Source: “Border lines : The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity” By Daniel Boyarin, University of Pennsylvania Press. 2004
Naturalizing the Border Apostolic Succession in the Mishna.wav
This podcast argues that the concept of apostolic succession in both early Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism developed around the late second century, suggesting they were parallel processes rather than one influencing the other. The author posits that Rabbinic Judaism, as formalized in the Mishna, created a legitimating genealogy tracing authority back to Moses, similar to Christian ideas of succession. This move was part of a larger struggle for religious authority that aimed to centralize power within the Rabbinic elite, particularly the lineage of Rabbi Yehuda. The author analyzes the structure of Tractate Avot in the Mishna, highlighting how an insertion into the succession list reveals a likely attempt to assert the patriarchal line's legitimacy by connecting it to an earlier tradition.
Epistemic Shift and the Aggregation of Elements: A central concept is the idea of an "epistemic shift," which doesn't involve the invention of entirely new things but rather the combination of existing elements into a new categorical framework or structure. This is illustrated by how male homosexuality was formed as a category in the nineteenth century by aggregating pre-existing elements. Similarly, the source argues that Christian heresiology, as formulated by figures like Justin, brought together existing ideas like rules of faith, apostolic succession, and false prophecy under a single principle of heresy. The source suggests that rabbinic Judaism as a distinct entity was also formed through such an aggregation of various elements, primarily in the Mishna at the very end of the second century.
Rabbinic Judaism as a Late Second-Century Formation: Building on the idea of the epistemic shift, the source posits that rabbinic Judaism, as we know it, is an aggregate formation that coalesced around the time of the Mishna's promulgation at the end of the second century. While some elements existed before this time, their specific combination into the categorical structure that defines rabbinic Judaism is argued to be a product of this period. This counters views that place the definitive formation of rabbinic Judaism much earlier, such as at the Council of Yavneh in the first century.
Torah as the Center of Rabbinic Authority: The source highlights the concept of "Torah," particularly the Oral Torah, as epitomizing the new rabbinic system of knowledge and power. This ideology posits that the Oral Torah was communicated from Mount Sinai and that the Rabbis are its exclusive heirs. This claim of authority is crucial to the rabbinic "rule of faith," which asserts that the Oral Torah is divinely originated, thus establishing the rabbinic House of Study as the sole legitimate source of religious authority.
Displacement of Traditional Authorities: The establishment of this new rabbinic regime of knowledge and power, centered on the Rabbis and their interpretation of Torah, necessarily involved the disenfranchisement of previous holders of authority. The sources specifically mention priests and other traditional sources of knowledge, possibly including women, as groups whose authority was superseded or marginalized by the rising rabbinic elite. This displacement is seen as part of an extended struggle for religious hegemony.
The Role of Legitimating Genealogy and Succession: Both nascent rabbinism and nascent Christianity developed legitimating narratives of origin and succession to buttress their claims to authority and tradition. These genealogies provided a story of orthodoxy perpetuated by faithful transmission. The source notes that this concept evolved from the Hellenistic idea of a diadoche (a list of teachers and their students in a philosophical school) into a doctrine of succession of actual officeholders who hold exclusive claim to the truth and the power to enforce it. This transformation was vital for the development of both movements into orthodoxies.
Apostolic Succession in Tractate Avot: The source analyzes the first chapter of the Mishnaic tractate Avot as the crucial rabbinic text that invents a rabbinic version of apostolic succession, or diadoche of the Rabbis. This list, starting with Moses receiving the Torah at Sinai and transmitting it through Joshua, the Elders, Prophets, and the Men of the Great Assembly, serves to establish a chain of tradition that ultimately leads to the Rabbis. The detailed examination of this text reveals it as a carefully constructed document designed to support the emerging rabbinic authority.
The Missing Priests in the Avot Succession List: A significant observation about the succession list in Avot 1:1 is the deliberate omission of priests, who traditionally held religious authority in Judaism. The source argues that this absence is highly telling and represents a conscious effort to remove priests from the line of legitimate transmission, inserting prophets instead. This is interpreted as a political statement asserting the sole legitimacy of the Rabbis and their Oral Torah, which includes additional strictures referred to as "fences around the Torah."
The Insertion of the Patriarchal Line into the Avot Succession: The source identifies a key "fracture point" in the text of Avot: the insertion of the succession list leading up to the patriarchal line of Rabban Gamaliel and culminating in Rabbi Yehuda (the editor of the Mishna) and his son. Formally and chronologically, this section breaks the continuity of the main list, which otherwise runs from Moses down to Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai. This insertion is argued to be a later addition, likely by Rabbi Yehuda himself, to graft his family's political authority (the patriarchate) onto the more established and prestigious academic tradition of the Yohanine teachers, thereby legitimizing his dynasty as the true heirs to the tradition.
Rabbinic Patriarchate as a Relatively New Institution: Contrary to older historical views, the source suggests that the rabbinic patriarchate, as an institution claiming political and exclusive religious authority, was relatively new at the time of the Mishna's redaction by Rabbi Yehuda. It likely gained prominence partly through connections with the Roman authorities. The source argues that much of Rabbi Yehuda's work, including the editing of the Mishna and the composition of the Avot text, was aimed precisely at providing a genealogy and legitimation for his family line, positioning it as the exclusive source of legitimate Torah authority, even over competing lines of Pharisaic teachers like those associated with Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai. The inclusion of his son in the Avot list is seen as establishing the dynastic nature of this new institution.
Rabbinic and Christian Orthodoxy as Parallel Developments: A major hypothesis is that the development of rabbinic orthodoxy and Christian orthodoxy were parallel processes occurring in the late second century, possibly in interaction with each other, rather than one simply influencing the other linearly. Both movements transformed from diverse groups or "philosophical schools" into unified orthodoxies, developing notions of exclusive truth guaranteed by a specific chain of transmission from an origin. This involved defining other versions of Judaeo-Christianity as heresy. The source suggests studying these concurrent developments together, proposing that both were shaped by larger discursive and epistemic shifts within their shared cultural context.