reason he was

branded by the Jews of after times, like Hadrian, with the name of "the

wicked" (_Piruz Reshia_). The immediate result of this persecution was

the emigration of Jewish colonists, who settled in the south as far as

Arabia, and in the east as far as India.

This emigration of the Jews to India is expressly marked as occurring

about the time of Firuz's persecution. An otherwise unknown person,

Joseph Rabban by name, who is recognizable as a Babylonian by reason

of this title, arrived in the year 4250 of the Jewish era (490), with

many Jewish families, on the rich and busy coast of Malabar; he

must accordingly have started on his journey before this date, and

therefore have emigrated under Firuz. Airvi (Eravi), the Brahmin king

of Cranganor, welcomed the Jewish strangers, offered them a home in his

dominions, and suffered them to live according to their peculiar laws,

and to be ruled by their own princes (Mardeliar). The first of these

chiefs was their leader Joseph Rabban, upon whom the Indian monarch

conferred special rights and princely honors, to be inherited by his

descendants. He was allowed, like the Indian princes, to ride upon an

elephant, to be preceded by a herald, accompanied by a musical escort

of drums and cymbals, and to sit upon a carpet. Joseph Rabban is said

to have been followed by a line of seventy-two successors, who ruled

over the Indo-Jewish colonists, until quarrels broke out among them.

Cranganor was destroyed, many of the Jews lost their lives, and the

remainder settled in Mattachery, a league from Cochin, which acquired

from this fact the name of Jews'-town. The privileges accorded by

Airvi to the Jewish immigrants were engraved in ancient Indian (Tamil)

characters, accompanied by an obscure Hebrew translation, on a copper

table, which is said to be extant at the present day.

As soon as the terrors of persecution had ceased with Firuz's death,

the ancient organization was again restored in Jewish Babylonia; the

academies were re-opened, principals appointed, and Sora and Pumbeditha

received their last Amoraïc leaders--the former in the person of

Rabina, the latter in José. These two principals and their assessors

had but one end in view, the completion and termination of the work

of compiling the Talmud begun by Ashi. The continual increase of

affliction, the diminished interest which probably on that account

was extended to study, the uncertainty of the future, all these

causes forcibly suggested the completion of the Talmud. Rabina, who

held office from 488 to 499, and José, who discharged the duties of

principal from 471 to about 520, are expressly mentioned in the old

chronicles as "the close of the period of the Amoraïm" (_Sof Horaah_).

There is no doubt, however, that the members of the two academies,

whose names have been preserved, also had a part in this work, and

that they therefore are to be regarded as the last of the Amoraïm.

The most important among them was Achaï bar Huna of Be-Chatim, near

Nahardea (died 506), whose decisions and discussions are distinguished

by characteristic peculiarities, and bear witness to a clear and sober

mind, and to great keenness. Achaï was known and esteemed for these

qualities beyond Babylonia. An epistle received by the Babylonian

academy from Judæa, which, as far as is historically known, was

probably the last addressed by the deserted mother-country to its

daughter colony, speaks of him in terms of greatest reverence: "Neglect

not Achaï, for he is the light of the eyes of the exiles." Even

Huna-Mar, the Prince of the Captivity, must have possessed Talmudical

acquirements, for the chronicle, which is by no means favorable to the

princes of the Captivity, numbers him among this series of teachers

of the Law, and concedes to him the title of Rabbi. His history, with

which certain important events are connected, belongs to the following

period.

In conjunction with these men, Rabina and José accomplished the

completion of the Talmud, that is to say, they sanctioned as a complete

whole the collection of all previous transactions and decisions

which they had caused to be compiled, and to which no additions or

amplifications were henceforward to be made. The definite completion of

the Babylonian Talmud (called also the Gemara) occurred in the year of

Rabina's death, just at the close of the fifth century (13th Kislev or

2nd December, 499), when the Jews of the Arabian peninsula were sowing

the first seeds of a new religion and laying the foundations of a new

empire, and when the Gothic and Frankish kingdoms were rising in Europe

from the ruins of ancient Rome. The Talmud forms a turning-point in

Jewish history, and from this time forward constitutes an essential

factor therein.

