Halakhah in Light of Epigraphy

Eyal Revev ist Professor am Fachbereich für Israelstudien und Archäologie an der Bar-Ilan Universität in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Albert I. Baumgarten, Ph.D., is Professor em. at the Department of Jewish History at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel.

Hanan Eshel, Ph.D., was Professor at the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and founding director of The David and Jemima Jeselsohn Center for the Study of Ancient Jewish Epigraphy at Bar-Ilan University.

Ranon Katzoff, Ph.D., is Professor em. of Classical Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel.

Shani Tzoref, Ph.D., is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Exegesis at the Abraham Geiger College and the School of Jewish Theology at the University of Potsdam, Germany.

This volume contains the proceedings of the conference entitled "Halakhah in Light of Epigraphy" held on 29 May 2008 under the auspices of the David and Jemima Jeselsohn Center for Epigraphy at Bar-Ilan University. Epigraphic finds, here interpreted broadly to include papyri, scrolls, and the like, have immeasurably enriched our knowledge of the ancient Jewish past while at the same time posing a challenge to modern scholarship: how does one integrate old knowledge, based on previously known sources, with new information? We now recognize that Rabbinic texts are normative: they tell us how their authors believed life should be lived, rather than the details of ordinary, everyday, experience. What weight, then, should be given to traditional halakhic texts in evaluating the contents of newly discovered written remains? And what light can be shed by these new finds, especially those inscriptions and documents that record small moments of ancient Jewish life, upon the long-familiar normative texts?The conference on "Halakhah in Light of Epigraphy" was intended to generate discussion on these broad issues, as well as to provide a forum for exploration of specific matters of halakhah reflected in the epigraphic sources. The papers in this volume tend to emphasize the centrality of halakhah in ancient Judaism.

The contributors examine diversity in halakhic positions, in terms of both exegesis and practice. They explore evidence of halakhic development over the course of the Second Temple period, and of halakhic variety among different groups.

How can we integrate old knowledge, based on previously known sources, with new information?

The contributors examine diversity in halakhic positions, in terms of both exegesis and practice. They explore evidence of halakhic development over the course of the Second Temple period, and of halakhic variety among different groups.