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TALMUDIC STUDIES Ephraim Kanarfogel
chapter 22 TALMUDIC STUDIES ephraim kanarfogel TRANSITIONS FROM THE EAST, AND THE NASCENT CENTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, SPAIN, AND ITALY The history and development of the study of the Oral Law following the completion of the Babylonian Talmud remain shrouded in mystery. Although significant Geonim from Babylonia and Palestine during the eighth and ninth centuries have been identified, the extent to which their writings reached Europe, and the channels through which they passed, remain somewhat unclear. A fragile consensus suggests that, at least initi- ally, rabbinic teachings and rulings from Eretz Israel traveled most directly to centers in Italy and later to Germany (Ashkenaz), while those of Babylonia emerged predominantly in the western Sephardic milieu of Spain and North Africa.1 To be sure, leading Sephardic talmudists prior to, and even during, the eleventh century were not yet to be found primarily within Europe. Hai ben Sherira Gaon (d. 1038), who penned an array of talmudic commen- taries in addition to his protean output of responsa and halakhic mono- graphs, was the last of the Geonim who flourished in Baghdad.2 The family 1 See Avraham Grossman, “Zik˙atah shel Yahadut Ashkenaz ‘el Erets Yisra’el,” Shalem 3 (1981), 57–92; Grossman, “When Did the Hegemony of Eretz Yisra’el Cease in Italy?” in E. Fleischer, M. A. Friedman, and Joel Kraemer, eds., Mas’at Mosheh: Studies in Jewish and Moslem Culture Presented to Moshe Gil [Hebrew] (Jerusalem, 1998), 143–57; Israel Ta- Shma’s review essays in K˙ ryat Sefer 56 (1981), 344–52, and Zion 61 (1996), 231–7; Ta-Shma, Kneset Mehkarim, vol. -
Gift Exchanges During Marriage Rituals Among the Italian Jews in the Early Modern Period: a Historic-Anthropological Reading
GIFT EXCHANGES DURING MARRIAGE RITUALS 485 Roni WEINSTEIN Pisa University, Dept. of Modern and Contemporary History Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Storia, Sezione Moderna e Contemporanea GIFT EXCHANGES DURING MARRIAGE RITUALS AMONG THE ITALIAN JEWS IN THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD: A HISTORIC-ANTHROPOLOGICAL READING RÉSUMÉ De la fin du XVe siècle au milieu du XVIIe, les communautés juives d’Italie furent le lieu d’un débat halakhique sur les présents du fiancé à sa promise. À l’arrière-plan de ce débat figurait la règle talmudique selon laquelle le fondement du mariage ré- side dans le don que fait le fiancé d’un bien à sa future épouse. Les aspects légaux de cette question n’expliquent toutefois qu’en partie la durée et l’âpreté de ce débat. La pérennité de cette coutume, parmi les juifs italiens, en dépit des résistances non moins durables des juifs venus d’ailleurs, est liée à la fonction des présents dans les rituels locaux du mariage. L’étude des écrits consacrés à cette question — ouvrages classiques ou actuels d’inspiration anthropologique — confirment le lien étroit de cette pratique avec les divers aspects de la culture locale: conceptions relatives à la richesse et à la propriété, à l’honneur et à l’identité; contrôle communautaire sur les rituels du mariage et sur l’ensemble de la vie familiale. SUMMARY From late 15th century to mid 17th century an Halakhic debate — about gifts con- ferred from the groom to the bride — was conducted in Jewish-Italian communi- ties. The background for this debate was the Talmudic ruling that marriage was ba- sically created by conferring some property from a man to a woman, his intended wife. -
The Legal Status of Abuse
HM 424.1995 FAMILY VIOLENCE Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff Part 1: The Legal Status of Abuse This paper was approved by the CJT,S on September 13, 1995, by a vote of' sixteen in favor and one oppossed (16-1-0). V,,ting infiwor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Ben :Lion BerBm<m, Stephanie Dickstein, £/liot JY. Dorff, S/wshana Gelfand, Myron S. Geller, Arnold i'H. Goodman, Susan Crossman, Judah f(ogen, ~bnon H. Kurtz, Aaron L. iHaclder, Hwl 11/othin, 1'H(~yer HabinoLviiz, Joel /t.,'. Rembaum, Gerald Slwlnih, and E/ie Kaplan Spitz. hJting against: H.abbi Ceraicl Ze/izer. 1he Committee 011 .lnuish L(Lw and Standards qf the Rabhinical As:wmbly provides f};ztidance in matters (!f halakhnh for the Conservative movement. The individual rabbi, hou;evet~ is the authority for the interpretation and application of all maltrrs of halaklwh. 1. Reating: According to Jewish law as interpreted by the Conservative movement, under what circumstance, if any, may: A) husbands beat their wives, or wives their husbands? B) parents beat their children? c) adult children of either gender beat their elderly parents? 2. Sexual abu.se: What constitutes prohibited sexual abuse of a family member? 3· verbal abuse: What constitutes prohibited verbal abuse of a family member? TI1e Importance of the Conservative Legal Method to These Issues 1 In some ways, it would seem absolutely obvious that Judaism would nut allow individu als to beat others, especially a family member. After all, right up front, in its opening l T \VOuld like to express my sincere thanks to the members or the Committee on Jew·isll Law and Standards for their hdpfu I snggc:-;tions for impruving an earlier draft of this rcsponsum. -
