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' ( he, שִׁתּוּף; also
transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
as ' or '; literally "association") is a term used in
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
sources for the worship of
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
in a manner which
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...
does not deem to be purely
monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfor ...
. The term connotes a
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
that is not outright
polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...
, but also should not be seen as purely monotheistic. The term is primarily used in reference to the Christian
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
by Jewish legal authorities who wish to distinguish Christianity from full-blown polytheism. Though a Jew would be forbidden from maintaining a ''shituf'' theology, non-Jews would, in some form, be permitted such a theology without being regarded as idolaters by Jews. That said, whether Christianity is ''shituf'' or formal polytheism remains a debate in
Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern '' Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcil ...
. ''Shituf'' is first mentioned in the commentary of
Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...
on the
Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...
,Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 63b in a passage concluding with a lenient ruling regarding non-Jews. Later authorities are divided between those who view Tosfot as permitting non-Jews to swear by the name of God even if they associate other deities with that name, and those who view Tosfot as permitting non-Jews to actually worship such deities. Though ''shituf'' is primarily used as a means of determining how to relate to Christians, it is applied to other religions as well. It is frequently used as a reason to justify
interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...
with Christians.


Judaism's views of the Trinity doctrine

In all branches of
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...
, the God of the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...
's essence. They do not consider the Hebrew word for "one" (that is "echad") as meaning anything other than a simple numerical one. Citing examples for "echad" in the Hebrew Scriptures as being either just one king, one house, one garden, one army, or one man, etc. Also, they reject the notion that somehow there are "traces of the Trinity" in the Hebrew word "elohim", which in given contexts simply means "God" in superlative majesty, not necessarily "multipersonal godhead". The Jewish polemics against the Trinity doctrine date almost from its very conception. Even in the
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
, R. Simlai (3rd century) declared, in refutation of the "heretics," "The three words 'El,' 'Elohim,' and 'Yhwh' (Josh. xxii. 22) connote one and the same person, as one might say, 'King, Emperor, Augustus'" (Yer. Ber. ix. 12d).TRINITY:
Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
This view is espoused by Judaism's most revered credo, the
Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...
. The literal word meanings are roughly as follows: * Shema: "listen" or "hear". The word also implies comprehension. * Yisrael: "Israel", in the sense of the people or congregation of Israel * Adonai: often translated as "Lord", used in place of the
Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...
, YHWH * Eloheinu: "our God", a plural noun (said to imply majesty rather than plural number) with a pronominal suffix ("our") * Echad: "one" One of the best-known statements of Rabbinical Judaism on monotheism occurs in
Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
'
13 Principles of faith There is no established formulation of principles of faith that are recognized by all branches of Judaism. Central authority in Judaism is not vested in any one person or group - although the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish religious court, would ...
, Second Principle:


Medieval Jewish views

Jewish views, as codified in
Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...
, are split between those who see Christianity as outright
idolatry Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the ...
and those who see Christianity as ''shituf''. While Christians view their worship of a trinity as monotheistic, Judaism generally rejects this view. The Talmud warns against causing an idolater to take oaths. The commentators living in Christian Germany in the 12th century, called
Tosafists Tosafists were rabbis of France and Germany, who lived from the 12th to the mid-15th centuries, in the period of Rishonim. The Tosafists composed critical and explanatory glosses (questions, notes, interpretations, rulings and sources) on the Ta ...
, permitted Jews to bring a Christian partner to court in partnership during a breakup even though the Christian would take an oath by God, which to Christians would include Jesus, by saying that so long as another deity is not mentioned explicitly, there is no forbidden oath taking place, but only an association. Although all of the Tosafists agreed that partnerships that may lead to such an oath may not be entered into originally, they disagree as to once such a partnership exists whether or not one may go to court in order to not to lose his portion of the partnership and even though such an oath is a side-effect. In a terse comment, they wrote:
It is permissible to ause a gentile's oath through litigation with one's non-Jewish partner becausetoday all swear in the name of the saints to whom no divinity is ascribed. Even though they also mention God's name and have in mind another thing, in any event no idolatrous name is actually said, and they also have the Creator of the world in mind. Even though they associate (''shituf'') God's name with "something else", we do not find that it is forbidden to cause others to associate (''shituf''), and there is no issue of placing a stumbling block before the blind (see Leviticus ) y entering into litigation with the non-Jewish business partner, thereby causing him to take an oathbecause
Noachides Noahidism () or Noachidism () is a monotheistic Jewish religious movement based upon the Seven Laws of Noah and their traditional interpretations within Orthodox Judaism. According to the Jewish law, non-Jews ( Goyim) are not obligated to conv ...
were not warned about it.
In the 16th Century, the terse comment is explained as follows by
Moses Isserles ). He is not to be confused with Meir Abulafia, known as "Ramah" ( he, רמ״ה, italic=no, links=no), nor with Menahem Azariah da Fano, known as "Rema MiPano" ( he, רמ״ע מפאנו, italic=no, links=no). Rabbi Moses Isserles ( he, משה � ...
, where it is seemingly expanded to allowing partnerships in the first place:


