For most of the first century CE, religious life of Judaism
centered on the temple at Jerusalem, at which sacrifices were made twice a
day. Remember, though, that the Jewish
day starts at nightfall the evening before, and runs until the following
nightfall; nightfall is defined as when three stars have appeared. Samaritans centered their worship on their
temple at Shechem.
In the first century, not all Jews and Samaritans reckoned
the day from nightfall to nightfall. The Essenes followed a solar
calendar, and so reckoned day from dawn to dawn. Most of the Diaspora,
living among the goyim, did likewise.
This is written primarily for Gentiles, though others may be
interested. I have used the name Yahweh
rather than later euphemisms because in the first century, that’s what they
did.
Prayer times
So the first service of a Jewish day was at Arvit, or Ma’ariv, which did not involve any further slaughter but did
include burnt-offering of any further already dead animals not yet burned. The second, at nine in the morning, was Shacharit, and was the first sacrifice
of the day, involving both slaughter and burnt-offering. The third, at three in the afternoon, was Mincha, and it also involved a
sacrifice with slaughter and burnt-offering.
On holidays (Yom Tov), Chol ha-Moed (intermediate days of
Matzot and Sukkot), and Rosh Chodesh,
the temple priests performed a supplementary sacrifice almost immediately
following that at Shacharit called Mussaf.
With the advent of synagogues in the second century BCE, the
elders, scribes, and rabbis modeled their services after those at the temple. At first, these were short and simple, and
were mostly the same as those used at the temple. However, in place of actual sacrifice, the
leaders devised a prayer that came to be called the Amidah, which in its
original form was much, much shorter and thinner than its modern-day
counterpart.
The synagogues also initiated the reading of Torah passages
to their congregations, following a three-year cycle in Palestine, later adding
Haftarah readings of the Prophets after the Pharisees became more influential.
Religious calendar
At the core of the Jewish, and Samaritan, religious calendar
is Shabbat, the Sabbath day, the
seventh day of the week. Shabbat is the
primary, and weekly, feast day of the Israelite religions, so important that
the day before it, the sixth day, came to be called the Day of Preparation. It
celebrates the creation of ha-Olam,
‘all that is’.
In Palestine, and perhaps elsewhere, Mondays and Thursdays
were observed as fast days.
The new moon marks the beginning of the month, of which
there are thirteen, marked by a feast day called Rosh Chodesh. Though this is
called a “minor” feast, it is still an occasion that was marked by an
additional sacrifice. The ceremonies of
Rosh Chodesh not directly connected to the sacrifices were held on the Mount of
Olives.
The three great pilgrimage festivals of the Israelite
religions are Matzot, the first day of which is celebrated as Pesach, Shavuot,
and Sukkot.
Major feasts
The festival of Pesach,
or Passover, began in the late afternoon of 14 Abib/Nisan, the day before the
start of the festival of Matzot. Without
keeping in mind that the sacrifice was the most important part of every religious
occasion, some of the prescriptions in the Torah can be a little
confusing. So, the day of Pesach was
when the Passover sacrifice was actually slaughtered, the ceremony beginning
immediately after the Mincha sacrifice.
The Seder and other ceremonies took place starting at the
sundown immediately following, which was a new day, 15 Abib/Nisan and the first
day of Matzot. In the beginning, Pesach
was an offering of “first fruits” of the flock, but it came to commemorate the liberation
of Israelites from slavery in Egypt described in the book of Exodus.
The festival of Matzot,
or Unleavened Bread, originally marked the beginning of the barley harvest, and
this is still commemorated in the name for the second day of the festival, Reshit
Katzir, or ‘beginning of the harvest’. Each
worshipper made an offering of green barley to sanctify his crop, a sheave of
it along with the Pesach sacrifice. The
first day, 15 Abib/Nisan, was taken up by the commemoration of Pesach, which
was held as a sabbath, as was the seventh day, and, of course if Shabbat fell
during the Chol ha-Moed, that day also.
In later times, Pesach and Matzot came to be the time to
watch for the reappearance of Elijah the prophet to herald the coming of the
kingdom of Yahweh.
Sefirah, or
‘Counting of the Omar’, is the time between the end of Matzot and Shavuot, a
counterpart to the Christian season of Easter (as opposed to Easter Day).
The festival of Shavuot,
or Weeks, also called the Feast of First Fruits and Pentecost, originally
served to mark the beginning of the wheat harvest. It falls on 6 Sivan. Later it came to commemorate the giving of
the Torah to Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai/Horeb/Paran.