Literacy in Medieval Jewish Culture1
Portrayals of Women with Books: Female (Il)literacy in Medieval Jewish Culture1 Katrin Kogman-Appel Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva The thirteenth century saw a new type of Hebrew book, the Passover haggadah (pl. haggadot). Bound together with the general prayer book in the earlier Middle Ages, the haggadah emerged as a separate, independent volume around that time.2 Once the haggadah was born as an individual book, a considerable number of illustrated specimens were created, of which several have come down to us. Dated to the period from approximately 1280 to 1500, these books were produced in various regions of the Iberian peninsula and southern France (Sepharad), the German lands (Ashkenaz), France, and northern Italy. Almost none of these manuscripts contain a colophon, and in most cases it is not known who commissioned them. No illustrated haggadah from the Islamic realm exists, since there the decoration of books normally followed the norms of Islamic culture, where sacred books received only ornamental embellishments. The haggadah is usually a small, thin, handy volume and contains the liturgical text to be recited during the seder, the privately held family ceremony taking place at the eve of Passover. The central theme of the holiday is the retelling of the story of Israel’s departure from Egypt; the precept is to teach it to one’s offspring.3 The haggadah contains the text to fulfill this precept. Hence this is not simply a collection of prayers to accompany a ritual meal; rather, using the 1 book and reading its entire text is the essence of the Passover holiday. -
אוסף מרמורשטיין the Marmorstein Collection
אוסף מרמורשטיין The Marmorstein Collection Brad Sabin Hill THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Manchester 2017 1 The Marmorstein Collection CONTENTS Acknowledgements Note on Bibliographic Citations I. Preface: Hebraica and Judaica in the Rylands -Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts: Crawford, Gaster -Printed Books: Spencer Incunabula; Abramsky Haskalah Collection; Teltscher Collection; Miscellaneous Collections; Marmorstein Collection II. Dr Arthur Marmorstein and His Library -Life and Writings of a Scholar and Bibliographer -A Rabbinic Literary Family: Antecedents and Relations -Marmorstein’s Library III. Hebraica -Literary Periods and Subjects -History of Hebrew Printing -Hebrew Printed Books in the Marmorstein Collection --16th century --17th century --18th century --19th century --20th century -Art of the Hebrew Book -Jewish Languages (Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Yiddish, Others) IV. Non-Hebraica -Greek and Latin -German -Anglo-Judaica -Hungarian -French and Italian -Other Languages 2 V. Genres and Subjects Hebraica and Judaica -Bible, Commentaries, Homiletics -Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Rabbinic Literature -Responsa -Law Codes and Custumals -Philosophy and Ethics -Kabbalah and Mysticism -Liturgy and Liturgical Poetry -Sephardic, Oriental, Non-Ashkenazic Literature -Sects, Branches, Movements -Sex, Marital Laws, Women -History and Geography -Belles-Lettres -Sciences, Mathematics, Medicine -Philology and Lexicography -Christian Hebraism -Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim Relations -Jewish and non-Jewish Intercultural Influences -
The Adjudication of Fines in Ashkenaz During the Medieval and Early Modern Periods and the Preservation of Communal Decorum
The Adjudication of Fines in Ashkenaz during the Medieval and Early Modern Periods and the Preservation of Communal Decorum Ephraim Kanarfogel* The Babylonian Talmud (Bava Qamma 84a–b) rules that fines and other assigned payments in situations where no direct monetary loss was incurred--or where the damages involved are not given to precise evaluation or compensation--can be adjudicated only in the Land of Israel, at a time when rabbinic judges were certified competent to do so by the unbroken authority of ordination (semikhah). In addition to the implications for the internal workings of the rabbinic courts during the medieval period and beyond, this ruling seriously impacted the maintaining of civility and discipline within the communities. Most if not all of the payments that a person who struck another is required to make according to Torah law fall into the category of fines or forms of compensation that are difficult to assess and thus could not be collected in the post-exilic Diaspora (ein danin dinei qenasot be-Bavel).1 * Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, Yeshiva University. 1 See Arba’ah Turim, Ḥoshen Mishpat, sec. 1, and Beit Yosef, ad loc. In his no longer extant Sefer Avi’asaf, Eli’ezer b. Joel ha-Levi of Bonn (Rabiah, d. c. 1225) concludes that the victim of an assault can be awarded payments by a rabbinic court for the cost of his healing (rippui) and for money lost if he is unable to work (shevet), since these are more common types of monetary law, with more precisely assessed forms of compensation. -
Fine Judaica, to Be Held May 2Nd, 2013
