EssenesThe Essenes (Issi'im) were a Hasid Jewish religious sect of Zadokites that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. Many scholars today believe there were a number of different related groups that were referred to as Essenes. They were supposed to have come into existence as a protest following the purchase by Yehoshua Ben-Shimon II (pop. Jason) of the high priesthood from Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 175 BC. Subsequently the Essenes referred to Yehoshua ben Shimon and his genealogically unqualified successors as The Wicked Priest (Kohein ha-Resha lit. bad priest, instead of Kohein ha-Jadol). However, others have suggested that Queen Salome Alexandra's son Hyrcanus II (63 BC-?) and the other Roman collaborators that succeeded to him are the best qualified for the Wicked Priest appellation. Either way the new illegitimate priesthood became known as sadducees. It is thought that the memories of a certain Yeshu Ha-Notzri (110-70) in the mishnah may refer to one who the Essenes called Matif ha-Kaza (the babbling preacher of lies). Likewise the man of lies (Ish ha-Kazav) has been identified variously as his contemporary Shimeon ben Shetah (80-50) or the later R. Shammai (40 BC-AD 20). It is thought that to secure the position of Av Beth Din, Shammai drove his predecessor Menahem, his & Hillel's followers to become Essenes. The aged Shammai attained complete ascendancy until AD 30 after Hillel died in AD 20 and Shammai passed the 18 measures. That day is compared to the day the golden calf was built (Shabbat 17A). The Essenes are discussed in detail by Josephus and Philo. Many scholars believe that the community at Qumran that allegedly produced the Dead Sea Scrolls was an offshoot of the Essenes; however, this theory has been disputed by Norman Golb and other scholars. The Essenes were the followers of a group of priests who had essentially rejected the Second Temple. They argued that the Essene community was itself the new Temple, and that obedience to the law represented a new form of sacrifice. Accordingly, the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 was of no consequence to them. With this came the end of the sadducees (who had replaced the Zadokite priesthood) and the end of the house of Shammai, hence also the reason for protest ceased, and the Essenes merged with the house of Hillel out of which was born the tradition of rabbinical Judaism. Although their lack of concern for the Second Temple and its destruction alienated them from the great mass of their contemporary Jews, their notion that the sacred could exist outside of the Temple was shared by two other Jewish sects, Christians and Pharisees, which evolved into modern Christianity and Judaism. External links
References
Categories: Ancient Jewish Greek history | Ancient Jewish Roman history |
|
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia article. Browse Wikipedia for more information. |