Research abstract for PhD degree, Hebrew University, 2006
Love and Beauty of God
Aspects of Aesthetics in Rabbinic Thought
Yaacov Maoz
Research Abstract
The study shows that aesthetic components held an important place in the rabbinic concept of love. An important group of Sages was engaged in thinking about the various aspects of aesthetics in Judaism. Among them were Sages who emphasized man's deeds - serving God through aesthetic mitzvot, especially those mitzvot performed in public. The most important mitzvah was the construction of a beautiful Temple as a dwelling place for the Lord. Other Sages discussed the Lord's aesthetic deeds and attributes. Some of them explored the Lord's appropriate behavior and others His aesthetic appearance. The latter considered the God of Israel to be a beautiful God who acts in a beautiful way, and demands that His believers imitate him and produce beautiful creations. The widespread preoccupation with these issues shows that a field of aesthetic discourse indeed existed - and held a prominent place in Rabbinic thought.
The study is based on one pivotal excerpt from the Mekilta (Shira 3, Horowitz 127). The excerpt includes a long chain of commentaries on the expression Anvehu (אַנְוֵהוּ), which appears in The Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:2). An examination of the Biblical meaning of the word produced two options: Nave (נָוֶה) = house, Nave (נָאוֶה) = pretty or beautiful. The research shows that the second meaning is more probable from a Biblical point of view, and also matches the aesthetic meaning applied to this expression by most of the Sages. The idea of singing, the joy described in Song of the Sea, and the many praises given to God strengthen this meaning.
Various Rabbinic commentaries granted a central position to the expression Anvehu in the love relationship between the People and their God. Anvehu became the expression that comprises all of the different praises mentioned in The Song of the Sea. God is described as awaiting these praises (Shira, (שִּׁירָהfrom His People since the Creation of the world. One of the commentaries claims that this praise (Shira, (שִּׁירָה surpasses all physical sacrifices made by the tribal heads, sacrifices replete with material aesthetic components. Thus, The Song of the Sea receives the status of a poetic, aesthetic-spiritual "sacrifice", superior, in God's eyes, to the sacrifices of the tribal heads. The assembly of Israel at the sea also becomes more beautiful unto itself, from the moment it worships God through the praises of The Song of the Sea. Leaving the path of righteousness is associated in the midrash with dark colors and non-aesthetic behavior. This, in turn, leads to the negative attitude towards the darkened person, who is perceived as non-aesthetic. In addition, questions of objective and subjective criticism are raised, questions widely discussed in modern aesthetic studies; questions pondering issues of ethical and aesthetic relations, and finally, issues of aesthetic and emotional relations, especially the emotion of love.
Biblical translations and late Biblical commentaries both show the perception, widely accepted in Talmudic literature, that The Song of the Sea was sung in response to God's appearance before the People at the Red Sea. However, the beautiful spectacle of the dove (usually used to represent Israel) mentioned in the Song of Songs, is interpreted by the midrash as the beautiful spectacle of God. Other places in the midrash show a strong connection between the revelation of God and His praises being sung. Religious singing will always be beautiful singing, and will always include praises to God that allude to his appearance and his ways of action. Decyphering the expression "Anvehu" involves many philological difficulties. Important researchers of our time have reached the conclusion that it is an aesthetic expression, and therefore they translate Anvehu as "I shall beautify Him" (אַיָפֵּהוּ). Among other sources, their theory is based on a series of Tannaitic commentaries that appear in the aforementioned Mekilta excerpt.
The Mekilta excerpt has two characteristics: The first is an agreement among the Sages that it is an aesthetic expression. The second is that each of the Sages applies these aesthetics to a different aspect having to do with God's work or the theosophical perception of Him: Rabbi Ishmael refers to "beautiful commandments" (Mitzvot naot); Abba Shaul discusses appropriate human behavior as an imitation of God; Rabbi Yossé, Son of Damascene, speaks of a beautiful Temple; and Rabbi Akiva - of the beauty of God. The series is opened by Rabbi Eliezer, who claims that the significance of Anvehu is God's revelation to all of the people at the Red Sea. At this revelation, the people all saw visions of God that were stronger and clearer than those witnessed by the prophets. Hence, Rabbi Eliezer lays the groundwork and conceptual background for Rabbi Akiva's interpretation, which asserts man's aesthetic, visual and tangible perception of God. The study focuses on the dispute between Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva regarding Man's ability to discuss the beauty of God, and shows that this is part and parcel of a dispute between two schools of thought, regarding the degree of freedom of commentary in theosophical issues. The extensive discussion in the Mekilta attests to the existence of an aesthetic field of discourse in Rabbinic thought.
