Epikoros (or Apikoros or Apikores; he, אפיקורוס, lit. " Epicurus", pl. Epicorsim) is a Jewish term figuratively meaning "a heretic", cited in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

, referring to one who does not have a share in the

world to come The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or ...

: The

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

uses the term ''Epikoros'', without a specific reference to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

philosopher Epicurus, yet it is apparent that the term is derived from the Greek philosopher's name, a philosopher whose views contradicted Jewish scripture, the strictly monotheistic conception of

God in Judaism God in Judaism has been conceived in a variety of ways. Traditionally, Judaism holds that Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the national god of the Israelites, delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and gave them t ...

and the Jewish belief in

the world to come ''The World to Come'' is a 2020 American drama film directed by Mona Fastvold, from a screenplay by Ron Hansen (novelist), Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard, based upon Shepard's story of the same name. It stars Katherine Waterston, Vanessa Kirby, Chr ...

; see . 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 ...

ic interpretation is that the

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

word is derived from the root-word (PKR; lit. ''licentious''), hence disrespect, and accordingly: According to

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 Tora ...

, scorning a ''

Talmid Chacham ''Talmid Chakham'' is an honorific title which is given to a man who is well versed in Jewish law, i. e., a Torah scholar. Originally he, תלמיד חכמים ''Talmid Chakhamim'', lit., "student of sages", pl. תלמידי חכמים ''talmid ...

'' is actually a singular case of disrespecting the entire

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

or its rabbinic scholar-sages. In his work ''

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

'' (Yad, Teshuvah 3:8), Maimonides rules that an ''Epikoros'' is a person who denies that God communicates with humans through prophecy, or one who denies the prophecy of Moses, or one who denies God's knowledge of the affairs of humans (i.e., one who maintains there is no divine providence). Maimonides probably encountered the name of Epicurus, the Greek philosopher, some time after composing his commentary on the

and before composing ''

The Guide for the Perplexed ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...

''. In the first source he erroneously states that the rabbinic term ''epikoros'' is an Aramaic word, but in the Guide he has already become aware of the atheistic doctrine of the philosopher by that name. He cites the source of his information as

Alexander of Aphrodisias Alexander of Aphrodisias ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Ἀφροδισιεύς, translit=Alexandros ho Aphrodisieus; AD) was a Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle ...

' treatise ''On Providence''. Following the Christian

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

of the Talmud, starting with the aftermath of the

Disputation of Barcelona The Disputation of Barcelona (July 20–24, 1263) was a formal ordered medieval debate between representatives of Christianity and Judaism regarding whether or not Jesus was the Messiah. It was held at the royal palace of King James I of Aragon i ...

and during the

Roman Inquisition The Roman Inquisition, formally the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, respons ...

and the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

, the term spread within the Jewish classical texts. Censors shunned expressions like '' minim'' ("sectary"), which they viewed as referring to the Christian faith, and replaced them with the term ''Epikoros'' or ''Epicurus'', hence a heretic, since the church would also fight the

heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. The censors also replaced terms that refer to Christians with the word ''akum'', which stands for '' avodas kochavim''. This term literally means "star worshippers", a belief that both Jews and their Christian censors abhorred.

References

{{Reflist Aramaic words and phrases in Jewish law Epicureanism Hebrew words and phrases Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law Heresy in Judaism Talmud concepts and terminology Greek words and phrases in Jewish law

See also

References