The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years [Hardcover]

Professor Lee I. Levine (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300074751 | ISBN-13: 978-0300074758 | Publication Date: February 9, 2000

The synagogue was one of the most central and revolutionary institutions of ancient Judaism leaving an indelible mark on Christianity and Islam as well. This commanding book provides an in-depth and comprehensive history of the synagogue from the Hellenistic period to the end of late antiquity.

Drawing exhaustively on archeological evidence and on such literary sources as rabbinic material, the New Testament, Jewish writings of the Second Temple period, and Christian and pagan works, Lee Levine traces the development of the synagogue from what was essentially a communal institution to one which came to embody a distinctively religious profile. Exploring its history in the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods in both Palestine and the Diaspora, he describes the synagogue's basic features: its physical remains; its role in the community; its leadership; the roles of rabbis, Patriarchs, women, and priests in its operation; its liturgy; and its art. What emerges is a fascinating mosaic of a dynamic institution that succeeded in integrating patterns of social and religious behavior from the contemporary non-Jewish society while maintaining a distinctively Jewish character.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Levine (Jewish history and classical archaeology, Hebrew Univ.) has produced a massive and scholarly study of the evolving role of the synagogue, from the Hellenistic period to late antiquity. The information gathered from archaeological digs has been ably incorporated into this study. Levine shows the "exuberant diversity" of synagogues of the Diaspora (the Jewish exile) and points out the common patterns that provided unity to a dispersed community. Black-and-white drawings and renderings along with photographs of individual synagogue architecture and remains complement the insightful text and make this book a true feast of learning. An informed lay reader with interests in archaeology and religion will appreciate this tome and will, at the very least, dip into certain chapters and topics. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with comprehensive Jewish studies collections.
-Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Levine's monumental work weighs several pounds and runs to more than 700 densely packed pages. It is not a book for the casual reader, but it belongs on your pastor's or rabbi's bookshelf (why not give it as a gift of encouragement) and on your nightstand, if as a Christian or a Jew you want to understand more about the roots of your faith. ....In the interaction between the Jewish and early Christian communities, influence went in both directions. Despite the early Christians' disdain for the notion of "sacred places," church buildings became sacred places in part as a result of Jewish influence. With the collapse of the Roman imperium and the destruction of the social world it fostered, the divide between Judaism and Christianity grew wider and was more rigidly enforced, leading to the pogroms of the Middle Ages and the subsequent history we know all too well. It is not possible to change that past. But hope for the future lies in the possibility that Jews and Christians take up the opportunity to understand and rethink their shared history. To such an enterprise, Lee Levine's book makes a splendid contribution. -- From Beliefnet

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (February 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300074751
• ISBN-13: 978-0300074758
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will be the leading work in the field, Blows Your Conception, October 19, 2000

By 

Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years (Hardcover)

Lee Levine is a Professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and this is a fresh perspective on the ancient synagogue (gathering place). According the Levine, the synagogue was not just a replacement for the Temple that was destroyed. It was not only a center of learning and prayer that faced Jerusalem. According to Levine, prayer was not even the primary function. It was a community center that even served meals. Prayer was not done according to the Talmud and its leadership had nothing to do with rabbis. As is done today, the benefactors of early synagogues even had their names displayed in gold on plaques. The early synagogues were embellished by paintings and mosaics of birds and icons, including pagan and non-Jewish astrological signs. More money was spent on large synagogues than on the schools and academies. (the more things change the more they stay the same, no?) Levine writes that there is no verification that females were ever separated into galleries. Greek and Aramaic were the predominant languages in the early synagogues. They did not become prayer centers til about the fourth century. In the words of the Times Literary Supplement, this is a weighty and meaty book.

5.0 out of 5 stars encyclopedic, September 14, 2011

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years, Second Edition (Paperback)

This dry but comprehensive book addresses a variety of issues related to the first known synagogues, mostly between about 240 BCE and 500 CE. (Although Levine and other commentators believe that synagogues existed before the third century BCE, the first documentary evidence of a synagogue appears in late 3rd-century inscriptions from Egypt). Levine covers a variety of issues, include synagogue architecture, art and organization, as well as the roles of rabbinic sages, women, and priests. Generally, Levine emphasizes the diversity among early synagogues; Judaism was more decentralized than early Christianity. Some of the more interesting things I learned were:

*The extent to which synagogues honored pagan rulers in some places. Before the Roman takeover of Egypt, Egyptian Jews commonly dedicated synagogues to the ruling royal family. And Roman synagogues were named after Augustus and other political leaders (although such practices were unknown in many other places).

*It is clear, based on both the New Testament and other sources such as Philo, that early synagogues included readings from the Torah and from the prophets. However, the extent of prayer in early synagogues is unclear.

*Synagogues have been oriented towards Jerusalem since the 3rd century, but not so consistently in earlier centuries. Levine speculates that this fact indicates that the synagogue's religious functions became dominant by then (as opposed to its role as center of the Jewish community). But even after that, synagogues included Jewish courts, schools, and other functions not directly related to prayer.

*Synagogal art differed dramatically from place to place. Some synagogues had no images of man or beast (perhaps interpreting the Torah's restrictions on pagan imagery more strictly), while others continued a wide variety of art, including pictures of Biblical figures and the signs of the Zodiac.

*In the early 300s as today, Jews were often at least somewhat part of the broader community. In Greek-speaking cities, some synagogue remains list Jews holding public office of various types.

*What we don't know often outweighs what we know, given the fragmentary evidence available. For example, one synagogue in Asia Minor gave a woman the honor of sitting in the front row of the congregation, indicating that this synagogue (unlike synagogues over the past 1500 years or so) did not segregate men and women. Was this synagogue an aberration? Levine speculates not (given the absence of clear evidence of segregation) but there is no clear archaeological evidence either way.