Traditionism (Mark 7:1-13)
Notes
Transcript
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. “Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the Lord. “So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”
The Jewish rules with handwashing has it only origin from Scripture from Exodus 30:17-21.
Origins (https://www.learnreligions.com/jewish-hand-washing-rituals-2076317)
The basis for handwashing in Judaism was originally related to the Temple service and sacrifices, and it comes from the Torah in Exodus 17-21.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "You shall also make a basin of bronze, and its pedestal also of bronze, to wash with; and you shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. For Aaron and his sons shall wash there their hands and their feet. When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire to the Lord. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute forever to them, to him and to his seed throughout their generations."
The directions for a basin to be set up for the ritual washing of the priests' hands and feet is the first mention of the practice. In these verses, the failure to handwashing is tied to the possibility of death, and it is this reason that some believe that Aaron's sons died in Leviticus 10.
After the destruction of the Temple, however, there was a change in the focus of handwashing. Without the ritual objects and processes of the sacrifices, and without sacrifices, the priests were no longer able to wash their hands.
The rabbis, not wanting the handwashing ritual's importance to be forgotten at the time of the rebuilding of the (Third) Temple moved the sanctity of the Temple sacrifice to the dining room table, which became the modern-day mizbeach, or altar.
With this change, the rabbis committed countless pages -- an entire tractate -- of the Talmud to the halachot (laws) of handwashing. Called Yadayim (hands), this tractate discusses the ritual of handwashing, how it's practiced, what water is considered clean, and so on.
Netilyat yadayim (handwashing) can be found 345 times in the Talmud, including in Eruvin 21b, where a rabbi refuses to eat while in a prison house before he has had the chance to wash his hands.
Our Rabbis taught: R. Akiba was once confined in a prison-house [By the Romans] and R. Joshua the grits-maker was attending on him. Every day, a certain quantity of water was brought in to him. On one occasion he was met by the prison keeper who said to him, "Your water to-day is rather much; do you perhaps require it for undermining the prison?" He poured out a half of it and handed to him the other half. When he came to R. Akiba the latter said to him, "Joshua, do you not know that I am an old man and my life depends on yours?" When the latter told him all that had happened [R. Akiba] said to him, "Give me some water to wash my hands." "It will not suffice for drinking," the other complained, "will it suffice for washing your hands?" "What can I do," the former replied: "when for [neglecting] the words of the Rabbis one deserves death? It is better that I myself should die than that I should transgress against the opinion of my colleagues" It was related that he tasted nothing until the other had brought him water wherewith to wash his hands.
How to Properly Washing Your Hands (Mayim Achronim)
Mayim achronim has its own "how to," which is less involved than regular handwashing. For most types of handwashing, including before a meal where you'll be eating bread, you should follow the following steps.
Make sure your hands are clean. This seems counterproductive, but remember that netilyat yadayim (handwashing) is not about cleanliness, but about ritual. Fill a washing cup with enough water for both of your hands. If you are left-handed, begin with your left hand. If you are right-handed, start with your right hand. Pour the water twice on your dominant hand and then twice on your other hand. Some pour three times, including Chabad Lubavitchers. Make sure the water covers your entire hand up to the wrist with each pour and separate your fingers so the water touches the whole of your hand. After washing, grab a towel and as you dry your hands recite the bracha (blessing): Baruch atah Adonai, Elohenu Melech Ha'Olam, asher kideshanu b'mitzvotav, vetzivanu al netilat yadayim. This blessing means, in English, Blessed are you Lord, our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the washing of the hands.
There are many who say the blessing before they dry their hands, too. After you wash your hands, before the blessing is said over the bread, try not to speak. Although this is a custom and not halacha (law), it is fairly standard in the religious Jewish community.
The washing of hands is required before eating a meal at which bread is served. One reason for hand washing is purely mundane: to clean them before eating. The origin of this law, however, is biblical (Exodus 30:17-21). Moses was commanded to make a copper laver and to place it at the entrance to the altar area so that Aaron and his sons could wash their hands before approaching the altar to offer sacrifices. Verse 20 concludes, “. . .and it shall be for them a statute forever.” The washing of hands makes them ritually pure. This symbolic expression of washing away impurity from one’s hands dates back to Temple times, when the priests (Kohanim), as described above with Aaron, devoted their lives to the Temple and its sacrificial system. Before performing any ritual, a Kohein was required to wash his hands, making himself pure and ready to offer a sacrifice.
