There’s No Rabbinic Judaism, Only Judaism.

There Were No Major Changes After the Second Temple.

“If you took a Jew from Temple days and put him in a Jewish community today, they’d be bewildered and wouldn’t recognize the Judaism practiced as their own” is an oft-repeated notion, usually proclaimed in a way that leaves no doubt to its veracity.

The premise that a so-called “Rabbinic Judaism” arose after the destruction of the Second Temple was initially propagated in polemics by early Xians, claiming that Jews had to pivot and change their religion as a result of their refusal to accept their messiah. Thus, the Rabbis jumped into action and changed Judaism into something unrecognizable to prevent Jews from embracing the truth.

The very same assumption was reformulated by the members of the Haskalah and proponents of the Reform movement, who claimed that Judaism had always been fluid, always subject to change, that the Rabbis had always made innovations to live with the times, and therefore it was perfectly fine to modify Judaism some more. In fact, nothing could be more Jewish than that. This has been their contention, and the cornerstone of their ideology, for over two hundred years.

The question remains: Is this supposition accurate? Is this something that has been proven so conclusively that it needs no corroboration, or is it a false truism repeated until it sounds self-evident? Or does the truth lie somewhere in between?

Just Another Day

The easiest way to prove or disprove a hypothesis is to put it to the test. What if you were to take a Jew from 2,000 years ago and make him go through the schedule of an Orthodox Jew today? Would he really find Judaism unrecognizable?

Here is what daily life would have been like back in the days of the Second Temple and how it would compare today:

The first thing a Jew does when he wakes up is to say Modeh Ani, then wash his hands. It would be easy to say that Modeh Ani is a “recent” addition to Judaism; after all, its first recorded use in a prayer book dates back to the 16th century... and yet its origin is from the Yerushalmi Talmud and was said thrice daily in a slightly different formulation after each prayer service. Only its recital after waking up would be a modern innovation. As far as the washing of hands, this was decreed by Shlomo HaMelech (Shabbat 14b).

Then, a Jew recites the Morning Blessings. These were instituted by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (Berachot 33a) at the beginning of the Second Temple period. They also fixed the blessings of the Amidah prayer, which is recited three times a day; they instituted the Kaddish, Kedusha, and Barechu; and changed the three daily prayers from free-form to a fixed text.

After their recitation, many a Jew today goes to a ritual bath (mikveh) before prayer, something that would have been perfectly common during the Second Temple era per Ezra’s decree (Bava Kamma 82a). Leaving his house, he would have touched his mezuzah at his door, just as we do today (Menachot 33a). Afterward, he would put on his Biblically mandated Tallit Gadol and Tefillin, and then make his way to synagogue. A Jew from this era would not find this unusual, as synagogues and houses of study (Batei Medrashot) were as familiar then as they are now. The Mishnah alone contains over a hundred laws and references to them, discussing traditions that long predate the destruction of the Second Temple.

As extratextual proof, we can point to the oldest extant synagogue, said to have been built in 586 BCE (though some dispute this). We still have remnants standing, such as the two on Elephantine Island (5th century BCE) and the Delos Synagogue (150 BCE). A letter from 218 BCE also references a synagogue. Scores of archaeological sites in Israel and the Middle East contain synagogue ruins dating back to or earlier than the Second Temple era.

It was the central meeting point of Jewish communities then, just as it is now; it was where prayer services were held by a quorum of men, and the Torah was read on Mondays and Thursdays. Said readings were, in fact, instituted by Ezra at the beginning of the Second Temple era (Y. Megillah 4:1).

The general principles of prayer would not have been foreign to him; the Mishnah in Tamid (5:1) describes the procedure of the Kohanim when reciting the Shema, the blessings they would say, as well as the Priestly Benediction (Birkat Kohanim), just as we recite them today. The Shema, both in the morning and at night, is a Biblical requirement (Mishnah Berachot 1:1), something else he would be very familiar with.

Is today Rosh Chodesh? Time to sing Hallel! Thankfully, there would be no confusion, as the recital of Hallel was decreed by the early Prophets, and everyone would have been familiar with it due to its frequent repetition (Pesachim 117a). To say it monthly is an ancient custom that was accepted by all Jews (Ta’anit 28b).

After concluding the prayer, it’s time to eat your first meal. Want to snack on fruits, vegetables, or drink wine? You’re going to have to recite a blessing instituted during the early Second Temple era beforehand (Berachot 33a). Fancy bread? You’re going to have to wash your hands first, as was decreed by Shlomo HaMelech (Shabbat 14b), followed by Shammai and Hillel, and other authorities who added other occasions to this decree before you recite the blessing instituted alongside the aforementioned fruits, vegetables, and wine.

