“The ability of an individual halakhist to bring about a change depends…on one’s ability to foresee the opposition of one’s peers to one’s innovation”
…the ability of an individual halakhist to bring about a change depends, to a...
Category Archives: Jewish Books
“recycling…is the likely explanation for the relative scarcity of metal finds at major urban centres at opposite ends of the Sasanian empire…”
It should be remembered that recycling is not a modern Western concept, but is...
Cultivated Crops during the Time of the Babylonian Talmud
As in earlier periods, the staple crops were wheat, barley and dates. A daily...
“…the most important source for mapping Jewish settlement and…urban reality as a whole in Sasanian Babylonia is the Babylonian Talmud”
By far, the most important source for mapping Jewish settlement and, in a sense,...
“The archaeological remains in Babylonia reveal few clear markers of Jewish identity”
The archaeological remains in Babylonia reveal few clear markers of Jewish identity. In the...
“Rabbinic and Roman texts create the impression of a clear dichotomy between slaves and free people…”
Rabbinic and Roman texts create the impression of a clear dichotomy between slaves and...
“For the rabbis, breastfeeding offers a fascinating set of variables for academic investigation”
For the rabbis, breastfeeding offers a fascinating set of variables for academic investigation. First,...
“Being the principal alcoholic beverage of Mesopotamia, beer is discussed at length in the Babylonian Talmud and, naturally, the vocabulary is Mesopotamian”
Being the principal alcoholic beverage of Mesopotamia, it is discussed at length in the...
“In addition to the biblical distinction between normal and abnormal discharges, the rabbis developed two more categories…”
Leviticus 15 is concerned with normal and abnormal, male and female genital discharges. As...
“The practice of waiting seven blood-free days following the end of a regular menstrual period is variously described in the Talmud as heḥemiru al atzman, minhaga, and halakhah pesukah, indicating that a variety of attitudes existed as to the severity of the requirement”
Zimmerman is correct in saying that a seven-day wait after any bleeding has become...