Food in the Rabbinic Era

2020 ◽  
pp. 59-82
Author(s):  
David C. Kraemer
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Jewish Law ◽  
Biblical Law ◽  
Rabbinic Judaism ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Dietary Laws ◽  
Eating Practices ◽  
Common Era

Jews continued to live in the Mediterranean region during the first ten centuries of the Common Era, and their diet remained based around the Mediterranean triad of wine, olive oil, and bread. Because the Israelite system of sacrificial worship ended at the end of the first century CE, the role of food in the economy and religion changed significantly. Religious scholars known as rabbis emerged and expanded the biblical concept of Torah and the scope of biblical law and produced an abundant literature—including the Talmud—representing their traditions, opinions, practices, and halakha (practical Jewish law). They developed food blessings and rituals for daily, Sabbath, and holiday observances as well as kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws, which restricted food choices, combinations, and foods prepared by non-Jews. By the end of this era, Jews appear to have accepted Rabbinic Judaism and were distinctive in their eating practices and food-centered rituals.

The Karaite Community in Interwar Poland

1986 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 101-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren Green
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Community ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Eighth Century ◽  
Jewish Law ◽  
Interwar Poland ◽  
The Common ◽  
Jewish Holidays ◽  
Dietary Laws ◽  
Theological Argument ◽  
Common Era

The Karaites are a schismatic Jewish sect which severed itself from the Babylonian Jewish community in the eighth century of the Common Era. The Karaites contended that the Rabbinites, the adherents to the Rabbinic tradition of Judaism, had perverted the Torah (Pentateuch) by superseding it with the Talmud (the compendium of the oral tradition of Jewish law). As a result of this theological argument, the Karaites adopted a fundamentalist approach to scriptural exegesis. The two groups differed in such areas as: observance of religious laws, the order of prayers, dietary laws and determining the dates of Jewish holidays.

Anti-Imperial Rhetoric in the New Testament

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Diehl
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
New Testament ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Interpretive Methods ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Common ◽  
Book Of Acts ◽  
Common Era

The first of a series of three articles, this essay introduces current scholarship concerned with the use of anti-imperial rhetoric in the New Testament Gospels and the book of Acts. In the first century of the Common Era, if the powerful Roman Emperor was considered a god, what did that mean for the earliest Christians who committed loyalty to ‘another’ God? Was it necessary for the NT authors to employ subversive language, words and symbols, to conceal their true meanings from the imperial authorities in their communications to the first Christian communities? The answers to such key questions can give us a clearer picture of the culture, society and setting in which the NT was written. The purpose of this complex study is to observe how current biblical scholarship views anti-imperial rhetoric and anti-emperor implications found in the NT, assuming such rhetoric exists at all. This initial article reviews recent scholarship with respect to the background of the Roman Empire, current interpretive methods and research concerning anti-imperial rhetoric found in the NT Gospels and Acts.

Were Sacrifices Offered at Qumran?

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-34
Author(s):  
Jodi Magness
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
First Century ◽  
Biblical Law ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Air Space ◽  
The Mediterranean

Among the most puzzling features at Qumran are deposits of animal bones belonging to sheep, goat, and cattle, mixed with ash, which were placed on the ground between large potsherds or inside jars and covered with little or no earth. The deposits are concentrated in the open air spaces, mainly on the northwest and southeast sides of the site. Following Roland de Vaux, most scholars have interpreted these deposits as the remains of ritual but non-sacrificial meals eaten by the Qumran sectarians. However, comparisons with remains from ancient sanctuaries around the Mediterranean world and Near East leave little doubt that these deposits represent sacrificial refuse and consumption debris. Furthermore, records from de Vaux’s excavations suggest that in the first century B. C. E., an altar was located in an open air space on the northwest side of the site. The possibility that animal sacrifices were offered at Qumran is supported by legislation in sectarian works and in non-sectarian works that were considered authoritative by the sect. This evidence suggests that the Qumran sectarians observed the laws of the desert camp with the tabernacle in its midst, including offering animal sacrifices as mandated by biblical law.

