Attendance at Festivals

Philo

On the Special Laws 1.67–70

First Half of 1st Century

Further, he does not consent to those who wish to perform the rites in their houses, but bids them rise up from the ends of the earth and come to this temple. In this way he also applies the severest test to their dispositions. For one who is not going to sacrifice in a religious spirit would never bring himself to leave his country and friends and…

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Ritual sacrifice could normally be conducted only in the Temple and not at home. Philo, writing in Alexandria in the first half of the first century CE (while the Jerusalem Temple still stood), says that Moses established this restriction as a test of faith. It requires adherents to leave home and family, to brave the dangers posed by travel, and to worship in a land far from home. The result is large masses of pilgrims converging on Jerusalem and the Temple, where they find spiritual uplift as well as a convivial community.

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Pilgrimage and Festival Observance in Early Judaism

2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE
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Ancient Jewish Festivals

4th Century BCE–6th Century CE

The Israelite annual festivals originated as agricultural celebrations marking seasonal cycles. Over time, these observances were mythologized into a nation-forming narrative centered on the Exodus from Egypt and the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

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Jewish Daily Life in Roman-Era Palestine

1st Century BCE–6th Century CE

Creator Bio

Philo

ca. 25 BCE–ca. 40

Philo of Alexandria was one of the most important figures in Hellenistic Judaism and a significant influence on early Christianity. Raised in a wealthy Jewish family and educated in Greek rhetoric and logic, Philo served as a delegate to Rome on behalf of the Jewish community of Alexandria. Most innovative among his writings are his commentaries on the Pentateuch, which approach the text allegorically and employ various Platonic perspectives in their interpretations. Philo appears to have had only minimal exposure to the Hebrew and likely relied on the Septuagint and synagogue orations on the biblical texts.

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