Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The preceding chapters show that rabbinic thought is intertwined with the nature of its texts, with rabbinic textuality. In the absence of a compelling textual Gestalt, the formal self sufficiency ...
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The preceding chapters show that rabbinic thought is intertwined with the nature of its texts, with rabbinic textuality. In the absence of a compelling textual Gestalt, the formal self sufficiency and independence of the single statement allows it to enter into many diverse relationships with other statements, so that it can be difficult to determine its exact scope and import. Direct knowledge of the halakhic practice of a text's own time and place, which would resolve many such ambiguities, is mostly not available. Nevertheless, the absence of a sentence-connecting Gestalt is not a mere lack. It is, like all sustained text formation, an achievement and a contrivance: Gestalt of another order. Several factors are discussed in detail, which contribute to this outcome in various measure.Less
The preceding chapters show that rabbinic thought is intertwined with the nature of its texts, with rabbinic textuality. In the absence of a compelling textual Gestalt, the formal self sufficiency and independence of the single statement allows it to enter into many diverse relationships with other statements, so that it can be difficult to determine its exact scope and import. Direct knowledge of the halakhic practice of a text's own time and place, which would resolve many such ambiguities, is mostly not available. Nevertheless, the absence of a sentence-connecting Gestalt is not a mere lack. It is, like all sustained text formation, an achievement and a contrivance: Gestalt of another order. Several factors are discussed in detail, which contribute to this outcome in various measure.
Richard Kalmin
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306194
- eISBN:
- 9780199784998
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306198.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The Babylonian Talmud was compiled in the 3rd through 6th centuries CE, by rabbis living under Sasanian Persian rule in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. What kind of society did ...
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The Babylonian Talmud was compiled in the 3rd through 6th centuries CE, by rabbis living under Sasanian Persian rule in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. What kind of society did these rabbis inhabit? What effect did that society have on important rabbinic texts? This book offers a re-examination of rabbinic culture of late antique Babylonia. It shows how this culture was shaped in part by Persia on the one hand, and by Roman Palestine on the other. The mid 4th century CE in Jewish Babylonia was a period of particularly intense “Palestinianization,” at the same time that the Mesopotamian and east Persian Christian communities were undergoing a period of intense “Syrianization.” The book argues that these closely related processes were accelerated by 3rd-century Persian conquests deep into Roman territory, which resulted in the resettlement of thousands of Christian and Jewish inhabitants of the eastern Roman provinces in Persian Mesopotamia, eastern Syria, and western Persia, profoundly altering the cultural landscape for centuries to come. The book also offers new interpretations of several fascinating rabbinic texts of late antiquity. It also demonstrates how Babylonian rabbis interacted with the non-rabbinic Jewish world, often in the form of the incorporation of centuries-old non-rabbinic Jewish texts into the developing Talmud, rather than via the encounter with actual non-rabbinic Jews in the streets and marketplaces of Babylonia.Less
The Babylonian Talmud was compiled in the 3rd through 6th centuries CE, by rabbis living under Sasanian Persian rule in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. What kind of society did these rabbis inhabit? What effect did that society have on important rabbinic texts? This book offers a re-examination of rabbinic culture of late antique Babylonia. It shows how this culture was shaped in part by Persia on the one hand, and by Roman Palestine on the other. The mid 4th century CE in Jewish Babylonia was a period of particularly intense “Palestinianization,” at the same time that the Mesopotamian and east Persian Christian communities were undergoing a period of intense “Syrianization.” The book argues that these closely related processes were accelerated by 3rd-century Persian conquests deep into Roman territory, which resulted in the resettlement of thousands of Christian and Jewish inhabitants of the eastern Roman provinces in Persian Mesopotamia, eastern Syria, and western Persia, profoundly altering the cultural landscape for centuries to come. The book also offers new interpretations of several fascinating rabbinic texts of late antiquity. It also demonstrates how Babylonian rabbis interacted with the non-rabbinic Jewish world, often in the form of the incorporation of centuries-old non-rabbinic Jewish texts into the developing Talmud, rather than via the encounter with actual non-rabbinic Jews in the streets and marketplaces of Babylonia.
Jonathan Klawans
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195162639
- eISBN:
- 9780199785254
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195162639.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book reevaluates modern scholarly approaches to ancient Jewish cultic rituals, arguing that sacrifice in particular has been long misunderstood. Various religious and cultural ideologies ...
