Description
Book SynopsisThis volume is devoted to the texts, traditions, and practices of the Land of Israel from the end of the Second Temple period through late antiquity. Based upon a conference organized by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, this collection uses a range of critical methodologies and sources, including the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmudim, archaeology, and Samaritan and Jewish liturgical poetry. It presents a vibrant, complex, and multi-layered series of snapshots of rabbinic culture, written by leading contemporary scholars.
Table of ContentsPreface List of Illustrations Contributors Part 1 Torat Erets Yisrael 1 Rabbinic Paleontology: Jewish Encounters with Fossil Giants in Roman Antiquity Elisha Fine and Steven Fine 2 Tosefta Eduyot 1:1 On the Fear of Losing Torah and the Redaction of Tannaitic Materials Michal Bar-Asher Siegal 3 Minhag and Popular Practice in Roman Palestine Stuart Miller 4 The Roman Freedman and the Ḥalal: The Legal Models That Shaped Rabbinic Law on the Status of Converts in Marriage Yael Wilfand 5 Shimon b. Shatah, the Donkey, and the Diamond: The Treasure and the Blessing, Law and Artistry Nachman Levine 6 Whence Leprosy? An Inquiry into the Theodicies of the Tannaim Shlomo Zuckier 7 Feasting, Fasting, and the Bounty of the Land: Rituals of Sukkot in Samaritan and Rabbinic Antiquity Laura Lieber 8 Two Parallel Consolatory Poems for Tisha be’Av in Aramaic and Hebrew Moshe Bernstein Part 2 Torat Erets Yisrael in Babylonia 9 The Motif of the Forgetting and Restoration of Law: An Inter-Talmudic Difference about the Divine Role in Rabbinic Law Alyssa Gray 10 The Use of Literary Considerations as a Key for Assessing the Reliability of Memrot in the Babylonian Talmud: The Case of the Lo Shanu Ela Traditions Barak Cohen 11 Cultural Attitudes towards Scent in the Interpretation of Isaiah 11:3 Meira Wolkenfeld 12 “And God Blessed Them”: Procreation in Palestinian Halakhah and Babylonian Aggadah Shana Strauch Schick Part 3 Tributes to Yaakov Elman 13 Remembering Yaakov Elman ז״ל Lawrence Schiffman 14 Perpetual Motion Shai Secunda 15 Professor Yaakov Elman: A Talmud Scholar of Singular Depth and Scope Shana Strauch Schick 16 A Tribute to Professor Yaakov Elman Meira Wolkenfeld List of Yaakov Elman’s Publications Index