The study shows that from a historical point of view, Rabbi Ishmael's "beautiful commandments" concept was triumphant; most of the later commentators accept it, and it also serves as the chief source of inspiration for Jewish art. The Talmuds, and especially the Babylonian Talmud, omit Rabbi Akiva's theosophical theory and instead enhance Rabbi Ishamel's. The study supposes that this was done with the intent of eradicating ideas of corporeality. Rabbi Akiva's theory is part of "organic thought", which aims to represent God by tangible and visual means. Rabbi Ishmael protests spiritual corporeality, among other reasons; because any aesthetic perception intrinsically limits the object it relates to and makes it finite. The struggle for the level of corporeality expresses a process of shifting to a conceptual corporeality, and later an abstraction of the concept of God. This also explains the considerable difference between the gentiles - who dealt extensively with material aesthetics - and the people of Israel, who discussed aesthetics expressed through singing, epic poems and poetry. As part of Rabbi Ishmael's war on the idea of corporeality, he proposes an aesthetic perception having to do with serving God. He recognizes the believer's basic need to give an artistic expression to his faith. This is the source of the "beautiful commandments": those commandments whose aesthetic component is greater are commandments performed as an expression of the deep faith of the believer, by operating his mental skills. The study finds much similarity between Rabbi Ishamel's approach and that of modern aesthetic scholars, who state that by aesthetic perception, man rises above sensuality to the point of perceiving the ideas of form (essence) and of spiritual life. Rabbi Ishmael's approach points to another elevation which characterizes Rabbinic thought in the period after the destruction of the Temple: creating general rules (halachot), and abstracts terms and principles. Rabbi Ishmael creates a super-mitzvah, a Mitzvah of Mitzvot, artistic in nature, whose ways of execution are given to the believer's personal perceptions. These commandments will always be commandments performed in public. It is a sort of public manifesto of the degree of the believer's love of his God. There was full agreement between the Schools of Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva regarding the issue of the love of God and the aesthetic expression of that love, and it can be said that the Sages generally agreed on this issue.
This study attributes significance to the fact that Abba Shaul's ethical commentary comes as a part of a series of aesthetic commentaries. Although the author could not prove that Abba Shaul's commentary is purely of an aesthetic nature, an examination of many other commentaries shows that there is a tight connection in Rabbinic thought between ethics and aesthetics. If that is how we choose to interpret Abba Shaul's commentary, we will see that he demands that the believer imitate God's aesthetic manners. The study examines a series of commentaries discussing the imitation of and resemblance to God, among them commentaries that deal with the individual, and others dealing with the public. The imitation of God appears in one of the commentaries which is mentioned often in research literature. This commentary reveals that it is God who imitates the deeds of the moral man, doing so in order to set an example. The idea of imitation grows even more complex when in some commentaries the people are given a status equal to that of God. The study shows that Abba Shaul's commentary has an aspect similar to that Rabbi Akiva's, in that they both deal with God's attributes. In the middle ages, these attributes took the form of attributes of action and attributes of essence. Abba Shaul's demand - "Resemble" (Dmeh, דְמֵה) God in your behavior - is very similar to the idea developed by Rabbi Akiva - that Man was created in the shape and image of God. The image in question is definitely Man's aesthetic appearance, which can represent the image of God. The study shows that there is no demand to imitate God in all of His behaviors, but only in a handful of moral qualities that are useful for the existence of solidarity in a society. The supposition is that one of the criteria for selecting these qualities was aesthetic. The perception of aesthetic manners was not unusual in the gentile environment, and Christianity and Hellenism show highly developed thinking on this matter. The Greek way of thought, which determined that the beautiful, the true and the good are one and the same, influenced both Christianity and Judaism. Rabbinic thought always perceives the "beautiful" as "good", and what is not good is perceived as "ugly" and non-aesthetic. At any time that an appropriate ethical attribute was sought in order to bestow it on an important person or on a people, an aesthetic term was chosen for the description, such as "handsome" (Na'e, נָאֶה) or "beautiful" (Yaffe, יָפֵה). The study presents the fervent debate between modern aesthetic scholars regarding the relationship of Ethics and Aesthetics. The debate shows that the trend today among prominent researchers is to connect the two fields. Late Jewish commentary, especially from the Renaissance period, also sees Ethics and Aesthetics as identical realms of thought.
