On Sat, 08 Sep 2001 00:38:18 GMT, “Rowland Croucher” <> wrote:

>Les, I’ve lost the thread where you make a comment about the relative

>culpability of the Romans vs. the Jews in the trial and death of Jesus of

>Nazareth..

>

>I woke this morning with a question:

>

>How critical are informed Jews like yourself of your own people’s history?

>

>Would you say there were any Hebrew/Jewish skulldugerous leaders ever /

back >then?

>

>For example, what are you taught about the goings-on of people like Annas

>and/or Caiaphas?

>

Our Rabbis, traditionally, have a “no holds barred” approach to Jewish history and culpability. They have never been slow in blaming the attitude of Jews towards G-d and towards each other for the evils that have befallen my people in the last 3,300 years. No-one emerges totally blameless, all have made mistakes, which is just as well, because people don’t relate to a leader so high up the morality ladder as to be impossible to inspire others surrounded by every day temptations.

We know, better than anybody, where all our leaders went wrong, unlike the spiritual leaders of other faiths who are seen invariably as totally sinless.

We also know that others, despised by history, have not been quite so bad as portrayed and still others, deemed to be saints by history, who have actually been no better than demons of death and destruction.

Of Annas and Caiphus there is no mention in the Mishnah that I could find, but there is a mention in the Talmud, to quote Rabbi Berel Wein in his excellent book “Echoes of Glory” a “Story of the Jews in the Classial Era 350BCE-750CE”, Page 144f, where he says “See Talmud, Pesachim 57a for the caustic comments of the rabbis regarding the power-grabbing, monopoly-holding practices of the many of the leading priestly families.

All of the High Priests from the times of the Roman procurators on were Sadduccees (Tzadukim). They resented the Pharisee controlled Sanhedrin and tried to “Romanise” the Jews.

To further quote, Rabbi Wein;

“The power base of the Sadduccees was formed by the aristocracy, the wealthy landowners and the Temple Priests. The Sadduccees conspired with avaricious Roman procurators to gain control over the allocation of the priestly function and positions in the Temple.

“Once again , the very high office of High Priest showed itself especially susceptible to corruption. Great bribes were paid to the Roman procurators to gain this office, and High Priests came and went at a dizzying pace, many times serving less than a year in the post. The complete abandonment of Jewish tradition and values by the Sadduccees in the years preceeding the destruction of the Temple demoralised much of the Jewish population of Judah and brought about a climate of divisiveness and polarisation of Jewish life”. (Ibid. p144)

Presumably Annas and Caiphas, if they did exist, would have been Sadduccees also.

We are about to celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year (L’shana tova to all yidden, BTW) and we fast the next day, the Fast of Gedalia, because one of our brethren killed the Babylonian Jewish governor of Jerusalem, Gedalia, which resulted in the first exile.

Can you imagine that? Could you think of Christians having a fast day because one of them killed Archduke Ferdinand and his wife which resulted in the First World War? Or English Catholics for the death of Thomas Becket? or Americans for the death of Abraham Lincoln? Whether the murderer was acting against a society’s laws and principles or not, is irrelevant. Since he is a product of the society, that society as a whole must share the responsibility to correct that defect within itself that creates and perhaps even encourages the wrongful actions of its citizens. We fast to correct that defect within ourselves.

Are Jews informed? Simply no. I wish we were better informed. Fasting helps because we ask why. People only ask why when they have to suffer a little.

I hope I have answered your question to your satisfaction.

Les Brown

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