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This book reevaluates modern scholarly approaches to ancient Jewish cultic rituals, arguing that sacrifice in particular has been long misunderstood. Various religious and cultural ideologies (especially supersessionist ones) have frequently prevented scholars from seeing the Jerusalem temple as a powerful source of meaning and symbolism to those ancient Jews who worshiped there. Such approaches are exposed and countered by reviewing the theoretical literature on sacrifice and taking a fresh look at a broad range of evidence concerning ancient Jewish attitudes toward the temple and its sacrificial cult. Starting with the Hebrew Bible, this work argues for a symbolic understanding of a broad range of cultic practices, including both purity rituals and sacrificial acts. The prophetic literature is also reexamined, with an eye toward clarifying the relationship between the prophets and the sacrificial cult. Later ancient Jewish symbolic understandings of the cult are also revealed in sources including Josephus, Philo, Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, and Rabbinic literature. A number of ancient Jews certainly did believe that the temple was temporarily tainted or defiled in some fashion, including the Dead Sea sectarians and Jesus. But they continued to speak of the temple in metaphorical terms, and — like practically all ancient Jews — believed in the cult, accepted its symbolic significance, and hoped for its ultimate efficacy.Less
This book reevaluates modern scholarly approaches to ancient Jewish cultic rituals, arguing that sacrifice in particular has been long misunderstood. Various religious and cultural ideologies (especially supersessionist ones) have frequently prevented scholars from seeing the Jerusalem temple as a powerful source of meaning and symbolism to those ancient Jews who worshiped there. Such approaches are exposed and countered by reviewing the theoretical literature on sacrifice and taking a fresh look at a broad range of evidence concerning ancient Jewish attitudes toward the temple and its sacrificial cult. Starting with the Hebrew Bible, this work argues for a symbolic understanding of a broad range of cultic practices, including both purity rituals and sacrificial acts. The prophetic literature is also reexamined, with an eye toward clarifying the relationship between the prophets and the sacrificial cult. Later ancient Jewish symbolic understandings of the cult are also revealed in sources including Josephus, Philo, Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, and Rabbinic literature. A number of ancient Jews certainly did believe that the temple was temporarily tainted or defiled in some fashion, including the Dead Sea sectarians and Jesus. But they continued to speak of the temple in metaphorical terms, and — like practically all ancient Jews — believed in the cult, accepted its symbolic significance, and hoped for its ultimate efficacy.
Adiel Schremer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195383775
- eISBN:
- 9780199777280
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383775.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
This book seeks to reconstruct the earliest rabbinic discourse of minut (frequently understood as the Hebrew equivalent of the Christian term “heresy”), and to reassess the place that early ...
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This book seeks to reconstruct the earliest rabbinic discourse of minut (frequently understood as the Hebrew equivalent of the Christian term “heresy”), and to reassess the place that early Christianity occupied in that discourse. It suggests that the emergence of the rabbinic discourse of religious identity was a response to an identity crisis of a post-traumatic society, shattered by the powerful Roman empire. In order to re-affirm its values and distinct Jewish identity Palestinian rabbinic society developed a discourse of “heresy,” in which its religious boundaries were re-established by the labeling of some Jews as minim, and their placement beyond the pale. That discourse emphasized notions of social and communal solidarity and belonging, much more than a strictly defined concept of “correct belief,” and minim, accordingly, were Jews who's fault was seen in their separation from the rest of the Jewish community. The place that Christianity occupied in that discourse was relatively small, and the early Christians, who only gradually were introduced into the category of minim and became to be considered as such, were not its main target. Throughout Late Antiquity, the “significant other” for Palestinian Rabbis remained the Roman Empire, and the religious challenge with which they were mostly occupied was the Empire's power and the challenge it posed to the belief in God's power and His divinity.Less
This book seeks to reconstruct the earliest rabbinic discourse of minut (frequently understood as the Hebrew equivalent of the Christian term “heresy”), and to reassess the place that early Christianity occupied in that discourse. It suggests that the emergence of the rabbinic discourse of religious identity was a response to an identity crisis of a post-traumatic society, shattered by the powerful Roman empire. In order to re-affirm its values and distinct Jewish identity Palestinian rabbinic society developed a discourse of “heresy,” in which its religious boundaries were re-established by the labeling of some Jews as minim, and their placement beyond the pale. That discourse emphasized notions of social and communal solidarity and belonging, much more than a strictly defined concept of “correct belief,” and minim, accordingly, were Jews who's fault was seen in their separation from the rest of the Jewish community. The place that Christianity occupied in that discourse was relatively small, and the early Christians, who only gradually were introduced into the category of minim and became to be considered as such, were not its main target. Throughout Late Antiquity, the “significant other” for Palestinian Rabbis remained the Roman Empire, and the religious challenge with which they were mostly occupied was the Empire's power and the challenge it posed to the belief in God's power and His divinity.
