Читать книгу Judaism I - Группа авторов - Страница 70

After 41 CE, following the anti-Jewish pogrom of 38 BCE in Alexandria, Philo of Alexandria wrote in his Legatio ad Gaium (Caligula) about the counter-image of imperial magnanimity and care for the Jews, Augustus:

He was aware that the great section of Rome on the other side of the Tiber is occupied and inhabited by Jews, most of whom were Roman citizens emancipated. For having been brought as captives to Italy they were liberated by their owners and were not forced to violate any of their native institutions. He knew therefore that they have houses of prayer and meet together in them, particularly on the sacred sabbaths when they receive as a body a training in their ancestral philosophy. He knew too that they collect money for sacred purposes from their first-fruits and send them to Jerusalem by persons who would offer the sacrifices. Yet nevertheless he neither ejected them from Rome nor deprived them of their Roman citizenship because they were careful to preserve their Jewish citizenship Also, nor took any violent measures against the houses of prayer nor prevented them from meeting to receive instructions in the laws nor opposed their offerings of the first-fruits. ¹¹⁸

Of the numerous pieces of information about Jews in Rome at the time of Augustus we may pick out two areas: the synagogue communities known from the time of Augustus, and the question of their organization, structure, and offices.

Most of the witnesses concerning the Jews of Rome in the early imperial period come from the tomb inscriptions in the Jewish catacombs of Rome.¹¹⁹ We know of at least 11 (possibly 13) synagogues in early imperial Rome. In all probability, three of these were in existence in the time of Augustus. First, the synagogue of the Augustans (synagoga Augustensium), who evidently derived their name from Augustus, who was positively disposed toward the Jews. Second, the synagogue of the Agrippans (synagoga Agrippensium), named for the son-in-law of Augustus, Marcus Vipsanius¹²⁰ Agrippa, who was well known for his good relations with Jews. Third, the synagogue of the Hebrews: In the view of H.J. Leon,¹²¹ this synagogue is one of the oldest in Rome: »The first group of Jews to form a congregation at Rome would naturally have called itself the Congregation or synagogue of the Hebrews, as different from other religious or ethnic groups.«¹²²

By law, since the time of Caesar the synagogues in Rome were collegia licita so they remained unaffected by the various measures taken against associations. The communities each had their own administration and offices; there was no central organization to which all synagogues were subject. The offices mentioned in the catacomb inscriptions (and elsewhere) show that the communities were influenced by the constitutions of the poleis of Asia Minor (»archons«) and by the Palestinian presbyterial structure. It is fair to conclude that immigrants from the land of Israel and Asia Minor had found a home in the Jewish communities of Rome.

Unlike in Alexandria, where the presence of the Jews had been an integral and significant political and economic component since the founding of the city, and where there was a chief representative of the Jews: the ethnarch, the Jews of Rome evidently did not have a chief representative vis-à-vis the emperor, the senate, and the public. Each community had its own administrative organization with offices reiterated in the various communities, such as the archisynagogos, the ruler of the synagogue, who held the highest office. Whether this was exclusively religious (organization of prayers, appointment of readers of Torah, etc.) or simultaneously political or exclusively political, is a matter of debate. The title we encounter most frequently is archon, »leader« (the title is known from eight communities of Rome), but it is not clear whether one community had several archons or whether the period of office was set for one year so that several archons are attested for one community. Their duties will have been administrative. Designated archons were called mellarchon. The next-frequent title in Rome after the archon is the grammateus. Whether he was a scholar and teacher or secretary to his community cannot be determined with certainty.¹²³ The »father« and »mother of the synagogue« are mentioned as honorary offices. Even if we cannot identify all offices and functions, the Jewish communities of Rome display an organizational structure whose officials saw to internal order and external representation.

Besides religious needs, the synagogue served social and communication needs. Meals had an important, identity-forming social function, especially in the Diaspora. Community events were not confined to the Sabbath service with reading of the Torah, instruction, and prayer, but had a wide variety. In Ostia, near to the synagogue, we find lodgings with dining-beds, and a matzah bakery. Besides teaching and prayer, the synagogue was also the place for court judgments (temporary exclusion, physical punishment), job placements (for Alexandria: b. Sukk. 51b), and Kosher food, although this was possible only to a limited extent.