A Conservative Movement’s approach to stam yayin (סְתָם יֵינָן,)

Since we’ve been studying the laws concerning stam yayin (סְתָם יֵינָן,), I thought that you might be interested in a Conservative Movement’s approach to stam yayin. Remember stam yayin is wine that a pagan has touched not for the purpose of idolatrous libations. The rabbis treat stam yayin just like yayin nesekh, wine use in idolatrous libations. A Jew is forbidden not only to drink it, but also not to drive any benefit from it.

This citation comes from the Rabbinical Assembly’s Summary Index by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

1.    Any wine produced through the use of automatic machinery in plants operated by large, well-known wine companies is permitted, since no human being touches the wind during production. However, Israeli wine should be used whenever possible, especially for ritual purposes. Also, during Pesakh, only wine which has been supervised by a competent rabbinical authority should be used, as the production of wine in America raises many questions involving leaven. (Teshuvah by Israel Silverman, 1964)

2.    Because of the use of dairy or nonkosher substances as fining agents in wine, it is preferable that only rabbinically certified wines be served in the home, at the Conservative synagogue, and community events (either within the Conservative movement or in the broader Jewish community). However, since there is basis in Jewish law for permitting the nullification of forbidden substances such as the fining agents used in wine, wine fined with nonkosher or dairy substances is not unkosher or dairy. Thus, one may drink uncertified wine in business or social situations where doing so is part of the protocol, or where one wishes to avoid insulting one’s host. Similarly, one who does not use certified wines in the home should not thereby be considered unkosher. Also, while it is preferable for the synagogue to use certified wine, it is up to the local Rabbi to weigh local factors (such as congregants refusing hold events in the synagogue if uncertified wine is forbidden), and the kashrut of the synagogue is not impugned by the use of uncertified lines. For ritual purposes, however, only certified wines (preferably Israeli ones) should be used. (Teshuvah by Elliott N. Dorff, 1985)       

 

I’m sure there are opposing teshuvot which follow a much more traditional approach. I only served and drank certified wine. I was never a connoisseur of fine wine so restricting the wine choice for me was no big deal. Now I don’t drink any alcohol because of the medication I take; consequently, the whole issue for me is moot.

 

In the past kosher wine had a bad reputation for being extra heavy and very sweet. In fact The kosher wine company Schapiro's, located on the Lower East Side in New York City, famously used the slogan "Wine you can almost cut with a knife" to describe their sweet and thick Concord grape and Malaga wines. 

 

Kosher wines’ reputation has improved. Excellent Kosher wine from all across the world is now available for purchase. I often suggest that around the Passover Seder table, the host serves a kosher wine from a different country for each one of the 4 cups in order to learn about the Jewish holiday customs from that country. This is the way to make the Seder adult friendly and interesting.

The rabbis levy a penalty TB Avodah Zarah 62

The Mishnah on today’s daf TB Avodah Zarah 62 differentiates between wages for work solely in conjunction with yayin neskh and work that may include yayin neskh.

“In the case of a gentile who hires a Jewish laborer to work with wine used for an idolatrous libation (yayin neskh -gg) with him, his wage is forbidden, i.e., it is prohibited for the Jew to derive benefit from his wage. If the gentile hired him to do other work with him, even if he said to him while he was working with him: Transport the barrel of wine used for a libation for me from this place to that place, his wage is permitted, i.e., the Jew is permitted to derive benefit from the money. With regard to a gentile who rents a Jew’s donkey to carry wine used for a libation on it, its rental fee is forbidden. If he rented it to sit on it, even if a gentile placed his jug of wine used for a libation on it, its rental fee is permitted.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara challenges this distinction by bringing the case of produce of the Sabbatical year. “perhaps the reason that the wage is forbidden is since the wine used for a libation transfers to the money its status as an object of idol worship. The Gemara challenges: But there is the halakha of Sabbatical-Year produce, which transfers its sanctity to the money with which it is redeemed, and yet we learned in a mishna (Shevi’it 8:4): With regard to one who says to his laborer during the Sabbatical Year: Here is this dinar I give to you; gather for me vegetables for its value today, his wage is forbidden, i.e., the sanctity of the Sabbatical-Year produce is transferred to the wage, since it is as though he has purchased Sabbatical-Year produce in exchange for the dinar. But if the employer says to him: Gather for me vegetables today, without mentioning that it is for the value of the dinar, his wage is permitted, as he merely paid him for his labor. This should apply as well to the case of the wine used for a libation.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rabbi Yokhanan teaches that the rabbis penalized work done solely in conjunction with yayin nesekh. These wages are prohibited. At the end of the sugiyah the Gemara says this penalty is due to the severity of the sin of idolatry, “the stringency of wine used for a libation is different, and it is treated more stringently than Sabbatical-Year produce.” (Sefaria.org translation)

In the next sugiya we learned that the rabbis treat stam yanam exactly like yayin nesekh. 

