Heresy in Judaism


Jewish heresy refers to those beliefs which contradict the traditional doctrines of Rabbinic Judaism, including theological beliefs and opinions about the practice of halakha. Jewish tradition contains a range of statements about heretics, including laws for how to deal with them in a communal context, and statements about the divine punishment they are expected to receive.

Rabbinic definition of heresy

Talmudic era

The Greek term for heresy, αἵρεσις, originally denoted "division," "sect," "religious" or "philosophical party," is applied by Josephus to the three Jewish sects—Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. In the sense of a schism to be deprecated, the word occurs in,, and particularly in ; hence αἱρετικὸς in the sense of "factious".
The specific rabbinical term for heresies, or religious divisions due to an unlawful spirit, is minim. The law "You shall not cut yourselves" is interpreted by the rabbis: "You shall not form divisions , but shall form one bond". Besides the term min for "heretic," the Talmud uses the words ḥitzonim, apikoros, and kofer ba-Torah, or kofer ba-ikkar ; also poresh mi-darke tzibbur. It is said that all these groups are consigned to Gehinnom for all eternity and have no possibility of a portion in the world to come.
The Mishnah says the following have no share in the world to come: "He who denies that the Torah is divinely revealed , and the apiḳoros." Rabbi Akiva says, "also he who reads heretical books". This is explained in the Talmud to mean sifrei tzedukim ; but this is an alteration by the censor of sifre ha-Minim. The Biblical verse, "That you seek not after your own heart" is explained as "You shall not turn to heretic views which lead your heart away from God".
The Birkat haMinim is a malediction on heretics. The belief that the curse was directed at Christians was sometimes cause for persecution of Jews. Modern scholarship has generally evaluated that the Birkat haMinim probably did originally include Jewish Christians before Christianity became markedly a gentile religion.

Medieval era

In summarizing the Talmudic statements concerning heretics in Sanhedrin 90-103, Maimonides says:
However, Abraham ben David, in his critical notes, objects to Maimonides characterizing as heretics all those who attribute corporeality to God, and he insinuates that the Kabbalists are not heretics. In the same sense all biblical critics who, like Abraham ibn Ezra in his notes on, doubt or deny the Mosaic authorship of every portion of the Pentateuch, would protest against the Maimonidean conception of heresy.

Legal status of heretics

The status of heretics in Jewish law is not clearly defined. While there are certain regulations scattered throughout the Talmud concerning the minim, the nearest approach to the English term "heretic," these are mostly of an aggadic nature, the codes taking little cognizance of them. The governing bodies of the synagogue frequently exercised, from motives of self-defense, their power of excommunication against heretics. The heretic was theoretically excluded from a portion in the world to come; he was consigned to Gehenna, to eternal punishment, but the Jewish courts of justice never attended to cases of heresy; they were left to the judgment of the community.
There are, however, in the rabbinic codes, laws and regulations concerning the relation of the Jew to the heretic. The sentiment against the heretic was much stronger than that against the pagan. While the pagan brought his offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem and the priests accepted them, the sacrifices of the heretic were not accepted. The relatives of the heretic did not observe the laws of mourning after his death, but donned festive garments, and ate and drank and rejoiced. Torah scrolls, tefillin, and mezuzot written by a heretic were burned; and an animal slaughtered by a heretic was forbidden food. Books written by heretics did not render the hands impure; they might not be saved from fire on the Sabbath. A heretic's testimony was not admitted in evidence in Jewish courts; and if an Israelite found an object belonging to a heretic, he was forbidden to return it to him.

Rejection of Jewish practice

A Jew who rejected Jewish practice could receive a status similar to one who rejected Jewish belief. The mumar le-hachis, as opposed to the mumar le'teavon, was placed by some of the Rabbis in the same category as the minim. Even if he habitually transgressed one law only, he was not allowed to perform any religious function, nor could he testify in a Jewish court because if one denies one divinely ordinated law it is akin to his denial of its godly orgin. One who violated the Sabbath publicly or worshiped idols could not participate in the eruv chazerot, nor could he write a bill of divorce.
One who would not permit himself to be circumcised could not perform the ceremony on another. While the court could not compel the mumar to divorce his wife, even though she demanded it, they would compel him to support her and her children and to pay her an allowance until he agreed to a divorce. At his death, those who are present need not tear their garments as they would by a fellow Jew. The mumar who repented and desired readmittance into the Jewish community was obliged to take a ritual immersion, the same as the convert. If he claimed to be a good Jew, although he was alleged to have worshiped idols in another town, he was believed when no benefit could have accrued to him from such a course.

Heresy in Orthodox Judaism

The definitions of heresy are sometimes different in certain Orthodox Jewish circles. Some Haredis consider many works of Maimonides to be heretical, due to his more liberal interpretations of the Torah. That being said, many Orthodox Jews also hold Maimonides' Mishneh Torah to a very high regard. A number of Haredi Jews consider the Conservative and Reform Jewish movements to be heretical due to the concessions and changes that they have made to traditional Judaism, and even smaller number of Hasidic groups such as Satmar and the Neturei Karta consider the State of Israel to be a heretical institution. Ultimately, the majority of Orthodox Jews consider secular Jews as tinok shenishbim that are not responsible for their actions as apposed to heretics who purposefully and knowingly deny God.

Jews accused of heresy

The present section lists individuals who have been declared heretical, independent of the particular criteria applied in the assessment. The list below is intended to be inclusive, and thus contains both individuals who have been fully excommunicated, as well as those whose works alone have been condemned as heretical.