When the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the table in a home came to represent the Temple altar. The bread placed on it symbolizes the offerings that were once brought to the priests. The sages who believed that the Temple and the priesthood would be restored did not want the practice of washing hands before handling an offering or performing a ritual to be forgotten, and so washing the hands before a meal was strictly enforced. Today, Orthodox and traditional Jews still wash their hands before eating bread. (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hand-washing)
“Your table is an altar. You are the high priest. That plate of delicious morsels before you, that’s the sacrifice. You do the ritual washing of hands, say a blessing on the food, and then dig in, to elevate all those carbs and proteins into a divine experience.” (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/607403/jewish/Meal-Hand-Washing.htm)
According to My Jewish Learning, hand-washing (netilat yadayim) “is a way to pause and be reflective about what you are about to consume. Netilat yadayim is not about cleanliness, but about purification so no soap is used.” (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hand-washing)
The Babylonian Talmud has a strong comparison for not hand washing, “Concerning anyone who eats bread without washing his hands, it is as if he engaged in sexual intercourse with a prostitute, as it is stated: ‘For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a loaf of bread.’” Sotah 4b:4; 1:1, V.9
Korban or Qorban
“The kohanim would make sacrifices for themselves, for other individual Jews, or for the entire Jewish people. These sacrifices were called korbanot. The word korban means “something which draws close.” Their purpose was to bring people closer to God. … There were three basic kinds of korbanot: Animals, grain, and money. Animals would be killed, grain would be burned, and money would be donated. … After the destruction of the Temple in the year 70 CE, Jews stopped offering korbanot. Instead, they began to offer prayers. The rabbis taught us that we can become closer to God with the words of our mouths rather than with physical sacrifices.” (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/understanding-biblical-sacrifice-korbanot)
“The term ‘ḳorban’ was frequently used in vows. By saying, ‘Let my property be to you ḳorban’—that is, a gift consecrated to God—a man could prevent another from deriving any benefit from what he possessed (Ned. i. 4). This, of course, led to great abuses, as, in fact, all inconsiderate vows did, and, therefore, was much opposed by the sages (see Eccl. v. 1-5). Jesus (Mark vii. 11-13; comp. Matt. xv. 5-9) had such a vow in view when he said: "If a man say to his father or mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Ḳorban, ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition" (Greek). But the charge of hypocrisy, or lip-service, raised against the Pharisees in this connection is entirely unfounded; for pharisaic tradition did actually provide a remedy against rash vows by empowering any sage consulted to dissolve the vow in case it could be shown that it was not made with a full consideration of all its consequences; this very power "to loosen that which is bound" by the Law being declared to be a privilege of the Rabbis, derived from the spirit of the Law while seemingly against the letter ("hetter nedarim"; Ḥag. i. 8).
It is expressly declared, however, by R. Eliezer that if a vow infringes upon the honor due to father or mother, the right procedure is to endeavor to convince him who made it that he failed to consider the consequences sufficiently, and then to dissolve the vow; others, however, dissented, holding that God's honor ought to be considered first (Ned. ix. 1). Against this, R. Meïr declares (Ned. ix. 4) that "wherever a vow is made which infringes the laws of humanity, the vow should be dissolved by the sage." Thus the Mishnaic code shows the instance quoted in the New Testament to be, instead of a reproach of pharisaism, as contended by Oort in ‘Theol. Tijdschrift,’ xxxviii., a vindication of the humane spirit prevailing among the Rabbis; possibly Jesus had only the rigorous class of teachers in mind, while his more humane views were those shared by others.” (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9468-korban)
Purposes of Karbanot (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/sacrifices-and-offerings-karbanot#2)
Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of Karbanot is not simply to obtain forgiveness from sin. Although many Karbanot have the effect of expiating sins, there are many other purposes for bringing Karbanot, and the expiatory effect is often incidental, and is subject to significant limitations.
Certain Karbanot are brought purely for the purpose of communing with G-d and becoming closer to Him. Others are brought for the purpose of expressing thanks to G-d, love or gratitude. Others are used to cleanse a person of ritual impurity (which does not necessarily have anything to do with sin). And yes, many Karbanot are brought for purposes of atonement.
The atoning aspect of Karbanot is carefully circumscribed. For the most part, Karbanot only expiate unintentional sins, that is, sins committed because a person forgot that this thing was a sin. No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress or through lack of knowledge, and for the most part, Karbanot cannot atone for a malicious, deliberate sin. In addition, Karbanot have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents his or her actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person who was harmed by the violation.