Rashi summarizes our chapter Avodah Zarah 61

Today with daf TB Avodah Zarah 61 we finished the fourth chapter of our massekhet. Since this chapter shared many case studies, Rashi summarizes the halakhot concerning the status of wine when a pagan touches it, but not for the purpose of idolatry. Generally speaking, the category of such wine is stam yanam and the rabbis forbad Jews from deriving benefit from it i.e selling to another pagan as well as drinking it themselves. This is a summary of Rashi’s summary.

1.    If a pagan intentionally touches the wine and agitates it and even though he did not use it for idolatrous purposes, this wine is stam yanam and the Jews are forbidden to drink or derive benefit from it.

2.    If a pagan doesn’t know that it is wine and he unintentionally touches it, the rabbis only forbade drinking it. One may derive benefit from it by selling the wine to other non-Jews. Rashi reminds us of several examples given by the Gemara. One example is a crazy person who is not cognizant of what he’s really doing. A Jew can derive benefit from this wine.

3.    If a pagan unintentionally touches the wine with something else besides his hand like with a stick swatting a fly and accidentally touches the wine, a Jew may still drink it as well and derive benefit from it. However if a pagan purposely touches the wine with something else besides his hand like with a stick to measure the contents of the barrel of wine, this wine falls under the category of stam yanum.

4.    If the pagan applies a force to the wine even without touching it like pouring water into the wine concentrate to make it drinkable, the wine is considered stam yanum. If the pagan didn’t know that it was wine he was pouring something into it, this wine is permitted even to be drunk.

5.    If a pagan throws something into the wine as is fermenting like a barrel into the wine pit, this wine is permitted to be drunk and derive benefit from it.

The strangest halakha TB Avodah Zarah 60

The Mishna on today’s daf TB Avodah Zarah 60 is the source for the law when a pagan unintentionally touches the wine. We have learned previously this wine is unlike stam yanum which is prohibited to drink and to drive benefit from. This wine is only prohibited to a Jew to drink, but he may drive benefit from it i.e. sell it to other non-Jews. “If a gentile fell into the wine collection vat and emerged from it, or if he measured the wine in the winepress with a pole without touching it with his hands, or if he cast a hornet out of the wine by means of a pole and the pole touched the wine, or where the gentile was removing the foam that was on the top of a fermenting barrel of wine; with regard to all these cases there was such an incident. And the Sages said that the wine may be sold to gentiles, as it is permitted to derive benefit from the wine, but not to drink it.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rav Pappa has to present the strangest halakha ever. “The mishna teaches that if a gentile fell into the wine collection vat and emerged, it is not prohibited to derive benefit from the wine. Rav Pappa says: The Sages taught this halakha only in a case where the gentile emerged from the vat dead. But if he emerged alive, the wine is prohibited. The Gemara asks: What is the reason that the wine is prohibited? Rav Pappa said: Since the gentile was rescued from death, he considers that day like their festival day, and he offers the wine as an idolatrous libation in thanksgiving.” (Sefaria.org translation)

I can imagine anybody wanting to buy the wine from which a dead person is fished out. But this example reminded me of the classic Smothers Brother’s routine Chocolate. Here’s the link for your enjoyment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSmqYSVVpTM

Daf TB Avodah Zarah 56 When does it become wine?

Today’s daf TB Avodah Zarah 56 presents three different opinions (but we can point to a fourth of opinion too) concerning the demarcation line in determining the status of wine in the production of wine. The production of wine in Talmudic times consisted of a winepress where the grapes were placed in order to be squeezed and a pit that collected the liquid. The winepress was sloped so the liquid would flow down into the pit. Either the pit was lined or there was some kind of vessel the liquid would flow into.

