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Heresy in Judaism
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Heresy in Judaism
Heresy in Judaism are beliefs that contradict the traditional doctrines of Rabbinic Judaism, including theological beliefs and opinions about the practice of halakha (Jewish religious law). Jewish tradition contains a range of statements about heretics, including laws for how to deal with them in a communal context, and statements about the divine punishment they are expected to receive.
The Greek term for heresy, αἵρεσις (airesis), originally denoted "division," "sect," "religious" or "philosophical party," is applied by Josephus to the three Jewish sects—Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. In the sense of a schism to be deprecated, the word occurs in 1 Corinthians 11:19, Galatians 5:20, and particularly in 2 Peter 2:1; hence αἱρετικὸς ("heretic") in the sense of "factious" (Titus 2:10).
The specific rabbinical term for heresies, or religious divisions due to an unlawful spirit, is minim (lit. "kinds [of belief]"; the singular min, for "heretic" or "Gnostic," is coined idiomatically, like goy and am ha'aretz; see Gnosticism). The law "You shall not cut yourselves" (לא תתגדדו) is interpreted by the rabbis: "You shall not form divisions [לא תעשו אגודות אגודות], but shall form one bond" (after Amos 9:6, A. V. "troop"). Besides the term min (מין) for "heretic," the Talmud uses the words ḥitzonim (outsiders), epikoros, and kofer ba-Torah, or kofer ba-ikkar (he who denies the fundamentals of faith); also poresh mi-darke tzibbur (he who deviates from the customs of the community). Religious fundamentalists claim that all these groups are consigned to Gehinnom for all eternity and have no possibility of a portion in the world to come.
The Mishnah, in Sanhedrin 10:1, says the following have no share in the world to come: "One who says: There is no resurrection of the dead [derived] from the Torah, and [one who says: The] Torah [did] not [originate] from Heaven, and an epikoros (הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם, וְאֶפִּיקוֹרֶס." Rabbi Akiva says, "Also one who reads external literature" (Hebrew: רבי עקיבא אומר אף הקורא בספרים החיצונים). This is explained as "books of heretics" (ספרי מינים, sifrē minim) The Biblical verse, "so that you do not follow your heart and eyes" וְלֹֽא־תָת֜וּרוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם" is explained as "You shall not turn to heretic views ["minut"] which lead your heart away from God".
The Birkat haMinim is a curse on heretics. The belief that the curse was directed at Christians was sometimes cause for persecution of Jews. Modern scholarship has generally evaluated that the Birkat haMinim probably did originally include Jewish Christians before Christianity became markedly a gentile (and in the eyes of the rabbinic sages, idolatrous) religion.
In summarizing the Talmudic statements concerning heretics in tractate Sanhedrin 90–103, Maimonides says:
The following have no share in the world to come, but are cut off, and perish, and receive their punishment for all time for their great sin: the minim, the apikoresim, they that deny the belief in the Torah, they that deny the belief in resurrection of the dead and in the coming of the Redeemer, the apostates, they that lead many to sin, they that turn away from the ways of the [Jewish] community. Five are called 'minim': (1) he who says there is no God and the world has no leader; (2) he who says the world has more than one leader; (3) he who ascribes to the Lord of the Universe a body and a figure; (4) he who says that God was not alone and Creator of all things at the world's beginning; (5) he who worships some star or constellation as an intermediating power between himself and the Lord of the World.
The following three classes are called 'apiḳoresim': (1) he who says there was no prophecy nor was there any wisdom that came from God and which was attained by the heart of man; (2) he who denies the prophetic power of Moses our master; (3) he who says that God has no knowledge concerning the doings of men.
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Heresy in Judaism
Heresy in Judaism are beliefs that contradict the traditional doctrines of Rabbinic Judaism, including theological beliefs and opinions about the practice of halakha (Jewish religious law). Jewish tradition contains a range of statements about heretics, including laws for how to deal with them in a communal context, and statements about the divine punishment they are expected to receive.
The Greek term for heresy, αἵρεσις (airesis), originally denoted "division," "sect," "religious" or "philosophical party," is applied by Josephus to the three Jewish sects—Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. In the sense of a schism to be deprecated, the word occurs in 1 Corinthians 11:19, Galatians 5:20, and particularly in 2 Peter 2:1; hence αἱρετικὸς ("heretic") in the sense of "factious" (Titus 2:10).
The specific rabbinical term for heresies, or religious divisions due to an unlawful spirit, is minim (lit. "kinds [of belief]"; the singular min, for "heretic" or "Gnostic," is coined idiomatically, like goy and am ha'aretz; see Gnosticism). The law "You shall not cut yourselves" (לא תתגדדו) is interpreted by the rabbis: "You shall not form divisions [לא תעשו אגודות אגודות], but shall form one bond" (after Amos 9:6, A. V. "troop"). Besides the term min (מין) for "heretic," the Talmud uses the words ḥitzonim (outsiders), epikoros, and kofer ba-Torah, or kofer ba-ikkar (he who denies the fundamentals of faith); also poresh mi-darke tzibbur (he who deviates from the customs of the community). Religious fundamentalists claim that all these groups are consigned to Gehinnom for all eternity and have no possibility of a portion in the world to come.
The Mishnah, in Sanhedrin 10:1, says the following have no share in the world to come: "One who says: There is no resurrection of the dead [derived] from the Torah, and [one who says: The] Torah [did] not [originate] from Heaven, and an epikoros (הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם, וְאֶפִּיקוֹרֶס." Rabbi Akiva says, "Also one who reads external literature" (Hebrew: רבי עקיבא אומר אף הקורא בספרים החיצונים). This is explained as "books of heretics" (ספרי מינים, sifrē minim) The Biblical verse, "so that you do not follow your heart and eyes" וְלֹֽא־תָת֜וּרוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם" is explained as "You shall not turn to heretic views ["minut"] which lead your heart away from God".
The Birkat haMinim is a curse on heretics. The belief that the curse was directed at Christians was sometimes cause for persecution of Jews. Modern scholarship has generally evaluated that the Birkat haMinim probably did originally include Jewish Christians before Christianity became markedly a gentile (and in the eyes of the rabbinic sages, idolatrous) religion.
In summarizing the Talmudic statements concerning heretics in tractate Sanhedrin 90–103, Maimonides says:
The following have no share in the world to come, but are cut off, and perish, and receive their punishment for all time for their great sin: the minim, the apikoresim, they that deny the belief in the Torah, they that deny the belief in resurrection of the dead and in the coming of the Redeemer, the apostates, they that lead many to sin, they that turn away from the ways of the [Jewish] community. Five are called 'minim': (1) he who says there is no God and the world has no leader; (2) he who says the world has more than one leader; (3) he who ascribes to the Lord of the Universe a body and a figure; (4) he who says that God was not alone and Creator of all things at the world's beginning; (5) he who worships some star or constellation as an intermediating power between himself and the Lord of the World.
The following three classes are called 'apiḳoresim': (1) he who says there was no prophecy nor was there any wisdom that came from God and which was attained by the heart of man; (2) he who denies the prophetic power of Moses our master; (3) he who says that God has no knowledge concerning the doings of men.