The Talmud must not be regarded as an ordinary work, composed of

twelve volumes; it possesses absolutely no similarity to any other

literary production, but forms, without any figure of speech, a world

of its own, which must be judged by its peculiar laws. It is extremely

difficult to give any sketch of its character because of the absence of

all common standards and analogies. The most talented could, therefore,

hardly hope to succeed in this task, even though he had penetrated

deeply into its nature, and become intimately acquainted with its

peculiarities. It might, perhaps, be compared with the literature

of the Fathers of the Church, which sprang up about the same time;

but on closer examination even this comparison fails to satisfy the

student. It is, however, of less consequence what the Talmud is in

itself, than what was its influence on history, that is to say, on the

successive generations whose education it chiefly controlled. Many

judgments have been passed on the Talmud at various times and on the

most opposite grounds. It has been condemned, and its funeral pyre has

been ignited, because only its unfavorable side has been considered,

and no regard has been paid to its merits, which, however, can be

rendered apparent only by a complete survey of the whole of Jewish

history. It cannot be denied, however, that the Babylonian Talmud

is marred by certain blemishes, such as necessarily appear in every

intellectual production which pursues a single course with inflexible

consistency and exclusive one-sidedness. These faults may be classed

under four heads. The Talmud contains much that is immaterial and

frivolous, of which it treats with great gravity and seriousness; it

further reflects the various superstitious practices and views of its

Persian birthplace, which presume the efficacy of demoniacal medicines,

of magic, incantations, miraculous cures, and interpretations of

dreams, and are thus in opposition to the spirit of Judaism. It also

contains isolated instances of uncharitable judgments and decrees

against the members of other nations and religions, and finally it

favors an incorrect exposition of the Scriptures, accepting, as it

does, tasteless misinterpretations. The whole Talmud has been made

responsible for these defects, and has been condemned as a collection

of trifles, a well of immorality and falsehood. No consideration has

been paid to the fact that it is not the work of any one author, who

must answer for every word of it, or if it be, that that author is the

entire Jewish nation. More than six centuries lie petrified in the

Talmud as the fullest evidence of life, clothed each in its peculiar

dress and possessing its own form of thought and expression: a sort

of literary Herculaneum and Pompeii, unmarred by that artificial

imitation which transfers a gigantic picture on a reduced scale to a

narrow canvas. Small wonder, then, that if in this world the sublime

and the common, the great and the small, the grave and the ridiculous,

the altar and the ashes, the Jewish and the heathenish, be discovered

side by side. The expressions of ill-will, which are seized upon with

such avidity by the enemies of the Jews, were often nothing but the

utterance of momentary ill-humor, which escaped from the teacher, and

were caught up and embodied in the Talmud by over-zealous disciples,

unwilling to lose a single word let fall by the revered sages. They are

amply counterbalanced, however, by the doctrines of benevolence and

love of all men without distinction of race or religion, which are also

preserved in the Talmud. As a counterpoise to the wild superstitions,

there are severe warnings against superstitious heathen practices, to

which a separate section is devoted.