Knowing when the liquid became wine was important because of the prohibition of yayin nesekh- יֵין נֶסֶךְ , wine used for idolatrous libation. A Jew is forbidden to drink nor derive any benefit from yayin nesekh. The four opinions are:

1.    The Mishnah on daf TB Avodah Zarah 55 teaches, “And the gentile’s touch does not render the juice of the grapes wine used for a libation in idol worship, which is forbidden, until it descends into the collection vat, because until then it does not have the status of wine.” (Sefaria.org translation)

2.    “Rav Huna says: With regard to wine, once it begins to flow toward the exit from the winepress it can become wine used for a libation in idol worship if touched by a gentile.” (Sefaria.org translation)

One must separate terumah and ma’aserot, different tithes, before one may drink the finished product of wine. Consequently, knowing the final status of wine is just as important as in the case of yayin nesekh.

3.    “With regard to wine, one is obligated to separate tithes from the time that the wine descends into the collection vat and the seeds float on top” (Sefaria.org translation)

4.    “Rabbi Akiva says: One is obligated to separate tithes only from the time that one siphons the wine from the vat into barrels. (This occurs after removing the sediment-gg)” (Sefaria.org. Translation)

As you can see, each source defines the status of wine later and later in the process. For your enjoyment, follow the link and see Lucille Ball stomping on grapes in a winepress.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUxjOS3g6Uc

Show your gratitude #Ekev#devartorah#parashathashavua

A woman hurried home from her stressful job at the hospital, wondering what she would prepare for dinner before her husband returned from his equally demanding job. She made rotisserie chicken for Friday night Shabbat dinner and served leftovers on Sunday. Then, she had another round of chicken-this time baked-on Monday. She found two pieces of fish in the freezer, but she knew that the fillets or to her husband’s favorite. Not finding anything else she could prepare just a few minutes, she decided the fish would have to do.

As she placed the dish on the table, she said somewhat apologetically to her husband who had just arrived home: “I know this isn’t your favorite.” Her husband looked up and said, “Honey, I’m just happy we have food on the table.”

His attitude reminds me the importance of being grateful and thankful for our daily provisions from God-whatever they are. The rabbis in the Talmud learned the mitzvah of birkat hamazon, Grace after Meals from this week’s Torah portion,        Ve-etkhanan. The Torah commands us “When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to your God for the good land given to you.” (Deuteronomy 8:10)

Our ancestors were so grateful that God could not help Himself but to show favor to them. “And how can I not show favor to Israel, as I wrote for them in the Torah: “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:10), meaning that there is no obligation to bless the Lord until one is satiated; yet they are exacting with themselves to recite Grace after Meals even if they have eaten as much as an olive-bulk or an egg-bulk. Since they go beyond the requirements of the law, they are worthy of favor.” (TB Berakhot 20b, Sefaria.org translation)

We are so fortunate for our bountiful kiddush every Shabbat afternoon. We eat our fill and go home satisfied. We always thank Tony for the love and hard work he puts into preparing our meal, but we forget to thank God the ultimate source of all our provisions. I see that we flee (uvbeyrakhta-וּבֵּרַחְתָ) before we have a chance to bless Grace after Meals (uveyrakhta-וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙). I encourage you to show your gratitude to Hashem by reciting birkat hamazon before you leave shul Saturday afternoon because of “… His great goodness, we have never lacked and we will not lack food forever and ever, for the sake of His great Name. For He is Almighty Who nourishes and maintains all, does good to all, and prepares nourishment for all His creatures which He has created.” (The first paragraph of birkat hamazon)

 

Daf TB Avodah Zarah 54 Don’t rely upon miracles

Our sages on daf TB Avodah Zarah 54 teaches an important truth about our world. “עוֹלָם כְּמִנְהָגוֹ נוֹהֵג וְהוֹלֵךְ-The world goes along and follows its course” (Sefaria.org translation)

In his book When Bad Things Happen To Good People, Rabbi Harold Kushner explains that God does not make exceptions for nice people based upon the above truth. He writes:

“One of the things that makes the world livable is the fact that the laws of nature are precise and reliable, and always work the same way. There is gravity: heavy objects always fall toward the earth, so builder can build a house without having his materials float away. There is chemistry: mixing certain elements in certain proportions always yields the same result, so a doctor can prescribe medication and know what will happen. We can predict when the sun will rise and the set on any given day…

“Laws of nature treat everyone alike. They do not make exceptions for good people or for useful people…If Lee Harvey Oswald fires a bullet at Pres. John Kennedy, laws of nature take over from the moment that bullet is fired. Neither the course of the bullet nor the seriousness of the wound will be affected by questions of whether or not Pres. Kennedy was a good person, or whether the world would be better off with him alive or dead.