A Jew, of course, concludes his meal by saying Grace after Meals. The only significant difference someone from the Second Temple era would notice is that a fourth blessing was instituted to commemorate the miracle that happened in Beitar after its fall during the Bar Kochba Rebellion. As far as the first three? They were instituted by Moshe Rabbeinu (First one, Berachot 48b), Yehoshua (Second one, ibid), David and Shlomo HaMelech (Third one, ibid), while the Sages wrote the fourth (ibid). If three or more men participated in the meal, they would recite the Zimun, another Second Temple-era or earlier practice (Berachot 45a; 48b).

After breakfast, it’s time to send the children to school. If that Second Temple Jew is around Bar Mitzvah age or has children of his own, then he would know that off to yeshiva they would go, per the ordinances of Shimon ben Shetach (Y. Ketubot 8:11) and Yehoshua ben Gamla (Bava Batra 21a) that Jewish education is compulsory for every child, and therefore teachers must be established in every city and district.

As far as work or business goes, it’s true that many ordinances have been enacted, changing how we do business. Are we going to claim that regulations such as the rule that when someone buys stolen goods without knowledge, the owner of the stolen goods must pay him back, or the rule that no one can validate a contract except for its signatories, would make the way we live our Judaism unrecognizable to him?

As far as life events, we know that circumcision is written in the Bible, but what about the seven-day mourning period (Shiva) or the wedding blessings (Sheva Berachot)? Moshe Rabbeinu also instituted the latter based on the seven days of celebrations after Yaakov’s marriage to Leah, and the former based on the seven days of mourning observed after Yaakov’s passing (Y. Ketuvot 1:1).

On a day-to-day basis, not much would be different. What about those not-so-regular days, however?

Shabbat and Yom Tov

How would a Second Temple Jew deal with a modern Shabbat? Let’s start by taking a look at the order of the day.

At Night:

• Go to synagogue (Already dealt with)

• Pray the Shabbat prayers with a minyan (Already dealt with)

• Say Kiddush

The Day of:

• Carry in the public domain thanks to an Eruv.

• Pray the special Shabbat prayers (Already dealt with)

• Hear the morning and afternoon Torah readings.

• Say Kiddush again

• After Shabbat, recite havdalah.

As stated in Yerushalmi Megillah 4:1, Moshe Rabbeinu instituted the Torah readings for Shabbat morning (as well as those for Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh, and Chol HaMoed). Ezra, on the other hand, instituted the Shabbat afternoon reading.

The text of prayers and the number of blessings for Shabbat & the Festivals were also fixed by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, as well as the obligation to recite Kiddush and Havdalah (Pesachim 106a). The Eruv was established in the days of Shlomo HaMelech to allow people to carry (Shabbat 14a).

Clearly, today’s celebration of festivals differs from how we observed them in the Temple, yet this is a misdirection. The real question is, how different were their celebration by those Jews who could not make it to the Temple and had to celebrate at home/where they were located?

If someone hadn’t been able to make it to the Temple for Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur, he would still have to hear the shofar (except on Shabbat) on Rosh Hashana or afflict himself in the five afflictions listed in Torah on Yom Kippur. The only noteworthy difference would be the additional elements added to the liturgy, such as different piyutim and prayers incorporated into the text over time, usually to commemorate post-Temple tragedies that struck the Jewish people.

Sukkot outside of the Temple would have been similar, with one substantial difference: the shaking of lulav and etrog for all seven days of the festival. Yet it is not such a considerable change, as it had already been shaken for seven days by those celebrating Sukkot in the Temple; it’s only those Jews outside who’d shake the four species on the first day prior to the Temple’s destruction.

Regarding Purim & Chanukah, the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah established the festive seudah and the giving of tzedaka, so a Second Temple Jew would be very familiar with them. The only notable difference would be the Fast of Esther on the day before Purim. The Hasmoneans initiated the celebration of Chanukah, and its observance, then and now, is not notably different. Shavuot outside of the Temple would also not have differed much from what it is today.

When it comes to Fast Days, Tisha b’Av, Assara b’Tevet, and Tzom Gedaliah were enacted after the destruction of the First Temple, before the building of the Second. While the fast of Shiva Asar b’Tammuz is recorded in the Book of Zecharia, it is now associated with the destruction of the Second Temple.

Passover Then, Passover Now

Surely, however, Passover would be much different without a Temple, wouldn’t it be? With no Passover sacrifice to speak of, no one residing in Jerusalem, how could it be in any way similar? Let’s take it step-by-step.