Martin S. Jaffee
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195140675
- eISBN:
- 9780199834334
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140672.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book is a study of the relationship of oral tradition to written sources among different Jewish groups that thrived in Palestine from the later Second Temple period into Late Antiquity. Its main ...
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This book is a study of the relationship of oral tradition to written sources among different Jewish groups that thrived in Palestine from the later Second Temple period into Late Antiquity. Its main concern is to track the emerging awareness, within diverse Palestinian scribal groups, of the distinction between written books and the oral traditions upon which they were based or in light of which they were interpreted. The thesis holds that during the Second Temple period in particular, diverse Jewish scribal communities –such as the composers of Jewish pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea community, and the Pharisees – certainly employed oral traditions in their literary and interpretive work. But they did not appeal to oral tradition as an authoritative source of knowledge. This was reserved for written books regarded as prophetic transmissions from antiquity. The emergence of a coherent ideology of oral tradition as a kind of revelation comparable to that of Scripture is associated with the consolidation of third century rabbinic Judaism. The book argues that the rabbinic ideology of Oral Torah – “Torah in the Mouth” – is, in great measure, a legitimation of the institution of rabbinic discipleship, which depended upon the primacy of face‐to‐face relationships, unmediated by the written word.Less
This book is a study of the relationship of oral tradition to written sources among different Jewish groups that thrived in Palestine from the later Second Temple period into Late Antiquity. Its main concern is to track the emerging awareness, within diverse Palestinian scribal groups, of the distinction between written books and the oral traditions upon which they were based or in light of which they were interpreted. The thesis holds that during the Second Temple period in particular, diverse Jewish scribal communities –such as the composers of Jewish pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea community, and the Pharisees – certainly employed oral traditions in their literary and interpretive work. But they did not appeal to oral tradition as an authoritative source of knowledge. This was reserved for written books regarded as prophetic transmissions from antiquity. The emergence of a coherent ideology of oral tradition as a kind of revelation comparable to that of Scripture is associated with the consolidation of third century rabbinic Judaism. The book argues that the rabbinic ideology of Oral Torah – “Torah in the Mouth” – is, in great measure, a legitimation of the institution of rabbinic discipleship, which depended upon the primacy of face‐to‐face relationships, unmediated by the written word.
MARTIN GOODMAN
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264744
- eISBN:
- 9780191734663
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264744.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about rabbinic texts of late antiquity and their application in the study of the history of late-Roman Palestine. It ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about rabbinic texts of late antiquity and their application in the study of the history of late-Roman Palestine. It investigates whether these rabbinic texts existed in anything like their present form in late antiquity and examines the differing status as historical evidence for late antiquity of different sorts of rabbinic literature. It provides a series of thematic studies of historical topics for which rabbinic evidence has been considered as useful evidence and denied such a role by others.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about rabbinic texts of late antiquity and their application in the study of the history of late-Roman Palestine. It investigates whether these rabbinic texts existed in anything like their present form in late antiquity and examines the differing status as historical evidence for late antiquity of different sorts of rabbinic literature. It provides a series of thematic studies of historical topics for which rabbinic evidence has been considered as useful evidence and denied such a role by others.
Christine E. Hayes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195151206
- eISBN:
- 9780199834273
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195151208.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
For more than a century, scholars of ancient Judaism and early Christianity have assumed that ancient Jews viewed Gentiles as ritually impure, and that this alleged principle of Gentile ritual ...