The Babylonian Talmud is especially distinguished from the Jerusalem

or Palestine Talmud by the flights of thought, the penetration of

mind, the flashes of genius, which rise and vanish again. An infinite

fulness of thought and of thought-exciting material is laid up in the

mine of the Talmud, not, however, in the shape of a finished theme

which one can grasp at a glance, but in all its original freshness of

conception. The Talmud introduces us into the laboratory of thought,

and in it may be traced the progress of ideas, from their earliest

agitation to the giddy height of incomprehensibility to which at times

they attain. It was for this reason that the Babylonian rather than

the Jerusalem Talmud became the fundamental possession of the Jewish

race, its life's breath, its very soul. It was a family history for

succeeding generations, in which they felt themselves at home, in

which they lived and moved, the thinker in the world of thought, the

dreamer in glorious ideal pictures. For more than a thousand years the

external world, nature and mankind, powers and events, were for the

Jewish nation insignificant, non-essential, a mere phantom; the only

true reality was the Talmud. A new truth in their eyes only received

the stamp of veracity and freedom from doubt when it appeared to be

foreseen and sanctioned by the Talmud. Even the knowledge of the Bible,

the more ancient history of their race, the words of fire and balm of

their prophets, the soul outpourings of their Psalmists, were only

known to them through and in the light of the Talmud. But as Judaism,

ever since its foundation, has based itself on the experiences of

actual life, so that the Talmud was obliged to concern itself with

concrete phenomena, with the things of _this_ world; so it follows

that there could not arise that dream-life, that disdain of the world,

that hatred of realities, which in the Middle Ages gave birth to and

sanctified the hermit life of the monks and nuns. It is true that the

intellectual tendency prevailing in the Babylonian Talmud, aided by

climatic influences and other accidental circumstances, degenerated

not infrequently into subtilty and scholasticism; for no historical

phenomenon exists without an unfavorable side. But even this abuse

contributed to bring about clear conceptions, and rendered possible the

movement toward science. The Babylonian Amoraïm created that dialectic,

close-reasoning, Jewish spirit, which in the darkest days preserved the

dispersed nation from stagnation and stupidity. It was the ether which

protected them from corruption, the ever-moving force which overcame

indolence and the blunting of the mental powers, the eternal spring

which kept the mind ever bright and active. In a word, the Talmud was

the educator of the Jewish nation; and this education can by no means

have been a bad one, since, in spite of the disturbing influence of

isolation, degradation and systematic demoralization, it fostered in

the Jewish people a degree of morality which even their enemies cannot

deny them. The Talmud preserved and promoted the religious and moral

life of Judaism; it held out a banner to the communities scattered in

all corners of the earth, and protected them from schism and sectarian

divisions; it acquainted subsequent generations with the history of

their nation; finally, it produced a deep intellectual life which

preserved the enslaved and proscribed from stagnation, and which lit

for them the torch of science. How the Talmud made its way into the

consciousness of the Jewish people, how it became known and accessible

to distant communities, and how it became a stumbling-block to the

enemies of Judaism, will be told in subsequent pages.

INDEX.

Abayi, principal of Pumbeditha, 583-5.

Abba-Areka. See Rab.

Abbahu, 531-43.

character, 540 f.

learning, 537-9.

favors study of Agada, 540, 543.

polemics against Christianity, 540 f.

Ab-bet-din, 404.

Abtalion, 71.

Acher (Elisha ben Abuya), apostasy, 358, 377.

malice against the Jews, 425 f.

relation to Meïr, 437.

Adam, book of, 462.

Adiabene, princes of, converted to Judaism, 216 ff.

help the Judæans in the revolution, 264.

resist Trajan, 393 f.

Administration of justice, reform of, 50.

Adoyot == evidence of witnesses, 343.

== older compilation of the Mishna, 460.

Adultery, suspected, ritual of, abolished, 238.

Aelia Capitolina == Jerusalem, 421.

Agada (Hagadah), favorite study in Judæa, 576, 623.

subject-matter, 328 f.

Agape, 223.

Agora-nomos, 512 f., 616.

Agrippa I, 174-96.

career in Rome, and character, 175 f.

favorite of Caligula, 176 f., 189.

of Claudius, 190.

fortifies Jerusalem, 195.

liberality to the Greeks, 193 f.

made king, 177, 190.

patriotism, 189, 191, 195.

popularity, 191.

prosperity of his reign, 191 f.

reading the Torah in the Temple, 192.

death, 196.

Agrippa II, 235 f.

aids the Roman army, 264.

alleviates the condition of Galilee after the war, 333.

appointed king of Chalcis, 235.

career and character, 235 f.

conduct during the war, 288.

depravity of his house, 236.

fall, 317.

flees from Jerusalem, 258.

hostile to his people, 236.

how treated by Titus, 388.

meets Vespasian, 285.

recommends peace with Rome, 257 f.

sends troops to Jerusalem to preserve peace, 259.

treachery against his people, 302.

Akiba ben Joseph, 342 ff.

classifies the Halachas, 353 f.

combats Gnosticism, 381 f.

disciple of Nachum Gimso, 351 f.

legends about his early life, 351.

martyr, 428.

method and system, 352 f., 441.

new founder of the Oral Law, 354.

part played in the revolt of Bar Cochba, 408 ff.

seven disciples, 429, 433.

