No. 34
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The Worship Of The
Synagogue
Part 3
(To read Parts 1 and 2 of this
text, go to the Home Page above and then to Jewish Social Values
Archives.)
It
was customary to have service in the synagogues on Sabbaths, feast-days,
on Monday and Thursday of every week when the country people came to
market, and also when the local Sanhedrim sat for the adjudication of
minor causes.
At
the week-day services only three people were called up to read in the
law; there were four called up on new moon's day and on the intermediate
days of a festive week; there were five called up on festive days,
and a section from the prophets was also read; on the Day of Atonement
there were six readers.
Even minors were allowed to read. The section that described the
sin of Reuben, and the one that gave a second account of the sin of the
golden calf, were read, but not interpreted. The sections that
recounted the priestly blessing and the sin of David and Amnon, were
neither read nor interpreted.
The reading of the law was followed by a lesson from the prophets.
In the present time, the lessons are selected so as to suit the sections
from the law appointed for the day. This arrangement has been
traced to the time of the Syrian persecutions, when all copies of the
law were sought for and destroyed. It was at this time that the
Jewish authorities were supposed to have selected portions from the
prophets to replace those from the law which might not be produced in
public.
It
is evident, though, that if these persecuting measures had been rigidly
enforced, the sacred rolls of the prophets would not have escaped
destruction any more than those of the law. Besides, it is quite
certain that a lectionary of the prophets that we have presently in use
did not exist at the time of Jesus, or even when the Mishnah writings
were collected.
There was considerable liberty that seems to have been left to
individuals. According to the Megillah, when one read from the
prophets, it was lawful to pass over one or more verses provided that
there was not a pause between the reading and translation. The
translator was called a "meturgeman", and was employed to translate
after every three verses.
The reading of the prophets was often followed by a sermon, or address,
and then the service was concluded. The preacher was called "darshan",
and his address a "derashah" (sermon).
When the address was a learned theological discussion, such as in
academies, it was not delivered to the people directly. It was
whispered into the ear of an "amora", or speaker, who explained to the
multitude in popular language the weighty sayings which the Rabbi had
briefly communicated to him.
A
more popular sermon was called a "meamar", which was literally a speech
or talk. These addresses would be either Rabbinical expositions of
Scripture, or just doctrinal discussions, where an appeal would be made
to the authority of certain great teachers to see what they thought
about the matter.
It
was laid down as a principle that "every one is bound to teach in the
very language of his teacher."
Because of this, we can understand in some measure the deep impression
which the words of Jesus produced even on the people who were
uninfluenced by them. The things that He addressed were far
deeper than they had ever heard of, or even conceived possible.
The things that Jesus said must have opened a whole new world of thought
and hope for the people that heard them. It is no wonder that even
in the terrible city of Capernaum that "all bare Him witness, and
wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth;"
The very Temple Guards who had been sent to take Him prisoner just stood
in awe because they had never heard an ordinary man speak as Jesus did.
The form of Jesus' teaching was also extremely different from the
constant appeal of the Rabbis to be sure to obey every law or suffer
condemnation. This teaching was so fresh and wonderful that it
seemed like a breath of fresh air compared to all the terrible
traditions and laws that the people had been weighted down with.
The people stood in awe of His teaching, "for He taught them as one
having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matthew 7: 28-29)
The people must have flocked to hear Jesus in the synagogue, and it is
no wonder that the scribes and Pharisees of the day felt that the
tremendous power they had achieved over the years might be totally
undermined. It is easy to understand that their fear of losing
power demanded that they come up with a plan to get rid of Jesus once
and for all. Then they would once again have the power that they
so craved and enjoyed.
For more information from this book, go to the Archives Page at my site
www.cathydeaton.com
There are other articles of interest there also.
This text is taken from the book Sketches of Jewish Social Life written
by Alfred Edersheim. This book has been used by permission.