Nehar Deah

Mikketz

"Joseph and Asenath" - A Jewish-Hellenist Romance

We read only briefly of Asenath and her marriage to Joseph in the book of Bereishit: "And Pharaoh called Joseph Zaphnath-pa'aneach and gave him Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, as a wife" (41:45) and later: "And two sons where born to Joseph… which Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On…" (41:50). An anonymous Jewish author who lived in Roman times wrote a story, in Greek, on this topic entitled "The Confession and the Prayer of Asenath daughter of Poti-phera the Priest" or as it is more commonly known: "Joseph and Asenath".

The first motive for writing such a story is astonishment: How did Joseph the Tzaddik (righteous) marry a non-Jewish, Egyptian woman? Chazal try to answer this question by claiming that she was not Asenath the daughter of an Egyptian priest, but rather the daughter of Shechem, son of Chamor, and Dina, daughter of Jacob, (see Bereishit 34) who miraculously made her way down to Egypt and was adopted by a childless Egyptian couple. According to this version, Asenath was acceptable in terms of Halacha (Jewish ritual law) as her mother was a daughter of Israel. The solution offered to by the author of "Joseph and Asenath" to the problem of Joseph's marriage to a gentile woman is far simpler: Asenath was Egyptian and an idol worshipper, but she left her idols and converted to Joseph's religion. Asenath's connecting to Israel and its God is in fact the central theme of the book. Asenath is the living example of many people who converted to Judaism in ancient times: she becomes the symbol for all the gentiles who were "gathered under the wings of the Shechina (God's immediate presence)" and the book accords her the position chazal normally give to Ruth the Moabite".

The book's example of idol worship in practice is Asenath herself, to emphasize the greatness of her repentance. She leaves her idols after she sees the impressive handsomeness of Joseph. Initially she mocks Joseph, the Canaanite shepherd, but when she sees him from her window in all his magnificence, she is embarrassed that she did not correctly recognize this son of his God. When they meet, he treats her respectfully but rejects any contact with her as she is an idol worshipper. He even prays to God that Asenath will leave the darkness and come to the light, will leave a place of death and come to a place of life.

After Joseph leaves, Asenath privately does solemn repentance over a number of days. She cries, fasts and throws her jewelry out of the window to the passing destitute. She also throws out the broken pieces of her idols she has smashed. On the eighth day she stretches her hands out towards the East and confesses, in heartrending prayer, her sins as an idol worshipper (chapters 12-13). Her actions include repentance, prayer and charity, as we read in the Jerusalem Talmud (Ta'anit 2a): "Rabbi Lazar [=Elazar] says: three things cancel the decree and they are prayer, charity and repentance". The story of Asenath's repentance reflects an internal Jewish tradition which has many expressions, including the famous piyut (liturgical poem) Unetaneh Tokef, recited on Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) which climaxes with the statement: "And prayer and repentance and charity remove the evil of the decree".

It seems that "Joseph and Asenath" was written in among Greek speaking Jews living in Egypt. It cannot be conclusively shown that the author knew Hebrew - his language and style seems to be based mainly on the Greek translation of the Bible, the Septuagint. It can though be assumed that "Joseph and Asenath" was written before 115 CE, as it was then that most of the Jewish communities where destroyed in the Diaspora Revolt which began then, but it is not clear how far back from this we can date this work. A mystical sense is also felt in this work, which is reminiscent of the writings of Philo of Alexandria (circa 20 BCE - 50 CE) and it may be possible to use this fact to correctly date "Joseph and Asenath".

"Joseph and Asenath" was a well known story in the middle ages and it had a significant influence on world literature and Christian holy legends, but strangely in the Jewish world it is barely known and this is despite its Jewish origin and biblical content. The only exception is an historical composition "The Book of Jossipon", which was written in 953 CE, the author of which was apparently familiar with "Joseph and Asenath" in Latin translation.