Though it was an obligation for all those who were ritually pure to come to the Temple, bring an offering, and eat it on the night of Passover, even in the days of the First Temple, there would have been times when it would have been impossible for some to make it. It did not mean that the holiday did not happen for them. Though they would not have been able to bring a sacrifice, two of the three staples of the night would have been required of them: the Seder and eating matzah.

The mitzvah of recounting the story of the Exodus is a Biblical obligation, and the question-and-answer format is already listed in the Mishnah (Pesachim 10:4). The Four Sons are listed in the Mechilta de’Rabbi Yishmael (Psicha 18:24-25). The central narrative of the Maggid comes from both the Mishnah and Gemara (Pesachim 116a). The section that opens with “Arami oved avi” is rooted in Sifrei Devarim (301:3), and “Lo al yedei...” in the Mechilta. Rabban Gamliel’s declaration of “Pesach, Matzah, Maror” is listed in the Mishnah (Pesachim 10:5).

The four cups of wine (Pesachim 10:1), as well as reciting Hallel over them, are also from the Mishnah (Pesachim 10:6-7) and were well established during the Second Temple era. The mixing of bitter herbs and haroset would also have been familiar to him (10:3), as would reclining during the four cups or eating Matzah (10:1).

Passover’s most noticeable difference would have been the Fast of the Firstborn, matzah, afikomen, zeroa, and beitzah. From the days of the Temple until the 17th century, matzah was soft and thick. Nowadays, the vast majority of Jews use very thin and hard matzah to fulfill the commandment with as little risk of chametz as possible. The Fast of the Firstborn (Ta’anit Bechorot) originated in the Geonic period, hundreds of years after the destruction of the Temple. Every other difference would be cosmetic, whether in the seder, the songs, or the foods eaten.

The afikoman and zeroa were established as reminders of the Korban Pesach: the former as a reminder that the Passover sacrifice was the last thing we ate at the seder, and the latter as a visual reminder of the roasted meat (which is now forbidden to be on our seder table). The beitzah was established as a remembrance of the other sacrifice we would bring on that day, the Korban Chagigah, and also served as a sign of mourning for the Temple, as an egg is traditionally given to mourners.

Is any of this enough to say that Judaism today would be unrecognizable to him?

Post-Temple Differences

That’s not to say that there would be no distinctions whatsoever. The major ones would revolve around the:

• Various additions to prayer services (e.g., Keter in the Kedusha of Mussaf)

• Various laws of marriage & divorce (e.g., a date must be included in all documents)

• Various laws regarding business (e.g., the way moveable property is acquired)

• Various laws pertaining to the social order (e.g., regulating ransoms of prisoners)

• Various laws relating to interpersonal relations (e.g., announcing lost articles in the synagogue)

What I described in this article is only a partial list of the post-Second Temple differences between the Judaism we live today and the one they lived then. That much is true. Some details could confuse them, such as mourners now remaining standing instead of sitting at the funeral as those who comfort them pass by, or how a Kohen is always called to the Torah first, even in the presence of the Nasi. However, one thing should be clear to everyone: our Judaism is incredibly similar and did not undergo any significant changes after the destruction of the Temple. Even most of the Temple Remembrances enabled by Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai predate its devastation.

Another line of attack includes sarcastic barbs such as “Moshe did not wear a shtreimel!” Well, neither would he have worn jeans and a t-shirt, nor would he have worn clothing from either the First or Second Temple era. The idea that a Jew wearing a Kaftan is somehow less valid because it is not the common dress of a Jew who lived in Judea in 200 BCE is ridiculous, as that very same Jew living in Judea at the time would not have recognized the common dress of a contemporary Jew who lived in Morocco or Tunisia either! Cultural differences do not make Judaism; Halacha and how we live our rituals do. In that regard, we are all the same.

There’s no denying that various aspects of our Judaism differ from those of Second Temple Jews. However, the same would apply to a Jew who lived 300 years ago, hauled into our era, or a Jew who lived at the beginning of the Second Temple era, transported to its end. This is because Halacha is a dynamic system: within its eternal parameters, which have not changed since Sinai, new rulings affect how we live our lives, and those parameters adapt to our new conditions.

That is not to say that I am embracing the earlier second argument about the Haskalah and its proponents. The realities that Judaism faces today have changed; how we deal with them has not. Electricity might not have existed in the wilderness of the Sinai, but the rules that determined it was forbidden to interact with on Shabbat did. Judaism did not innovate new rules and principles. Rather, Judaism used the eternal rules and principles given to us at Sinai to innovate new ways of dealing with our shared reality without ever compromising the covenant formed at Sinai.

So, let us all embrace our long tradition, learn our traditional texts & history, and stand proudly as another link in the long chain of tradition that dates back to the first Pesach, when we came out of Mitzrayim.

Leshana Haba B’Yerushalayim!