giggles gaggles goggles muggles snuggles & huggles

DO THE SCROLLS REVEAL
THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND
OF THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY?

Among the members of the sect,
a special role is played by priests:
the sons of Aharon governed the property of the sect,
taught Torah & proper conduct, & were
"asked for their council
in every matter"!

IT IS UNDOUBTEDLY NO COINCIDENCE
THAT THE FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY,
THE 'TEACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS',
IS HIMSELF A PRIEST?

AMONG THE PRIESTS OF THE SECT,
A SPECIAL PLACE WAS RESERVED FOR
"the sons of TSADOK, the priests
who safeguard the covenant".

As a result,
scholars have concluded - rightly, it seems -
that certain priestly families played a crucial role in the establishment of the sect.

Based on the interpretation of Yechezkel 44:9 {in CD 4.3-4}
some argue that the term
"Sons of Tsadok"
is used symbolically in the Qumran scrolls. However, they fail to notice
that the passage also interprets the word
"priests" {kohanim}!

That the priests played a practical role in the sect is evident
both from the scrolls themselves and from Flavius Josephus. Throughout its existence,
members of this community refer to themselves with the biblical term
evionim,
the word from which
Ebionites
derived their name.

In using this term,
the Qumran community apparently sought to emphasize
their own ascetiscism & poverty - a corollary to their virulent attacks
against the wealthy
& priviliged.

The roots
of this ideology of poverty - a pattern that repeats
with other movements in other historical eras - are found in the lower
social & economic status
of most of the Qumran
sectarians.

The Qumranites
are distinguished by their poverty from the wicked, for
"the strength of heroes lies in the abundance of luxuries,
...
the abundance of grain, wine, oil;
they take pride in their belongings and possessions"
while the members of the community thank G d that
"YOU HAVE NOT PLACED MY SUPPORT IN GREED, NOT IN WEALTH
...
NOR HAVE YOU PLACED THE INCLINATION OF THE FLESH
AS MY REFUGE"!

They did not
view their poverty as merely the result of social injustice;
they elevated their poverty to a worldview. Not only does it distinguish them from the wicked rich,
it acts as a positive force; they are not mere paupers, they are
"poor in grace,"
that is, the poor who have a share in
G d's grace!
The phrase
"poor in spirit"
marks the sect as a collective of the poor, within which the holy spirit acts, that is,
as a community with a positive religious message!
The early followers of Yehoshua haNatsri [aka haMashiach],
who apparently hailed from the same lower strata, referred to themselves as
"poor"
(LUKE 6:20) &
"poor in spirit"
(MATAI 5:3)!

The scrolls prove
that the Matthean language should not be rejected as a later church emendation in the
"Pauline"
spirit. Indeed,
the ideological commitment to poverty manifested itself
in the community's practice of shared property, as discussed both by Josephus Flavius
and by the Manual of Discipline. Josephus says of the Essenes
"RICHES THEY DESPISE"!

THE IDEOLOGY
of poverty was closely connected with the ascetic tendencies evident at Qumran:
they eat one plate with a single course at each meal, avoid oils that soften the skin,
and refuse to wear new clothing or shoes until the ones on their body
deteriorate completely!

The view that Essenes avoided alcohol
is not supported by ancient sources.
The Manual of Discipline states that Qumranites drank
TIROSH,
a word that can be translated according to its Mishnaic sense of unfermented juices,
or according to its biblical sense of
"WINE!"

Indeed,
audible laughter was prohibited within the community:
the bylaws of the sect determine a punishment for any member
"who giggles inanely causing his voice to be heard"!
Radical avoidance of any worldly pleasure is rooted in the ascetic spirit that dominated this sect?
No member of the community
"should walk in the stubbornness of his heart in order to go astray following his heart
and his eyes and the musings of his inclination.
Instead
he should circumcise in the Community the foreskin of his tendency and of his stiff neck"
Flavius Josephus similarly remarks that the Essenes
"shun pleasures as a vice and regard temperance and control of passions as a special virtue!"
This ascetism leads to a certain intensity in their social and intellectual tendencies,
and finds expression primarily in an abdication of personal freedom for the sake of sectarian discipline. The Manual of Discipline demonstrates the extent to which the community's bylaws
systematically took over the life of the individual,
and even over
his thoughts?!

These
totalizing demands
the sect made of its individual members
were undoubtedly a powerful force in shaping it as a single social entity.
Moreover, the ascetic demands included a separation from the dominant society and its norms:
a practical manifestation of the hostility the community felt toward the rest of society,
portayed as the lot of BELIAL & the Sons of Darkness,
whose norms must be uprooted.

'n Mens
lijdt vaak 't meest
door 't lijden dat men vreest?
Niets [on]menselijks was hen dan toen ook vreemd:
de omstandigheden forceerden als 't ware bij wijze van spreken & schrijven
't ontstaan van 'wereldburgerschap', 'mensen- &
dierenrechten' & de sociale acties
die onvermijdelijk daarvan
't gevolg
zijn
...