This collection of over twenty essays brings together scholars from three continents to discuss the early synagogue. It addresses the questions of: When and where did the synagogue originate? What was its early distribution? What was its role in Judaism?

Drawing on the scholasticism of the Late Nehardean amoraim, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of their halakhic/legal methodology, identity and dating. This analysis contributes to the scientific approach of the Bavli, and allows a better understanding of the development of Jewish Law.

Between Rome and Babylon includes over thirty papers by Aharon Oppenheimer about Jewish life in Palestine and Babylonia in the period of the Mishnah and the Talmud (1st-4th centuries), dealing with leadership and society, political and military activity, relations with the authorities and historical geography. The collection is organized around three inter-connected themes: 1 Roman Palestine and its Environs; 2 The Bar Kokhba Revolt; 3 Babylonia Judaica. About two-thirds of the papers were originally published in Hebrew. They have been selected and edited for this collection, and translated for the first time into English or German. The rest of the papers originally appeared in various different languages and contexts, and they too have been selected and edited to fit the three themes. Cross-references have been added, as well as detailed indices.The aim of the papers is to cast light on Jewish history by extracting methodically historical meaning from Talmudic sources, taking into account when they were written, where they were edited, and how far they can be presumed authentic; and by looking at them in combination with Greek, Roman, Persian and Arabic written sources as well as relevant archaeological finds.

This book is dealing with the relations between the Rabbinical Judaism and the Early Christianity. It studies the continuities and the mutations and clarifies the factors of influences and the polemics between these two traditions. Ce livre s'int resse aux relations entre le juda sme rabbinique et le christianisme primitif. Il tudie les continuit s et les ruptures et clarifie les facteurs d'influences et les pol miques entre les deux traditions.

This collection of over twenty essays brings together scholars from three continents to discuss the early synagogue. It addresses the questions of: When and where did the synagogue originate? What was its early distribution? What was its role in Judaism? The print edition is available as a set of two volumes (9789004112544).

Gunter Stemberger's revision of H. L. Strack's classic introduction to rabbinic literature, which appeared in its first English edition in 1991, was widely acclaimed. Gunter Stemberger and Markus Bockmuehl have now produced this updated edition, which is a significant revision (completed in 1996) of the 1991 volume. Following Strack's original outline, Stemberger discusses first the historical framework, the basic principles of rabbinic literature and hermeneutics and the most important Rabbis. The main part of the book is devoted to the Talmudic and Midrashic literature in the light of contemporary rabbinic research. The appendix includes a new section on electronic resources for the study of the Talmud and Midrash. The result is a comprehensive work of reference that no student of rabbinics can afford to be without.