“Laws of nature do not make exceptions for nice people. A bullet has no conscience; neither does a malignant tumor or an automobile gone out of control. That is why good people get sick and get hurt as much as anyone. No matter what stories we are taught about Daniel or Jonah in Sunday school, God does not reach down to and rub the workings of laws of nature to protect the righteous from harm…

“I don’t know why one person gets sick, and another does not, but I can only assume that some natural laws which we don’t understand are at work. I cannot believe that God ‘sends’ illness to a specific person for a specific reason. I don’t believe in a God who has a weekly quota of malignant tumors to distribute, and consults his computer to find out who deserves one most or who could handle it best. ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ is and understandable outcry from a sick and suffering person, but is really the wrong question. Being sick or being healthy is not a matter of what God decides that we deserve. The better question is ‘if this has happened to me, what do I do now, and who is there to help me do it?’” (pages 57-61)

Because the world goes along and follows this course, we should not do anything stupid or reckless. “Anywhere that the danger is established one may not rely on a miracle.” (Kiddushin 39b) We should always take the necessary precautions.

 

Whose viewpoint does the Mishna reflect, Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda or the Sages? Avodah Zarah 48 with a little help from daf 45b

The Mishna on today’s daf TB Avodah Zarah 48 list three different categories of the idolatrous ashera tree. “MISHNA: There are three types of trees that were used as part of idolatrous rites [ashera]: (1) A tree that one initially planted for the sake of idol worship is forbidden, and one may not derive benefit from any part of the tree. (2) If one lopped off part of the trunk of a tree or trimmed its branches for the sake of idol worship, i.e., to worship that which would regrow there, and the tree’s trunk or limbs regrew, one removes that which has regrown and burns it. The remainder of the tree is then permitted. (3) If one erected an object of idol worship beneath a tree and subsequently removed it, it is permitted to derive benefit from the tree.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Concerning the second category, Shmuel wants to know whose opinion doesn’t reflect, Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda or the Sages. The disagreement Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda and the Sages between goes back all the way to daf TB Avodah Zarah 45b.

Based on a drasha, Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda learns that no matter when in the lifetime of the tree when it is worshiped it becomes forbidden.

“And Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, also holds that a tree that one planted and subsequently worshipped is forbidden. As it is taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “You shall destroy all the places where the nations that you are to dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every leafy tree” (Deuteronomy 12:2): Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says: From that which is stated in the verse: “You shall destroy…their gods, upon the high mountains,” from which the Sages derived: But not the mountains themselves that are their gods, and: “You shall destroy…their gods…upon the hills,” but not the hills themselves if they are their gods, I would derive from the next clause in the verse: “Their gods…under every leafy tree,” that the mitzva to destroy an object of idol worship does not apply to the leafy trees themselves that are their gods. Therefore, the next verse states: “And you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their asherim with fire” (Deuteronomy 12:3). Even a tree that was worshipped only after it was planted is forbidden.” (Sefaria.org translation)

On the other hand, the Sages learn from a different drasha that once the tree is planted and then worshiped, the tree remains permitted. “And as for the Rabbis, who maintain that a tree that was planted and subsequently worshipped is permitted, what do they do with this verse: “And burn their asherim with fire”? The Gemara answers: This verse is necessary with regard to the halakha of a tree that was initially planted for that idolatrous practice, which must be destroyed and from which deriving benefit is prohibited.” (Sefaria.org translation)

At first glance our Mishna doesn’t reflect neither Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda who holds that the tree becomes forbidden when it is worshiped and no matter what part of the tree is designated for worship nor the Sages who hold the tree remains permitted since it wasn’t planted for the sake of idolatry.

With good Talmudic logic, the Gemara shows how our Mishna can reflect either position. For Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda, the very act of pruning is a declaration that he is only worshiping the new growth and not the original tree. For the Sages, you might have thought that the act of pruning is a sign that you want the whole tree to be an idolatrous ashera. Therefore, the Mishna teaches us that only the additional growth is forbidden and not the trunk.

 

 

Avodah Zarah 43a ~ Starry Images in Synagogues

 

I wanted to write an article similar to this one, but didn’t have the time to do so. I think the big take away from pagan symbols found on ancient synagogue mosaic floors is this. Just as modern Jews don’t listen to the rabbis and do what they say, ancient Jews also can listen to the rabbis either.

