Abstract
It was in reference to Indian society that Max Weber defined the Jews as an outcast or pariah people, i.e., a " guest people " ( Gastvolk) living in a foreign environment from which they are separated ritually, formally or effectively. After the destruction of the Temple, the Jews, under the growing influence of the prophetic message and ritual pro hibitions, constituted a hereditary community which never stopped hoping for a radical break with history that would restore Israel to its pre-eminence. The only way they could calm the perpetual tension between their political and social impotence and their obstinate waiting for the realization of the promise was through fastidious and anxious observance of ritual and moral prescriptions.