The Culture of The Babylonian Talmud Also by the Author Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Composition, and Culture The Culture of The Babylonian Talmud Jeffrey L. Rubenstein The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore & London This book has been brought to publication with the generous assistance of the Boone Estate Endowment. © 2003 The Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2003 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 The Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rubenstein, Jeffrey L. The culture of the Babylonian Talmud / Jeffrey L. Rubenstein. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-8018-7388-6 1. Talmudic academies. 2. Talmud—Criticism, Redaction. 3. Rabbis— Iraq—Babylonia—Intellectual life. 4. Aggada—History and criticism. 5. Talmud—Language, style. 6. Logic—Iraq—Babylonia. 7. Narration in rabbinical literature. I. Title. bm502.r93 2003 296.1'25067—dc21 2002156775 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Contents Preface and Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations and Conventions ix Tractates xi Introduction 1 Chapter 1 The Rabbinic Academy 16 Chapter 2 Dialectics 39 Chapter 3 Violence 54 Chapter 4 Shame 67 Chapter 5 Lineage and Rabbinic Leadership 80 Chapter 6 Wives 102 vi Contents Chapter 7 Elitism: The Sages and the Amei ha’arets 123 Chapter 8 Conclusion: The Legacy of the Stammaim 143 Notes 163 Selected Bibliography 207 General Index 213 Source Index 227 Preface and Acknowledgments he Culture of the Babylonian Talmud builds on some lines of thought explored in my previous book, Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Com- Tposition, and Culture. I argued there that the redactors of the Baby- lonian Talmud (the Bavli), the Stammaim, made a signiWcant contribution to Talmudic narratives, often revising the Palestinian versions they received in profound ways. In detailed studies of six narratives I pointed out the evi- dence of the intervention by the Stammaim and illustrated the composi- tional techniques with which they reworked their sources. Many narrative traditions, especially the lengthy, highly developed stories, therefore shed light on the cultural situation of the Stammaim, who should be considered the storytellers or authors. The concluding chapter included a brief section on the themes that cut across these stories, themes largely absent from the parallel Palestinian accounts, that I believe point to leading concerns of Stammaitic culture. This book offers expanded discussion of those themes, analysis of other issues found in Stammaitic sources, and comprehensive documentation for those claims that draws on sources throughout the Bavli. It differs from previous scholarly treatments by focussing on these narratives as sources that shed light on late Babylonian rabbinic culture. Earlier versions of several chapters appeared in the following journals, and I thank the editors for permission to reprint and revise them: “The Thematization of Dialectics in Bavli Aggadah,” Journal of Jewish Studies (forthcoming, 2003) (=Chapter 2); “The Bavli’s Ethic of Shame,” Conserv- ative Judaism 53:3 (2001), 27-39 (=Chapter 4). Some of the translations and analysis draw on my previous books Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Compo- sition, and Culture (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999) and Rabbinic Stories (Classics of Western Spirituality; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2002), and I am grateful for permission to reprint them here. viii Preface and Acknowledgments Much of this book was written during a Sabbatical leave generously granted by New York University. The Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies has been a fertile environment to study and teach, and I have been blessed with outstanding colleagues and students, all of whom have provided encouragement while I worked on this project. I would like to thank Matthew Santirocco, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Lawrence Schiffman, chairman of the department, for their constant sup- port. I am most indebted to Michael Satlow, who reviewed the manuscript for the press and made detailed comments and suggestions that improved the book considerably. I am extremely grateful to friends and colleagues who read and commented on drafts of chapters and who assisted me with par- ticular questions: Adam Becker, Robert Chazan, Yaakov Elman, Charlotte Fonrobert, David Weiss Halivni, Catherine Hezser, Jonathan Klawans, Aaron Mate, Leib Moskowitz, James Robinson, Jay Rovner, Seth Schwartz, Lawrence Schiffman, Elliot Wolfson. I warmly thank all of my family, relatives and friends for their support. My mother, father, brother and extended family have given me uncondi- tional encouragement and love: Denise, Arthur, Errol, Evelyn, Milton, Ronald, Miriam, Shulie, Dan, Rena, Talia, Sarah, Gili, Chaya, Dani, Raquel, Tracey, Ivor, Maureen, and Ezra too. My daughter Ayelet was born as I began work on this book, and my daughter Maya as I completed