Over the last few pages of Talmud we have been discussing what sorts of images may be drawn, and which must be destroyed. We have also read about which sorts of sculptures may be kept and which must be destroyed if they are representative of idols. The prohibition against drawing images of people or of the sun, moon and stars is severe, so much so that if you were to find such an image, it had to be destroyed, as we read in the Mishnah on yesterday’s daf:

עבודה זרה מב, ב

הַמּוֹצֵא כֵּלִים וַעֲלֵיהֶם צוּרַת חַמָּה, צוּרַת לְבָנָה, צוּרַת דְּרָקוֹן — יוֹלִיכֵם לְיָם הַמֶּלַח. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר: שֶׁעַל הַמְכוּבָּדִין — אֲסוּרִין, שֶׁעַל הַמְבוּזִּין — מוּתָּרִין.

MISHNAH: In the case of one who finds vessels, and upon them is a figure of the sun, a figure of the moon, or a figure of a dragon, he must take them and cast them into the Dead Sea [and not derive any benefit from them, as they are assumed to be objects of idol worship]…

On today’s page of Talmud, we cite a Mishnah (from Rosh Hashanah 43a) which tells the story of Rabban Gamliel who had some special charts which he used to question the witnesses who claimed to have seen the new moon:

ראש השנה כד, ב

דְּמוּת צוּרוֹת לְבָנָה הָיוּ לוֹ לְרַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל בְּטַבְלָא וּבְכוֹתֶל בַּעֲלִיָּיתוֹ, שֶׁבָּהֶן מַרְאֶה אֶת הַהֶדְיוֹטוֹת, וְאוֹמֵר: הֲכָזֶה רָאִיתָ אוֹ כָּזֶה

MISHNAH: Rabban Gamliel had a diagram of the different forms of the moon drawn on a tablet that hung on the wall of his attic, which he would show to the laymen who came to testify about the new moon (but were unable to describe adequately what they had seen). And he would say to them: Did you see a form like this or like this?

The Talmud asks why these charts with pictures of the moon were permitted. “Isn’t it written: “You shall not make with Me gods of silver, or gods of gold” (Exodus 20:19), which is interpreted as teaching: You shall not make images of My attendants, i.e., those celestial bodies that were created to serve God, including the sun and the moon?” This introduces an interesting discussion about precisely what images of the sun, the moon, and the stars are permitted. After several tangential discussions, the Talmud settles on three reasons why Rabban Gamliel would have been permitted to keep these charts: First, he was always surrounded by other people, so there was no suspicion that he would be worshipping the images. Second, perhaps the image of the moon was incomplete (דִּפְרָקִים הֲוָה), and it is only complete images of the moon that are forbidden, and finally perhaps he kept these charts to study and learn from them (לְהִתְלַמֵּד שָׁאנֵי). This would be permitted “as it is written: “You shall not learn to do (לֹא תִּלְמַד לַעֲשׂוֹת) after the abominations of those nations” (Deuteronomy 18:9), which indicates that you may learn to understand and to teach.”

The Code of Jewish Law, the Shulhan Arukh codifies these rulings:

שולחן ערוך יורד דעה 141:4

וצורת חמה ולבנה וכוכבים אסור בין בולטת בין שוקעת ואם הם להתלמד להבין ולהורות כולן מותרות אפי' בולטות (ויש מתירין בשל רבים דליכא חשדא) (טור בשם הרא"ש)

It is forbidden to make any kind of model representation of the sun, the moon and the stars, whether in positive or negative relief, but if the models or images are to study from, they are all permitted.

It is clear from the Talmud we are studying (and from the much later Shulhan Arukh) that it would be forbidden to make images of the sun and the moon and the stars as decorations. And yet this is precisely what has been uncovered in several ancient synagogues in Israel.

The Zodiac in the Shul

As a 2020 article published in Ha’artez noted, there are several ancient synagogues in which pagan images of the zodiac can be found on floor mosaics. For example, they are the synagogues in Zippori, Hammat Tiberias, Hosefa (Usfiyya) and Huqoq in the north, and in Susya and Naaran in Judea. Perhaps the most famous is the excavation in Beit Alfa. Here is its mosaic:

In the center, wrote the eminent Israeli archeologist Rachel Hachili, the sun god  - Sol invictus - is represented by his bust and crown, his horses by their legs and heads, and his chariot by its front and two wheels.  Let us let Prof. Hachili walk us through the typical features of these remarkable mosaics:

The outer circle of the design contains the 12 signs of the zodiac, identified with the 12 months of the year. Aries is the first sign, being the first month of spring. According to his position in the circle, we see that at Nacaran and Husaifa the circle goes clockwise, while at Beth-Alpha and Tiberias, it goes counterclockwise. The signs (representing months) do not correspond to the seasons except at Tiberias and Antioch, where the zodiacal signs and seasons are coordinated, although at Antioch we have the personifications of the months rather than of the zodiacal signs.

