The Essenes and the Mikdash - Background Material Today the concensus is that the authors of the scrolls were "Essene-like" or a splinter Essene group rather than simply Essenes as such. This modification of the Essene theory takes into account the substantial differences between the world view expressed in some of the scrolls and the Essenes as described by the classical writers such as Josephus and Pliny the Elder. But maybe, as Fruma from Flatbush contends, we jumped the gun. At her suggestion, before we continue discussing the Copper Scroll, we should backtrack a bit. And so we shall. Who and what were the Essenes? Where did they come from? And what was their relationship to the Mikdash? Briefly, the Essenes were members of a small Jewish religious order, originating in the second century B.C.E. who lived near the western shores of the Dead Sea. Our primary sources of information about the Essenes are the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, Philo's Quod omnius probus liber, Josephus' Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews, and (possibly) the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Scholars are far from unanimous on that last point. Norman Golb of the University of Chicago, published a series of studies debunking the "Qumran-sectarian" theory of the origin of the scrolls. Dr. Golb postulated that historical, textual and forensic evidence proved that the scrolls were remnants of Jerusalem libraries that were spirited out of the soon to be destroyed city and concealed in the Judean desert before the Roman siege of Jerusalem began. He argued that the great diversity of conflicting beliefs found in the scrolls could not possibly reflect the thinking of the members of one small sectarian group.) The exact relationship between the Essenes and the "Qumran-sectarians" is still not clear. It is generally believed that they were co- extensive, but not identical. The Qumran community seems to have lived in ways and espoused doctrines atypical of what Josephus and Philo ascribe to the Essenes. Indeed, the scrolls in the Qumran library include many texts that depart from typically Essene thought patterns and are more congruent with the philosophies of other Jewish groups of the period. And, like the Sages, the Essenes believed in the immortality of the soul. The order consisted of adult males; celibacy was enjoined at least among one group of Essenes. Nevertheless, Josephus mentions married as well as celibate Essenes. The Damascus Document ordains, "If they live in camps according to the rule of the land, marrying and begetting children, they shall walk according to the Law… (CD VIII 6). The Essenes lived in a highly organized community that held possessions in common, observed strict ritual purity and were scrupulously clean. They wore only white garments, were pure in word and deed, and observed Shabbat meticulously. Their emphasis on purification through immersion in Mikva'ot and flowing bodies of water was no doubt a major influence on the development of the baptismal rite in various derivative religions. Josephus writes, "They do not offer animal sacrifice, judging it more fitting to render their minds truly holy. They flee the cities and live in villages where clean air and clean social life abound. They work either in the fields or in crafts that contribute to peace. They do not hoard silver and gold and do not acquire great landholdings; procuring for themselves only what is necessary for life. Thus, they live without goods and property, not by misfortune, but out of preference. They do not make armaments of any kind. They do not keep slaves and they detest slavery. They avoid wholesale and retail commerce, believing that such activity excites one to cupidity." They abhorred untruthfulness and forbade oaths, with the one exception of the oath a new member took after two years of probation. In this oath, the member pledged piety toward G-d, justice to men, honesty with fellow Essenes, preservation of the group's secrets, and faithful transmission of its sacred precepts. While as a rule, they avoided the manufacture of weapons, Josephus notes that one of the leaders of the Jewish army in the first war against the Romans was "John the Essene". Commander of the Jewish forces defending Lod, Yafo, and Emmaus and "a man of first rate prowess and ability", he fell in battle in "Ascalon". Using a palette with a multiplicity of colors, Philo lovingly paints an idealized picture of the Essenes. "(They) live in a number of towns in Judea, and also in many villages and in large groups. They do not enlist by race, but by volunteers who have a zeal for righteousness and an ardent love of men. For this reason, there are no young children among the Essenes. Not even adolescents or young men. Instead, they are men of old or ripe years who have learned how to control their bodily passions. They possess nothing of their own, not house, field, slave nor flocks, nor anything which feeds and procures wealth. They live together in brotherhoods, and eat in common together. Everything they do is for the common good of the group. They work at many different jobs and attack their work with amazing zeal and dedication, working from before sunrise to almost sunset without complaint, but in obvious exhilaration. Their exercise is their work. Indeed, they believe their own training to be more agreeable to body and soul, and more lasting than athletic games since their exercises remain fitted to their age, even when the body no longer possesses its full strength. They are farmers and shepherds and beekeepers and craftsmen in diverse trades. They share the same way of life, the same table, even the same tastes; all of them loving frugality and hating luxury as a plague for both body and soul. Not only do they share a common table, but common clothes as well. What belongs to one belongs to all. Available to all of them are thick coats for winter and inexpensive light tunics for summer. Seeing it as an obstacle to communal life, they have banned marriage." The incredible fantasies of Pliny the Elder are even more marvelous ."To the west (of the Dead Sea), the Essenes have put the necessary distance between themselves and the insalubrious (unhealthful) shore. They are a people unique of its kind and admirable beyond all others in the whole world; without women and renouncing love entirely, without money and having for company only palm trees. Owing to the throng of newcomers, this people is daily reborn in equal number; indeed, those whom, wearied by the fluctuations of fortune, life leads to adopt their customs, stream in great numbers. Thus, unbelievable though this may seem, for thousands of centuries (sic) a people has existed which is eternal yet into which no one is born: so fruitful for them is the repentance which others feel for their past lives!" <to be cont.> Catriel's book in progress: The Temple of Jerusalem, A Pilgrim’s Perspective; A Guided Tour through the Temple and the Divine Service [The
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