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For more than a century, scholars of ancient Judaism and early Christianity have assumed that ancient Jews viewed Gentiles as ritually impure, and that this alleged principle of Gentile ritual impurity was the basis for a strict and burdensome policy of separation between Jews and non‐Jews. The present volume corrects decades of erroneous scholarship on the question of Gentile ritual impurity and the history of Jewish perceptions of Gentiles in antiquity. Although purity and impurity were intimately connected with questions of identity and otherness in ancient Jewish culture, the terms “pure” and “impure” were employed in various ways by different groups of Jews to describe and inscribe sociocultural boundaries between Jews and Gentiles. Close analysis of biblical, Second Temple, New Testament, patristic, and rabbinic sources, shows that at least four distinct modes of impurity were associated with Gentiles by different groups – ritual impurity, moral impurity, genealogical impurity, and carnal impurity. This unexpected diversity of ancient Jewish views of Gentile impurity is tied to widely differing definitions of Jewish group identity and the access of Gentiles to that identity. Consequently, ancient Jews exhibited widely varying attitudes towards intermarriage and conversion – the two processes by which group boundaries might be penetrated. These diverse views of the permeability of the Jewish–Gentile boundary through intermarriage or conversion, deriving in turn from diverse conceptions of Gentile impurity and Jewish identity, contributed to the rise of sectarianism in Second Temple Judaism, and to the separation of the early church from what would later become rabbinic Judaism.Less
For more than a century, scholars of ancient Judaism and early Christianity have assumed that ancient Jews viewed Gentiles as ritually impure, and that this alleged principle of Gentile ritual impurity was the basis for a strict and burdensome policy of separation between Jews and non‐Jews. The present volume corrects decades of erroneous scholarship on the question of Gentile ritual impurity and the history of Jewish perceptions of Gentiles in antiquity. Although purity and impurity were intimately connected with questions of identity and otherness in ancient Jewish culture, the terms “pure” and “impure” were employed in various ways by different groups of Jews to describe and inscribe sociocultural boundaries between Jews and Gentiles. Close analysis of biblical, Second Temple, New Testament, patristic, and rabbinic sources, shows that at least four distinct modes of impurity were associated with Gentiles by different groups – ritual impurity, moral impurity, genealogical impurity, and carnal impurity. This unexpected diversity of ancient Jewish views of Gentile impurity is tied to widely differing definitions of Jewish group identity and the access of Gentiles to that identity. Consequently, ancient Jews exhibited widely varying attitudes towards intermarriage and conversion – the two processes by which group boundaries might be penetrated. These diverse views of the permeability of the Jewish–Gentile boundary through intermarriage or conversion, deriving in turn from diverse conceptions of Gentile impurity and Jewish identity, contributed to the rise of sectarianism in Second Temple Judaism, and to the separation of the early church from what would later become rabbinic Judaism.
Sacha Stern
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198270348
- eISBN:
- 9780191600753
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198270348.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Traces the development of the Jewish calendar—how months and years were reckoned—from its earliest descriptions in the second century b.c.e. until it reached, in the tenth century c.e., to its ...
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Traces the development of the Jewish calendar—how months and years were reckoned—from its earliest descriptions in the second century b.c.e. until it reached, in the tenth century c.e., to its present form. Solar and lunar calendars are attested in the early period, but by the first century c.e., the Jewish calendar had become predominantly lunar. A wide range of sources (literary, documentary/epigraphic, Jewish, Graeco‐Roman, and Christian) reveals, however, that Jewish communities in Palestine and the diaspora reckoned their lunar calendar independently from one another, and hence, would often celebrate the same festivals at different times. This diversity persisted until the end of antiquity, although some general trends can be identified. Until the first century c.e., Jewish lunar calendars tended to be late in relation to the solar year, and Passover would always occur after the spring equinox; whereas, by the fourth century, intercalations were adjusted in such a way that Passover was frequently earlier. In the fourth century, moreover, many communities began to calculate the day of the new moon instead of relying on observation of the new crescent, as had previously been the norm. The change from observation to calculation is particularly evident in the case of the rabbinic calendar, for which there is more evidence than any other Jewish calendar. Largely under pressure from the Babylonian rabbinic community, the rabbinic calendar gradually evolved from the third century c.e. into a fixed, calculated calendar, which became dominant in the Jewish world by the tenth century. The general evolution of the Jewish calendar throughout our period, from considerable diversity (solar and lunar calendars) to unity (a single, normative rabbinic calendar), can be explained as epitomizing the emerging solidarity and communitas of the Jewish communities of late antiquity and the early medieval world.Less
Traces the development of the Jewish calendar—how months and years were reckoned—from its earliest descriptions in the second century b.c.e. until it reached, in the tenth century c.e., to its present form. Solar and lunar calendars are attested in the early period, but by the first century c.e., the Jewish calendar had become predominantly lunar. A wide range of sources (literary, documentary/epigraphic, Jewish, Graeco‐Roman, and Christian) reveals, however, that Jewish communities in Palestine and the diaspora reckoned their lunar calendar independently from one another, and hence, would often celebrate the same festivals at different times. This diversity persisted until the end of antiquity, although some general trends can be identified. Until the first century c.e., Jewish lunar calendars tended to be late in relation to the solar year, and Passover would always occur after the spring equinox; whereas, by the fourth century, intercalations were adjusted in such a way that Passover was frequently earlier. In the fourth century, moreover, many communities began to calculate the day of the new moon instead of relying on observation of the new crescent, as had previously been the norm. The change from observation to calculation is particularly evident in the case of the rabbinic calendar, for which there is more evidence than any other Jewish calendar. Largely under pressure from the Babylonian rabbinic community, the rabbinic calendar gradually evolved from the third century c.e. into a fixed, calculated calendar, which became dominant in the Jewish world by the tenth century. The general evolution of the Jewish calendar throughout our period, from considerable diversity (solar and lunar calendars) to unity (a single, normative rabbinic calendar), can be explained as epitomizing the emerging solidarity and communitas of the Jewish communities of late antiquity and the early medieval world.
