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The Jewish Social World
The first century Jewish social world was grounded in sacred tradition. At the summit of the world of Spirit was Yahweh, the creator of heaven and earth. Yahweh had entered into a special relationship with the people of Israel constituted preeminently by the covenant given through Moses. Their scripture contained regulations for individual and group behavior and its laws included not only ritual and moral laws but also what we consider to be secular law: criminal law, civil law, household law, even tax law.
The primary source of conventional wisdom, however, was the Torah, the "law" of Israel. Most of it became part of the consciousness of individual Jews simply through the process of growing up within the culture. Additionally there was a special group of people who were the custodians and interpreters of the tradition. Known as sages, they drew mainly upon the Torah itself with its 613 written laws for their interpretations.
Jewish conventional wisdom saw reality as organized on the basis of reward and punishments. Reality was built that way. Living according to the Law and the path of righteousness brought blessing. Following the way of wickedness brought ruin and death. Most also believed that the righteous would flourish and be blessed with children, a good name, possessions, and a long life. Live right and all will go well was the common belief. If life does not go well, it is because one has failed in some way.
Two social worlds in collision. By the first century, two social worlds, the social world of Judaism and the social world composed of Hellenistic culture and Roman political power, were in deadly collision. There was no way the Jews could win. They had to compromise or perish. Roman imperial strategy demanded her presence and power in Palestine, both as a buffer against the Parthian empire to the east and to ensure the security of Egypt, the breadbasket of the Roman empire.
In response to the threat produced by the Roman occupation, the Jewish social world became dominated by the politics of holiness--expressed succinctly by the holiness code, "You shall be holy, as I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19:2)
Holiness however was understood in a highly specific way, namely as separation. To be holy meant to be separate from everything that would defile holiness. The Jewish social world became increasingly structured around the polarities of holiness as separation--clean and unclean; purity and defilement; sacred and profane; Jew and gentile; righteous and sinner. Its origins went back to the suffering of the Jewish people during the Babylonian exile. Being holy was their response, having as its aim the avoidance of another outpouring of the divine judgment.
Jewish Renewal Movements in Palestine.
The politics of holiness was intensified by Jewish renewal movements active in the first century Palestine. Historian Josephus wrote of four such movements. One, the Saducees, was a conservative and aristocratic group that favored compromise with the Roman occupiers rather than confrontation. The other three, the Essenes, the Pharisees, and another incorrectly known as the Zealots, were renewal movements. Each asked the question, "What does it mean to be a faithful Jew in the present circumstances?"
The Essenes believed that a life of holiness within society as then constituted was impossible. Their response was to withdraw from society by retreating into the wilderness.
The Pharisees had a different response--they sought to counteract the Roman threat by radicalizing the Torah in such a way that the Pharisees effectively became a "kingdom of priests." Becoming a Pharisee meant undertaking that degree of holiness required of priests in the temple. Purity and tithing were the major focus for the Pharisaic program--for example, they would not eat untithed food. Their accomplishment was that they provided a way of being faithful to God and the Torah even under foreign rule and without leaving society. Most even tolerated the payment of the Roman taxes by adopting an attitude of resigned acceptance.
The fourth group was really responsible for the disaster that resulted in the war with Rome in AD. 66-70, the destruction of the temple, and the expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem. (TUB 176:1.) The point of view of the group was such that it could only succeed by expelling Rome. In effect they radicalized the first commandment, "You shall have no other lords besides God," such that it became, "God is Lord, not Caesar."
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