El Judaisme

Després d'una breu digressió sobre els orígens del judaisme, l'autor centra l'atenció en l'anomenat judaisme normatiu i en les formes específiques que prengué al llarg dels segles fins als temps moderns. Malgrat que tota consideració de l'evolució del judaisme implica un cert grau de perspectivisme històric, l'article aborda el judaisme des d'un punt de vista clarament sincrònic, tot donant per sobreentès que la religió jueva és quelcom consolidat definitivament i assajant de determinar les seves estructures ideològiques i funcionals bàsiques. L'article examina els principals corrents religiosos que coexisteixen a l'interior del judaisme actualment i les dificultats que hi ha per a determinar-ne l'ortodòxia en alguns casos. L'existència de l'estat d'Israel ha posat encara més de manifest llurs diferències, a causa de la implicació de cada un d'aquests moviments en la realització del projecte polític de la nació jueva.Judaism From the point of view of the history of religions, Judaism may be considered to be another name for Jewish religion, although Judaism is, both in itself and in its historical unfolding, more than a religion. After a short excursus on the origins of Judaism, attention is focused on the so-called normative Judaism and subsequently on the specific forms that it took throughout the centuries and in modern times. Despite the fact that the evolution of Judaism implies to a certain degree some historical perspectivism, the article approaches Judaism from an avowedly synchronic point of view, taking for granted that the Jewish religion is something definitely consolidated and trying to determine its main ideological and functional structures. Historically Judaism is closely connected with the biblical religion as its normative frame of reference that provides it with the idea of God and its concomitant theological categories. Regarding the religious praxis and the social configuration of the religion imposed by historical circumstances, Judaism diverges a great deal from the biblical frame, to such an extent that one may even speak of two different religious magnitudes. The article shows the main lines of the biblical heritage and deals with the tension arising between an ancient tradition, which is accepted as normative and is condensed in a text (the Bible), and the need to adjust that tradition to new historical circumstances, which are also reflected in a text (the Talmud). The basic elements of normative Judaism are described in their three main aspects — faith, religious practice and ethics. Since their first polemical contacts with other religions, Jews felt the urgent need to search after the specific nature of their religious personality. The Bible afforded them a «narrative» vision of God, which, although valid in the beginning, had to be confronted with the analytical discourse of the Greek civilization and its heirs. This unavoidably reductive search for the «essence», which is at the same time a clear way to self-assertion, has always been accompanied by a no less inevitable need to develop and to make explicit their own religious tradition. This is, as it were, the ideological task that Jewish theologians carried out in the Middle Ages and Jewish philosophers have addressed in modern times.The most characteristic element of all religions is their system of rites. Here Judaism clearly differs from the biblical religion. In the biblical period the place of worship was basically the Temple, while postbiblical Judaism generated a new space for its new liturgy — the synagogue. The synagogue service is divided into a permanent (daily or weekly) system of rites and another one for festivals. Public prayer at the synagogue takes place three times a day — in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening; they correspond to the sacrifices in the Temple. The Sabbath, which is an anthropological space devoted to historical memory and man's inner liberation, as well as an access to divine «rest», became a distinctive element of Judaism as a religion (together with the service in the synagogue and circumcision) starting from the time of Ezra's reformation.Even though the whole liturgical organization is based on the biblical tradition, it was subsequently developed or supplemented by the rabbinical tradition. The written Law and the oral Law shaped the code of Judaism and had the same value as revelation, i.e., as God's word. Both are considered by orthodox Judaism as one single expression of divine will, containing the principles that should govern the behaviour of Jews. The observance and the interpretation of the Law have always been a basic concern in the religious thought of Judaism, much more than theological speculation. Judaism is thus an ethic, in which the concern for man, his dignity and his happiness play a central role, but an ethic that is religious in its origin. On the other hand, the Torah regulates the human sphere of the family; this fact is of fundamental importance in a religion such as Judaism, deprived of all political support for centuries. In the bosom of the Jewish family the contents of its historical faith are commemorated and transmitted in home liturgies. Finally the article examines the major religious trends within Judaism in our time and the difficulty to determine their orthodoxy in some cases. The existence of the State of Israel has made their differences more apparent, owing to the involvement of each religious movement in the fulfilment of the political project of the Jewish nation

Orígenes y desarrollo de la institución sinagogal

The antecedents of synagogal worship are evident in the functions of the Jerusalem Temple (sacrifice, instruction, prayer) and of its priesthood as the custodian of the Word of God presented to Israel on Sinai (The Tablets of the Law). However, the actual birth of the synagogue appears in its close relationship with the formation of the Bible as the definitive collection of divine words and the testimony of God’s presence among his people. The new “Cult of the Word” (through reading and study) was born from this new religious situation, superseding the ancient sacrificial cult and developing a novel form of its cultic instruction and prayer