Beth A. Berkowitz
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195179194
- eISBN:
- 9780199784509
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195179196.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Execution and Invention: Death Penalty Discourse in Early Rabbinic and Christian Cultures argues that ancient rabbis and Christians used death penalty discourse to invent themselves as ...
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Execution and Invention: Death Penalty Discourse in Early Rabbinic and Christian Cultures argues that ancient rabbis and Christians used death penalty discourse to invent themselves as figures of authority. This approach runs counter to much previous scholarship on the subject, which claims that ancient Jews opposed the death penalty and would have abolished it if not for its presence in the Bible. The book explores this scholarship and shows it to have been fueled by modern anti-Semitism, polemics with the the Jewish Enlightenment’s inheritance of anti-rabbinism, as well as controversy in the United States over capital punishment and its abolition. The book moves beyond this “humanitarianism” approach, inviting us instead to see the problem of building and maintaining authority as the crux around which ancient death penalty discourse developed. Drawing on ritual theory, postcolonial theory, and scholarship on criminal execution in other historical contexts, Execution and Invention asks new questions of the ancient texts: How and why do ancient western religions talk about killing criminals? What are the social consequences of this kind of violent talk? What kind of authority is imagined by these texts, and What strategies do the texts use to make this authority seem compelling? Combining the contemporary theory with classical source critical approaches, the book closely reads a variety of ancient texts describing criminal executions. It newly interprets these texts, showing that their descriptions of violent deaths have a complex social function. In the process, the book spins out the social implications of capital punishment and overturns enduring stereotypes of Judaism and Christianity.Less
Execution and Invention: Death Penalty Discourse in Early Rabbinic and Christian Cultures argues that ancient rabbis and Christians used death penalty discourse to invent themselves as figures of authority. This approach runs counter to much previous scholarship on the subject, which claims that ancient Jews opposed the death penalty and would have abolished it if not for its presence in the Bible. The book explores this scholarship and shows it to have been fueled by modern anti-Semitism, polemics with the the Jewish Enlightenment’s inheritance of anti-rabbinism, as well as controversy in the United States over capital punishment and its abolition. The book moves beyond this “humanitarianism” approach, inviting us instead to see the problem of building and maintaining authority as the crux around which ancient death penalty discourse developed. Drawing on ritual theory, postcolonial theory, and scholarship on criminal execution in other historical contexts, Execution and Invention asks new questions of the ancient texts: How and why do ancient western religions talk about killing criminals? What are the social consequences of this kind of violent talk? What kind of authority is imagined by these texts, and What strategies do the texts use to make this authority seem compelling? Combining the contemporary theory with classical source critical approaches, the book closely reads a variety of ancient texts describing criminal executions. It newly interprets these texts, showing that their descriptions of violent deaths have a complex social function. In the process, the book spins out the social implications of capital punishment and overturns enduring stereotypes of Judaism and Christianity.
MARTIN GOODMAN
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264744
- eISBN:
- 9780191734663
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264744.003.0023
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the application of rabbinic literature in studying the history of late-Roman Palestine. It has been demonstrated that a great deal of ...