scholarly journals Towards Transformative Propaganda: A History of Student Activism at the Australian National University

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iva Glisic
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Student Activism ◽  
First Century ◽  
Contemporary Debate ◽  
Public Monuments ◽  
National University ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
Comprehensive History

March 2021 saw the unveiling of a new addition to the vast collection of public artworks at the Australian National University (ANU) campus in Canberra. The piece—an installation entitled A History of Student Activism at the Australian National University—compiles and presents the first comprehensive history of sixty years of student activism at ANU, and sits proudly in the common area of the Marie Reay Teaching Centre. The work comprises a large-scale wall-mounted timeline designed by Joanne Leong, complemented by a pair of moving-image artworks by Esther Carlin and Aidan Hartshorn, all ANU alumni. This article considers A History of Student Activism in the context of contemporary debate on the role of public monuments, and the extent to which public art can drive collective emancipatory action. Drawing on a recent study of the activist potential of art in the twenty-first century by Dutch artist Jonas Staal, this article tests the extent to which A History of Student Activism might serve as a reference point in the turn towards transformative propaganda art.

Temples and Traders in Palmyra

2020 ◽  
pp. 461-480
Author(s):  
Leonardo Gregoratti
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Private Citizens ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Many ◽  
The City ◽  
Common Era ◽  
The Silk Road ◽  
Sources Of Capital

As is generally known, during the first three centuries of the Common Era, the Syrian city of Palmyra played a fundamental role in the trade between Asia and the Mediterranean area, to the point that it became the most important trade centre along the western section of the Silk Road. The different roles of merchants and businessmen involved in the Palmyrene caravan trade has been the subject of studies over a long period. What is still an elusive element is the role of capital in the Palmyrene trading system, that is to say the money used to organize the merchant expeditions and to buy the goods coming from the East. Besides, the very nature of the caravan trade implied long and dangerous journeys, which rendered the investment rather risky. On the other hand, a large profit was gained once the goods had reached Roman territory. In order to identify the possible sources of capital in Palmyrene society, that is to say the groups and the institutions able to provide the initial money necessary for the trade activity, this paper investigates the relations between merchant classes and sanctuaries. The many dedications made by traders and private citizens to the city sanctuaries, and the frequent presence of religious figures among the trading families’ members, seem to suggest that the numerous temples of Palmyra played a role in the commercial trade as holders of capital, which could be lent and employed in the activity of trade.

Omen Watching, Mantic Observation, Aeromancy, and Learning to ‘See’: The Rise and Messy Multiplicity of Zhanhou 占候 in Late Han and Medieval China

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-131
Author(s):  
Stephan N. Kory
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Identities ◽  
Early History ◽  
First Century ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Medieval China ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
The Common ◽  
Heaven And Earth ◽  
Common Era

This article investigates the early history of a Chinese mantic practice unattested before the late first century CE known as zhanhou 占候 (lit., omen watching; divination through observation; divination of atmospheric or meteorological conditions). While early occurrences of the term primarily present it as a learned form of divination used to forecast human fortune through the interpretation of anomalous emanations of qi 氣 in heaven-and-earth (e.g., wind; clouds; rain; rainbows), zhanhou is also variously classified as an astrological, Five Agents, or military technique; and variously identified as a hemerological, medical, and contemplative-visualization practice by the end of the Tang. I not only contend that zhanhou’s inherent polysemy and its multiple identities helped broaden and perpetuate its transmission during the first millennium of the Common Era, but also that the same messy multiplicity makes its early history and development difficult—but not impossible—to trace and understand. Zhanhou closely resembles many earlier named forms of astrology and divination focused on the observation and interpretation of macrocosmic qi conditions or phenomena, but late Han and early medieval writers carved out a space for zhanhou. This was done through increasingly frequent use of the term, by explicitly distinguishing it from similar families of techniques (e.g., astrology; turtle and yarrow divination; yinyang; algorithmic mantic techniques), and by identifying and constructing networks and lineages of practitioners, both of which helped form and perpetuate zhanhou’s identity as a discrete technique (shu 術). The present study compares different definitions and translations of zhanhou, analyzes a handful of late Han occurrences, and illustrates the term’s increasingly widespread medieval circulation, chiefly through biographic narratives and technical texts.

