RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: DELOS SYNAGOGUE: OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN THE WORLD

  

 

 

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:

DELOS SYNAGOGUE:

OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN THE WORLD

The synagogue of Delos, Greece, a small island next to Mykonos, is the oldest synagogue known today, its origin dating between 150 and 128 BCE. The building's most recent use is widely agreed to have been an assembly hall for Jews .

From The Island Packet, Rabbi Arthur Segal, at the synagogue on  Delos Island, Greece. Thursday December 1, 2011.

 However, the first use for the building is more controversial. While some people think the building was erected as a private house or a pagan meeting place, most believe that it was a synagogue even in its earliest form.

Located on the eastern side of the city of Delos, the synagogue was far from the central areas of the city. We know. We walked at and then ran it up hill trying not to miss the ferry back to Mykonos.

Instead, the synagogue was built in a section of Delos called the Quartier du stade. In this part of the city, in contrast to the religious and commercial focus at Delos' center, residences dominated the scene (there was also a small, easily accessibly port).

The synagogue itself consisted of two large rooms containing a throne and multiple marble benches as well as many smaller rooms which allowed for access to a reservoir. This "throne" seen in the photos, was called the "Moses Chair'' and seems to be used by the rabbi of the synagogue.

The synagogue was discovered in 1912 by a team led by archaeologist André Plassart .  The synagogue is understood to have remained in use until the end of the second century AD. The dominating feature of the building is the large hall, which was presumably used in a flexible way, with moveable furniture, since there is no evidence for benches built along the walls.^] The hall is oriented towards the east, with a series of secondary rooms at the southern end.

 The original identification of the building as a synagogue by Plassart was based in large part on dedicatory inscriptions referring to "Theos Hypsistos," or "God Most High," often considered an appellation for the Jewish God in antiquity, though not exclusively. 

Throne of Moses

Here is a close up of the Moses Throne from

Synagogues360: Delos Synagogue

 

The Synagogue was on prime ocean-view real estate. It truly was a Beth Yam, House by the Sea. Photo from same above web site.

View to Southeast

But here is the rub. Many Jewish historians state that the advent of a synagogue did not occur until after 70 CE, when Ezra's Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. If we define a synagogue as a meeting place for Jews, whether it be for social, political, prayer or study reasons, and whether it be a free standing building or a room in someone's home, we know therefore that synagogues began to exist, after the Babylonian Diaspora of 586 BCE. They existed while the Ezra's Temple still was in existence, and eventually developed a service, that would seem familiar today. They had set prayer including the Amidah, the Shema, and reading from the Torah as well as the books of the Prophets, along with a d'var Torah, aka a sermon. The reading from the Prophets was a direct afront to Hebrews, still mired in the cult of the Priests, with animal sacrifices, who believed in the Five Books of Moses only, i.e. The Torah, and none of the books of the Prophets, and certainly none of the oral law or its commentaries, which we call Talmud today.

 

Hebraism and Judaism lived side by side for 100s of years before the Roman's destroyed Ezra's Temple in Jerusalem, and Jews lived in foreign lands, under Greek and /or Roman rule, long after they were allowed to return from Babylon to what we call Israel today.

 

Certainly any critical or even superficial reading of the Christian Bible has Rabbi Y'shua ,aka Jesus, giving sermons in Synagogues and reading from the Law, aka Torah, as well as from the Prophets. And this was circa 35 or 45 years before the Temple was destroyed.

 

 

Rabbi Arthur Segal www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Jewish Renewal www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

 

credits to Wiki:

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: DELOS SYNAGOGUE: OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN THE WORLD

 

 

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: DELOS SYNAGOGUE: OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN THE WORLD

The synagogue of Delos, Greece, a small island next to Mykonos, is the oldest synagogue known today, its origin dating between 150 and 128 BCE. The building's most recent use is widely agreed to have been an assembly hall for Jews .

From The Island Packet, Rabbi Arthur Segal, at the synagogue on  Delos Island, Greece. Thursday December 1, 2011.

 However, the first use for the building is more controversial. While some people think the building was erected as a private house or a pagan meeting place, most believe that it was a synagogue even in its earliest form.

Located on the eastern side of the city of Delos, the synagogue was far from the central areas of the city. We know. We walked at and then ran it up hill trying not to miss the ferry back to Mykonos.

