Did Jew Know That - People of the Book

by Rabbi Peg Kershenbaum, Temple Judea Scholar-in-Residence

As much as Jews respect reading, education and the study of our texts, ancient and modern, our literature does not bestow upon us the title “People of the Book.” It resonates with us; we’ve proudly adopted it, but it originates in the Quran!

In the sacred scripture of Islam, Jews, Christians, Muslims (and perhaps Zoroastrians) are so described because we all have an attachment to monotheism as expressed in our texts. When applied politically in the seventh century CE, the designation allowed Jews and Christians “protected status.” We could practice our religion and study our texts in the Islamic Empire, but we still had to pay taxes as second-class citizens.

This wasn’t always as distasteful as it sounds! There were about four centuries of a Golden Age of learning, creative blossoming and scientific advances under Islam in Spain. We’ll talk about one of the great products of this age, Maimonides, down the road.

But for now, what are those Jewish texts that are so much a part of Jewish culture that we are still studying them even after two millennia? (We’ll explore what they are in the future. So much is “down the road”! It’s like a traffic jam on 276!)

To name but a few of those texts: TaNaKh; i.e., Torah, N’vi’im, Ketuvim: the first five books of the Bible; the Prophetic books in the Bible (like Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings as well as the works of all the famous and not-so-famous Prophets); and the Writings (like the Megillot of Esther, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations and Ecclesiastes).

But wait, there’s more! Next time: how the texts were fruitful and multiplied!