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This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the application of rabbinic literature in studying the history of late-Roman Palestine. It has been demonstrated that a great deal of evidence preserved within the rabbinic tradition in medieval manuscripts originated in the Roman provinces of Palestine between c.200 and c.700 CE. It was also shown that rabbinic texts, even at their most reliable, can only provide a very partial glimpse of late-Roman Palestine. This chapter also highlights the inherent problems using rabbinic texts as historical source and suggests ways to overcome them.Less
This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the application of rabbinic literature in studying the history of late-Roman Palestine. It has been demonstrated that a great deal of evidence preserved within the rabbinic tradition in medieval manuscripts originated in the Roman provinces of Palestine between c.200 and c.700 CE. It was also shown that rabbinic texts, even at their most reliable, can only provide a very partial glimpse of late-Roman Palestine. This chapter also highlights the inherent problems using rabbinic texts as historical source and suggests ways to overcome them.
Eliezer Diamond
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195137507
- eISBN:
- 9780199849772
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195137507.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The existence of ascetic elements within rabbinic Judaism has generally been either overlooked or actually denied. This is in part because asceticism is not commonly identified with celibacy, whereas ...
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The existence of ascetic elements within rabbinic Judaism has generally been either overlooked or actually denied. This is in part because asceticism is not commonly identified with celibacy, whereas the rabbis emphasized sexuality as a positive good. In addition, argues this book, it serves the theological agendas of both Jewish and Christian scholars to characterize Judaism as non- or anti-ascetic. In fact, however, the book shows that rabbinic asceticism does indeed exist. This asceticism is secondary, rather than primary, in that the rabbis place no value on self-denial in and of itself, but rather require themselves the virtual abandonment of familial, social, and economic life in favour of an absolute commitment to the study of the Torah. It is an asceticism of neglect, rather than negation. One form of asceticism in particular—fasting—became increasingly popular in the wake of the destruction of the second temple. The book traces this to the need to mourn the temple's devastation but also to the cessation of temple-related rituals. The book shows that fasting was seen as a substitute for these rituals when the Temple was destroyed.Less
The existence of ascetic elements within rabbinic Judaism has generally been either overlooked or actually denied. This is in part because asceticism is not commonly identified with celibacy, whereas the rabbis emphasized sexuality as a positive good. In addition, argues this book, it serves the theological agendas of both Jewish and Christian scholars to characterize Judaism as non- or anti-ascetic. In fact, however, the book shows that rabbinic asceticism does indeed exist. This asceticism is secondary, rather than primary, in that the rabbis place no value on self-denial in and of itself, but rather require themselves the virtual abandonment of familial, social, and economic life in favour of an absolute commitment to the study of the Torah. It is an asceticism of neglect, rather than negation. One form of asceticism in particular—fasting—became increasingly popular in the wake of the destruction of the second temple. The book traces this to the need to mourn the temple's devastation but also to the cessation of temple-related rituals. The book shows that fasting was seen as a substitute for these rituals when the Temple was destroyed.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of rabbinic texts. Rabbinic texts constitute a scholarly discourse in that their statements are concerned with halakhic norms, or linguistic meaning ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of rabbinic texts. Rabbinic texts constitute a scholarly discourse in that their statements are concerned with halakhic norms, or linguistic meaning in Scripture. And they are presented in a framework of arguments, and often contested. An overview of the chapters included in this volume is also presented. Thirteen small literary forms are described, which constitute apparently self-sufficient units of meaning and some of them occur in most rabbinic works. How the small forms are combined to build larger documents of various types is explained. Typical features of selected rabbinic genres are considered, including the Mishnah; Midrashic Bible commentaries and homilies; and the Babylonian Gemara.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of rabbinic texts. Rabbinic texts constitute a scholarly discourse in that their statements are concerned with halakhic norms, or linguistic meaning in Scripture. And they are presented in a framework of arguments, and often contested. An overview of the chapters included in this volume is also presented. Thirteen small literary forms are described, which constitute apparently self-sufficient units of meaning and some of them occur in most rabbinic works. How the small forms are combined to build larger documents of various types is explained. Typical features of selected rabbinic genres are considered, including the Mishnah; Midrashic Bible commentaries and homilies; and the Babylonian Gemara.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter explains the main categories by which rabbinic documents can be sorted into groups. It introduces thirteen key small forms which make up the bulk of rabbinic literature. Also it presents ...