The interpretation of Yosé, Son of Damascene, of the word Anvehu is unique because he uses both meanings: Nave (נָוֶה) = house, Nave (נָאוֶה) = beautiful. In essence, Rabbi Yosé pursues the idea found in The Song of the Sea, according to which arriving at the Land of Israel and building the Temple are a pinnacle in the relations of God and His people. Another important aspect having to do with The Song of the Sea, and emphasized in the Research, is the idea that God Himself founds the Temple, and hence comes its extraordinary importance and its irreplaceable and abundant beauty. Interestingly, it is Rabbi Yosé, born after the Temple's destruction, who leads us to one of the central aesthetic aspects of Western culture - architecture. That is, the design of the house considered the house of God, and the design of the instruments created to serve Him. All of these components are characterized by a special prestige and beauty, expressed both in the Bible and in Talmudic literature. The design of the instruments, commissioned from artists who worked in the spirit of God, served for generations as an inspiration for the development of Jewish art. Both the building and the instruments were influenced by gentile art; at first, the Temple resembled the temples of the ancient east and later those of Greece and Rome; for until that time, it appears that Judaism did not possess an architectural tradition of its own. The decorative motifs - especially the cherubs (כְרוּבִים), who were actual statues - had some idolatrous characteristics. In the Bible, the story of the Golden Calf appears as part of a series of chapters dealing with the building of the Tabernacle. Hence, despite the severity of the story of the Calf, the phenomenon described recognizes man's natural need to express his faith artistically. The study examines the different stages of the development of the Beautiful Temple concept. The "This World's Temple" section (Beit Mikdash shel Mata, בית מקדש של מטה) examines the Tabernacle, The Tent of the Congregation, Solomon's Temple and Herod's Temple. The "The Temple of Heaven" section (Beit Mikdash shel Ma'ala, בית מקדש של מעלה) - an idea appearing in Prophets and more extensively in mystical literature - explores the idea of the Eternal Temple, the model of ultimate beauty, from whence the beauty of the Lower Temple is derived. The idea of the eschetological Temple is also explored - a Temple which will be built by God.
Finally, the idea of the Temple of the Heart is touched upon. The study shows that the Temple is actually a representative element of the beauty of God; in one specific case the altar is called "beauty", which in some researchers' opinions is one of the names given to God. Sections of the Aggada referring to the building of the Temple mention an active participation of Sages in the design process, where they express an opinion and an aesthetic criticism for the nature of the Temple. In the Bible, on the other hand, despite its bountiful detail on the aesthetic components of the Tabernacle or the Temple, no explicit stand is taken on aesthetic matters. The aesthetic images used by the Rabbis point to the existence of a developed field of aesthetic discourse, and to the important place given it in Jewish theology. The study shows that the aesthetics of the Temple were of national fame and importance, for the building, in its glory, symbolized Jewish sovereignty, the orders of government and the correct social life. One of the noteworthy methods of Sages commentary is the one tying the Ma'ase HaMerkava (the story of the Chariot), whose meaning is theosophical, to the carriage of Solomon from The Song of Songs, whose meaning is distinctly aesthetic.
Rabbi Akiva's commentary deals with the beauty of God. It comes towards the end of the chain of commentaries, and the assumption is that the editor of the Mekilta saved the more complex dilemma for last. The description of the beauty of God comes in the context of a dialogue with the gentiles. This dialogue demonstrates the existence of an aesthetic inter-cultural discourse, and of the input of foreign ideas into Jewish thought. The study shows that Rabbi Akiva led the process of assimilating these ideas. As part of the process, Rabbi Akiva sanctified the Song of Songs, in an effort to emphasize the values of love and beauty in Jewish culture, as compared to other cultures. The Scroll, which had been given like the Torah was given, includes the measure of God, His appearance and His attributes, and it was the Scroll that provided Rabbi Akiva with the justification to speak of the beauty of God. The aesthetic appearance of God is also an explanation of the idea of a loving God - even so much as to suffer greatly or become a martyr. Rabbi Akiva was an ultimate example of a Lover of God, and demonstrated both in his philosophy and in his actions how much he was willing to sacrifice for the value of loving God.
