Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

The Hellenistic Jewish community revolutionized Judaism in a way that was truly unique. Living among a complex group of gentiles in Alexandria made our ancestors very cautious about the kind of image of Judaism they wished to represent to the Graeco-Roman world.

This evening, I wish to bring to your attention an example of the type of brilliance and foresight our ancestors had in designing the most ambitious literary the ancient world had ever seen: the translation of the Torah into Greek.

All translations to some degree serve as a type of commentary and offer the reader a rare glimpse into the ethos and values of a community. Of course, it takes an astute eye to discern the hidden sociological and psychological nuances that are inescapably present within the text.

For example:

“You shall not curse your God . . .” (Exod 22:28)

The Septuagint translated the text as, “You shall not blaspheme gods” (LXX)

Philo writes in his Special Laws 1:53, “After Moses had given the proselytes among them an equal share in all their laws, along with the privileges, and immunities for having given up the pride of their fathers and ancestors, Moses now cautions the Israelites not to verbally put down their new neighbors by blaspheming and ridiculing those deities their proselyte neighbors once venerated as ‘gods.’ Moses feared that the new proselytes would get exasperated at such ill-treatment, and would retaliate by uttering irreverent language against the one true and holy God.” [1]

Put in modern terms, disrespect breeds disrespect-and often violent retaliation!

Along the same lines, Josephus writes, “Let no one blaspheme those gods which other cities esteem such; nor may anyone steal what belongs to strange temples; nor take away the gifts that are dedicated to any god.”[2]

How odd! We know that blasphemy against God is a serious crime, but why would the ancient Jews of Alexandria make a special note not to even curse the gods of other peoples?

Tonight, in my class on “The Origin of the Seven Noahide Commandments,” I raised this question to my students and helped them try to think about situating themselves within the cultural world of Alexandria, ca. 3^rd century B.C.E.

We know that anti-Semitism abounded in much of Alexandria. I believe that when the translators of the Septuagint were refining their work, they feared what the anti-Semites would say if they read that the law of blasphemy served as proscription only against YHWH. They might say, “Look at those good-for-nothing Jews! They only worry about cursing God, but have no problem when it comes to showing contempt toward our gods!”

The ancient Sages realized the potential awkwardness and feared that if their communities started showing disrespect toward their pagan neighbors’ religion, they could very easily cause a pogrom by making a foolish or irreverent remark that could easily cause a riot.

More importantly, they taught both Jew and Gentile the importance of respect. Respecting the faith of others is the beginning of spiritual maturity and wisdom.

Why is this relevant? Maybe because in our enlightened period of human history Jews , Christians, and Muslims have much to learn about the importance mutual respect. When the Taliban destroyed the statue of Buddha after taking over Afghanistan in 2001, or when the Palestinians destroyed the Tomb of Joseph in 2003, or when Haredi Jews routinely spit on Catholic or Greek priests leaving a Church in the Old City of Jerusalem—each of these cases reveal that we have a long way to go in integrating the gentle and sage-like wisdom of the Alexandrian Jews of Late Antiquity.