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This chapter explains the main categories by which rabbinic documents can be sorted into groups. It introduces thirteen key small forms which make up the bulk of rabbinic literature. Also it presents five main arrangement principles according to which the small forms are put together in extended texts. An artificial synthesis of rabbinic ideas about God, the Torah, and Israel is developed, and why such syntheses have no direct evidence to support them, is also explained.Less
This chapter explains the main categories by which rabbinic documents can be sorted into groups. It introduces thirteen key small forms which make up the bulk of rabbinic literature. Also it presents five main arrangement principles according to which the small forms are put together in extended texts. An artificial synthesis of rabbinic ideas about God, the Torah, and Israel is developed, and why such syntheses have no direct evidence to support them, is also explained.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines the thematic discourse as it occurs in key rabbinic books on religious obligation: halakhah. Three main ways in which neighbouring statements can interact with each other in ...
More
This chapter examines the thematic discourse as it occurs in key rabbinic books on religious obligation: halakhah. Three main ways in which neighbouring statements can interact with each other in such works as the Mishnah and the Tosefta are described. It is shown that the individual halakhic statement is not as self-suffcient as it may seem, and yet its role within a larger whole is usually undefined. The resulting ambiguities are often fundamental, affecting the historical reconstruction of rabbinic Judaism, or Judaisms.Less
This chapter examines the thematic discourse as it occurs in key rabbinic books on religious obligation: halakhah. Three main ways in which neighbouring statements can interact with each other in such works as the Mishnah and the Tosefta are described. It is shown that the individual halakhic statement is not as self-suffcient as it may seem, and yet its role within a larger whole is usually undefined. The resulting ambiguities are often fundamental, affecting the historical reconstruction of rabbinic Judaism, or Judaisms.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter introduces the role of the Hebrew Bible in the constitution of rabbinic documents and thought. It presents the smallest unit of rabbinic interpretation, and explains that brief, ...
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This chapter introduces the role of the Hebrew Bible in the constitution of rabbinic documents and thought. It presents the smallest unit of rabbinic interpretation, and explains that brief, quotable, segments of Scripture are treated as intrinsically meaningful. The question whether rabbinic hermeneutics constitutes a genuine reading of the Hebrew Bible, and whether interpretations were meant to compete with each other, are addressed. The forms in which the rabbis speak about the meaning of biblical words are distinguished from forms in which they adopt biblical words and sentences as part of their own utterances.Less
This chapter introduces the role of the Hebrew Bible in the constitution of rabbinic documents and thought. It presents the smallest unit of rabbinic interpretation, and explains that brief, quotable, segments of Scripture are treated as intrinsically meaningful. The question whether rabbinic hermeneutics constitutes a genuine reading of the Hebrew Bible, and whether interpretations were meant to compete with each other, are addressed. The forms in which the rabbis speak about the meaning of biblical words are distinguished from forms in which they adopt biblical words and sentences as part of their own utterances.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter explains the importance of Scripture for the rabbinic world-view, using the analogy of modern sciences. The presence of the idea of ‘canon’ in rabbinic writings is discussed, and how ...
More
This chapter explains the importance of Scripture for the rabbinic world-view, using the analogy of modern sciences. The presence of the idea of ‘canon’ in rabbinic writings is discussed, and how cutting Scripture down to segments makes it possible to appropriate biblical words for rabbinic themes is explained. It is suggested that the segments are treated as if they constituted the divine response in a conversation with the rabbis. Some common techniques of rabbinic Bible interpretation are listed.Less
This chapter explains the importance of Scripture for the rabbinic world-view, using the analogy of modern sciences. The presence of the idea of ‘canon’ in rabbinic writings is discussed, and how cutting Scripture down to segments makes it possible to appropriate biblical words for rabbinic themes is explained. It is suggested that the segments are treated as if they constituted the divine response in a conversation with the rabbis. Some common techniques of rabbinic Bible interpretation are listed.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines the fact that many individual statements occurring in rabbinic texts are quoted as direct speech by named rabbis. Speech reports are interpreted as minimal narratives which ...
More
This chapter examines the fact that many individual statements occurring in rabbinic texts are quoted as direct speech by named rabbis. Speech reports are interpreted as minimal narratives which provide the form, but not the contents, of a ‘history’ of rabbinic texts. Concentrating on the Mishnah, the anonymous voice which does the quoting is distinguished from the named voices which are quoted. Attention is drawn to the importance of disputes, where the two types of voices become mixed.Less
This chapter examines the fact that many individual statements occurring in rabbinic texts are quoted as direct speech by named rabbis. Speech reports are interpreted as minimal narratives which provide the form, but not the contents, of a ‘history’ of rabbinic texts. Concentrating on the Mishnah, the anonymous voice which does the quoting is distinguished from the named voices which are quoted. Attention is drawn to the importance of disputes, where the two types of voices become mixed.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296736
- eISBN:
- 9780191712067
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296736.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book surveys the corpus of rabbinic literature, which was written in Hebrew and Aramaic about 1,500 years ago and which contains the foundations of Judaism, in particular the Talmud. The ...
