
730 AD to 750 AD, Psalm 84: The valley of weeping
This generation is that of the 730s and 740s
- In 725 [1], he (Leo III) pronounced a series of sermons in which he emphasized the most flagrant excesses of the iconolaters, as the worshipers of the images were called, whom he considered to be transgressors of the law of Moses explained in the second testament.
In 726 he took action by destroying an icon in Saint Sophia. But it is in 730 that he decrees that all images (pious) must be destroyed, taking the risk of opposing the papacy.
- From the time [2] of the first caliphs, the change of legal status of the Jews and their demographic growth contributed to the embellishment and prosperity of Jerusalem, favored by the Umayyads. Both recognized special authority over the Jewish leaders of Eretz Israel, established before the Arab conquest at Tiberias, and who now seated their authority in Jerusalem. Many of its inhabitants were Jews who could not pay per capita tax in their hometowns – in Jerusalem capitation was collectively regulated and not imposed on heads of households. Jewish leaders of Eretz Israel were now in a new world, centered in Damascus. Their voice could be heard internationally: Jerusalem was also a pilgrim city for Muslims and, in any case, it was on the road traveled by caravans of merchants in certain seasons. Security on the access roads was thus ensured by the Muslim power. Relations with Jewish communities in the rest of the world and with some Umayyad caliphs were easy – which was not the case before – because of the knowledge of Arabic.
(extract of the psalm 84 associated to this generation, verses 1 to 5 )
- For the conductor, on the gittith, of the sons of Korah, a song.
- How beloved are Your dwelling places, O Lord of Hosts!
- My soul yearns, yea, it pines for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh pray fervently to the living God.
- Even a bird found a house and a swallow her nest, where she placed her chicks upon Your altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.
- Fortunate are those who stay in Your house; they will continually praise You forever.
- The history [3] of the division between Rome and Constantinople is already old when the seventh century begins, since it goes back far to the division of the Roman Empire. Sources of litigation abound: rivalries about the title of Ecumenical Patriarch, interventions by the Byzantine emperors in theological debates, differences in the interpretation of the Christian tradition, haughty contempt for a rude West on one side and misunderstanding before « Byzantine » quarrels on the other. […]
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The presence of Jewish communities in Europe’s lands predates this generation, but the new development of Europe creates new opportunities for Jews.
(extract of the psalm 84 associated to this generation, verses 6 to 10 )
- Fortunate is the man who has strength in You, in whose heart are the highways.
- Transgressors in the valley of weeping make it into a fountain; also with blessings they enwrap [their] Teacher.
- They go from host to host; he will appear to God in Zion.
- O Lord, God of Hosts, hearken to my prayer; bend Your ear, O God of Jacob, forever.
- See our shield, O God, and look at the face of Your anointed.
(extract of the psalm 84 associated to this generation, verses 11 to 13 )
- For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand; …
- What does it matter if the Jewish people are denied sovereignty over Jerusalem through the generations of exile? What matters is the conclusion of exile and the definitive return to Sion.
- … I chose to sit on the threshold of the house of My God rather than dwell in tents of wickedness.
- This patience is preferable to the temptation to submit to the victors of the moment. Indeed conversion to Islam is tempting and would easily allow Jews to return to pray (as a Muslim) on the historic site of Solomon’s Temple. But it is better to keep one’s faith and confidence (« to sit on the threshold of the house of My God » ) than to be persuaded to seemingly penetrate deeper because the newly built mosques (« tents of wickedness ») do not replace the destroyed temple. .
- For a sun and a shield is the Lord God; the Lord will give grace and glory; He will not withhold good from those who go with sincerity.
- O Lord of Hosts, fortunate is the man who trusts in You.
- The psalmist renews a new faith his confidence.
[1] John Julius Norwich: « History of Byzantium ». Chapter 9: « The Iconoclasm ». (French: « Histoire de Byzance ». Chapitre 9 : « L’Iconoclasme ». (p. 137) ).
[2] Shmuel Trigano: « The Sephardic world: I History ». Chapter: « History of the Jews under the Moslem domination: The time of the conquest (632-750) ». (French: « Le monde Sépharade : I Histoire ». Chapitre : « Histoire des Juifs sous la domination musulmane : L’époque de la conquête (632-750) ». (p. 48/49) ).
[3] Jean Pierre Moisset: « History of Catholicism ». Chapter: « One Church, Two Cultures: East and West. (French: « Histoire du catholicisme ». Chapitre : « Une église, deux cultures : Orient et Occident » (p. 172-173) ).