F i n e J u d a i C a . printed booKs, manusCripts & autograph Letters including hoLy Land traveL the ColleCtion oF nathan Lewin, esq. K e s t e n b au m & C om pa n y thursday, m ay 2nd, 2013 K est e n bau m & C o m pa ny . Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art A Lot 318 Catalogue of F i n e J u d a i C a . PRINTED BOOK S, MANUSCRIPTS, & AUTOGRAPH LETTERS INCLUDING HOLY L AND TR AVEL THE COllECTION OF NATHAN LEWIN, ESQ. ——— To be Offered for Sale by Auction, Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 at 3:00 pm precisely ——— Viewing Beforehand: Sunday, April 28th - 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Monday, April 29th - 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Tuesday, April 30th - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Wednesday, May 1st - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm No Viewing on the Day of Sale This Sale may be referred to as: “Pisgah” Sale Number Fifty-Eight Illustrated Catalogues: $38 (US) * $45 (Overseas) KestenbauM & CoMpAny Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art . 242 West 30th street, 12th Floor, new york, NY 10001 • tel: 212 366-1197 • Fax: 212 366-1368 e-mail: [email protected] • World Wide Web site: www.Kestenbaum.net K est e n bau m & C o m pa ny . Chairman: Daniel E. Kestenbaum Operations Manager: Jackie S. Insel Client Accounts: S. Rivka Morris Client Relations: Sandra E. Rapoport, Esq. (Consultant) Printed Books & Manuscripts: Rabbi Eliezer Katzman Ceremonial & Graphic Art: Abigail H. -
MARRANOS of SPAIN
B. Netanyahu THE MARRANOS of SPAIN From the Late 14TH to the Early i6th Century, According to Contemporary Hebrew Sources Third Edition, Updated and Expanded ) * > THE MARRANOS OF SPAIN From the Late 14th to the Early 16th Century According to Contemporary Hebrew Sources by B. NETANYAHU Third Edition, Updated and Expanded Cornell University Press Ithaca and London Third edition, updated and expanded, copyright© 1999 by Cornell University Copyright © 1966, 1972 by The American Academy for Jewish Research First Edition: January, 1966 Second Edition: September, 1972 Third edition, updated and expanded, first published 1999 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 1999 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Netanyahu, B. (Benzion), b. 1910 The Marranos of Spain, from the late 14th to the early 16th century, according to contemporary Hebrew sources I by B. Netanyahu. —3rd cd. u p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8014-3586-2 (cloth : alk. paper). - ISBN 0-8014-8568-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Marranos—Spain — Historiography. 2. Rabbinic and polemical literature —History and criticism. I. Title. DS135.S7N39 1999 946'.004924—dc21 98-55165 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Paperback 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 To CELA for toil, and faith, and dedication FOREWORD This study is part of an inquiry designed to establish what we can learn about the Marranos, as well as about the genesis of the Spanish Inquisition, from non-Inquisitional sources. In pursuit of this aim, I have undertaken a dual approach — an analysis of all the evidence on the Marranos contained in the Hebrew sources, and a scrutiny of all related testimony con tained in the non-Hebrew documents. -
Science in Medieval Jewish Cultures
Science in Medieval Jewish Cultures Edited by GAD FREUDENTHAL cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, ny 10013-2473, usa www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107001459 C Cambridge University Press 2011 ! This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2011 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Science in medieval Jewish cultures / edited by Gad Freudenthal. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-107-00145-9 (hardback) 1. Jewish scientists – History – To 1500. 2. Science, Medieval. 3. Judaism and science – History – To 1500. I. Freudenthal, Gad. q128.s35 2011 508.992"4–dc22 2010037107 isbn 978-1-107-00145-9 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urlsforexternalorthird-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. 6 Astronomy among Jews in the Middle Ages Bernard R. Goldstein In the Middle Ages Jews were deeply involved in the practice of astronomy and they depended on the Greco-Arabic tradition largely based on Ptolemy’s Almagest composed in the sec- ond century c.e. -
The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Blackwell Companions to Religion