In the teachings of Rabbi Akiva and his disciples, there are three important principles in the perception of love between the people and God: physical and intimate proximity, the people witnessing God, and both the people and God endowing each other with aesthetic value. Rabbi Akiva expresses the love from God's side through both universal and particular values: man was created in the image of God, and is thus good in the eyes of God; the Israelites are considered God's children (as it mentioned in Deut. 14:1), and are thus more beloved than the rest of the nations. Researchers attribute this concept to Judaism's war against Christian ideas, such as that of Jesus, who was created in the image of God and who is considered the Son of God. The idea of Creation in the Image of God is very central to Rabbinic thought; man is perceived as an icon of God, and thus God loves he who is like Him. Aesthetically speaking, looking at man means looking at the model that represents God. In addition, the idea of Father and Sons holds within it the idea of genetic relations between father and son, and the inherent similarity stemming from it. Rabbinic sources point to the fact that the beauty of man is a reflection of the beauty of God. As a symbol of special love to the People, God gives them an aesthetic instrument (Keli-Hemdah, כְּלִי [חֶמְדָּה]) with which the world was created - the Torah. This is another instance of an anti-Christian position, in which the Torah is the logos and was given only to the people of Israel. Another expression of love is the fact that God accompanies the people throughout its process of wandering in the desert, lives within the people and occasionally manifests Himself to them.
The Song of Songs scroll, which served as a basis for the rabbinic allegorical commentaries, expressed the love relations between the people and God in erotic terminology, according to the man and woman model. The jealousy having to do with loving a woman was translated into the jealousy experienced by God, lest the people whore after another God. All discussions of love in rabbinic commentary are saturated with aesthetic descriptions, and each of the lovers labors to intensify the beauty of his counterpart. In many cases, each side serves as an adornment of the other party. The study discusses the issue of the connection between beauty and love. In Greek philosophy, beauty is perceived as a basis for founding a loving relationship. In Judaism, the perception of God's physical beauty was translated into a revelation; usually a revelation of a beautiful entity. In both classic and modern aesthetics, there is a tight connection between aesthetics and emotions, including the emotion of pleasure and that of love. One of the bolder commentaries raises the concept of an interdependence between the beauty of God and Man's worship of God. The study hypothesises that this commentary expresses ideas of subjective aesthetic perception as they are discussed in modern aesthetics, and not necessarily a magical perception of God.
The revelation on the Sea was a foundational event in the creation of the love between the people and God. It is perceived as an occasion of redemption and rescue; the singing expressed the feeling of sublimity and great loftiness. This revelation, in constast to the revalation at Sinai did not terrify the people, who began to dance and sing. Eventually even the babies, miraculously, took part in the singing. According to the Aggada, these love relations began in Egypt, when God Himself cared for the doomed babies. Those babies, when they grew were fortunate enough to witness the revelation at the Sea and recognized God from previous knowledge. The power of this revelation is unprecedented in Jewish thought, both in its magnitude and in its great clarity, in comparison to the revelations experienced by the prophets and by Moses himself. This revelation brought about the aesthetic expression of the song. The singing also appears as a form of prayer, which is an aesthetic liturgical act, and the content of the song gives God aesthetic praises. One commentary comes to restrain the daring idea of the revelation, and explains why it is no longer possible to experience a revelation such as that at the sea or at Sinai; the people's maturity level is like that of an adolescent girl - and hence any future revelations must be concealed.
The study shows that the parallel versions of the Mekilta excerpt display a broadening of the idea of God's beauty. The verses from the Song of Songs, Fifth Chapter, are quoted in full, and the language is less implied and more direct. There is a clear statement that God is "beautiful" (שהוא נאה). One of the most common verbs when exalting God is kales (קלס). An investigation of the Greek origin of the word (kalos) and of the ways it is used both in Greek and in Hebrew show that the original meaning of the word is "beauty"; the greatest researchers of Jewish Studies and of the Classics agree on this point. The theosophical significance of the exaltation (kilus) is to attribute beauty to the image of God. However, the research literature is very poor in all that regards the question of God's beauty. Even in the clarification of the kilus issue, researchers are reluctant to state the idea expressly: God is Beautiful.