Instead, the synagogue was built in a section of Delos called the Quartier du stade. In this part of the city, in contrast to the religious and commercial focus at Delos' center, residences dominated the scene (there was also a small, easily accessibly port).

The synagogue itself consisted of two large rooms containing a throne and multiple marble benches as well as many smaller rooms which allowed for access to a reservoir. This "throne" seen in the photos, was called the "Moses Chair'' and seems to be used by the rabbi of the synagogue.

The synagogue was discovered in 1912 by a team led by archaeologist André Plassart .  The synagogue is understood to have remained in use until the end of the second century AD. The dominating feature of the building is the large hall, which was presumably used in a flexible way, with moveable furniture, since there is no evidence for benches built along the walls.^] The hall is oriented towards the east, with a series of secondary rooms at the southern end.

 The original identification of the building as a synagogue by Plassart was based in large part on dedicatory inscriptions referring to "Theos Hypsistos," or "God Most High," often considered an appellation for the Jewish God in antiquity, though not exclusively. 

Throne of Moses

Here is a close up of the Moses Throne from

Synagogues360: Delos Synagogue

 

The Synagogue was on prime ocean-view real estate. It truly was a Beth Yam, House by the Sea. Photo from same above web site.

View to Southeast

But here is the rub. Many Jewish historians state that the advent of a synagogue did not occur until after 70 CE, when Ezra's Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. If we define a synagogue as a meeting place for Jews, whether it be for social, political, prayer or study reasons, and whether it be a free standing building or a room in someone's home, we know therefore that synagogues began to exist, after the Babylonian Diaspora of 586 BCE. They existed while the Ezra's Temple still was in existence, and eventually developed a service, that would seem familiar today. They had set prayer including the Amidah, the Shema, and reading from the Torah as well as the books of the Prophets, along with a d'var Torah, aka a sermon. The reading from the Prophets was a direct afront to Hebrews, still mired in the cult of the Priests, with animal sacrifices, who believed in the Five Books of Moses only, i.e. The Torah, and none of the books of the Prophets, and certainly none of the oral law or its commentaries, which we call Talmud today.

 

Hebraism and Judaism lived side by side for 100s of years before the Roman's destroyed Ezra's Temple in Jerusalem, and Jews lived in foreign lands, under Greek and /or Roman rule, long after they were allowed to return from Babylon to what we call Israel today.

 

Certainly any critical or even superficial reading of the Christian Bible has Rabbi Y'shua ,aka Jesus, giving sermons in Synagogues and reading from the Law, aka Torah, as well as from the Prophets. And this was circa 35 or 45 years before the Temple was destroyed.

 

 

Rabbi Arthur Segal www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Jewish Renewal www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

 

credits to Wiki:

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL : IF OTHER'S WRONG YOU, CONSIDER IT NOTHING: JEWISH RENEWAL.

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL : IF OTHER'S WRONG YOU, CONSIDER IT NOTHING: JEWISH RENEWAL

 

 From December 1, 2011 Bluffton Sun.

___

 

Shalom and peace. I again invite you to learn about how the Talmud of Judaism teaches us to live.

 '' If you have done much good to someone, consider it as you have done very little. If someone has done you a bit of good, consider it as if he has done you much good. If you have done any wrong to someone, even a little bit, consider it as if it is much wrong.  If others have done much wrong to you, consider it as nothing.'' (Derek Eretz 3:9)

My rabbinic teacher asked: "Would you rather be happy or would you rather be right?''  He was not talking about major situations when ''we cannot stand idly by while our fellows' blood is being shed.'' He was discussing the daily interactions that we have with our fellows, including coworkers, family, et.al.

Our sages nor God wish us treated as door mats.  But neither are we to be full of angst and peccadilloes.

'' If you have done much good to someone, consider it as you have done very little.''

Why are we here on earth? From a Jewish spiritual point of view, we are here to be of maximum service to God and our fellows. When doing good for someone, or some institution, even if it is 'much' good, we have to consider it as if we have done little. Further, everything we have is not just a gift from God, but a loan.

''If someone has done you a bit of good, consider it as if he has done you much good.'' Think of all of the little things that are done for us each day with the same gratitude we would give for the occasional big thing done for us.

