Epikoros (Judaism)
Encyclopedia
Epikoros is a Jewish term cited in the Mishnah
, referring to one who does not have a share in the world to come:
The Rabbinic literature uses merely the term Epikoros, without a specific reference to the Greek
philosopher Epicurus
, yet it is apparent that the term is derived from the Greek philosopher's name, a philosopher whose views contradicted the Providence
, the belief in God
, and his permeation in the world.
The Talmud
ic interpretation is that the Aramaic word is derived from the root-word
פק"ר (PKR; lit. licentious), hence disrespect, and accordingly:
Maimonides
combined the two commentaries, and according to him, scorning a Talmid Chacham is actually a singular case of disrespecting the entire Torah or its Rabbinic scholar-sages. In his work Mishneh Torah
(Yad, Teshuvah 3:8), Maimonides rules that an Epikoros is a person who denies that God communicates with humans through prophecy, or one who denies the prophecy of Moses
, or one who denies God's knowledge of the affairs of humans http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/911896/jewish/Chapter-Three.htm (i.e., one who maintains there is no Divine Providence
). It is most likely that Maimonides' acquired knowledge on the Greek sources, citing the Greek philosopher, is what lead him to conclude on how to define the term.
Following the Christian censorship
of the Talmud, starting with the aftermath of the Disputation of Barcelona and during the Medieval Inquisition
, the term spread within the Jewish classical texts, since the censorship's authorities would not view with favour, expressions like Minim ("sectary"), which they viewed referring to the Christian faith, and replaced them with the term Epikoros or Epicurus, hence an heretic, since the church would also fight the heretics.
The Israeli novelist Yehoshua Bar-Yosef, wrote a book called Epikoros against his will, which coined a modern phrase for the term.
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, referring to one who does not have a share in the world to come:
The Rabbinic literature uses merely the term Epikoros, without a specific reference to the Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
philosopher Epicurus
Epicurus
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism.Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus's 300 written works...
, yet it is apparent that the term is derived from the Greek philosopher's name, a philosopher whose views contradicted the Providence
Divine Providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
, the belief in God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, and his permeation in the world.
The Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic interpretation is that the Aramaic word is derived from the root-word
Root (linguistics)
The root word is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family , which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents....
פק"ר (PKR; lit. licentious), hence disrespect, and accordingly:
Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
combined the two commentaries, and according to him, scorning a Talmid Chacham is actually a singular case of disrespecting the entire Torah or its Rabbinic scholar-sages. In his work Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
(Yad, Teshuvah 3:8), Maimonides rules that an Epikoros is a person who denies that God communicates with humans through prophecy, or one who denies the prophecy of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, or one who denies God's knowledge of the affairs of humans http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/911896/jewish/Chapter-Three.htm (i.e., one who maintains there is no Divine Providence
Divine Providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
). It is most likely that Maimonides' acquired knowledge on the Greek sources, citing the Greek philosopher, is what lead him to conclude on how to define the term.
Following the Christian censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of the Talmud, starting with the aftermath of the Disputation of Barcelona and during the Medieval Inquisition
Medieval Inquisition
The Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition and later the Papal Inquisition...
, the term spread within the Jewish classical texts, since the censorship's authorities would not view with favour, expressions like Minim ("sectary"), which they viewed referring to the Christian faith, and replaced them with the term Epikoros or Epicurus, hence an heretic, since the church would also fight the heretics.
The Israeli novelist Yehoshua Bar-Yosef, wrote a book called Epikoros against his will, which coined a modern phrase for the term.