Messiahs & Laws
Engaging a Text
Look closely at the labels on this sample page of Talmud. What does the content of the page suggest about the practice of reading the Talmud? About the Talmud itself?
Then, select three of the texts or interpreters mentioned in numbers 7) through 17) and research their dates and place of origin. How does this further your understanding of the life of the text and its proper interpretation?
Engaging an Object
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9, the biblical origin of the instructions pertaining to tefillin, which meaning “bindings” in Hebrew (also known as phylacteries from the Greek meaning “safeguard”). Then, read the article “Tefillin: A Primer” at Aish.com and watch the two (4-min.) videos on how tefillin are made and how they are worn.
Given what you read in Hahn Tapper (2016) this week, how do you think the practice of tefillin developed from what we read in Deuteronomy to what we see today? How would you explain the difference between the Torah’s instructions and today’s practices to your friends and family?
Engaging a Practice
The Amidah, which means “standing,” is a series of 19 blessings that practicing Jews pray three times per day, and that was written sometime between the 3rd and 5th centuries CE. To learn more, watch the brief video “The Amidah Prayer” on the PBS website Religion & Ethics Weekly, then visit this website to listen to the prayer as sung by Cantor Martin Goldstein at Congregation Hebrew Educational Alliance in Denver. The bilingual text—Hebrew and English—can be found at opensiddur.org/prayers.
Blessings 14-15 are the messianic passages mentioned by Hahn Tapper (2016) on p.69:
“Return in mercy to thy city Jerusalem and dwell in it, as thou hast promised; rebuild it soon, in our days, as an everlasting structure, and speedily establish in it the throne of David. Blessed art thou, O Lord, Builder of Jerusalem.
“Speedily cause the offspring of thy servant David to flourish, and let his glory be exalted by thy help, for we hope for thy deliverance all day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who causest salvation to flourish.”
Given what you read in the chapter “Messiahs,” what is the significance of these two blessings for different Jewish communities around the globe? What is the advantage of praying the same prayer both individually throughout the week and together as a congregation on Shabbat (the Sabbath)?