The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Blackwell Companions to Religion The Blackwell Companions to Religion series presents a collection of the most recent scholarship and knowledge about world religions. Each volume draws together newly-commissioned essays by distinguished authors in the field, and is presented in a style which is accessible to undergraduate students, as well as scholars and the interested general reader. These volumes approach the subject in a creative and forward-thinking style, providing a forum in which leading scholars in the field can make their views and research available to a wider audience. Published The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Edited by Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-Peck The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion Edited by Richard K. Fenn The Blackwell Companion to the Hebrew Bible Edited by Leo G. Perdue The Blackwell Companion to Postmodern Theology Edited by Graham Ward The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism Edited by Gavin Flood The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology Edited by Peter Scott and William T. Cavanaugh The Blackwell Companion to Protestantism Edited by Alister E. McGrath and Darren C. Marks The Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology Edited by Gareth Jones The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics Edited by William Schweiker The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics Edited by Stanley Hauerwas and Sam Wells Forthcoming The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion Edited by Robert A. Segal The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity Edited by Ken Parry The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Edited by Jacob Neusner Bard College Alan J. Avery-Peck College of the Holy Cross © 2000, 2003 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd except for editorial material and organization © 2000,2003 by Jacob Neusner and Alan Avery-Peck 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 IJF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Jacob Neusner and Alan J. -
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism General Information Conservative Judaism (known as Masorti Judaism outside of the United States and Canada) was founded as “a reaction against Reform [Judaism] on the one hand and orthodoxy on the other,” according to the Emet Ve’Emunah (Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism). Based on the principles of Rabbi Zechariah Frankel (1801-1873), Conservative Judaism, says the Emet Ve’Emunah, strives to preserve “intact the structure and content of traditional Jewish observance” while remaining open to “the new conditions and insights of the modern age.” More information about Conservative Judaism, including the movement’s beliefs, structure, and history, can be found by going to http://masortiworld.org Number of Members in the United States: 1.5 million Official Statements on Animals There is a hierarchy in creation “in which human beings have superior status to animals” The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) “issues rulings shaping the practice of the Conservative community.” According to the CJLS, “God reigns supreme over all creation, including human beings,” but within creation there is a hierarchy in which human beings are superior to, and have dominion over, all other creatures. “God reigns supreme over all creation, including human beings, and human beings are to have dominion over all other terrestrial and celestial phenomena, including creatures of the sea, sky, and land. Human beings are set into an environment furnished for human beings and are authorized to utilize animals for human benefit.” —from the Rabbinical Assembly, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbi Pamela Barmash, Veal Calves, 3. This responsum was approved on December 12, 2007 by a vote of 9 in favor, 5 opposed, and 7 abstaining. -
Public Roles of Jewish Women in 14Th and 15Th-Century Ashkenaz: Business, Community and Ritual
Public Roles of Jewish Women in 14th and 15th-Century Ashkenaz: Business, Community and Ritual MARTHA KEIL (ST. PÖLTEN) It was only relatively late, not until around the mid-1980s, that the methodological 5 approaches developed in women’s and gender studies reached the area of medieval Jewish history. Since that time, a series of publications on the subject has appeared, culminating in the book on Jewish women in the High Middle Ages by Avraham Grossman, which may already be described as a standard account (even though, written in Hebrew, it has been accessible to only a limited number of readers). Most 10 of these contributions are to be ascribed to women’s studies rather than to gender studies, but ‘gender’ as a socio-cultural construct—next to categories such as religion, social status, family status, education, etc.—is receiving more and more attention. The present essay can be no more than a strictly circumscribed contribution 15 towards reconstructing the lives and worlds of Jewish women in the later medieval period. It has to leave aside the wide aspects of family life, and the roles of Jewish women as wives, mothers, and educators. The personal piety of women and their considerable halakhic expertise in questions of kashrut and niddah (ritual purity) cannot be dealt with in detail. Rather, I shall focus on the roles of women in 20 economic life, in community administration, and, on the other hand, in the socio- religious life of the community, since the thirteenth century. Over the period from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, the legal and social (not, however, the socio-religious) position of women in Ashkenaz, in France, and in Italy improved significantly in terms both of Jewry-law and of Jewish religious law.