In this book, Hayes addresses the central concern in talmudic studies over the genesis of halakhic (legal) divergence between the Talmuds produced by the Palestinian rabbinic community (c. AD 370) and the Babylonian rabbinic community (c. AD 650). Hayes analyses selected divergences between parallel passages of the two Talmuds. Proceeding on a case-by-case basis, she considers whether external influences (cultural or regional differences), internal factors (textual, hermeneutical, or dialectical), or some intersection of the two best account for the differences.
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This book examines the nature and sources of the unique authority accorded in Judaism to the Sages of the first five centuries AD. These teachers-often referred to reverentially as Chazal, a Hebrew acronym for "our Sages of blessed memory"-occupy a central and unrivalled position in traditional Judaism. Their statements, collected in the vast corpus of Rabbinic literature, serve as the basis for Halakhah (Jewish law) which developed since the Babylonian Talmud was redacted over thirteen centuries ago. Berger critically examines the notion of the Sages' authority, laying bare the assumptions that undergird it and the implications that follow from it. Berger's purpose is not to justify specific normative claims about talmudic law, but to show the deeply nuanced concept of authority in a textual and interpretive tradition.
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This is a collection of essays drawn from Schwartz's previously published work in which he explores how each successive phase of Jewish literature has drawn upon and reimagined the previous ones. Arguing that there is a continuity in Jewish literature which extends from the biblical era to our own times, this collection serves as a useful guide to the history of that literature and its genres.
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• Roman persecutions of Jews
• Kings, priests, and sages
• Jewish sources of the Second Temple Period in rabbinic compilations of late antiquity
• Anxious rabbis and mocking non-rabbis
• Idolatry in late antique Babylonia
• Persian persecutions of the Jews
• Josephus in Sasanian Babylonia.