Akylas (Aquila), 385 ff.

at the funeral of Gamaliel, 404.

Greek translation of the Bible, 386 f.

Albinus, procurator of Judæa, 248.

Alexander Jannæus, 38-47.

accession to the throne, 39.

campaign in the trans-Jordanic land, 44.

coins, 46.

crucifies 800 Pharisees, 45.

cruelties in Gaza, 41.

death, 47.

desecrates the ceremony of libation, 43.

employs mercenaries, 39.

forces Judaism upon the conquered, 46.

massacres 6000 people in the precincts of the Temple, 43.

Alexander Jannæus, relation to the Pharisees, 39, 42, 44, 47.

revolts against him, 44.

wanting in generalship, 39.

Alexander II, 70-75.

conflict with Hyrcanus II and Pompey, 70-73.

decapitated, 75.

Alexander, son of Herod, executed, 112 f.

Alexander, Alabarch of Alexandria, 175 f., 190.

Alexander Polyhistor, favorable representation of the Jews, 179.

Alexander Severus, conditions after his death, 526 f.

kindly disposed towards Judaism and Christianity, 481 f.

relation to Judah II, 482.

Alexandra, mother of Mariamne, 81, 91 f., 94.

executed, 105.

Alexandria, in Egypt, Jews in, 178 ff.

adopt foreign views and practices, 13 f.

deprived of citizenship, 182.

hostility against them, 178-87.

massacre of Jews, 263.

outrages by Christians against them, 618 f.

play leading role, 12.

restored to their rights by Claudius, 191.

Talmudic schools, 359.

teachers, 329.

Allegorical method of interpretation, 208 ff.

leads to apostasy from Judaism, 209.

Altar, why the use of iron is forbidden in erecting, 329.

Ambivius, Marcus, procurator of Judæa, 135.

Ambrosius, fanaticism against the Jews, 613 f.

Amemar, principal of Nahardea, 606.

Ami, 531, 534, 537.

Ammonites, discussion about their admission into the Jewish

community, 343, 383 f.

Amoraim, the first, 479 ff.

the last, 630 f.

method, 490.

in Palestine, 531 ff.

Anan, high priest, 172.

attempts to revive Sadducæism, 248.

executed by the Zealots, 296.

Anan, his family, 237.

Ananel, chosen high priest by Herod, 90.

Andreias (Lucas), leader of the revolt against Trajan in Cyrene, 395.

Anti-Judæan movement, 178-89.

Antigonus, son of Aristobulus II, 80-89.

character compared with that of Herod, 84-6.

contest with Herod, 84-8.

decapitated by Mark Antony, 89.

plot against the Idumæans, 80.

proclaimed king, 83.

Antigonus, son of Hyrcanus, murdered, 36 f.

rumors about his death, 38.

Antipas I, son of Herod, appointed successor of his father, 114.

dies in exile, 177.

marries Herodias, wife of his brother Herod, 173.

Antipater, father of Herod, 59-80.

descent, 59.

instigates Hyrcanus II to break the agreement, 59 f.

made governor of Judæa, 67.

poisoned, 80.

Antipater, son of Herod, 112-16.

adopted as royal prince, 112.

character, 173.

conspires against his father, 114.

executed, 116.

Antoninus Pius, Jewish revolt against him, 447.

revokes the decrees of Hadrian against the Jews, 432.

Antony, Mark, assists Herod, 87 f.

defeat of, at Actium, 96.

gives the district of Jericho to Cleopatra, 93.

and Judæan ambassadors against the Idumæans, 81.

Apion, hatred of the Jews, 180, 390.

heads an anti-Judæan embassy to Rome, 186.

Apocalypse (of John), 369.

Apocrypha, and apocryphal additions, 344.

considered by Christians as part of the Bible, 359, 488, 624.

Apollos of Alexandria (Jewish Christian), 231.

Arabia, Jewish fugitives in, 419.

Arcadius, favorable to Jews, 615 f.