Job. Problem and solution

The Biblical Book of Job puts forward a situation that has from long worried the faithful people: how can the good God allow the suffering of an innocent man? The problem had already received full attention in Old Babylonian wisdom literature that is analysed in the paper as hypotext of the biblical book as far as argument and literary form. Both are afterwards described in detail, enhancing the particular way of dealing with the problem of the biblical book and its significance as a literary scenic composition. Finally three modern literary works that take up thebiblical topic as hipertext are briefly analysed as witnesses of its permanent actuality.The Biblical Book of Job puts forward a situation that has from long worried the faithful people: how can the good God allow the suffering of an innocent man? The problem had already received full attention in Old Babylonian wisdom literature that is analysed in the paper as hypotext of the biblical book as far as argument and literary form. Both are afterwards described in detail, enhancing the particular way of dealing with the problem of the biblical book and its significance as a literary scenic composition. Finally three modern literary works that take up thebiblical topic as hipertext are briefly analysed as witnesses of its permanent actuality.The Biblical Book of Job puts forward a situation that has from long worried the faithful people: how can the good God allow the suffering of an innocent man? The problem had already received full attention in Old Babylonian wisdom literature that is analysed in the paper as hypotext of the biblical book as far as argument and literary form. Both are afterwards described in detail, enhancing the particular way of dealing with the problem of the biblical book and its significance as a literary scenic composition. Finally three modern literary works that take up thebiblical topic as hipertext are briefly analysed as witnesses of its permanent actuality

Yahweh, Dios de la tempestad, Dios de la historia

La mitología cananea presenta a su dios principal, Baal, como ‘dios de la tempestad’, que actúa como tal tanto en la naturaleza como en la sociedad. El rayo y el trueno son sus armas, que aseguran su poder sin rival y pregonan a la vez su bendición: la lluvia, que aporta la vida y la fertilidad. Los hebreos asumieron esa imagen divina y la aplicaron a su propio Dios, Yahweh, que suplantó a Baal en todas sus funciones. Pero además de proporcionar la fertilidad, el Dios de Israel proporciona a su pueblo su palabra a lo largo de su historia, que se escucha en la callada y atenta recepción del mensaje profético, no en el fragor del trueno, en el que resonó la revelación del Sinaí según el modelo cananeo.Canaanite mythology portrays its principal deity, Baal, as a ‘storm god’, who acts as such both in nature and in human society. Thunder and lightning are his weapons, which ensure his unrivalled power and at the same time proclaim his blessing: the rain, which brings fertility. The Hebrews adopted this divine image and applied it to their own God, Yahweh, who replaced Baal in all his functions. However, besides supplying fertility, the God of Israel provides his people with his word throughout history, which is heard in the silent and attentive reception of the prophetic message, not in the rumble of thunder that accompanied the revelation on Sinai according to the Canaanite model

Receta mágica para un infante enfermo (KTU 1.124)

This article analyses the Ugaritic text KTU 1.124, departing from the later studies on it, and drawing forward some new insights. For instance, the expression adn ilm rbm is considered to be a royal title in connection with the sovereign that makes the cultic consultation. A new version is also suggested for the word wlk/(1). Finally, a certain parallelism between KTU 1.124 and the biblical text of 1 Sam 28 is pointed out.El artículo analiza el texto ugarítico KTU 1.124 a partir de los últimos estudios sobre el mismo, ofreciendo nuevas opciones interpretativas. En este sentido se confiere a la expresión adn ilm rbm el valor del título regio referido al monarca que lleva a cabo la consulta cultual. Asimismo se sugiere una nueva versión del sintagma wlkl(1). Finalmente, se establece un cierto paralelismo entre el texto ugarítico en cuestión y 1 Sam 28

Pervivencias cananeas (ugaríticas) en el culto fenicio - III

Going on with previous researches devoted to show the Canaanite-Phoenician cultural continuum, especially in the field of worship, the ND b‛l ḥmn and the appellatives Šm/pn b‛l are analyzed here. Mythological survival is universally accepted in these two last cases, and literary information which emphasizes it is provided in this work. Concerning b‛l ḥmn, its connection with ug. ḥmn is suggested, and this leads to an understanding of ND as designation of a dynastical and palatine deity, excluding its reference to toponymical determinatives, as it is generally interpreted.Continuando estudios previos dedicados a poner de manifiesto el continuum cultural cananeo-fenicio, sobre todo en el ámbito del culto, se analizan en éste el ND b‛l ḥmn y los apelativos Šm/pn b‛l. Para estos dos últimos casos la pervivencia mitológica es universalmente admitida y aquí se aportan datos literarios que la resaltan. En cuanto a b‛l ḥmn, se propone su vinculación con ug. ḥmn, lo que lleva a entender el ND como designación de divinidad palatina y dinástica, excluyendo su referencia a determinativos toponímicos, como generalmente se interpreta

Sukkôt: from Ugarit to the Talmud. The Survival of a ritual ‘in the terrace’

La fiesta hebrea de sukkôt se ha supuesto siempre que era de origen cananeo. En el presente trabajo se analiza un texto ugarítico que puede considerarse su antecedente documental. A partir del mismo se aíslan los elementos constituyentes de la fiesta cananea y su progresiva transformación en la tradición hebrea antigua a través de su ‘historización’ como conmemoración de la estancia en el desierto y ocasión de lectura pública de la Ley, hasta culminar en el periodo postbíblico en una alegre fiesta que incorpora nuevos elementos que la convierten en la ‘fiesta’ por excelencia de la tradición judía.The Hebrew feast of sukkôt has been always supposed to be of Canaanite origin. An Ugaritic text, analysed in this paper, can be taken as its documentary antecedent. Starting from this text, the constitutive elements of the Canaanite feast are singled out, as well as its progressive transformation in the ancient Hebrew tradition through its ‘historisation’ as a commemoration of the living in the wilderness and the occasion for the public reading of the Law, up to its culmination in the postbiblical period as a joyful feast that takes up rituals which shape it as the ‘feast’ par excellence of the Jewish tradition