The term kofer ba-ikkar in rabbinic literature refers to one who denies a basic and essential ikkar ("dogma" on the various formulations of dogmas in Judaism see S. Kofer may be best translated as "freethinker." In Sanhedrin the kofer is identified as one who asks needling questions and points out contradictions between biblical texts (Sanh. Guide of the Perplexed, 2:13 (end), and ibid., 3:17 (start), in which Maimonides identifies the apikoros with someone who agrees with the opinions of Epicurus).
Maimonides defined the apikoros as one who denies the possibility of prophecy and divine revelation, that Moses was a prophet, or that there is divine providence (Yad, Teshuvah 3:8 cf. 66a) to those who denigrate rabbinic authority even in such seemingly insignificant ways as calling a sage by his first name and to those who shame neighbors before the sages (Sanh. In the Talmud the term apikoros refers to the *Sadducees (Kid.
DEFINITION OF HERETIC FREE
The suggestion is that one who denies divine providence and retribution will feel free not to obey the laws of the Torah. The sages in accordance with their method of interpretation derived apikoros from an Aramaic form of the root p-k-r-, "to be free of restraint" (Sanh. The term apikoros seems to be derived from the *Epicureans, whose skeptical naturalism denied divine providence, and hence, divine retribution. *Maimonides identified minut with atheism, with the denial of God's unity and incorporeality, with the denial of creation ex nihilo, and with the belief in a power intermediary between God and man (Yad, Teshuvah 3:7). 99a), physical resurrection, and the coming of the Messiah (Sanh.
38b–39a) and the denial of Israel's chosenness (Sanh. Among the errors of the minim, the Talmud lists denial of God's unity belief in an independent divinity of evil the portrayal of God as a cruel jester (Sanh. There is an early tradition that there were 24 groups of minim as early as the destruction of the Second Temple ( TJ, Sanh. Some identify the talmudic minim with the Judeo-Christians, others with unspecified groups who denied rabbinic authority and/or the belief in the coming of the Messiah. Min is the most common term and the one that appeared originally in the 12 th petition of the daily *Amidah. In talmudic literature a number of terms are used to refer to heretics, *min, *apikoros, kofer, and mumar, each of which also has other meanings. Heresy in the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature
The Bible, although it does not have a specific term for heretic, regards as a heretic one who "whores after strange gods." It sets forth procedures to suppress idolatry and prescribes stoning for anyone who introduces idolatry into the community (Deut. Since the heretic is still a Jew, various halakhic questions concerning his relationship to the Jewish community arise, such as whether he may offer a sacrifice, be counted in a minyan, or have his testimony admitted as evidence in a Jewish court (Ḥul. A heretic may be distinguished from an apostate in that, although he holds beliefs which are contrary to currently accepted doctrines, he does not renounce his religion and often believes that he represents the true tradition. Because Judaism has no one official formulation of dogma against which heresy can be defined, it has no clear-cut definition of heresy. HERESY, belief in ideas contrary to those advocated by religious authorities.