In later times, Shavuot came to be the time to watch for the
appearance of the Messiah ben Joseph, the forerunner of the kingdom of Yahweh.
The final festival of the year, Sukkot, or Booths, also called the Feast of Ingathering, originally
marked the end of the fruit harvest.
Later, it commemorated the forty years of Wandering in the Sinai. It began on 15 Ethanim/Tishrei and lasted
seven days, the first observed as a abbath.
The seventh day is called Hoshanna
Rabbah and has its own special features, but it remains part of the Chol
ha-Moed of Sukkot.
The festival of Shemini
Atzeret, literally the ‘eighth day of assembly’, immediately followed
Sukkot on 22 Ethanim/Tishrei, but it is a separate festival in its own right.
By the first century CE, Sukkot had become the time of
expectation for the Messiah ben David, and along with him the Righteous Priest.
Other major observances
Yom Teruah, which
literally means ‘blowing the trumpet’, takes place on 1 Ethanim/Tishrei, and
its most significant feature, other than it being a sabbath, is the blowing of
the shofar. It primarily signals the beginning
of the Yamim Nora’im, or
‘Days of Awe’, of which there are ten leading up to and including Yom Kippur.
Yom Teruah is better known by its later name, Rosh Hashanah, and for Rabbanite Jews
signifies one of their New Year Days (there are four in all throughout the
year). Karaite Jews and Samaritans do
not recognize this, however, and continue to use the older, Biblical name.
Yom Kippur, or
‘Day of Atonement’, in temple times was originally primarily a priestly
observance, but by the first century laity took part in the fasts and many of
the prayers, which had by then grown to last all day long. Its chief feature in its early use was the
ritual cleansing of the temple, its altars, the sacred vessels, and priestly
garments. Yom Kippur also marked the one
day of the entire year when the chief priest entered into the Holy of Holies,
and the sending of the scapegoat to Azazel in the desert.
Minor feasts
Although Judaism now observes several other minor feasts and
fasts, these are the only two most Gentiles will have at least heard of (check
out the Wikipedia page on Jewish holidays; there are several I had no clue
about).
Hanukkah,
literally the feast of the ‘Dedication’, also known as the Feast of Lights,
lasts seven days and eight nights, from 25 Kislev through 2 Tevet. Its observance began by ordinance of the
Hasmonean high priests to commemorate the cleansing and rededication of the
Temple after their victory in the civil war.
Its signal feature is the hanukkyah, a nine-branched candelabrum in
which a new candle added to those lit each night; the one in the center and
higher is lit every night and supplies the flame for the others.
Purim, observed
on 14 Adar, also known as the Feast of Lots, was instituted to commemorate the
deliverance from genocide of all the Parsim, the Jews of Iran, at the hands of
Haman, vizier to Persian Shahanshah Ahasuerus (possibly Artraxerses). The heroes of the fictional tale are Mordecai
and his adopted daughter Esther, Jewish like himself but one of the queens of Ahasuerus.
Temple prayers in the first century
Since the prayers for accompanying the Shacharit sacrifices
are the most comprehensive, we will start here.
Shacharit
After the sacrifice(s)
had been slaughtered but before they had been offered, the priests issued a
call to prayer, and the worshippers responded.
The exchange is known as the Barokhu.
Blessed be Yahweh,
who is to be praised.
Blessed be Yahweh, who is to be praised forever and ever.
Then followed the Ten
Debharim, or ‘Ten Statements’. Note: Debharim,
not Mitzvot, or ‘Commandments’. No one
called them that until the Geneva Bible of 1560.
I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the water
under the earth.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of Yahweh your
God.
Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.
The earliest
liturgical version of the Shema Yisrael, now composed of four passages (two of
which are adjacent in the Torah), followed afterward.
Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is One. Love Yahweh your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words in your heart, and teach
them to your children. Discuss them
sitting in your house and walking down the road, and when you lie down and when
you rise up. Bind them as a sign on your
hand, and wear them as an emblem on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and
on your gates.
The following two
blessings were incorporated into synagogue ritual after the destruction of the
Temple in 70 CE. The first is the
benediction of the Torah, second is known as Avodah, and the third as
Hoda’ah. The first became part of the
Torah ritual even while the temple stood, the second and third were incorporated
into the Amidah after it no longer did.
Blessed be Yahweh
our God, who has chosen us from
all nations and given us his Torah of the truth. Amen.
May Yahweh our God accept the service of his people Israel,
and receive with favor their fire-offerings and prayer.