Arch of Titus, 314.

Archelaus, son and successor of Herod, 120-8.

bloody inauguration of his reign, 121 f.

character of his reign, 121 f.

Aretas, king of the Nabathæans, interferes between Hyrcanus II and

Aristobulus II, 59-61.

Aristobulus I, 35-8.

adheres to the Sadducees, 36.

assumes the title of king, 35.

campaign against the Ithuræans and Trachonites, 37.

coins, 35.

death, 38.

forces Judaism upon the conquered heathen, 37.

imprisons his mother and three of his brothers, 36.

preference for Hellenism, unpopular, 36.

Aristobulus II, 56-75.

contest with Hyrcanus II, 57-75.

death, 75.

fight with Pompey, 64 f.

led a captive to Rome, 67-73.

Aristobulus III, appointed high priest by Herod, 91.

assassinated, 92.

Aristobulus, son of Herod and Mariamne, executed, 112 f.

Aristobulus, brother of Herod II, 197.

Aristocracy, Judæan, corruption of, 147.

cowardice and servility, 142, 298.

opposed to war with Rome, 256, 274.

Armenia, Jews in, 591.

Arsaces, dynasty of Parthia, 513, 523.

Artemion, leader of the Jewish revolt against Trajan in Cyprus, 397.

Ascension (of Christ), doctrine of, 539 f.

Ashi, 605-11.

principal of Sora, 605 ff.

redactor of the Talmud, 607-9.

view on the coming of the Messiah, 610 f.

Asia Minor, Talmudic schools in, 358 f.

Assi, 531, 534, 537.

Assidæans. See Essenes.

Astronomy, 521.

Augustine, hatred of the Jews, 625.

Augustus (Octavianus), 101-3.

death, 135.

extends the territory of Judæa, 103.

Augustus (Octavianus), favors shown to the Jews of Egypt, 102.

to those of Rome, 103.

gracious to Herod, 101, 103.

Baâle Trêsin, 356.

Babylonia, becomes second home of the Jews, 503.

different meanings of the word in Jewish history, 504.

division of the Jewish province in it, 505 ff.

Babylonia, Jews in, 503.

become heads of schools in Judæa, 537.

decline of learning, 626.

effect of the sojourn of the Jews in it on their mind and

character, 504.

martyrs, 629.

occupations, 508.

persecutions, 508 f., 591 f., 627-30.

political condition, 508 ff.

progress, 544.

purity of descent, 505.

resist Trajan, 393 f., 397.

study the Law in Judæa, 511 f., 518, 531.

surpass the Jews in Judæa, 503.

Babylonian colony of Jews in Galilee, devoted to the Herodian

family, 274.

part played in the war with Rome, 275.

Babylonian prince of captivity. See Princes of Captivity.

Babylonian schools. See Schools.

Babylonian Synhedrion, 143 f.

Bar-Cochba, 409 ff. See Revolt against Hadrian.

Barnabas (apostle), 227.

Barnabas, Jose of Cyprus, 219.

Bassus, procurator of Judæa, 315.

Bath-Kol, 337.

Be-Rab, 514.

Bechirta, 343.

Bekiim, seat of a school, 348.

Bene-Bathyra, chosen president of the Synhedrion by Herod, 90.

in Nisibis, 358.

Bene-Berak, seat of Akiba, 355.

Berachoth, eighteen, introduced by Gamaliel II, 363.

Berenice, daughter of Salome and wife of Aristobulus, 112.

Berenice, sister of Agrippa II, 235 ff.

alleviates the sorrows of the conquered Jews, 332 f.

Berenice, fall, 388.

honored at Athens with a statue, 317.

intercession with Florus, 254.

relation to Vespasian and Titus, 299 f., 317.

Beth-Din, after the fall of Judæa, 325.

Bethar, 416 ff.

Bethshean, conflict between Jews and heathens in, 262 f.

Beth-Shearim, seat of the Synhedrion, 452.

Bible, interpretation of by Christians, 488 f., 499, 501.

knowledge of, among Jews and Christians, 623 ff.

cultivated in Judæa, 623 ff.

neglect of, 536 f.