We realize all the things we take for granted that other humans do for us, and that God does for us.  When we do not acknowledge such wonders we become ingrates. Instead of seeing a flat tire as an inconvenience, one thing wrong out of 999 things that went right, we awfulize it, and loose our shalom.

 ''If you have done any wrong to someone, even a little bit, consider it as if it is much wrong.'' It is very easy to hurt another's feelings. Even doing acts with good intentions can bring harm.  Be kind and make amends.

 ''If others have done to you much wrong, consider it in your eyes as nothing.''   This isn't easy. It goes against our so-called human nature.  Our job spiritually is to grow from Homo Sapien, with this 'human nature,' to Homo Spiritus.  We check our egos.

We let childlike mean behaviors flow off our backs. Because we are trying to live a spiritual life doesn't mean everyone will treat us respectfully.  Because one is a vegetarian doesn't mean the bull won't charge.  We shed our Velcro skins and grow skins of Teflon.  Our lives go smoother. We live in freedom, with happiness and joyousness each day.

 

Rabbi Arthur Segal is an international lecturer, author, and teacher. Visit him at www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org .   Follow him on FaceBook at 'Arthur L Segal', on Twitter at RabbiASegal, or his blog at  http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com  .  Email at RabbiSegal@JewishSpiritualRenewal.net

 

Rabbi Arthur Segal www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Jewish Renewal www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL : IF OTHER'S WRONG YOU, CONSIDER IT NOTHING: JEWISH RENEWAL

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL : IF OTHER'S WRONG YOU, CONSIDER IT NOTHING: JEWISH RENEWAL

 

 From December 1, 2011 Bluffton Sun.

___

 

Shalom and peace. I again invite you to learn about how the Talmud of Judaism teaches us to live.

 '' If you have done much good to someone, consider it as you have done very little. If someone has done you a bit of good, consider it as if he has done you much good. If you have done any wrong to someone, even a little bit, consider it as if it is much wrong.  If others have done much wrong to you, consider it as nothing.'' (Derek Eretz 3:9)

My rabbinic teacher asked: "Would you rather be happy or would you rather be right?''  He was not talking about major situations when ''we cannot stand idly by while our fellows' blood is being shed.'' He was discussing the daily interactions that we have with our fellows, including coworkers, family, et.al.

Our sages nor God wish us treated as door mats.  But neither are we to be full of angst and peccadilloes.

'' If you have done much good to someone, consider it as you have done very little.''

Why are we here on earth? From a Jewish spiritual point of view, we are here to be of maximum service to God and our fellows. When doing good for someone, or some institution, even if it is 'much' good, we have to consider it as if we have done little. Further, everything we have is not just a gift from God, but a loan.

''If someone has done you a bit of good, consider it as if he has done you much good.'' Think of all of the little things that are done for us each day with the same gratitude we would give for the occasional big thing done for us.

We realize all the things we take for granted that other humans do for us, and that God does for us.  When we do not acknowledge such wonders we become ingrates. Instead of seeing a flat tire as an inconvenience, one thing wrong out of 999 things that went right, we awfulize it, and loose our shalom.

 ''If you have done any wrong to someone, even a little bit, consider it as if it is much wrong.'' It is very easy to hurt another's feelings. Even doing acts with good intentions can bring harm.  Be kind and make amends.

 ''If others have done to you much wrong, consider it in your eyes as nothing.''   This isn't easy. It goes against our so-called human nature.  Our job spiritually is to grow from Homo Sapien, with this 'human nature,' to Homo Spiritus.  We check our egos.

We let childlike mean behaviors flow off our backs. Because we are trying to live a spiritual life doesn't mean everyone will treat us respectfully.  Because one is a vegetarian doesn't mean the bull won't charge.  We shed our Velcro skins and grow skins of Teflon.  Our lives go smoother. We live in freedom, with happiness and joyousness each day.

 

Rabbi Arthur Segal is an international lecturer, author, and teacher. Visit him at www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org .   Follow him on FaceBook at 'Arthur L Segal', on Twitter at RabbiASegal, or his blog at  http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com  .  Email at RabbiSegal@JewishSpiritualRenewal.net

 

Rabbi Arthur Segal www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Jewish Renewal www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA