therapeutae

cal claims have relevance only for the theologian herself. On king of Tyre. It is also possible that he is the heophilus who
the contrary, she hopes that by drawing on her experiences is known to have been of the school of Zenodotus, the great
and sharing her stories, she will encourage others to draw on Alexandrian scholar of the third century B.C.E.
their experiences as well. In so doing, she ofers women and
men a means of formulating their own articulated and unar- THEOPHILUS (Heb. Yedidiah), high priest from 37 to
ticulated responses to the categories of God, Torah, and Israel. 41 C.E. heophilus, the son of Hanan son of Seth, was ap-
She also ofers women and men a means of viewing their own pointed by Vitellius, the Roman governor of Syria, in place
experience as Jewish experience, enabling them to recognize, of his brother Jonathan (Jos., Ant., 18:123) and served in that
as Rabbi Laura Geller has written, the “Torah of our lives as oice until removed by King *Agrippa I (ibid., 19:297). Mat-
well as the Torah that was written down.” tathias, the son of heophilus, was high priest when the war
One of the greatest contributions of Jewish feminist the- against Rome broke out (66 C.E.).
ology is its insistence that it is possible for diverse groups of Bibliography: Schuerer, Gesch, 2 (19074), 271; Klausner,
people to talk seriously about Jewish theology outside of a Bayit Sheni, 5 (19512), 22; E. Bammel, in: ZDPV, 70 (1954), 147f.; E.M.
legal framework. While religiously liberal rabbis have long Smallwood, in: JTS, 13 (1962), 14–34.
[Uriel Rappaport]
discussed the creation of a non-halakhic Jewish self-iden-
tity, feminist theologians have been the irst to create, how-
ever loosely, a network of religiously liberal theologians, both °THEOPHRASTUS OF ERESOS (372/369–288/285 B.C.E.),
modern and post-modern, who have formally and informally a pupil of *Aristotle and his successor. he Jews, he said, are
examined traditional and liberal Jewish theological claims to- “philosophers by race,” a comment reminiscent of remarks as-
gether. Further, in attempting to ground this theology in their cribed to Aristotle and *Megasthenes. Quotations from him
experiences as women, feminist theologians like Plaskow, are found in various authors; two of these deal with Jewish
Adler, Melissa Raphael, Laura Levitt, and Miriam Peskowitz sacriicial practices (Jos., Apion, 1:167, and Eusebius, Praepa-
have called into question not only traditional male, hierar- ratio Evangelica, 9:21). he main purpose of these descriptions
chically dominant, theological language, but also the ways in is to demonstrate the incongruous nature of the customs of
which theology is created. hrough new blessings (Falk), mi- diferent peoples, a point made by ethical and legal relativists
drashim (Plaskow, Adler, Umansky), poems (Merle Feld), and since Herodotus, if not earlier. Little importance is to be at-
rituals intended for speciic moments in women’s lives (Levitt, tached to the details he gives with regard to Jewish sacriices
Penina Adelman, Savina Teubal et. al.), feminist theologians which are in conlict with the injunctions of the Bible, e.g.,
have added a vibrancy to late 20t and early 21st century lib- that the Jews ofered sacriices at night and that honey was
eral Jewish theology. used for libations (cf. Lev. 2:11). Such details were subordinate
[Ellen M. Umansky (2nd ed.)] to his main purpose.
Bibliography: S. Schechter, Some Aspects of Rabbinic heol- Bibliography: J. Bernays, heophrastos’ Schrit ueber Fro-
ogy (1909); K. Kohler, Jewish heology (1918); G.F. Moore, Judaism… emmigkeit (1866); Reinach, Textes, 7–9; J. Gutmann, Ha-Sifrut ha-Ye-
3 vols. (1927–30); W. Herberg, Judaism and Modern Man (1951); J.J. hudit ha-Helenistit, 1 (1958), 74–88; W. Poetscher, heophrastos peri
Petuchowski, heology of Haham David Nieto (1954); A.J. Heschel, Eusebeias (Gr. and Ger., 1964), 122f. and passim.
God in Search of Man (1955); idem, Torah min ha-Shamayim be-As- [Daniel E. Gershenson]
paklaryah shel ha-Dorot, 2 vols. (1962–65); M. Steinberg, Anatomy
of Faith (1960); A.A. Cohen, Natural and Supernatural Jew (1962); J.
Guttmann, Philosophies; I. Maybaum, Face of God ater Auschwitz THERAPEUTAE, a name given to a group of Jewish ascet-
(1965); E.L. Fackenheim, Quest for Past and Future (1968); E.B. Borow- ics who lived in a community close to Alexandria in the irst
itz, New Jewish heology in the Making (1968); E.E. Urbach, Ḥ azal – century C.E. his particular group is described speciically
Pirkei Emunot ve-De’ot (1969); L.H. Silberman, in: AJYB 70 (1969), only by the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo in his trea-
37–58. Add. Bibliography: R. Adler, Engendering Judaism: An tise De Vita Contemplativa (“On the Contemplative Life”).
Inclusive heology and Ethics (1998); M. Falk, he Book of Blessings
he treatise explores one of the perfect philosophical lives as
(1996); L. Levitt, Jewish Feminism: he Ambivalent Search for Home
(1997); J. Plaskow, Standing Again a Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist deined by the Stoics, and follows on from a lost treatise on
Perspective (1990); M. Raphael, he Female Face of God in Auschwitz the active life of philosophy in which the Essenes were used
(2003); E.M. Umansky and D. Ashton (eds.), Four Centuries of Jew- as the deinitive Jewish example of excellence. he group of
ish Women’s Spirituality (1992). De Vita Contemplativa may itself have used the name thera-
peutai as a self-reference, though Philo indicates that all those
°THEOPHILUS. Josephus (Apion, 1:216) includes one who follow a contemplative life of philosophy may be called
heophilus in a list of Greek authors who mentioned the Jews therapeutai (Contempl. 2). In Greek therapeutai has a general
at some length and whose writings testify to the antiquity of meaning of “one who serves [God/the gods],” a sense found
the Jewish people. His date and nationality are unknown but widely in Philo’s work and elsewhere in contemporaneous
he may be identical with the heophilus whom Alexander Greek literature and inscriptions. his relates to the life they
Polyhistor cites as a source for the story that King Solomon lead of total service to God through an ascetic and spiritually
sent the gold let over from the building of the Temple to the focused existence. Philo also plays on the double-entendre of

ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 19 699

the word in noting that people engaged in a contemplative life tual clarity, and concentration on the essence of the universe
in some way “heal” souls. (Nature/God) were prime interests.
Philo describes those who follow the contemplative life- A large part of Philo’s treatise is taken up with a descrip-
style as leaving behind their ordinary lives and homes, distrib- tion of a special event that takes place every 49t evening (the
uting their belongings to their children, relatives or friends, in Sabbath of Sabbaths). Like the Pythagoreans, the group ap-
order to pursue philosophy elsewhere. hey ind a place away parently venerated not only the number seven but its square.
from their home city in a quiet, rural location in which their On this occasion, they dress themselves in white clothing (also
contemplative practice can be pursued. While Philo notes that like Pythagoreans, and also serving Levites or Egyptian cultic
those who follow this lifestyle exist in many parts of the world, priests). At this point in the treatise it becomes clear that the
he stresses that it is abundantly seen in Egypt, particularly community Philo describes is hierarchical with each member
around Alexandria. At this point in the treatise Philo intro- allocated a particular place. here is a lower order of hera-
duces the Jewish group he would focus upon as “the best” of all peutae: the “dailies” (Contempl. 66). hese junior members
the contemplative philosophers (Contempl. 22). He notes that are chosen to maintain the senior members and wait on them
their particular community is situated in a healthy, breezy spot during dinner as diakonoi who take the place of slaves. he
on a lat, low-lying hill (probably south-west of Alexandria), dining hall is divided, like the meeting room, into two parts,
in between Lake Mareotis and the Mediterranean Sea. Philo with men on the right and women on the let. hey recline on
writes that their location is surrounded by dwellings and vil- very rough couches: wooden benches strewn with local papy-
lages and implies that there are cultivated ields and pastures rus, slightly raised for leaning upon.
(factors that diferentiate them from later Christian ascetics he procedure at the 49t evening celebration is carefully
who sought more extreme solitude in desert regions). he ar- described by Philo. he president of the community, while
chitecture of the community settlement is described as con- reclining, gives a lecture, using allegorical interpretation, on
sisting of a central building – most likely originally a country a passage of Scripture or on a philosophical proposition. he
villa – incorporating a sacred meeting room (semneion) and community listens in silence, with occasional utterings of ap-
dining hall (sumposion), along with numerous individual hut- proval. he seniors recline and the juniors stand during the ad-
like dwellings divided into two rooms: an outer and an inner, dress, and aterwards the president is applauded by clapping.
the latter called a monasterion or semneion. In the inner room He then stands up and sings a hymn, either an ancient one or
they keep sacred writings for study and inspiration. something recently composed, and then all the others take a
In terms of their spiritual and philosophical exercises, turn in singing, with everyone joining in for closing lines and
Philo describes the herapeutae as praying twice every day, at choruses. he meal – bread, salt, hyssop, spring water – is then
sunrise and sunset. At sunrise they pray to have their minds brought in on a table and served out by the juniors. he table
illuminated by heavenly light, and for the soul to be relieved of seems to be symbolic of the table of shewbread in the Temple
the disturbance of the physical senses, in order to follow truth. sanctuary. Ater dinner, the entire company stand and join
hey interpret “the sacred instructions of the prophet Moses” together in the middle of the dining room in two choirs, one
(Contempl. 64) allegorically in order to discover deeper mean- of men and one of women, each with their own choir-leader.
ings, using works written by predecessors as guides. hey com- he leaders stand in the places of Moses and Miriam respec-
pose and write down hymns. Engaged in this practice, they tively who led Israel in songs of praise ater the escape from
remain within their rough huts for six days, and on seventh Egypt (Exod. 15). Everyone sings, claps and dances, eventually
days (Sabbaths) they assemble in the meeting room to hear forming one harmonious choir, singing songs of thanksgiv-
a discourse from the most senior elder. Philo notes that both ing to God in an ecstatic state. At dawn they greet the arrival
men and women are equally members of the group, and that of the 50t day by all standing turned toward the rising sun.
this meeting room is divided by a wall 3–4 cubits high, prob- hey pray for a bright day of truth and intellectual illumina-
ably with men on one side and women on the other. tion, ater which they return to their huts.
hey do not eat until ater sunset, since the body and Questions have been raised about how much Philo is
its needs are associated with darkness, while their practice creating an ideal community out of hearsay or accurately rep-
of spiritual philosophy is associated with light. hey eat only resenting an actual group. Philo is clearly using elements he
bread seasoned with salt (and sometimes hyssop), and drink believed would appeal to a Stoic audience and others trained
only spring water. Philo notes that some herapeutae can be in Graeco-Roman philosophy, but it is not improbable that
so preoccupied with contemplation that they do not think of Philo visited such a community close to Alexandria himself
food for three days, and that they can utter precepts of phi- and reported what he saw. Philo himself may not have agreed
losophy in their sleep while dreaming. heir clothing is very with every aspect of the group’s practice. he group seemed
basic: a short exomis or linen wrap in summer, covered with to have followed an older or heterodox solar calendar that has
a cloak of woolly sheep or goat skin in winter. It is clear from the new day beginning at dawn, and its repetition of the 49t
such comments that Philo wished to emphasize aspects of the evening as the time for festivity is diicult to reconcile with
group that would impress those who followed Stoic philoso- the usual feasts of the Jewish calendar. he group reveres the
phy, in which asceticism, detachment from the world, intellec- number 50 as “the most holy and natural of numbers” (Con-

700 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 19

templ. 65), like the Pythagoreans, and celebrates the 50t day’s 1848. In 1852 there were three Jewish families in the town and
regular arrival. he presence of women in the group on an in 1930, 98 Jews, mostly soldiers, were recorded there. In 1941,
equal or near equal footing with men is striking, but nothing before the town became a ghetto, it had 3,700 inhabitants, in-
is provided by Philo to explain the group’s rationale for such cluding ten Jewish families.
inclusivity, though there may be some implication that both he irst indication of the Nazi plan to establish a ghetto
men and women, divested of material connections, aim to in heresienstadt is to be found in a document dated Oct. 10,
be cultic attendants (therapeutai) in a true, spiritual Temple. 1941. According to acting Reichsprotektor Reinhard *Heydrich,
Philo works hard to ensure that the women are presented as heresienstadt would serve as a temporary transit camp for
a modest ideal, describing them as “mostly elderly virgins” Jews of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia until their
(Contempl. 68) and thereby somewhat de-sexualized. inal deportation to the East. At the *Wannsee Conference of
It seems likely that if a real group is in fact described January 21, 1942, Heydrich mentioned the second purpose of
in De Vita Contemplativa then it should be seen as part of heresienstadt: Jews from the Reich and the Ostmark over the
a larger exegetical and philosophical tradition within Alex- age of 65, invalids of World War I, and Jews with war decora-
andrian Judaism, in which allegorical exegesis, asceticism tions would be concentrated there in a ghetto for the elderly
and an accommodation with Graeco-Roman philosophy is (while all the other deportees were to be sent “for work” near
attested. he individual group Philo describes would repre- the eastern front). he third purpose, to represent heresien-
sent one school of thought within this tradition, but at pres- stadt as a model ghetto and show the world how humanely
ent much still needs to be learnt about the characteristics of the Jews were treated, came to the fore ater the irst oicial
Alexandrian Judaism in the late Hellenistic and early Roman proclamation of the Allies about the destruction of the Jews
periods before the place of the herapeutae in this context is of Europe was published on December 17, 1942.
properly understood. he Jews of the Protectorate hoped that the establish-
Bibliography: F.C. Conybeare, Philo About the Contem- ment of the ghetto in heresienstadt would halt the deporta-
plative Life (1895; repr. 1987); F. Daumas and P. Miquel, De Vita Con- tions to Poland, which had started in October 1941, and that
templativa (Les Oeuvres de Philon d’Alexandrie; Paris, Éditions du they would remain in their native country until the war ended.
Cerf, 1963); T. Engberg-Pedersen, “Philo’s De Vita Contemplativa as he irst deportees reached heresienstadt from Prague late in
a Philosopher’s Dream,” in: JSJ, 30 (1999), 40–64; D. Hay, “hings November 1941, and by the end of May 1942, one third of the
Philo Said and Did Not Say about the herapeutae,” in: Society of Bib-
Protectorate Jews (28,887) had been deported there. During
lical Literature Seminar Papers, 31 (1992), 673–83; idem, “he Veiled
houghts of the herapeutae,” in: R.M. Berchman (ed.), Mediators the irst seven months of the ghetto’s existence, living condi-
of the Divine: Horizons of Prophecy, Divination, Dreams and heurgy tions difered little from those in Nazi concentration camps.
in Mediterranean Antiquity (1998), 167–84; R.S. Kraemer, “Monastic Families were torn apart; men and women with children were
Jewish Women in Greco-Roman Egypt: Philo Judaeus on the her- housed in separate barracks and were not allowed to meet. he
apeutrides,” in: Signs, 14 (1989), 342–70; J. Riaud, “Les hérapeutes hopes that the ghetto would serve as a safeguard against fu-
d’Alexandrie dans la Tradition et dans la recherche critique jusqu’aux ture deportations were soon dashed. In January 1942 the irst
découvertes de Qumran,” in: ANRW, 2: 20: 2 (1987), 1189–1295; G.P.
two transports of 1,000 deportees each let heresienstadt for
Richardson, “Philo and Eusebius on Monasteries and Monasticism:
he herapeutae and Kellia,” in: B.H. McLean (ed.), Origins and Riga and from then on the threat of deportation to the East
Method: Towards an Understanding of Judaism and Christianity: Es- hung over the ghetto inhabitants. Conditions in the ghetto
says in Honour of John C. Hurd (1993), 334–59; H. Szesnat, “‘Mostly improved ater the entire non-Jewish population of Terezin
Aged Virgins’: Philo and the Presence of the herapeutrides at Lake was evacuated and from July 1942 the inmates were at least
Mareotis,” in: Neotestamentica, 32 (1998), 191–201; J.E. Taylor, Jew- free to move inside the ghetto walls and to meet their families
ish Women Philosophers of First-Century Alexandria: Philo’s “hera- ater work. In June 1942 thousands of Jewish deportees from
peutae” Reconsidered (2003); idem, “Virgin Mothers: Philo on the
Germany and Austria began arriving. Most of them were in
Women herapeutae,” in: Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha,
12 (2001), 37–63; idem, “he Women ‘Priests’ of Philo’s De Vita Con-
the special categories mentioned above. hey were brought to
templativa: Reconstructing the herapeutae,” in: J. Schaberg, A. Bach, heresienstadt under the pretext they would be well taken care
and E. Fuchs (eds.), he Cutting Edge (2004), 102–22; J.E. Taylor and of in old age homes. he populations of the ghetto reached its
P.R. Davies, “he So-Called herapeutae of De Vita Contemplativa: height in September 1942, when 53,000 persons were crowded
Identity and Character,” in: HTR, 91 (1998), 3–24. into its approximately 150,000 sq. yds. (114,000 sq. m., an av-
[Joan E. Taylor (2nd ed.)] erage density of 2.9 sq. yds – 2.15 sq. m. per person). During
that months 18,639 person arrived in heresienstadt; 3,941 per-
THERESIENSTADT (Czech Terezín), town in the Czech sons, mostly the old, died in the ghetto itself and 13,004 were
Republic, which served as a ghetto between 1941 and 1945. deported from there to Sobibor, Treblinka, Maly Trostinec,
About 150,000 Jews, mainly from Central Europe, Holland, and other extermination camps in the Lublin region. From
and Denmark were deported there by the Nazis. he town, lo- October 1942 all transports from heresienstadt were sent
cated near the point where the Eger lows into the Elbe, was to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Deportations from the ghetto were
built as a garrison in 1780 by Emperor Joseph II and half of stopped between February and September 1942. Ater the in-
its inhabitants were soldiers. he irst Jew arrived there ater terlude 17,500 heresienstadt inmates were sent in September

ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 19 701