In this pathbreaking study Jeffrey L. Rubenstein reconstructs the
cultural milieu of the rabbinic academy that produced the
Babylonian Talmud, or Bavli, which quickly became the authoritative
text of rabbinic Judaism and remains so to this day. Unlike the
rabbis who had earlier produced the shorter Palestinian Talmud (the
Yerushalmi) and who had passed on their teachings to students
individually or in small and informal groups, the anonymous
redactors of the Bavli were part of a large institution with a
distinctive, isolated, and largely undocumented culture.
The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud explores the cultural world
of these Babylonian rabbis and their students through the prism of
the stories they included in the Bavli, showing how their
presentation of earlier rabbinic teachings was influenced by their
own values and practices. Among the topics explored in this
broad-ranging work are the hierarchical structure of the rabbinic
academy, the use of dialectics in teaching, the functions of
violence and shame within the academy, the role of lineage in
rabbinic leadership, the marital and family lives of the rabbis,
and the relationship between the rabbis and the rest of the Jewish
population. This book provides a unique and new perspective on the
formative years of rabbinic Judaism and will be essential reading
for all students of the Talmud.
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