In the current chapter, as well as in the following chapters in the series, we will illuminate some important points on the subject of physical activity among Judean Jews in the period after the destruction of the Second Temple (73-70 AD) until the post-conventional, Talmudic era
In the present chapter, as well as in the following chapters of the series, we will illuminate some important points regarding physical activity among Judean Jews in the period after the destruction of the Second Temple (73-70 CE) until the post-conventional, Talmudic era (fourth-fifth centuries CE).
Although Yosef ben Mattathieu died years after the Holocaust, in approximately 100 AD, he does not refer at all to what took place and happened in Judea after the Holocaust (and let's not forget the fact that since 69 AD Joseph ben Matathiyo has been living in Rome, as a protégé of the emperor), and after him No historian has been found to describe the history of the people in Judah from then on.
We are therefore left with an abundance of literary sources, i.e. Sage literature (Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmuds and Midrashim), but they should not be considered, tens of thousands of pages in "total", as historical sources, but rather as literary and pedagogical sources.
However, these surpass the writings of Josephus on the basis of the fact that they describe the daily life of the Jewish public, and from this it is possible to extract from them interesting information regarding the daily routine of the public, which is missing from the historian Josephus. "Say from now on..." that it would have been better to combine the two disciplines mentioned above in order to get a clear picture not only on the subject of our matter but on every subject and matter concerning the ancient era.
During the period in question, a number of factors came together to make it clear to us why physical activity did not stop among the Jews, and more than that - it took a very interesting and unique turn.
First, the period is characterized by an unprecedented urbanization boom. Cities that were established, including settlements with a certain urban leadership, were organized in the form of a Greek polis, and from this we should not be surprised that various sports facilities were found there. Sages - Tanaim and Amoraim - encouraged, directly and indirectly, comprehensive Jewish settlement in those cities, whose absorption there exposed them to the foci of projection of foreign culture, including the gymnastic and the agonistic. Thus, for the sake of a parable, the Sages allowed learning "Greek wisdom", that is, language and culture, examining a bridge to Greek culture, drinking from the springs of education in general and the gymnasium in particular. And from another angle - the permit may be interpreted as legitimizing an existing tendency, and in any case the bottom line amounts to a wider and deeper exposure to Greek and Hellenistic culture.
Second, in the province of Judea the non-Jewish element multiplied after the Holocaust, and he had an influence on the introduction of Greek-Hellenistic sports concepts. Here, too, the connecting link comes to its senses in the form of the work of sages to encourage, in their special way, normalization in the relationship between the two cultures in all areas of life.
Thirdly, there was a rapprochement between the Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds on various levels. This is not, of course, immediately after the destruction, but rather a long process that knew ups and downs. This was expressed, for example, in the area of the positive attitude they showed towards Roman law, in their acceptance with the reality of the Roman government in general, in the area of Roman administrative laws and in their expressions of appreciation towards settlement-social enterprises initiated by the Roman Empire.
Fourth - the period in question is mostly characterized by economic development in the province of Judea, including the adoption of foreign norms and the rise of the aristocratic strata as a result of it.
Fifth - the position of the presidency, which forges a broad relationship with the Roman government, is especially strengthened.
These factors, which were meant to facilitate the continued encounter between Jewish society and the subjects of Hellenistic-Roman culture, helped, either directly or indirectly, either consciously or unconsciously, to Jewish exposure to the centers of projection of Hellenistic-Roman culture, and which brought with it, among other things , momentum waves for the spread of physical culture.
In the period in question, the culture of the body bought her an estate and a name among the more popular strata of Jewish society. Before us, then, is not only the result of the degree of Hellenistic influences that permeated the fabric of Jewish society for 300 years and more, but also the embodiment of an interesting social implication derived from the subject under discussion. This drew its source of life from the blessed work of the sages of the Sanhedrin, who, as mentioned above, legalized the relationship between the Jews and the Hellenistic and Roman population.
And why only after the destruction? The answer to this is simple: until the destruction, the aristocratic and priestly school dominated the Sanhedrin, while after the destruction, following the cessation of activity in the temple, the priestly group disappeared from the leadership landscape and was replaced by the Pharisaic, somewhat popular school. Likewise, the disappearance of the center in Jerusalem did grow the center in Yavne, but nearby and even at a distance small but important centers grew up, such as those led by members of the Sanhedrin. As a result, the ability of the Pharisees to influence the public increased.