There are a number of differences between these Jewish images of the Zodiac and those found in Roman Temples, but she noted that

By comparing the zodiacs of the four Jewish synagogue mosaic floors and tracing their origin and development from Roman art, it may be concluded that the Jewish zodiacal panel is a liturgical calendar. In every Jewish calendar, the form, composition, and balance of the three-part scheme are identical, suggesting the existence of a prototype…

The design has its roots in the art of the preceding period with the two major designs which are part of the Jewish calendar: the astronomical zodiac and the agricultural calendar. The Jewish scheme unified both of these into the distinctive design of the seasons, zodiacal signs, and sun god, signifying a liturgical calendar. When the synagogue replaced the Temple, the annual ritual acts, performed by the priests, were represented symbolically in synagogue art. The calendar became he frame of the annual rites now enacted by the community. Thus, it was guaranteed a central location in Jewish synagogue mosaic floors.

“Clearly by the time of these synagogues, the fourth to sixth centuries C.E., the local Jews were comfortable with representational art. They would have presumably objected to representations of pagan gods, however, hence the solar deity in the synagogues was meant to represent the God of Israel, most scholars agree.

— Ha'aretz, September 16, 2020

Hellenists or Mainstream?

Some have seen these mosaics as evidence that the synagogues with them practiced a different form of Jewish worship. “It was not Rabbinic Judaism, which would eventually become Judaism as we know it” wrote Elon Gilad and Ruth Schuster in their article in Haaretz, “but at the time was only taking shape on the sidelines of the Jewish world. The Jews who prayed in these and other synagogues belonged to what was then the mainstream of Judaism but is now long forgotten: Hellenistic Judaism.” They suggest that “these shuls and their mosaics only seem strange when compared to the later synagogues of Rabbinic Judaism, but they are perfectly in line with the Roman cults of the period. Indeed, Hellenistic Judaism is best understood as a Roman cult.”

Gilad and Schuster continue:

The evolution of Judaism is quite similar to the evolution of biological species. It's not a neat progression from First Temple Judaism to Second Temple Judaism and then to Rabbinic Judaism, as Jewish history is often viewed. Rather, the religion evolved with time and some forms were false starts, while others spread and continue to evolve to this day, like Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, Samaritanism, and Karaite Judaism.

To return to the metaphor of the dinosaurs and the tiny furry animals from which we evolved, we could say that Hellenistic Judaism with its zodiac mosaics was like the dinosaurs: great at the time but destined to go extinct – in the calamitous Early Middle Ages. It was the small, at the time almost imperceptible, Rabbinic Judaism that survived these disasters and became the Judaism of later periods, much like the rodents that survived the dinosaur-killing disaster from which we eventually evolved.

But others are not so sure. In his classic work Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, the archeologist Erwin Goodenough (1893-1965) wrote that “the Zodiac in the synagogues, with Helios in the center, accordingly, seems to me to proclaim that the God worshiped in the synagogue was the God who had made the stars, and revealed himself through them in cosmic law and order and right, but who was himself the Charioteer guiding the universe and all its order and law.” He continued:

Actually the floor of Beth Alpha as a whole, the only one that shows the zodiac in its full original setting, seems to me to outline an elaborate con­ception of Judaism. In the center is presented the nature of God as the cosmic ruler. Above are the symbols of his specific revelation to the Jews, primarily the Torah in the Torah shrine; below in the sacrifice of Isaac is, I suspect, the atonement offered in the Akedah. All this is surrounded by familiar mystic symbols: birds, animals, and baskets within the intersticies of the vine. At the top of all inconspicuously stand the little fish and the bunch of grapes.

We are unlikely to ever determine which explanation is correct, but the zodiac mosaics certainly represented a Judaism quite different from that described in today’s page of Talmud, in which there is an almost absolute prohibition against making images of the sun, the moon and the stars. Once upon a time, these images were part of synagogue decorations. I wanted I wanted