Rabbinic perspectives on gentiles in the Mishnah

Mishnah represents the attempt at community identity and self-preservation during Roman colonization. Ritual taboos and definitions of purity established social and spiritual boundaries between Jew and Gentile. The Mishnah shows how the Israelites formed and codified a strong in-group identity. Interestingly, the text reveals the strong political and economic inter-connectedness between Jewish and Gentile communities. Ritual taboos transcend this interdependence, enabling the Jewish community to retain cohesion and distinction from the dominant culture.

With roots in the Biblical laws of purity, the Mishnah builds upon and extends the issues outlined in Deuteronomy 7. Deuteronomy offers unequivocal rules related to idolatry. "But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire," (Deuteronomy 7:5). Likewise, "The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God," (Deuteronomy 7:25). Some of the sections of the "Idolatry" chapter of the Mishnah are directly derived from Deuteronomical law such as passage 7:26: "And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing."

However, when Deuteronomy was written, Roman colonization was not an issue. Jews did live side-by-side with random pagan groups and had encounters with neighboring religious tribes and cultures. The Roman conquest added important political, military, and economic dimensions that caused Jewish culture to become more codified than ever before. The resulting codification of Jewish culture can be in part witnessed in the Mishnah.

The title of the chapter on idolatry testifies to the sociological meaning of the text. Abodah Zarah means "strange worship," or any worship that is deemed Other. Although the Romans are clearly singled out in the chapter, the Mishnah defines Gentile as any non-Jewish group. Implicit in the text is the sense that tensions were building between Jews and Gentiles. More specifically, the Roman government may have been persecuting the Jewish communities. The Mishnah can be viewed as a backlash against subjugation or segregation.

As a means of self-segregation, the Mishnah relies heavily on the idolatry chapter to define who is a Jew and who is not. The chapter also defines and delimits certain types of relationship between Jew and Gentile. Although issues such as intermarriage are not mentioned in the Abodah Zarah, the chapter does disparage Gentile law, custom, and religion in general.

The first section of the idolatry chapter focuses on behavioral and business rules related to Roman festivals like Saturnalia and Calenda. Authors also extend business and behavioral rules related to Jewish travel, especially when travel coincides with a pagan festival or holiday. Roman festivals were filled with pomp and idolatry, and it was this outlandish display of idol-worship that is denounced here. Birthdays and funerals are also mentioned, due to their possibly including idol worship. Three days before and three days after the festival, it is forbidden to do business with a Gentile because doing so might indirectly support or fund sacrilegious events. This is why the Mishnah Rabbis condone the acceptance of repaid debts; the money repaid is not funding the festival.

The Mishnah illustrates how common Jew-Gentile business partnerships were during the time of authorship. Specifically, trade in produce and livestock is mentioned as if it were common practice. In Idolatry Section I, line 5, the authors note that it is forbidden to sell to Gentiles anything of value that might be sacrificed on their altars. Thus, no white cocks or white figs can be sold just in case those objects were defiled by their use in Roman ceremonies. The chapter on idolatry also addresses the labor relationships between Jews and Gentiles as being largely unilateral. Jews are referred to as "laborers" and "helpers," more often than Gentiles are referred to in such subservient positions. The only time that Gentiles are explicitly mentioned as being in the service to Jewish family is in regards to midwifery. Given the lowly status of women in both Roman and Hebrew societies, the work of women would have been undervalued anyway. Thus, the passage related to midwifery is more important in how it expresses in group/out group identity and ritual purity than in how it expresses labor relations.

Labor relations are mentioned in almost all five sections of the idolatry chapter. In the first section, Jews are listed as possible helpers for Roman basilica-builders, bath-builders, scaffolds, or stadiums. Gentiles are not mentioned as possible construction labor for the Jewish population. On the other hand, Jews do appear to play a key role as merchants during the Roman Empire. Several passages in the chapter on idolatry relate to what can and cannot be sold to a Gentile, and when. Rules establish boundaries between the business partners, so that they are not on equal footing. The authors of the Mishnah are either reacting to or creating social stratifications that are necessary for the preservation of group identity. The social stratifications and normative boundaries might also have been important for the economic cohesiveness of Jewish communities during Roman times. In other words, the taboos against the selling of certain goods might also have been a way to maintain self-sustaining Jewish communities by keeping certain goods within them.

Ritual purity remains the central concept of the Mishnah chapter on idolatry, however. Jews may help Romans build their baths, but not the part of the bath house where the idol is kept (I, 7). No Jew can aide a Gentile in the construction of a basilica. That basilica is bound to be tainted with idols. Jewish artisans and craftsmen cannot manufacture any objects that might be use to adorn Roman deities. Again these labor-related taboos are not solely for the purpose of establishing rules for religious purity. They are also a means of segregating labor and defining how Jewish labor can and cannot be sold on the common market.

The Jewish perspective of Gentiles during the time of Mishnah authorship was prejudicial. Gentiles are "suspected of bestiality," and therefore Jewish ranchers should not leave them alone with their cattle (II, 1). A Jewish daughter cannot serve as a midwife to a Gentile mother because the child being brought into the world might eventually be used in human sacrifice (II, 2). Ironically, it seems, a Jewish baby can suckle a Gentile wet nurse. Drinking the milk of Gentiles seems like it should be a ritual taboo but it is not. The contradiction can be explained in relation to the desire to strengthen and preserve the Jewish population. If a Jewish baby lost its mother, then it is in the best interests of the community to keep that baby alive by whatever means possible. Thus, suckling from a Gentile wet nurse is acceptable. On the other hand, a Jewish wet nurse is prohibited from suckling a Gentile baby. The Gentile baby is the taboo object, treated almost like an idol.

Jewish dietary laws (kashrut) are clarified also in the second section of the Mishnah idolatry chapter. Rules related to cheese making and pickles seem arbitrary and often contradictory. They are meaningful more on a symbolic level, enabling the Jewish community to establish clear boundaries of when and how to share food with others. Breaking bread and supping with others is a major social function. Distinguishing between Gentile and Jewish food is important for maintaining social boundaries. Likewise, wine is a target of taboo in the Mishnah. Jews cannot drink from Roman libation wine. Even flasks and funnels that have touched libation wine are considered to be contaminated (V. 7).