But the Pharisees did not value physical activity more than the aristocratic class. The opposite is correct. They could better sense the public's position regarding that activity and therefore asked to establish it and lead it to a certain extent. And sometimes, even though not for its own sake, they came for its own sake, such as the encouragement to increase Jewish settlement in as many parts of the traditional Land of Israel as possible, including the Hellenistic cities. These regulated and drafted the "Mitzvot Yishuv Eretz Israel", and as a result more Jews were exposed to Hellenistic influences, including physical activity. As a result, the members of the Sanhedrin did not hesitate to make a series of concessions concerning the relations with the local urban population, such as the permission to exercise on Shabbat in the Hellenistic facility (and more on that in one of the following chapters).
7 תגובות
This is an interesting question. I am not aware of such a study. I am mainly fed by populist statistics such as the proportion of Jewish Nobel laureates compared to the proportion of Jews in the general human population, and it is not impossible that in order to emphasize the phenomenon, the editors of these statistics will also consider as Jews those whose only great-grandfather was Jewish.
Yuval Shalom
Assuming that the assumption of intellect is not a false sigh, perhaps it should be seen as a long and continuous function of survival in the face of complex and complicated realities. By the way, have studies been conducted regarding this assumption in the context of generations of mixed marriages?
Thank you Yahyam,
Your words are acceptable to me. Yeruham thanks and leaves.
Otherwise, I will have to continue looking elsewhere for the reasons for the high rate of Jewish intellect in the world relative to the rate of the Jewish population among the general population.
Yuval Shalom
Your diagnosis is unfortunately wrong.
The involvement of the Jews in physical activity in the Diaspora in the ancient period was an interesting fact in terms of this I referred to this in the case of the oil that Jews received in Antioch during the Hellenistic period and I will further refer to the issue later regarding Egypt and Kyrenia.
The involvement of Jews in physical activity in the more modern period in Europe, as well as in the United States, was very significant, and in this context it is worth noting the largest Jewish volunteering in Europe to enlist in preparation for the First World War for any national army, and it therefore turned out that Jews sometimes fought each other, while wearing the army uniform. The wrong one", and I will talk about this in detail later. In times of peace, Jews rarely intervene in security matters, it is said in today's USA, both in order not to arouse waves of hatred, also in order not to stand out too much as a segregated minority and also due to the special administrative nature of the conscription obligation in the USA.
Thank you Yahyam,
My feeling is that the nickname "people of the book" stuck to the Jews due to their way of life in the Diaspora even though the Bible, most of it as a whole, was written within the borders of the Land of Judah. Prominent Jewish physical activity took place only in the Land of Israel and the need for it arose from the fact that this region, in all periods, was a battleground between the powers of the South and the North. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the culture of the body did not leave such a prominent mark on the Judaism of Babylon and Alexandria as it did on the Judaism of the Land of Israel, even though these communities were also under Hellenistic and Roman influence. Even today, the Jewish intellect is expressed mainly in the diaspora, while within the borders of the Land of Israel, the issue of security occupies the largest share of the budget.
Yuval Shalom
Indeed, in relation to Ben Kusava's rebellion, evidence appears in the Talmudic literature, albeit implicit and extreme, regarding Ben Kusava's strength and physical strength, of course in the context of idealization, as well as about which of the commanders such as Ben Droma would have thrown a stone at Lystra at a distance of at least one mile, or the 200,000 volunteers in Ben Kusava's army Cosba, which uprooted cedars while riding. It is very interesting that Ben Kusva's letters, which are unparalleled as decisive and reliable historical evidence, to a certain extent, do not have any mention, not even a hint, about the subject of physical activity. Moreover, whoever examines only the deeds, which are signed by Ben Khosva, will not know that a rebellion broke out at all and that there were any battles in Judea. Which brings me to at least forming skeptical positions about the rebellion.
Regarding your second question - we do not find mutual effects. The Jewish-Egyptian-Alexandrian community was almost completely wiped out following the Diaspora revolt, somewhere between 115 and 117 AD. Evidence concerning physical activity is indeed interwoven between the pages of the Babylonian Talmud, but it is very difficult to point to any connection between the Mesopotamian diaspora and the Land of Israel in the physical-sports aspect.
Hello Yahyam,
I assume that during this not-so-short period, the Jewish settlement knew many ups and downs and sharp cultural transitions from Sifa to Safra. For example, the Bar Koziba rebellion in one pole and the writing of the Jerusalem Talmud in another. These were probably also reflected in the culture of the body.
And she asked me about a slightly different topic. A large and wealthy Jewish community existed in Babylon for over a thousand years. Also in Egypt. Assuming that there was a connection between these communities and the Land of Israel, is there evidence of mutual influences in the field of muscle song as well?