Mysticism in Rabbinic Judaism: Studies in the History of Midrash

176 Pages·1982·11.697 MB·English

by  Ira Chernus

IRA CHERNUS
MYSTICISM IN RABBINIC JUDAISM
w
DE
G
STUDIA JUDAICA
FORSCHUNGEN ZUR WISSENSCHAFT
DES JUDENTUMS
HERAUSGEGEBEN VON
E. L. EHRLICH
BASEL
BAND XI
WALTER DE GRUYTER • BERLIN • NEW YORK
1982
MYSTICISM
IN RABBINIC JUDAISM
STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF MIDRASH
VON
IRA CHERNUS
WALTER DE GRUYTER • BERLIN • NEW YORK
1982
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Chernus, Ira, 1946—
Mysticism in rabbinic Judaism.
(Studia Judaica ; Bd.ll)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Merkava in rabbinical literature. 2. Mysticism—Judaism. 3.
Midrash. I. Title. II. Series: Studia Judaica (Walter de Gruy-
ter & Co.) ; Bd.ll.
BM496.9.M87C47 1982 296.7'1 82-14034
ISBN 3-11-008589-5
CIP-Kurztitelaufnahme der Deutschen Bibliothek
Chernus, Ira:
Mysticism in rabbinic Judaism : studies in the history of midrash /
by Ira Chernus. — Berlin ; New York : de Gruyter, 1982.
(Studia Judaica ; Bd. 11)
ISBN 3-11-008589-5
NE: Studia Iudaica
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© 1982 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin 30
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IN MEMORY OF MY FATHER
SOL CHERNUS

PREFACE
The chapters which follow were originally written as separate essays. Each was
occasioned by my interest in tracing the history of one particular midrash or mid-
rashic motif. In reviewing these essays, however, I became aware that they were
all dealing with more or less the same set of concerns, so that each might be read
more profitably in light of the others. Therefore I have assembled them here, with
a few additions and revisions, in what seems to be their most logical sequence.
While this sequence does imply a single general line of argument, the argument
was not really developed until after the essays had been written. The content of
the essays generated the overall argument, rather than vice versa.
The basic issue with which all these essays are concerned is the relationship
between Merkabah mysticism and rabbinic Judaism as reflected in rabbinic midrash.
I have concentrated on two general themes within the midrashic literature: the
revelation at Mount Sinai and the eschatological rewards of the world to come.
My general conclusions are that the development of the former theme shows many
striking affinities with the literature of Merkabah mysticism, while the development
of the latter theme shows very few. In discussing these conclusions I shall suggest
some of their possible implications; here I want to mention only one.
Gershom Scholem has made an invaluable contribution to our understanding
of the rabbinic era with his illumination of a broad range of esoteric concerns,
which he labelled "Merkabah mysticism." But there is a growing scholarly sense
that he has not served us equally well in calling this phenomenon "Jewish Gnosti-
cism." The evidence presented here from rabbinic midrash will indicate, I think,
that Merkabah mysticism was integrated into rabbinic Judaism precisely to prevent
the development of a true "Jewish Gnosticism." The term, therefore, may well be
misleading as a characterization of any developments within the rabbinic com-
munity. I hope that these essays, in developing this rather modest point, will shed
helpful light on related questions as to the nature of rabbinic Judaism.
Unfortunately I can not claim to have any definitive contributions to two of
the most crucial and most baffling problems facing us in this area. We would
certainly like to know whether the leading rabbis of the classical rabbinic era (the
first three centuries CE) were actually involved in Merkabah mysticism. While
Scholem has consistently affirmed this, others have denied it as valid for the tan-
naim, and recently mysticism among the amoraim has been seriously questioned.
My own sense of this debate is that, while Scholem perhaps has a preponderance
of the evidence on his side, neither side will ever be able to prove its point irrefut-
VIII Preface
ably, for sufficient evidence just does not exist. In interpreting the amoraic materials,
I have made the assumption that they do in fact reflect the existence of some kind
of Merkabah mysticism among the rabbis, since the evidence points so strongly
in that direction. But I am aware that this remains merely a likely hypothesis. In
dealing with tannaitic data the evidence is not as convincing, and I have therefore
felt obliged to interpret it without making such an assumption. Others may, of
course, read the data presented here differently than I do myself. In particular,
those disposed to find Merkabah mysticism in rabbinic circles may find significant
material here to support their arguments.
One major difficulty in solving this problem of Merkabah mysticism among
the rabbis is that we do not yet have a precise definition of just what Merkabah
mysticism was. The term "Merkabah mysticism" is, of course, a modern coinage.
The rabbis themselves spoke of "ma'aseh merkabah," but we still can not say
exactly what that phrase meant to them. In any event, it may well have meant
something more narrow than the wide range of phenomena intended by Scholem
in his usage of "Merkabah mysticism." Yet Scholem's term does seem helpful, since
it clearly points to a number of significantly related, albeit vaguely defined, phe-
nomena. Many scholars have found it helpful to label these as "esoteric" concerns,
although that term too is variously and sometimes vaguely defined. The studies
presented here are not intended to define what Merkabah mysticism was (although
they do suggest some things that it was not), but neither do they presume any
precise definition. Since we are still studying the phenomena in order to arrive
at a definition, it would be methodologically unsound to presume any definition
a priori. I have chosen, therefore, to use the terms "Merkabah mysticism" and
"esotericism" roughly interchangeably, assuming only that they denote a broad
range of experiences, all in some way related to ecstaticism and the realm of the
divine in the "upper world."
For practical purposes, I have assumed that Merkabah mysticism includes those
words and images found in the texts which seem to be central to it, and I have
looked for those same words and images in the midrash. Admittedly, this means
searching out parallels between rabbinic texts of late antiquity and mystical texts
of the early medieval period. If Merkabah mysticism as reflected in the extant
mystical texts was known in substantially the same form to the classical rabbis,
then we can draw some important conclusions about rabbinic religion from these
parallels (or their absence). If, on the other hand, Merkabah mysticism did not
develop until after the classical rabbinic period, we can draw significant conclusions
about its development, although this may not illuminate the early rabbinic era
itself so clearly.
One other problem which remains unsolved here is the basic methodological
one of using rabbinic midrash as an historical source, and in particular the question
of the validity of the attributions to specific rabbis. Since methodology in this area
is still rather unsophisticated, we are left with two options: .either suspend sub-
stantive research entirely and work only on problems of method, or else use an
Preface IX
ad hoc method which offers a reasonable assessment of each text on its own terms.
Like most scholars, I have chosen the latter course, although this may lead in some
cases to an over-reliance on the attributions in the text. But it seems to be the
lesser of two evils. Those who are more methodologically rigorous may choose
to regard the conclusions presented here as hypotheses awaiting testing.
A number of people have offered me valuable assistance which made the
completion of this book possible. Research and publication costs were underwritten
in part by the University of Colorado through its Council on Research and Creative
Work, its Committee on University Scholarly Publications, and its College of Arts
and Sciences, by the American Philosophical Society, and by the very generous
assistance of Miriam Chernus. My colleagues in the Department of Religious
Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, have offered their consistent sup-
port and encouragement; the continuing assistance of Maxine Kluck has been
invaluable. Sami Schachter, David Goldfischer, and Denise Straus helped to prepare
the final manuscript; Alison Greene helped to prepare the index. I wish to express
my sincere appreciation to all these people and, above all, to Ann, for proof-reading
the manuscript and for much, much more.
Ira Chernus
Boulder, March, 1980