scholarly journals Diodoro de Sicília: o historiador mal amado

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Cynthia Cristina De Morais Mota
Keyword(s):  
Title Page ◽  
Roman History ◽  
First Century ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Diodorus Siculus ◽  
The Common ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
Egyptian History ◽  
Common Era

<p>Diodoro de Sicília, historiador que viveu no século I antes da época comum, escreveu uma obra intitulada <em>Biblioteca Histórica</em> constituída de quarenta volumes dos quais restaram integrais apenas dos livros I ao V (fragmentos dos livros VI ao X), e dos livros XI ao XX (fragmentos dos livros XXI ao XL). O autor escreveu em sua monumental obra a história universal desde os primórdios (incluindo história egípcia, história dos povos bárbaros, história grega e romana) até a sua própria época (última data citada por Diodoro diz respeito à colonização de Tauromênion, empreendida no reinado de Otávio [XVI, VII, 1]). Entretanto, Diodoro nunca foi considerado, nem em sua própria época, nem em épocas posteriores, um historiador original: sua obra foi considerada uma cópia incessante de outros autores. O centro da controvérsia nos tempos modernos (a partir do século XIX) foi a <em>Quellenforschung</em> (pesquisa das fontes) que intentou buscar no texto diodoriano autores perdidos (que ele cita explicitamente em sua <em>Biblioteca</em>) da época helenística, como se o mesmo apenas os tivesse copiado. Essa pesquisa teve por objetivo resgatar a originalidade da <em>Biblioteca Histórica</em>, buscando conferir a seu autor a <em>autoria</em> de seus escritos. Longe de ser um mero copista, Diodoro é um historiador-educador, que busca instruir seus leitores dando um caráter de <em>utilidade</em> no aprendizado de uma vida <em>correta</em> e <em>justa</em>.</p><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><strong>Abstract</strong></p></div></div></div></div><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Diodorus Siculus, a historian that lived in the first century before the Common Era, wrote a work entitled </span><span>Library of History </span><span>constituted of forty volumes from which remained intact only the books I through V (fragments of the books VI through X), and from the books XI through XX (fragments of the books XXI through XL). The author wrote in this monumental work of universal history since the primordial times (including Egyptian history, barbaric peoples history, Greek and Roman history) through his own (last date mentioned by Diodorus concerns the Tauromenion colonization that took place during the reign of Octavian [XVI, VII, 1]). However, Diodorus has never been considered, not even on his own time, nor in the eras after that, an original historian: His writings were considered an inexorable copy of others authors. The focus of this controversy in modern times (starting in the XIX century) was the </span>Quelleforschung (sources research) that intended to search on the diodorian texts for lost authors (that he explicitly quotes in his Library) from the Hellenistic era as if they were solely copied. This research aimed to reclaim the originality of the Library of History seeking to confer to its author the authorship of his writings. Far from being a mere copyist, Diodorus is a historian-educator that seeks to instruct his readers giving a utility character in the learning of a correct and just life.</p><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><strong>Keywords: </strong><span>Hellenistic period; Historiography; Diodorus of Sicily </span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>

The Political Functions of (Premodern) Courts and Procedure and Questions of Comparative Method

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 937-946
Author(s):  
Amalia D. Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Method ◽  
Roman Law ◽  
Rabbinic Literature ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Era ◽  
Roman Palestine

Orit Malka's Disqualified Witnesses, Between Tannaitic Halakha and Roman Law is structured around a puzzle. Why did the rabbinic literature produced in Roman Palestine in the early centuries of the Common Era identify a list of four seemingly disparate types of people—dice-players, usurers, pigeon-flyers, and traders in Seventh Year produce—as disqualified from giving testimony in court? This argument has important implications, I suggest, for all legal systems—like most throughout history—that are not structured around a modern, positivist conception of law and of the role of courts.

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