Birchath ha Minim, 379 f.

Bishops of Rome, 500.

Boëthus and Boëthuseans, 108, 237.

Boraita, 470 f.

Bruria, wife of Meïr, 436.

Burial in Judæa, merits attributed to, 548, 576.

Cæsar and Judæa, 75-77.

benevolence to the Jews, 76.

Cæsarea, affray between Jews and Syrian-Greeks, 246, 252, 262.

founded by Herod, 106 f.

Jews deprived of their civil rights, 247.

Jews join in the races of the stadium, 626.

Cæsarea Philippi, 138.

Caiaphas, Joseph, high priest, 163, 172.

Cainites (Gnostic sect), 375.

Calendar, 362.

of Hillel II, 573 f.

of Mar-Samuel, 521 f., 574.

Caligula demands divine honors, 183, 187.

orders his statue to be put in the Temple of Jerusalem, 188 f.

reason of his hatred of the Jews, 187.

relation to Agrippa I, 176 f.

to Judæa, 174 f.

treatment of a Jewish embassy from Alexandria, 187.

Camith, family of high priests, 237.

Canon of Holy Writings completed, 344.

Cantheras, family of high priests, 237.

Caracalla, tolerable condition of the Jews under rule of, 468 f.

Catholic Church, when created, 500.

Census on Passover in Jerusalem, called the census of crushing, 251.

of Quirinus, 129 ff.

census taken by Rome for taxation, 129, 133.

Chama, principal of Pumbeditha, 594 f.

Chama ben Anilaï, model of Jewish charity, 545 f.

Chanina, deputy of the high priest (Segan ha-Cohanim), 330.

Chanina ben Chama, 490-2.

Chanina ben Teradion, 427.

died a martyr under Hadrian, 429.

Chares, leader in the war of revolution at Gamala, 289.

Chasda of Cafri, principal of the school of Babylonia, 552 f.

Chebrim (Guebres), 523.

Chiya, 454 f.

Chiya bar Abba, 536 f.

Chrestus (Christian Apostle), 202, 231.

Christianity and Christians, 141 ff.

ascendancy of, 531, 535.

beginning, 141 ff.

compared with Judaism, 383.

composite nature of its teachings, 373 f.

controversies with Jews, 499 ff., 539 f.

creation of the Catholic Church, 500.

dogmas, 500 f.

fanaticism against Jews, 613, 618 ff.

essence: Essenism intermingled with foreign elements, 142,

170 f., 366.

hatred of Judaism, 562, 625 f.

methods of proselytizing, 562.

peculiarities, 168 f.

persecuted by Diocletian, 533 f., 539.

proselytism, 169, 364, 533.

sectarianism, 365, 373.

separation from Judaism, 431, 563 ff.

split into a Judaic Christian and heathen-Christian sect, 232,

365 ff.

triumph over the Roman empire and paganism, 559 ff.

union with the Roman empire and its results, 566.

Christianity, why it gained converts, 383.

Christianity and Christians, Jewish, attitude towards the Law, 365.

called Ebionites, 168 f., 220.

Nazarenes, 168.

condemned by Samuel Hakaton, 358.

discussed in the Synhedrion of Jabne, 379 f.

divisions, 370.

incursions in Judaism, 378.

measures taken against, 382, 412 f.

not referred to in the Mishna, 476.

persecuted by Hadrian, 430 f.

points of difference from pagan Christianity, 365 ff.

relation to Jews and Judaism, 390, 412.

union with pagan Christians, 431.

Christian emperors, their attitude to Jews and Judaism, 561 ff.,

566 ff., 602 f., 612 ff.

Christian school of Alexandria, 488.

Christians in Antioch, honor Jewish institutions, 613 f.

Chrysostom, fanaticism against the Jews, 613 f.

Churches, first, which were built in Galilee, 565.

Chuzpit, public interpreter (Meturgeman) and martyr under Hadrian,

357, 429.

Cicero, hostility against the Jews, 68-70, 179.

Circumcision, prohibited, 422, 424.

Citizenship, Roman, full right of, extended by Caracalla, 468.

Civil war in Judæa, 295.