it. They are responsible for slowing down the rate of progress, but making the endeavor so much more enjoyable. This book is dedicated to my wife Dr. Mishaela Ruth Rubin. Her unusual capacity to love—as wife, daughter, sister, mother, and friend—continually enriches my life and the lives of all her friends and relatives. Abbreviations and Conventions Full bibliographic information for the editions listed below appears in the Selected Bibliography. In parentheses following references to rabbinic texts I provide the page numbers of the editions used in the citation. Thus, LevR 5:1 (123) = Leviticus Rabbah, parasha 5, section 1, p. 123 in Margulies’s edition. All translations of rabbinic texts are my own unless otherwise indicated. Square brackets in the translations indicate words and phrases that do not appear explicitly in the original but are needed to understand the source. This information is essentially entailed in the wording and would have been understood by the audience. Parentheses in the translations enclose expla- nations that most likely underpin the source, though they are not as strongly implied by the actual language. Translations of biblical verses are from the New Jewish Publication Society translation, although I have freely modiWed them when needed. Hebrew transliteration is phonetic: q = ˜, kh = Î, ts = ˆ, h = Á. I have not diVerentiated ‡ from Ú, ‰ from Á, or Ò from s except when a philologi- cal point is at issue. The dagesh is generally not represented. AJSR Association for Jewish Studies Review ARNA ’Avot derabbi natan, version A (ed. S. Schechter) ARNB ’Avot derabbi natan, version B (ed. S. Schechter) b Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) b. ben, bar (= son of) BT Babylonian Talmud DQS Diqduqei sofrim, ed. Rabbinovicz. For Seder Nashim, ed. Hershler and Liss x Abbreviations and Conventions GenR Genesis Rabba (Midrash bereshit rabba, ed. J. Theodor and H. Albeck) HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JQR Jewish Quarterly Review LamR Lamentations Rabba (ed. S. Buber) LevR Leviticus Rabba (Midrash vayiqra rabba, ed. Margulies) m Mishna ms, mss manuscript, manuscripts OG Otsar hageonim (ed. B. Lewin) PRK Pesiqta derav kahana (ed. Mandelbaum) QohR Qohelet Rabba (Vilna printing) R. Rabbi (Palestinian sages are usually designated as “Rabbi”; Babylonians as “Rav”) SifDeut Sifre to Deuteronomy (ed. L. Finkelstein) t Tosefta (ed. S. Lieberman or M. Zuckermandel) y Yerushalmi. First printing, Venice, 1523 (facsimile: Leipzig, 1925). Tractates References to tractates are preceded by b (Babylonian Talmud), y (Yeru- shalmi or Palestinian Talmud), t (Tosefta) or m (Mishna). Thus, bNaz 35a refers to Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Nazir, folio 35a; and tBer 6:5 refers to Tosefta, Tractate Berakhot, chapter 6, paragraph 5. Ah Ahilot Makh Makhshirin A Arakhin Me Meila AZ Avoda Zara Meg Megilla BB Bava Batra Men Menahot Bekh Bekhorot Mid Middot Ber Berakhot MQ Moed Qatan Bes Besa MS Ma’aser Sheni Bik Bikkurim Naz Nazir BM Bava Metsia Ned Nedarim BQ Bava Qama Nid Nidda De Demai Par Para Ed Eduyot Pe Pe’a Eruv Eruvin Pes Pesahim Git Gittin Qid Qiddushin Hag Hagiga RH Rosh Hashana Hal Halla Sanh Sanhedrin Hul Hullin Shab Shabbat Kel Kelim Sheq Sheqalim Ket Ketubot Shev Sheviit Kil Kilayim Shevu Shevuot Ma Ma’aserot Sot Sota Mak Makkot Suk Sukka xii Tractates Ta Ta’anit Yad Yadayim Tam Tamid Yev Yevamot Ter Terumot Yom Yoma Toh Tohorot Zev Zevahim The Culture of The Babylonian Talmud This page intentionally left blank Introduction he Babylonian Talmud or Bavli, the great compilation of rabbinic tra- dition edited in Sasanid Mesopotamia in the fifth through seventh Tcenturies c.e., is arguably the most important Jewish text. While Ju- daism frequently is designated “the religion of the book”—and by “book” the Bible is meant—the Bavli occupied pride of place in rabbinic tradition.1 Medieval and modern rabbinic academies based their curriculum almost ex- clusively upon the Bavli and its derivitive literature of commentaries, legal codes, and responsa. Not every Jew, of course, received the education and training necessary for Talmud study. Yet, from their rabbis, generations of Jews were schooled upon the laws, traditions, ethics, scriptural interpreta- tions, and ideals of the Bavli. The culture of the Bavli is therefore crucial to understanding both the primary influence on the culture of rabbinic acade- mies throughout medieval and modern times as well as important forces that impacted many general Jewish beliefs and practices. This book argues that the Bavli’s dominant culture is the product of its anonymous redactors (editors), known as “Stammaim,” who lived 450–650 c.e. Their culture differed in significant respects from the culture of their predecessors, the sages named in the Talmud and known as Amoraim (200– 450 c.e.), due to the development of a new form of social organization: the rabbinic academy. In Amoraic times small groups of sages studied with an individual master in disciple circles. By the fifth and sixth centuries c.e.