The Rise of Talmud
Moulie Vidas(Author)
Oxford University Press
Will be published approx. on 21. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-0-19-792298-9 (ISBN)
Description
The rabbinic sages of antiquity are known for their sophisticated and creative reading of Scripture. But beginning in the third century CE, these sages also took on extensive commentary on another kind of text: the sages' own teachings.
Focusing on the first collection attesting to this branch of scholarship, the oft-neglected Talmud Yerushalmi, The Rise of Talmud argues that this new project presented a wide-ranging transformation of the sages' scholarly practice and self-perception. On the one hand, it engaged premises and methods distinct from those the sages applied to Scripture, such as textual criticism and the interpretation of texts in light of the individuals to whom they were attributed. On the other hand, this book shows, this distinct approach did not stem from preexisting differences in the conceptions of Scripture and rabbinic teachings: it reflected a broad reconceptualization of the tradition, diverging from how these teachings were construed by earlier generations.
Recognizing these unique aspects of ancient Talmudic scholarship centers its development as a pivotal moment in Jewish intellectual history and offers a richer picture of rabbinic hermeneutics; it also allows us to situate it better among other scholarly traditions of the Greco-Roman world and to examine how different ideas, aims, and contexts shape textual scholarship-including our own.
Focusing on the first collection attesting to this branch of scholarship, the oft-neglected Talmud Yerushalmi, The Rise of Talmud argues that this new project presented a wide-ranging transformation of the sages' scholarly practice and self-perception. On the one hand, it engaged premises and methods distinct from those the sages applied to Scripture, such as textual criticism and the interpretation of texts in light of the individuals to whom they were attributed. On the other hand, this book shows, this distinct approach did not stem from preexisting differences in the conceptions of Scripture and rabbinic teachings: it reflected a broad reconceptualization of the tradition, diverging from how these teachings were construed by earlier generations.
Recognizing these unique aspects of ancient Talmudic scholarship centers its development as a pivotal moment in Jewish intellectual history and offers a richer picture of rabbinic hermeneutics; it also allows us to situate it better among other scholarly traditions of the Greco-Roman world and to examine how different ideas, aims, and contexts shape textual scholarship-including our own.
Reviews / Votes
[O]ffers a sharp and original analysis of the foundational features of Talmudic thinking * E. Cherlow, Religious Studies Review * This erudite and detailed study focuses on the much less studied Jerusalem Talmud and seeks to illuminate how the Amoraic sages involved in its production "developed a sophisticated set of interpretive practices ... premised on the notion that rabbinic teachings were shaped by individual sages" (pp. 21-22). ... This is a technical book primarily geared toward other academic experts in rabbinic literature, as evidenced by the nuanced way Vidas builds his arguments in dialogue with a vast array of contemporary and past scholarship. * J. S. Kaminsky, CHOICE *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-19-792298-9 (9780197922989)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Moulie Vidas is Professor of Religion and Judaic Studies at Princeton University, specializing in Talmudic literature. He is the author of Tradition and the Formation of the Talmud (2014). He was raised in Tel Aviv and now lives in New York.
Author
Associate Professor of Religion and Judaic StudiesAssociate Professor of Religion and Judaic Studies, Princeton University
Content
- Introduction
- I. INDIVIDUATION
- 1: Who Is Speaking? Identification of Anonymous Teachings
- 2: The Sages, Opinionated: De'ah and Individual Inclination
- 3: The Switched Line: Shita and Reading for Consistency
- 4: Lip-Synching in the Grave: Narratives and Images of Attribution
- II. IMPERFECTION
- 5: The Scattered Torah: The Problem of Textual Knowledge
- 6: Variae Recitationes: Comparison of Divergent Texts
- 7: It's Not Here: Emendations
- 8: Needy, Lost, and Kind of Divine: Intertextuality, Necessity, and Recontextualization
- Conclusion: The More Humane Letters