Understanding Sin and Evil

Reposting for Shavuot!

In this Shavuot “bonus” episode, we will discuss the special status of the Torah for fighting sin, in both Second Temple literature and later Talmudic texts. (Download the source sheet here.)

We will look at:

* Dead Sea Scroll prayers that reflect the belief in the metaphysical power of the Torah to fight demonic influence

* Wisdom literature (like Ben Sira) that see the law as crucial in fighting the inclination to sin

* The hero of 4 Ezra’s problem with the idea that the Torah is enough to combat the evil inclination

* Finally, we will look at how these ideas play out in the Talmud.

As always, I look forward to your questions and comments!

Chag Sameach!

 

In this episode we discuss the approach to divine intergenerational punishment (the punishment of a future generation for the sins of a past generation) in the Bible, such as in the “Divine Attributes” enumerated in Exodus, and how we can see a distinctive shift in the attitude toward intergenerational punishment in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Why did such a shift occur?

What “problems” does the belief in intergenerational punishment solve, and why does the attitude toward this punishment change so drastically at the end of the First Temple period?

Listen and post your questions and comments here!

 

In this far-reaching episode, we discuss the idea of collective punishment in the Hebrew Bible, the problems it poses in the context of divine morality, and its (strict) limits in human justice. We explore the stories of Sodom and the Concubine of Gibeah, the statute of the “Rejected City” of Deuteronomy, and how the approach toward collective punishment changed in the course of biblical prophecy.

In this episode, we discuss:

* What are the differences between the “status” of collective punishment and intergenerational punishment in the Hebrew Bible?

* What assumptions underlie Abraham’s dialogue with God preceding the destruction of Sodom?

* What “rules” of collective punishment are underscored by the story of Sodom, the Concubine of Gibeah, and the statute of the “Rejected City”?

* What does the Concubine of Gibeah story tell us about collective punishment?

* How did the attitude of prophecy toward collective punishment shift, and why?

* What is the connection between collective consequences and collective punishment?

What was behind Antiochus’s decrees? Was Hanukkah really the end of the fight for independence? And what was the difference between Judean and Diaspora views of the Hanukkah story and the Hasmonean revolt?

I  explored these questions through a talk  on the First and Second Books of the Maccabees – two books written in different languages, one in Judea and one in the Diaspora. And here is the recording!

Be sure to download the source sheets. Keep in mind that this is an informal lecture, so you’ll hear discussion and some background noise.

If you would like to read the entire books, I recommend the New English Translation of the Septuagint for 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, available free online through the University of Pennsylvania NETS site,

Clarification of some important points:

* When I talked about the “Return to Zion” as a defining time period for the Hebrew Bible, I meant the entire period, not the very beginning of the return to Jerusalem following the Babylonian Exile. Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi were considered the last true prophets, and Malachi speaks of a functioning Temple, so any book traditionally considered to date to the period of the Return to Zion up to the beginning of a functioning Second Temple could “make it in” to the Hebrew Bible.

* Second Maccabees has two defining dates: the Alexandrian work seems to have been finished shortly after the Battle of Nicanor in 161 BCE and was not long afterwards abridged by a Diaspora author who put his own stamp on the work. At that stage, 2 Maccabees explained the importance of the Day of Nicanor.  Afterwards, probably shortly after 142, the abridged version was repurposed by someone in Judah to “sell” Chanukah to the Diaspora. This is the person wrote the introductory letter and who inserted the story of Chanukah, i.e. the purification of the Temple, into 2 Maccabees.

* 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, could not have been written before the final event it records: the murder of Shimon and Yohanan Hyrkanus’ ascension to the throne in 134 BCE.

In this episode, we discuss what it means for our changing understanding of sin to have a canonized, “frozen” Scripture that must remain relevant, and begin exploring the biblical ideas of “sin as a burden” and intergenerational punishment. Why would someone believe that future generations could suffer for the sins of a previous one?

 

In this episode, I recap everything we have discussed so far, before I begin a new chapter of the podcast. This is a great place to start if you are new to the podcast, and you can then cherry-pick the past episodes you would like to delve into further.

As you know, this podcast began as a way of presenting the ideas in my book (Evil Within and Without: The Source of Sin and Its Nature as Portrayed in Second Temple Literature) to a more general audience. Of course, I also added discussions regarding the biblical texts on which Second Temple ideas were based.

As I am now finished with the ideas in my book, I am looking forward to exploring other ideas regarding sin, including atonement, sin’s consequences and punishment, and other related ideas as they appear in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple literature, and, sometimes, later in Rabbinic texts.

So not only is this the recap episode, it is your opportunity to tell me what you would like to learn next! I would love to hear from you. Just comment on this episode to let me know!

Join me for a close reading of the Treatise of the Two Spirits, a passage in the Community Rule that explains the origin of sin as the result of a dualistic division between the Prince of Light and the Angel of Darkness. (And yes, I’m hoarse in this episode. Change of seasons, I guess.)

This text was once thought to summarize Qumran theology, but as we will see, the Treatise of the Two Spirits is relatively unique while still paralleling different views of sin we have seen so far in this podcast. The contradictions and differences between the passages in the Treatise itself mirror the contradictions we have explored between the different views of sin reflected in various Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple texts.

This episode also includes a shout-out to Nehemiah Gordon for his generous support and to my editor Danilo.

Please comment on this episode to suggest topics for me to cover as the podcast continues! Already on the roster: sin and punishment, views regarding collective and inter-generational consequences of sin, and… wait for it…Hell. So send me your suggestions!

In this episode, we explore texts from the Qumran community that emphasize responsibility for sin and freedom of choice, despite the sect’s usual deterministic leanings.

In the Dead Sea sect’s legal texts, community members are exhorted that they must choose God’s commandments while ignoring their own will — in other words, their evil inclination.

Listen to learn more, and hear my friend Melissa’s relief that someone is finally taking full responsibility for their actions!

In this episode, we look at two Dead Sea Scroll sectarian prayers — the Hodayot and the “Hymn of Praise” in the Community Rule — that present sin, or the inclination to sin, as a state of being. Specifically, they present sin as a state natural to all humans as physical creatures.

Listen to hear how this idea was intrinsically connected to the Dead Sea Scroll Community’s views on election and predestination.

In this episode, we examine the idea of an evil inclination in Second Temple prayer. How did Jews in the Second Temple period characterize the idea of an internal inclination to sin, and how did they expect God to help?

We will look closely at those prayers considered “non-sectarian” — that is, not specific to the Qumran text, and examine how the experience of prayer itself can shape perceptions of sin.