Description
Book SynopsisThe challenge of this book has been to rethink prevailing ideas about the social map of Jewish society during the rabbinic period in Israel. New insights were made possible by using anthropological theories and tools. The book explores the rich and complex relationships among the sages, priests, and laymen who competed in social, cultural, and political arenas for hegemony. It demonstrates that this struggle was not a simple case of displacement of the priestly elite by a new scholarly elite.In the process of constituting a counter-hegemony of the sages, there was a complex push-pull process: attraction-rejection, imitation-denial, and co-operation-confrontation. They undermined the old order by using the old hegemonic priestly discourse. Whereas the sages proposed a new order based on intellectual achievement, they nevertheless created on top of the earlier hegemonic order a new order of group nepotism, endogamy, ritual purity, and secret knowledge and education provided only to the proper social classes. Ben-Zion concludes that even in the process of resistance and disengagement from the priestly hegemony, the sages could not free themselves from the bondage of the priestly discourse and praxis.
Trade ReviewA fascinating insight into the social structure and dynamics of the Tannaitic period . . . Dr. Ben-Zion creates an intriguing typology of the processes of identity formation, full of ambivalence, contradictions, and challenges. The book itself is well written, integrates theoretical and empirical material, and sheds light on a topic not hitherto examined from an anthropological point of view. In my opinion, it is an excellent example of the confluence of history and anthropology at the center of our discipline. -- Eyal Ben-Ari, Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
This is an important work at the intersection of anthropology, history, and the theory of religion. . . By applying various anthropological theories, Sigalit Ben-Zion opens up a dynamic landscape of identity formation among various groups, such as Priests and Sages. Dr. Ben-Zion’s ground-breaking work in the field of Jewish studies should engage a wide readership. -- Leif Manger, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen
Table of ContentsForeword ... viAcknowledgments ... viiiCHAPTER ONE. Introduction and methodological considerations ... 2The purpose and significance of this research ... 3Mapping the social identity "Priests," "Sages" and 'Am ha'aretz ... 5Research methods and their contribution ... 8Qualitative textual research: The Dialectic between diachronic andsynchronic approach ... 8Anthropological perspective ... 8Anthropological processes and concepts ... 9Selection of sources ... 16CHAPTER TWO. Mapping the social identity "Priests"... 18The composition of the group of the Priests ... 19The uniqueness of the social identity "Priests" compared to the Sages and'Am ha'aretz ... 22The socio-economic background of the Priests after the destruction of the Temple . 23The historical construction of the group of the Priests... 24Primordial identities in micro-macro contexts ... 26The cultural identity of the Priests as a social group ... 31Social boundary versus cultural content ... 32The usage of diacritical features in a micro-macro context ... 33Cultural symbols: Ideology, commitment and specific practices ... 41Norms and obligations relating to the functions of the Priests ... 52The organization of the group of the Priests ... 59The organization of the Priests inside the Temple realm ... 59The organization of the Priests outside the Temple area ... 69The geographic settlements of the Priests according to the division of the priestlycourses ... 80Sociology of ignorance and protected knowledge ... 85Introduction ... 85The praxis of protected knowledge by the group of the Priests ... 87The group of the Priests as constituting cultural hegemonyin Jewish society ... 91Ideological hegemony according to Gramsci ... 92Discourse and its praxis as a source of power and knowledge ... 94The Priests as a superior group in Jewish society ... 95CHAPTER THREE. Mapping the social identity "Sages" ... 100Introduction ... 101The relationship between the Sages and the Pharisees ... 102The composition of the Tannaitic Sages ... 116Were the group of the Sages an open group? ... 118Did the Sages constitute an opposition to the class of the Priests? ... 121The politics of historical construction of the Tannaitic Sages ... 127The construction of collective memory by the group of the Sages ... 129The self image of the Sages as those who control the institutions duringthe Second Temple period ... 134The politics of the text in the making of social identity ... 137The generation of counter-collective memory as an act of resistance withinthe cultural hegemony ... 139The Cultural identity of the group of Sages: Diacritical features anda basic value system ... 142Group consciousness and common identity ... 142Appearance and lifestyle ... 143Symbols of status as an expression of symbolic identity ... 144The usage of language as a social marker in a micro-macro context ... 155Basic value system ... 160Interdependency of the group of the Tannaitic Sages ... 164The social network of the group of the Sages ... 164Network of reciprocal help with respect to the practice of groomsmen ... 165Network of reciprocal help with respect funeral and mourning rites ... 167Network of kinship and marriage ties ... 170The organization of the group of the Sages ... 171The chronological framework of the Tannaitic Sages ... 171Honorific titles within the rank of the Sages ... 174Network of cooperation in the formal institutions ... 177The intimate circle of the Havura and beit ha'midrash ... 182The relationship between the Master and his Disciple ... 186Inner tension between the Patriarch and the Sanhedrin ... 194Were the Sages an elite group during the Tannaitic period? ... 200The politics of elite culture: The particular and universal culture ... 204The particular culture of the Tannaitic Sages ... 205The universal culture of the Tannaitic Sages ... 214The art of perpetuating political power by privileged groups ... 221History is a graveyard of aristocracies... 221The relationship between a privileged united minority and a diverse majority ... 222The politics of the Sages ... 224CHAPTER FOUR. The relationship betweenthe Haverim and 'Am ha'aretz ... 226Mapping the social identity "Haverim" ... 227The identity of the social category Haver in relation to the group of the Sages ... 229Mapping the social identity " 'Am ha'aretz" ... 234'Am ha'aretz a social stratum, a social group or a social category? ... 238'Am ha'aretz as a stigmatized social category ... 239The relationship between the Sages and 'Am ha'aretz according tothe Babylonian Talmud ... 244The portrayal of 'Am ha'aretz according to the Jerusalem Talmud ... 247The relationship between the Jews known as 'Am ha'aretz and the Haverimas described in the Tannaitic literature ... 249CHAPTER FIVE. The self awareness of the Sages as constituters ofthe counter-hegemony... 252Theoretical consideration ... 253Hegemony versus counter-hegemony ... 253Postcolonialism -- the phenomenon of mimicry ... 255"The art of resistance" -- open and hidden transcripts ... 257Sages' skins, Priests' masks: The desire of the slave to be like his Master ... 259Open rebellion: Confrontation with the Priestly hegemonic discourse ... 259Open and hidden transcripts -- the practice of separating tithes ... 261Sages' skins, Priests' masks -- resistance as an act of imitation ... 264Sages' skins, Priests' masks -- the desire to occupy the Master's place ... 266Imitation as an act of resistance: Eating unconsecrated food in ritual purity ... 272CHAPTER SIX. Exchange of ruling elites or the constitution ofCounter-hegemony? ... 274Sages versus Priests -- a new social order or a mimicry of existing priestlyhegemonic representation? ... 275New social reform: Persoanl achievement ... 278Dialectical tension between imitation and resistance ... 279Social hierarchy and symbolic order according to genealogical attribution ... 285The weight of family attribution ... 288Inheritance or personal achievement? The role of Torah study in relation tosocial stratification... 290Cultural capital and nepotism as a means of centralizing power bythe privileged group ... 291Summary and conclusions ... 296Afterword ... 306Glossary of Hebrew terms... 307Translation of primary sources ... 309Bibliography ... 310Index ... 328