The idea of the clear revelation on the sea and the idea of exaltation triggered the description of God's aesthetic image. Despite the aversion to the ideas of materialism and of resemblances to paganism, the Sages did engage in a kind of spiritual sculpting. The descriptions of God's image reached the utmost detail, including body parts, color and form. The main source used for these descriptions is Chapter Five of the Song of Songs scroll. The chapter includes an aesthetic description of the lover, and it is this description which served as a Biblical reference for the description of God's image. One of the commentaries draws an analogy between the allegorical description of God and the people in Ezekiel, Chapter 16, and in Chapter Five of the Song of Songs. The study explores this comparison and deduces that in Song of Songs God's aesthetic components are imminent to His being, while in Ezekiel the wife's main aesthetic components are details of clothing and decoration. In addition, the study examines every body part of God's image, and the measure of aestheticism allotted to it in the other rabbinic sources.
The study also points to a phenomenal connection between early Jewish mysticism and mystical perceptions - and rabbinic commentary on the matters relating to the beauty of God. One of the most impressive phenomena is that both genres include similar descriptions drawn from the Song of Songs, but in mystical literature they are enhanced. In both, the character of Rabbi Akiva plays a major role. The study reviews the longtime argument appearing in research literature between the giants of Judaic Studies, about the degree of correlation between mysticism and Rabbinic tales regarding the image of God. This study disconnects the question about the historical link between texts of mystical literature and rabbinic tales from the question of a possible phenomenal connection. Hence, the study adopts the approach siding with the connection to mystical literature. The descriptions of the mystical experiences of the Sages of mystical literature, the Talmud and that of mystics (Yordei HaMerkava, יורדי המרכבה), reveal that the divine image shown before them was aesthetic and defined in aesthetic quantities and qualities. The study shows that in both sources, discoveries (and revelations) were attributed to Rabbi Akiva that even Moses did not attain. One of the methods having a connection with mystical literature is the Aggada. The profession of studying the Aggada was perceived as even higher status than that of studying the Halacha. Rabbi Akiva's bold Aggadic commentary received harsh criticism, and Sages convinced him to abandon this problematic profession, and deal with strictly Halachic problems.
At the end of the section on Rabbi Akiva, the study also deals with aesthetic aspects of his method in Halacha, as well as in daily events. The study examines the manner in which Rabbi Akiba organizes the Mishna and the aesthetic aspects of this ordering. In his Halachic considerations, Rabbi Akiva acts according to Rabbi Ishmael's method of the Beautiful Commandments. For example, on the issue of physical beauty of the body and worship of God, Rabbi Akiva stated the Halachic need for cohanim (priests) to be whole in body. He goes against the decision of earlier Sages, and allows a woman to adorn herself during nida (the period). To him, the values of love and beauty in the family surpass all other considerations. On the other hand, he is stricter on the matter of causes for divorce, and states that it is enough for the wife not to please her husband by her looks, or to offend him through ugly acts. According to Rabbi Akiva, a man is considered rich if he has a woman beautiful in acts. Emphasizing beauty in deeds raises again the idea of the connection between ethics and aesthetics. Rabbi Akiva applies his principles of familial love and beauty, by giving his wife a special "city of gold" jewel and thus awaking the jealousy of other women. A legend tells of Rabbi Akiva crying when he saw the beauty of a foreign woman, and teaches of his sensitivity to the beauty of woman. The study shows that at that time, Sages were more liberal regarding the beauty of the woman, and expressed themselves more freely on this matter than in later periods. Rabbi Akiva's aesthetic perception is also expressed when discussing the beauty of the people of Israel, and his world of aesthetic imagery reveals a rich imagination. The study aims to construct a kind of spiritual biography of Rabbi Akiva, and to show that in the religious and social world of this Sage the components of love and beauty were very central; it is no wonder, then, that it was Rabbi Akiva who developed the idea of the beauty of God in Rabbinic thought.
- חברי האתר יכולים להוסיף תגובה להצטרפות