The Greek story of Joseph and Asenath was influenced by the Greek romances of that time. Many of these romances tell of love between a man and a woman, both of them pure and moral characters with lofty qualities and this is exactly what we find in "Joseph and Asenath". Its second half is also similar to the Greek romances from another aspect. After Joseph marries Asenath, the son of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, tries to kidnap Asenath from Joseph. Since he does not succeed in getting Simeon and Levi as cohorts for this mission, he persuades Dan and Gad (the oldest son's of the maidservants, whom Joseph reported negatively to their father [Bereishit 37:2]) to help him, but the entire affair is doomed to failure, partly due to the bravery of the youthful Benjamin. Pharaoh's son is injured and eventually dies and Asenath rescues Dan and Gad from the wrath of Simeon and Levi. In Greek romances we also read of many adventures of couples after they are married, of evil plots against them by their enemies and of brave battles fought by the heroes of the story against those who wished them ill.

It is interesting that the second half of the book, which tells embellished tales of battles in the style of Greek romances, is the section which expresses the Jewish humanism of the author. This is the same humanism which finds its expression in the assertion that the verse "and you shall love your fellow man as yourself" (Vayikra 19:18) is a "great precept of the Torah" (Jerusalem Talmud, Nedarim 9a). When Simeon wished to beat Pharaoh's son, his brother Levi, the prophet, says to him: "Why are you angry with him? We are God fearing men and it is not fitting that God fearing men should reward wickedness with wickedness, to his fellow man" (23:9).

It is true that this story is not really similar to the stories that today's Hebrew reader is accustomed to, but it is specifically the unique quality of the book which will appeal to the modern reader more - its fantastic nature and detachment from reality expressed in it. The positive characters in the book are ideal characters but, despite this, are not lacking in vitality and its supernormal basis and the poetry in it blend into the story well. The ideal atmosphere and the sense of mysticism which permeate the story are highly successful in emphasizing its religious message. In addition to the story's superior literary level - whose appeal has not diminished, even today - it has great importance as a witness to the beliefs and ideas that existed among the people of Israel in ancient times and especially of the Jews who dwelt in Egypt.

Professor David Flusser
Died, Jerusalem, Elul 5760 (15 September 2000)

Jewish History - The Diaspora Revolt

In the years 115-117 CE a Jewish revolt took place in certain key centers of the Jewish Diaspora of the Roman Empire - Egypt, Cyrene (in the region of modern day Libya), Cyprus, and Mesopotamia (the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates, today Iraq). These revolts are known under the collective name of the "Diaspora Revolts".

Sources which describe the "Diaspora Revolt" are few and even then some are only partial, unclear or even strongly biased, so that historical research has found it very difficult to paint a complete and comprehensive picture of the revolt, its causes and its course.

We can offer a few possible causes for the revolt:

i) When the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, many refugees arrived from Israel to the various diaspora communities. Many of these refugees brought with them ideologies of rebellion, such as those which fueled the "Great Revolt" (which preceded the destruction of the Temple), which had an influence on the community.
ii) In certain communities there were existent tensions between the Jewish community and their gentile neighbors. The destruction of the Temple and the arrival of refugees served to worsen these tensions.
iii) Within the Jewish community there was already significant friction between the wealthy and the poor. The leadership, which was often unstable, did not succeed in maintaining control over the masses and counteracting the ringleaders of the revolt.
iv) Messianic-religious forces within the community strongly objected to the idol worshipping environment of the gentile community and were spurred on by the yearning to rebuild the Temple and to cause the fall of Rome. It must be stated though that the revolt did not break out because of the Romans and their policies, as the Roman Caesar at that time, Traianus (who ruled from 98-117) did not have any policy of deliberately harming Jews.