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This book surveys the corpus of rabbinic literature, which was written in Hebrew and Aramaic about 1,500 years ago and which contains the foundations of Judaism, in particular the Talmud. The rabbinic works are introduced in groups, illustrated by shorter and longer passages, and described according to their literary structures and genres. Tables and summaries provide short information on key topics: the individual works and their nature, the recurrent literary forms which are used widely in different works, techniques of rabbinic Bible interpretation, and discourse strategies of the Talmud. Key topics of current research into the texts are addressed: their relationship to each other, their unity, their ambiguous and ‘unsystematic’ character, and their roots in oral tradition. The book explains why the character of the texts is crucial to an understanding of rabbinic thought, and why they pose specific problems to modern, Western-educated readers.Less
This book surveys the corpus of rabbinic literature, which was written in Hebrew and Aramaic about 1,500 years ago and which contains the foundations of Judaism, in particular the Talmud. The rabbinic works are introduced in groups, illustrated by shorter and longer passages, and described according to their literary structures and genres. Tables and summaries provide short information on key topics: the individual works and their nature, the recurrent literary forms which are used widely in different works, techniques of rabbinic Bible interpretation, and discourse strategies of the Talmud. Key topics of current research into the texts are addressed: their relationship to each other, their unity, their ambiguous and ‘unsystematic’ character, and their roots in oral tradition. The book explains why the character of the texts is crucial to an understanding of rabbinic thought, and why they pose specific problems to modern, Western-educated readers.
Richard Kalmin
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306194
- eISBN:
- 9780199784998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306198.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines ancient rabbinic accounts of Roman interference with the practice of Judaism during the first few decades of the 2nd century CE. Sources attributed to Tannaim in the Bavli are ...
More
This chapter examines ancient rabbinic accounts of Roman interference with the practice of Judaism during the first few decades of the 2nd century CE. Sources attributed to Tannaim in the Bavli are compared to those attributed to Tannaim in Palestinian compilations. It is shown that Babylonian portrayals tend to emphasize Roman prohibition of Torah study, while Palestinian portrayals do so only rarely, if at all. This will be the first of many respects in which Babylonian rabbis place greater stress on Torah study than do Palestinian rabbis, which is easily explicable according to the claim that the universe of experience of Babylonian rabbis, more so than of Palestinians, tended not to extend beyond the four walls of the study house.Less
This chapter examines ancient rabbinic accounts of Roman interference with the practice of Judaism during the first few decades of the 2nd century CE. Sources attributed to Tannaim in the Bavli are compared to those attributed to Tannaim in Palestinian compilations. It is shown that Babylonian portrayals tend to emphasize Roman prohibition of Torah study, while Palestinian portrayals do so only rarely, if at all. This will be the first of many respects in which Babylonian rabbis place greater stress on Torah study than do Palestinian rabbis, which is easily explicable according to the claim that the universe of experience of Babylonian rabbis, more so than of Palestinians, tended not to extend beyond the four walls of the study house.
Richard Kalmin
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306194
- eISBN:
- 9780199784998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306198.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter continues the examination of rabbinic depictions of the past and the light they shed on the rabbinic present. It describes the differences between Palestinian and Babylonian rabbinic ...
More
This chapter continues the examination of rabbinic depictions of the past and the light they shed on the rabbinic present. It describes the differences between Palestinian and Babylonian rabbinic narratives that purport to portray events of the second Temple period. It shows that Babylonian portrayals emphasize the importance of rabbis, especially at the expense of kings, in particular depicting sages rather than kings in control of the priests and the Temple cult. Palestinian rabbinic portrayals, on the other hand, tend to assign to rabbis a less prominent role and allow for a greater role for kings.Less
This chapter continues the examination of rabbinic depictions of the past and the light they shed on the rabbinic present. It describes the differences between Palestinian and Babylonian rabbinic narratives that purport to portray events of the second Temple period. It shows that Babylonian portrayals emphasize the importance of rabbis, especially at the expense of kings, in particular depicting sages rather than kings in control of the priests and the Temple cult. Palestinian rabbinic portrayals, on the other hand, tend to assign to rabbis a less prominent role and allow for a greater role for kings.
