JudiazersEncyclopedia Judica, Fourth Printing, Volume 10, 1978, Israel. Columns 397-401Red text is editor notes. Underlines and bolds added for emphasis. Asterisks(*) are cross-references within this Encyclopedia Judica. |
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JUDAIZERS, persons who without being
Jews follow in whole or in part the Jewish religion or claim to be
Jews. The prototype of the Judaizer was *Naaman, the minister to the
king of Syria, who after being cured by Elisha worshiped the God of the
Hebrews while continuing outwardly to follow the idolatrous state
religion. During the counterattacks at the time of Esther, it is stated
that many of the terror-stricken population "acted as Jews" ( ),
though it is difficult to tell what precisely is implied by this term.
In the classical period, the principles and certain practices of
Judaism exercised a powerful attraction on some segments of the general
population even in Rome, who changed the tenor of their lives, becoming
"God-fearers" (σεβόμενοι)
who rejected pagan worship and observed the Sabbath. The obligation of
submitting to circumcision was of course a deterrent for male
sympathizers, who probably more than women contented themselves,
therefore, with half-way conversion, which became recognized too in
rabbinic law. With the rise of Christianity, the differentiation
between the followers of the new faith and the old was sometimes not
easy to impose, and the Church inveighed violently against Judaizers within the Church, who
wore Jewish ritual vestments, followed some of the dietary laws, kept
the seventh-day Sabbath, and observed Easter on the Passover or with
Jewish rites. In the Church, over a prolonged period (for instance at
the time of the Albigensian schism), the accusation of Judaizing was
frequently made against dissidents. In fact, some of them, such as the
"Passagi" and "Circumcisi," were it seems Judaizing sects in the full
sense of the term. Similar accusations were common at the time of the
Reformation, sometimes even within the internal polemics of the
Reformers (see *Disputations and Polemics). The ambivalence of the
period of the rise of Christianity was long perpetuated in North
Africa, where a good part of the population seems to have been affected
by Judaism both before and after the spread of Christianity among them.
The "Hebrewisms" which have been discerned down to the present day in
some African tribes may be a relic of this. With the rise-of Puritanism
in England and the North Atlantic area generally, including America,
the study of the Old Testament led to a relatively wide spread of
Judaizing tendencies, expressed in the demands of some extremists for
the use of Hebrew in the liturgy, the modeling of the constitution on
biblical prescriptions, the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, and
rigorous abstention from blood. In certain cases, as that of the
followers of John Traske in England in the first half of the 17th
century, these Judaizing tendencies had as their inexorable sequel in
due course the formal adoption of Judaism. The same occurred in the
18th to 19th centuries with the Sabbath-observing sects in Hungary (see
*Somrei Sabat) and in Russia (see below) and recently with the
proselyte community of *San Nicandro in southern Italy. At the present
time, the Seventh Day Adventists, while they have adopted certain
Jewish practices based on the Bible, remain a closely organized
separate sect. On the other hand, it is difficult to determine whether
certain other groups who claim to be Jewish, such as the Mexican
Indians or some groups of the *Black Jews in the United States, should
properly be considered Jews or Judaizers.
Some of the "Old Christian" victims of the Inquisition in Spain
convicted of following Old Testament rites, and therefore termed Jews,
are also in this category. [C.R.]Present-day Judaizers or Judaizing sects are mostly to be found outside Europe. On the American continent, apart from the *Black Jews of the United States, there are the so-called "Indian" Jews in "Mexico and the Iglesia Israelita de Chile, consisting of less than one thousand people in the southern Chilean province of Cautin. Many of them joined the Zionist movement and some even settled in Israel. They originated in the early 20th century in a Christian fundamentalist sect which gradually adopted Old Testament rites and festivals. Some Protestant Sabbath-observing "Israelitas" in Peru are sometimes mistaken as Jews. In *Japan several Christian sects are deeply interested in Judaism, the Old Testament and the Hebrew language, and their members often visit Israel. In Uganda a Judaizing sect called Bayudaya, of which only about 500 remained faithful to Judaism, was founded in the 1920s by the political and military leader Semei Kakungulu. It was recognized in 1964 by the Uganda government as a religious community under the name "The Propagation of Judaism in Uganda—Moses Synagogue" (See also *Black Jews, *Mexico, "Japan). In Russia. There were various Judaizing sects and trends in Russia from the second half of the 15th century on. Occasionally they even developed Judaism and its precepts, in part or completely, sometimes leading to formal conversion. The emergence of Judaizers in this area stemmed from ancient Byzantine oppositional traditions to the established Church, going as far back as iconoclasm and the *disputations with Jews and encounters with them in the Kievan principality. In the 16th century and later the Judaizers were influenced by the radical wing of the *Reformation. Long-held critical opinions simmering in the Athos monasteries influenced the many Russian pilgrims who visited them. The first open appearance of Judaizers occurred in Novgorod, the principal commercial city of northern Russia, where heretical expressions had already been known in the 14th century. An ancient Russian chronicle relates that in 1471 Prince Michael Alexandrovich of Kiev came to Novgorod with several Jewish merchants in his retinue; "The Jew Zechariah" (Skhariya Zhidovin) is stated to have "corrupted to Judaism" two clergymen, Alexis and Denis. They were joined by the Lithuanian Jews, Joseph Samuel Skorovey and Moses Khanush, thus forming the nucleus for the new sect. In 1479 Grand Prince Ivan Vasilevich (Ivan III) of Moscow visited Novgorod and invited Alexis and Denis to officiate in the Church of Moscow. There they influenced many members of the grand prince's court, among them his daughter-in-law Helena. In 1487 Archbishop Gennadi of Novgorod denounced the "atheists," whose numbers were increasing throughout the kingdom, to the grand prince. An investigation was entrusted to Gennadi. Manuscripts of hymns and prayers which did not accord with the doctrine of the official Church were uncovered. Several members of the sect were arrested and severely tortured at Novgorod. Others fled to Moscow, where they found influential protectors. At the Church council of 1490, Gennadi called for the adoption of severe measures against the Judaizers and suggested the establishment of an *Inquisition. The grand prince rejected this project, but it was agreed that the Judaizers were to be confined to monasteries. In 1494 the metropolitan of Moscow, Zosima, was accused of being a Judaizer and deposed. The struggle against the Judaizers became rapidly enmeshed with the underground struggle between various factions of the nobility over the succession to the throne and the course of Russian policy. The Judaizers supported Dmitri, the son of Princess Helena. In 1502 Ivan III nominated his son Vasili (Basil) as his successor; a campaign of persecution against the Judaizers began, and in 1504 the leaders of the sect were condemned to be burned at the stake. The sect rapidly disappeared from the political and cultural scene in Russia. The extent of actual Judaizing within this sect is disputed among scholars. Some rely on the few extant remains of its literature—among them numerous translations of the Bible from the traditional Hebrew text and extracts from Miltot ha-Higgayon of "Moses the Egyptian" (Maimonides)—and stress its proximity to Judaism. Others claim that the faulty style of these translations prove that they are not the work of Russians, but of Jews, and do not prove much about the Russian sect. Adherents of the sect were certainly named "Judaizers" by its opponents, who thus sought to impugn its standing among the masses (Joseph Volotski, one of the most violent opponents of the sect, referred to its members as zhidovomudrstvuyushchiye, "Jewish wiseacres"). According to some scholars, the Judaizers were a Christian rationalist sect, which tended to reject the Church hierarchy, the religious ceremonies, and icon adulation, whilst some of them even negated belief in the Trinity. Whatever may have been the true character of this sect, the propaganda against it, which emphasized its affinity with Judaism, aroused a persisting fear of the Jews among all classes of the Russian population. The consequences were felt in the Russian attitude toward the Jews during the 16th to 18th centuries. |
At the beginning of
the 18th century Judaizers reappeared
in Russia,
but there is no proof of any
link between them and the Judaizers of the
15th century. The origin of the later groups was essentially due
to a
profound study of the Bible. St. Dimitri of Rostov, who concerned
himself with tracking down sects which deviated from the Church,
mentions the sect of Sabbath observers
in his work of the early 18th
century. During the second half of the 18th century, sects of Judaizers and Sabbath observers
appeared in the interior provinces of Russia, as
well as in the Volga
provinces and the northern Caucasus. Among the most prominent
was the Molokan sect,
which broke away from the Dukhobors.