18th-century views

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the '' Haskalah'', or ...
, the 18th century Jewish Enlightenment thinker, used the concept of ''shituf'' as cited in Tosafot to justify any form of association of God with another entity.
owever,the nations of the world though they recognize the entity of God ... they nevertheless worship another entity besides Him. A few worship the angels above believing that God apportioned to each one of them a nation or country ... to rule, and they have the power to do good or bad as they please. And these are called "other gods" in the Torah.... And a few f the nations of the worldworship the stars in the sky ... or people ... and bow down to them, as is known. And the judgment of the intellect does not require to forbid such worship to a Son of Noah if he does not intend to remove himself from the realm of God because by what bligationmust he offer service and prayer to God alone? And if he hopes for good and fears bad from an entity besides Him and acknowledges that also that entity is subject to God, it is not beyond the intellect for him to offer sacrifices, incense, and libation and to pray to this entity be it an angel, demon, or person.... And who would say to us ewsthat such offerings are appropriate for God only had He not warned us against ffering to other godsin His Torah.


Modern views

Some contemporary Orthodox commentators have stated the allowance for ''shituf'' extends only to belief in multiple or complex deity, but not to worship of such a thing:
One contemporary view of Shituf holds that in Judaism there is allowance for Gentile belief that there are other gods besides the Creator, but forbidding actual worship of them: So long as ascribing power to a deity other than the Creator remains conceptual, it is permissible to the Children of Noah according to many authorities. But worship of this independent being is clearly idolatry.
However, other 20th century explanations differ. Rabbi
Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his ...
(the Chazon Ish) wrote that Jewish law considers Christianity to be idolatry, and that the entire concept of ''shituf'' in Jewish law was only an ''ad hoc'' permission applying solely to oaths in court. This position was explained by Orthodox historian of halakha Rabbi David Berger, as follows:
Even medieval Jews understood very well that Christianity is ''
avodah zarah ''Avodah Zarah'' (Hebrew: , or "foreign worship", meaning "idolatry" or "strange service") is the name of a tractate of the Talmud, located in ''Nezikin'', the fourth Order of the Talmud dealing with damages. The main topic of the tractate is ...
'' of a special type. The tosafists assert that although a Christian pronouncing the name of Jesus in an oath would be taking the name of "another god," it is nonetheless the case that when Christians say the word "God," they have in mind the creator of heaven and earth. Some later authorities took the continuation of that ''Tosafot'' to mean that this special type of avodah zarah is forbidden to Jews but permissible to gentiles, so that a non-Jew who engages in Christian worship commits no sin.
Still other Orthodox historians have stated that ''shituf'' may not be forbidden to non-Jews, but present this more softly. Rabbi
Walter Wurzburger Rabbi Walter S. Wurzburger, originally Würzburger, (1920 - April 16, 2002), a leader of Modern Orthodox Judaism and student of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, was born in Munich in March 1920 and emigrated to America in 1938. He was ''Adjunct Profes ...
wrote:
With all our appreciation of Christianity as an avenue to God available to the non-Jewish world, we must not gloss over the fact that the Trinitarian faith still falls short of our universal religious ideals. While the belief in the Trinity – classified by the Halakhah as Shituph – may not be regarded as downright prohibited to the non-Jew, we still cannot recommend it as the ideal way in which the non-Jew should relate himself to God."
Conservative Rabbi
Louis Jacobs Louis Jacobs (17 July 1920 – 1 July 2006) was a leading writer and theologian. He was the rabbi of the New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom. He was also the focus in the early 1960s of what became known as "The Jacobs Affair" in the ...
took a more conciliatory approach:
Christian thinkers frequently assert that Jewish polemics against trinitarianism are based on an inadequate understanding of what the doctrine really means. It is no doubt true that crude attacks on Christianity as tritheism are unfounded (tritheism is, in fact, heresy from the Christian point of view) and there are subtleties in the doctrine which Christians have tried to uncover. But the fact remains that all Jewish thinkers have rejected trinitarianism as Judaism understands it.L. Jacobs 1973 ''A Jewish Theology'' p. 26 N.Y.: Berman House


See also

*
Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
*
Idolatry in Judaism Idolatry in Judaism is prohibited. Judaism holds that idolatry is not limited to the worship of an idol itself, but also worship involving any artistic representations of God. The prohibition is epitomized by the first two "words" of the decalogue ...
*
Shirk Shirk may refer to: * Shirk (surname) * Shirk (Islam), in Islam, the sin of idolatry or associating beings or things with Allah * Shirk, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Shirk-e Sorjeh, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran ...
, a similar concept in Islam *
Tritheism Tritheism (from Greek τριθεΐα, "three divinity") is a nontrinitarian Christian heresy in which the unity of the Trinity and thus monotheism are denied. It represents more a "possible deviation" than any actual school of thought positing thre ...


References

{{reflist


External links


Wikinoah on Tosafot and Christianity

Discussion of the Meiri and Tosafot with translation of many passages
Hebrew words and phrases Jewish law Jewish theology Christianity and Judaism related controversies Monotheism