Abandonment of Religiosity A Glance at Jewish Law and Law...

Jewish Law is considered to be Divine Law due to its direct influence from God. God handed over a set of laws to the Jews and left it to adapt and flourish with them. They followed these rules, but in time they became obsolete which forced them to intervene and change the laws to better suit their society. Rabbinic judaism evolved as the philosopher king of interpreting the Hebrew Bible. These interpretations formed the Talmud. Although the interpretations were much like opinions on what the Bible said, they became universally accepted as law. Rabbi’s argued for centuries over which interpretation was better. A few notable Rabbis emerged like Rabbi Maimonides and Rabbi Joseph Karo. With large build ups and further outdated laws, Joseph†¦show more content†¦It included mainly discussions on law (halakah), but also included some stories of Jewish tradition. The next step of interpretation by the rabbi’s was done when the Talmud was created. The Talmud consists of two parts: a commentary done by the second generation rabbi’s on the Mishnah, called the Gemara, and the Mishnah itself. The emergence of the Talmud initiated a whole to way of study for the Jews. Since the Talmud was so in depth and complex, there was a lot more to study and interpret for themselves. However, with its complexity, debate arose. At this point there were so many hands in the pot that many started to argue over who was right and who was wrong. Authority within the rabbinic community was very dependent on how the rabbi chose to voice his own opinions in his interpretation. Jewish studies had become political. The rabbis of the Greco-Roman period evolved the notion that Bible and everything in it was no longer God’s. They said that the Bible was not in heaven anymore, thus God had no authority over what the Bible contained. God had handed it over at Mount Sinai. This gave then rabbi’s even more authority over their interpretations. The connection fo r Jews to God had then changed. They were no longer looking up to God, but instead to the Rabbi’s and the Talmud. Divinity in Jewish culture was forever fading from this point on. C. Rabbi Maimonides The Jews in the Greco-Roman Period left behind the Talmud (Babylonian and Palestinian) as well as