Blessed be he who receives the service of his people Israel with
favor. Amen.
At this point, the
worshippers prostrated themselves and gave thanks privately, after which the
officiating priest gave the following blessing:
We gratefully thank you, Yahweh our God and God of our ancestors
forever and ever. We proclaim his praise
evening, morning, and noon. We will
always put our hope in him. May his name be blessed and exalted, continually
forever and ever. Amen.
After this, the
congregants stood up and the officiating priest offered the sacrifice upon the
altar and burned it. As it burned, the
Levites sang the Psalm of the Day: Psalm
24 for Sunday, Psalm 48 for Monday, Psalm 82 for Tuesday, Psalm 94 for Wednesday, Psalm 81 for Thursday, Psalm 93 for Friday, the Day of
Preparation, and Psalm 92 for
Shabbat.
On Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol ha-Moed of Sukkot, and Rosh
Chodesh, the Levites would here lead the singing the Lesser Hallel, Psalms
113-118.
When the burning was finished, the priest, if it were Shabbat,
said the following prayer in honor of the Temple Guard and section departing
for their homes.
May Yahweh who causes his name to dwell in this house, cause
to dwell among you love and brotherliness, peace and friendship. Amen.
Then the priest,
extending his arms with his hands forming in what most people know as the
Vulcan salute, gave the Aaronic Priestly Blessing, or Birkat ha-Kohanim.
May Yahweh bless you and keep you. May Yahweh make his face to shine on you and
be gracious to you. May Yahweh lift up
his countenance and give you peace. Amen.
Mincha
The prayers for the
afternoon sacrifices were very limited.
They were probably limited to the Barokhu, the Avodah, the Hoda’ah, and
the Birkat ha-Kohanim.
Arvit
There was no more
slaughter at this time, marking both the end of the Temple’s day and the
beginning of the “secular” day, though if any slaughtered animals had not been
burned, that was done at this time.
Prayer was limited to the Ten Debharim and the Shema, with the Priestly
Blessing to close.
Mussaf
On those occasions
(Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol ha-Moed, Rosh Chodesh) when extra sacrifices were
called for, they were performed immediately after those of Shacharit, most
likely accompanied by the same prayers as at Mincha.
Synagogue prayers
These followed, and
still follow, the same pattern as services at the Temple, in the same order of
service. In place of sacrifices,
however, the elders and scribes developed the series of benedictions that came
to be known as the Amidah, or Tefillah.
Originally, like the Shema, this was much shorter, and there were fewer
petitions.
The synagogues also
instituted the practice of publicly reading the Torah to the laity at regular
services on Shabbat, Mondays and Thursdays, Rosh Hodesh, and Yom Tov, at both
Shacharit and Mincha. Later, with the
rise of the Pharisees, readings from the Prophets called Haftarah were added to
Shacharit on Shabbat and Yom Tov and fast days.
Services in the
beginning were very short, even with the readings.
Amidah in the first century
This is approximately
the Amidah, or Tefillah, of the first century, shorter in overall length as
well as in each of its individual benedictions.
It has expanded to such an extent that is is more common called the
Shemoneh Esrei, or ‘Eighteen Blessings’, though it actually has nineteen.
O Yahweh, open my
lips, that my mouth may proclaim your praise.
Elohim make speed to
save me; Yahweh make haste to help me.
Blessed be Yahweh our God and God of our forefathers, God of
Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob; who bestows beneficial kindnesses and
create all that is. Amen.
May Yahweh our God heal us and bring complete recovery for
all our sicknesses, for he is the faithful and compassionate Healer. Amen.
May Yahweh our God bless this year and all our crops; bless
us with dew and rain on the face of the earth; and satisfy us with his
goodness. Amen.
May Yahweh our God have mercy upon his people Israel, upon his
city Jerusalem, upon his dwelling place Zion, and upon his Temple and
habitation. Amen.
May Yahweh our God answer our voice, free us, and have mercy
upon us, and accept our prayer; and not turn us away empty-handed from before
himself, for he hears the prayer of his people Israel with compassion. Amen.
Kaddish in the first century
Now mostly identified
in popular culture as the prayer for mourners, it began as the closing for a
rabbi’s teaching session. This form,
which now goes by the misnomer Hatzi-Kaddish (‘Half-Kaddish’) is, in fact, the
original complete prayer.
Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world
which he has created according to his will.
May he establish his kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and
within the lifetime of the entire house of Israel, speedily and soon.
Amen. May his great name be blessed forever and to
all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and
honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be he, beyond
all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in
the world. Amen.
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