The revolt began as an uprising of Jews against their gentile neighbors and soon turned into an all out war against the Roman legionnaires sent to crush the rebellion. It seems that in some places the Jews initially had the upper hand and succeeded in causing much damage to their neighbors both in person and in property, especially public property. Eventually the Romans - under a new ruler, Caesar Hadrian, who began his reign in 117 CE - succeeded in brutally and mercilessly crushing the revolt. The consequences of the revolt were severe. In Egypt, Cyrene and Cyprus, Jews were killed en masse, whole communities were wiped out and property and land were confiscated. The Egyptian Jewish community, which up till then was the largest diaspora with the greatest influence over the Jewish world, lost this status, never returned to it. Only Mesopotamia (Babylon) was not critically effected and it seems that the destruction of the communities of Egypt, Cyrene and Cyprus was one of the main causes of the rise of the Babylonian Jewish community to become the major center of the Jewish community outside Israel, from then on.

It is worth noting that many Jewish communities did not take part in the revolt: Syria, Asia Minor (today Turkey), Greece and Italy - each for its own reasons. With regard to Israel, there is a disagreement among researchers as to whether the Jews of Israel took part in the Diaspora Revolt or not. Either way, about 15 years later the Bar Kochba Revolt (132 CE) broke out in Israel and its wide ranging implications dwarfed the "Diaspora Revolt", that may or may not have included Israel.

Liturgical Poetry - "U'Netaneh Tokef"

"U'Netaneh Tokef" is a piyut (liturgical poem) which is recited in the Mussaf (additional) prayer of both days of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom HaKippurim (Day of Atonement). The piyut starts with "Let us tell of the power of this day's holiness [the Day of Judgment] / for it is awesome and frightening". The piyut describes God's judgment of all mankind on the Yamim HaNoraim (High Holy Days) and emphasizes the greatness of God. It also tells of the great fear which grips all worlds on this day, when "The great shofar (ram's horn) is sounded / And a still small voice is heard. / Angels will hasten / And terror and trembling will seize them". It also describes the various verdicts which are carried out on the Day of Judgement: "Who will live and who will die, / who will live till his predetermined time and who will die before [it], / Who by water and who by fire, / Who by the sword and who by wild animal", etc. After this list, the piyut also gives the manner in which the decree may be changed: "And prayer and repentance and charity remove the evil of the decree". Repentance is remorse over past misdeeds and the decision not to repeat them; prayer is the worship of God over the High Holy Days and the turning to Him for mercy; Charity is appropriate behavior between man and his fellow man.

According to a work from the 13th century (a work of Halacha [ritual law] called "Or Zarua" ["light is sown"] by Rabbi Yitzchak ben Moshe of Vienna) the piyut "U'Netaneh Tokef" was written by Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, Germany. The bishop of the city demanded that Rabbi Amnon convert to Christianity, but he steadfastly refused. Once, after the bishop pressurized him, Rabbi Amnon asked for 3 days to consider the bishop's demands. It was clear to Rabbi Amnon that he would not accede to the bishop's demands, but he was filled with remorse as his answer to the bishop could have been interpreted by some as thought he was having doubts. After 3 days Rabbi Amnon refused to obey the bishop's orders and as punishment the bishop's men cut off Rabbi Amnon's fingers and toes. On Rosh Hashanah Rabbi Amnon asked that he be carried on his bed to the synagogue and there he recited "U'Netaneh Tokef".

According to this tradition, the story of Rabbi Amnon happened during the crusades (which began on the verge of the 12th century), when the crusaders, on their way to the land of Israel to conquer it from the Moslems, rampaged against the Jews of Germany and violently demanded their conversion to Christianity. The story of Rabbi Amnon of Mainz is an archetypical story of a man who gives up his life as a martyr in the sanctification of God's name.

A number of versions of this piyut have been found in the last few generations, in the Cairo Geniza, which are dated to before the 11th century. It seems - according to its language, literary structure, design and sources - that "U'Netaneh Tokef" is a more ancient piyut whose source lies in the land of Israel. This piyut made its way to medieval Germany where it became part of the martyrdom of Rabbi Amnon and through this achieved its important status.