Its founder was Simeon Uklein,
noted for his biblical
erudition, who introduced many Jewish customs among the members of his
sect. His disciple Sundukov called
for greater association of the sect
with the Jews; this resulted in a split within its ranks and the
creation of the "Molokan Sabbath
Observers." See P. N. Miliukov on Molokans and Judiazers which reports that Uklein compromised with and invited the Saratov judiazers to join the Molokans. This resulted in Uklein's Sunday-Molokans later separating from Dalmatov's Saturday-Molokans. During the early 19th century, the authorities began to persecute the Judaizers systematically. The existence of Sabbath observers was discovered in the province of Voronezh. After a series of persecutions, many of them were brought back within the fold of the ruling Church. The others were enlisted into the army. According to official figures, the number of members of this sect was 3,770 in 1823. In 1805 the authorities of the province of Moscow announced the existence of Sabbath observers, and in the province of Tula about 150 persons were discovered as claiming that they had been attached to their faith from ancient times but that they had concealed this so as not to provoke their Christian neighbors. The Judaizers succeeded particularly in the province of Saratov, where the preacher Milyukhin won over whole villages to his faith. In 1817 Milyukhin submitted a memorandum to the minister of the interior in which he complained against the persecutions of the local authorities and the Christians. He argued that his followers did not observe the Jewish laws because they had no leaders versed in the customs of Judaism. He requested that the members of the sect be authorized to establish relations with Jewish scholars. In 1820 the Council of Ministers decided to instruct the local authorities to act with lenience toward the Judaizers and to content themselves with banishing their preachers to the Caucasus, where they were to settle. The remainder were not to be attacked so long as they did not propagate their faith. In a memorandum of 1823, submitted by Count Kochubey to the Council of Ministers, he claimed that the Judaizers' sect was widespread throughout Russia and that its adherents were estimated at about 20,000 persons. It was decided to enlist all who propagated the beliefs of the sect into the army, whilst those who were unsuitable for military service were to be banished to Siberia and settled in such a way as to preclude them from any intercommunication. It was also decided to expel the Jews from all places to which the sect had spread. Another decision prohibited the issue of passports to the Judaizers so as to restrict their movements, prevent them from meeting with Jews, or propagating their faith. In order to arouse the masses of the people against them, and ostracize them, it was emphasized that they were merely members of a Jewish sect. At the same time, the Judaizers were prohibited from holding prayer meetings and carrying out circumcision, marriage, and burial ceremonies according to Jewish custom. Many members of the sect decided to accept Christianity outwardly while continuing to practice their customs clandestinely. With the accession of *Nicholas I to the throne, the position of the Judaizers deteriorated. Those who were apprehended in the observance of Jewish customs were enlisted into the army or exiled to Siberia. Entire villages were thus depopulated and destroyed. Many of the Judaizers were expelled beyond the Caucasus Mountains, where they settled, founded Nourishing villages, and spread their religion among the Russian settlers. Near Aleksandrovsk, in the Caucasus, almost all the inhabitants adhered to the Judaizers' sect. During the 1840s. the Russian government supported the settlement of members of the sect in the northern Caucasus because it regarded them as an industrious and desirable element. The expulsion of Judaizers from their former places of residence was nevertheless continued. In Siberia, large settlements of Judaizers of various categories were also established (as in the town of Zima). With the accession of Alexander II. the administrative pressure was alleviated and the authorities did not insist on the application of the law. Many of the began to observe their religion openly. They were particularly numerous in the provinces of Voronezh and Saratov. In 1887 the government officially recognized the right of the members of the sect to perform marriage and burial ceremonies according to their customs. With the manifesto issued on Oct. 17, 1905, which included freedom of religion for all the citizens of Russia, all the discriminatory legislation against the Judaizers and Sabbath observers was abolished. The government even emphasized, in special circulars issued by the ministry of the interior, that the Sabbath observers were not to be regarded as Jews, and that the special laws directed against the Jews did not apply to them. All those who came into contact with the members of the sect, even their opponents, pointed out that they were mainly industrious peasants, moral, literate, charitable, and sober in their lives. Their main divisions were: (1) the Molokan Sabbath Observers, believers in the New Testament and in Jesus as Christ but not as God. Their observance of precepts of the Jewish religion (circumcision, the Sabbath, dietary laws, and the like) stemmed from their interpretation of the evangelists; (2) the Sabbath Observers (Subbotniki), who accepted the Hebrew Bible only but not the Talmud. They were also occasionally referred to as the "Karaite Sabbath Observers" or the "Bareheaded"; (3) the proselytes (Gery), considered themselves Jews in every religious aspect and were also known as the "Covered Heads" (because they covered their heads, according to Jewish custom, both when at prayer or in other places). The proselytes endeavored to intermingle with the Jews as much as possible. Marriage with Jews was regarded by them as an important achievement. They sent a number of their children to yeshivot. Some Jews were secretly active among them as rabbis, shohatim, and teachers. David Teitelbaum of Lithuania, who was active in the proselyte settlements during the 1880s, became particularly renowned among them. These proselytes traveled to Erez Israel among the masses of Russian pilgrims, and many of their families settled there. They were especially associated with settlements in Galilee (Yesud ha-Ma'alah, Bet Gan, etc.). In Erez Israel they became completely integrated within the Jewish population. There is no information available on the lives of the Judaizers and the proselytes under Soviet regime. See also Proselytes. [Y.S.] Bibliography: L. I. Newman. Jewish Influence on Christian Reform Movements (1925); Z. Casdai, Ha-Mityahadim (1930;): R. Matthews, English Messiahs (1936); H. J. Schoeps, Philosemitismus im Barock (1952); M. Simon. Recherches d’Histoire Jude'o-Chre’tienne (1962); Roth, England, 149-50; S. Grayzel, The Church and the Jews in the XIIIth Century (1966); G. Boehm, Nuevos antecedentes para una historia de las Judios en Chile colonial (1963), 124-6; A. Oded, in: Ha-Mizrah he-Hadash, no. 1-2 (1967), 92-98. IN RUSSIA: I. Berlin, in: YE, 7 (c. 1910), 577-87; S. Ettinger, in: Zion, 18(1953), 156-68; Ever ha-Dani (A. Feldman), Ha-Hityasihevut ba-Gulil ha-Tahton (1955), 163-71; S. Ettinger, in: I. F. Baer Jubilee Volume (1960), 228-47. |
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