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Epikoros (orApikoros orApikores;Hebrew:אֶפִּיקוֹרוֹס,romanized: ʾeppikoros,lit. 'Epicurus', pl.Epikorsim;Yiddish:אַפּיקורס,romanized: apikoyres) is a Jewish term figuratively meaning "a heretic", cited in theMishnah, that refers to an individual who does not have a share in theWorld to Come:
כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וְאֵילּוּ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶן חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִייַת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶפִּיקוּרוֹס.All of Israel have a part in the World to Come. But the following have no part in the World to Come: One who says that the resurrection of the dead is not biblical, or that the Torah is not from Heaven, or the Epicurean.
כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה ס) וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים לְעוֹלָם יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ נֵצֶר מַטָּעַי מַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי לְהִתְפָּאֵר. וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם, וְאֶפִּיקוֹרֶס.All of the Jewish people have a share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And your people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever; the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, for My name to be glorified” (Isaiah 60:21). And these [are the exceptions,] the people who have no share in the World-to-Come [...] One who says: There is no resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah, and one who says: The Torah did not originate from Heaven, and an epikoros[.]
Therabbinic literature uses the termEpikoros without a specific reference to theGreek philosopherEpicurus, but some understand that the term is derived from his name.[1] Epicurus was amaterialist philosopher whose views contradictedJewish scripture, the strictlymonotheistic conception ofGod in Judaism, and the Jewish belief inthe World to Come; seeEpicureanism § Philosophy.
TheTalmudic interpretation is that theAramaic word is derived from theroot-wordפק"ר (PQR; lit.licentious), hence disrespect, and accordingly:
אפיקורוס: רב ור' חנינא אמרי תרוייהו זה המבזה ת"ח רבי יוחנן ור' יהושע בן לוי אמרי זה המבזה חבירו בפני ת"ח§ [The mishna teaches that those who have no share in the World-to-Come include] an epikoros.Rav andRabbi Ḥanina both say: This is one who treats a Torah scholar with contempt.Rabbi Yoḥanan andRabbi Yehoshua ben Levi say: This is one who treats another with contempt before aTorah scholar.
— Babylonian Talmud,Sanhedrin 99b:14
Marcus Jastrow, in his dictionary identifies the term as in fact being an enlargement of פק"ר, which was then supported by its phonetic coincidence with the famed pagan philosopher.
According toMaimonides, scorning aTalmid Chakham (Hebrew:ת"ח,romanized: talmiḏ ḥaḫām,lit. 'Wise Student' "Torah scholar") is actually a singular case of disrespecting the entireTorah or its rabbinic scholar-sages. In his workMishneh Torah (Yad, Teshuvah 3:8), Maimonides rules that an Epikoros is a person who denies that God communicates with humans throughprophecy; one who denies the prophecy ofMoses; or one who denies God'sknowledge of the affairs of humans[2][3] (i.e., one who maintains there is nodivine providence). Maimonides probably encountered the name of Epicurus some time between composing his commentary on theMishnah and before composingThe Guide for the Perplexed. In the first source, he states that the rabbinic termepikoros is an Aramaic word; in theGuide, Maimonides has become aware of the atheistic doctrine of the philosopher by that name. He cites the source of his information asAlexander of Aphrodisias's treatiseOn Providence.[4]
Following the Christiancensorship of the Talmud, starting with the aftermath of theDisputation of Barcelona and during theRoman Inquisition and theSpanish Inquisition, the term spread within the Jewish classical texts. Censors shunned expressions likeminim ("sectarian"), which they viewed as referring to the Christian faith, and replaced them with the termEpikoros orEpicurus (hence a heretic as the Church would also persecuteheretics). The censors also replaced terms that refer to Christians with the wordHebrew:עכו"ם,romanized: ʿakum, an abbreviation ofHebrew:עֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים וּמַזָּלוֹת,romanized: ʿavoḏat koḵāvim umazzāloṯ,lit. 'worshiper of stars and constellations', a belief that both Jews and their Christian censors abhorred.