The Other Talmud—The Yerushalmi

Judith Z. Abrams

Description

A fascinating—and stimulating—look at "the other Talmud" and the possibilities for Jewish life reflected there.

“The difference between the Bavli and the Yerushalmi is something like the difference between making a movie for a regular theater versus making one for a 3-D theater and/or an IMAX theater. It's still the story of Judaism and the Jewish people. But the colors are richer, the action is bigger, the effects are more powerful in the 3-D/IMAX world of the Yerushalmi. Your actors … live on the soundstage, that is, in Israel, and that informs their performance…. You could imagine the Yerushalmi is a pop-up book: you open it and Jewish living materializes.”
—from the Introduction

This engaging look at the Judaism that might have been breaks open the Yerushalmi—“The Talmud of the Land of Israel”—and what it means for Jewish life today. It examines what the Yerushalmi is, how it differs from the Bavli—the Babylonian Talmud—and how and why the Bavli is used today. It reveals how the Yerushalmi’s vision of Jewish practice resembles today’s liberal Judaism, and why the is growing in popularity.

This broad but accessible overview of all the essential aspects of “The Talmud of the Land of Israel” will help you deepen your understanding of Judaism and the history of the Jewish people.

Acknowledgments xi Timeline xii Introduction 1 Part 1 DAILY LIFE 13 1. What Would Your Livelihood and Levies Be? 15 Location Scouting 15 What Would You Do for a Living? 16 "Creative Accounting" v. Honesty in Business 17 What Kind of Taxes Would You Be Paying? 18 2. Who Would Your Celebrities Be? 25 Priestly Watches 25 Scandal and the Priestly Watches 27 Disabled Priests 28 Other Celebrities: Helen and Munbaz 29 Rabbi as Celebrity 30 Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish 31 3. The Obnoxious Rich Kid: How Would You Feel about Those Jews in Babylonia? 34 Hillel: The Archetypal Babylonian 35 Tensions Between Sages in Israel and Babylonia 36 Israeli Pride 37 4. Right and Wrong, Crime and Punishment 39 What Would Your Greatest Virtues Be? 39 What Would Your Worst Sins Be? 41 Sin Causes the Temple's Destruction 42 Rogues Gallery: Sinning Sages 44 Response to God's "Unfairness" 51 5. How Can Judaism Compete with Christianity? 54 Intentions Count 54 The Afterlife and Limbo in the Yerushalmi 55 6. Tefillin and Tallit: Essential “Props” and “Costumes” 57 Women, Tzitzit and Tefillin 60 7. Who, Beside Rabbis, Was Running the Jewish Community? 63 Rabbis Who Do It All 65 8. How Would You Be Reading Torah? 66 More Coverage: Translation Is a Must 66 Who are the Yerushalmi’s “Extras”? 67 9. Con Men and Characters in Disguise 69 The Straight Man: The Honest Townsfolk 70 The Underdog Catches a Break: Dealing with Financial Adversity and Giving Charity 71 Karma: Justice Prevails 72 10. Who Would Your Enemy Be? 78 A Smothering Sense of Danger 79 Craven, Incompetent Government Officials 81 How Do You Carry Out Warfare? 82 Civil Disobedience 83 Martyrdom 84 Part 2 BUILDING BLOCKS OF PRAYER 87 11. The Toolbox of Prayers 89 Meditation and the Shema 89 When the Prayer Book Needs a Ruthless Editor 90 Contents vii The Amidah 91 Short Services, Please 94 Giving Thanks 95 An Attitude of Gratitude: Ben Zoma’s Prayers 97 Responses to the Priestly Benediction 99 For the New Moon 100 Prayers from the Cutting Room Floor 101 Prayers for Healing 101 A Blessing for Dessert 102 12. Ad-Libbing 104 A Blessing for Honesty in Business 104 Making the Best of a Bad Situation 105 When Someone Else Experiences Financial Loss 106 Passing Through a Cemetery 106 On Seeing a Rainbow 107 Options for Havdalah 108 13. What Would Your Mysticism Be? 110 Nishmat as Mysticism 111 Aleinu and Kaddish: Not Just Cleanup but Mystical Ascents 112 Other Heichalot Prayers You Know 114 The Tree of Life 115 14. Trailers: Meditation Techniques of the Sages 116 Silent Prayer 118 Shabbat: Looking for Loopholes 120 Women Getting Around the Rules 121 The Kiddush Cup 122 Women and Shabbat 122 Part 3 THE HOLIDAYS 125 15. What Would the High Holy Days Be Like? 127 God’s Three Books 128 High Holy Day Services Don’t Have to Be So Long 129 Yom Kippur: The Photonegative of a Pilgrimage Festival 129 Yom Kippur Was a Fashion Show 132 16. What Would Sukkot Be Like? 134 The Sukkah 135 Happy Endings 136 Sukkot = Spring Break in Florida 137 Sukkot = Memorial Day 138 Sukkot = Ritual of Rebellion 139 Sukkot v. Passover 141 17. Passover 142 “The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends” 142 Pesach in Temple Times 143 Massaging the Script 143 Four Cups 144 Exile = Slavery 146 The Real Four Questions 146 The Miracles of Disabilities 147 Catering a Movie: Making the Matzah Look Better 148 Lettuce 149 Shopping for Charoset 150 Fish for the Seder and the Thanksgiving Turkey 150 The Afikoman 151 How to be Happy on the Holiday 152 Fun and Dysfunction at Thanksgiving, and Family Dynamics at the Seder 153 18. What Would Shavuot Be Like? 155 Why Shavuot Is the Ugly Duckling 157 Reaping the Omer 157 Everyone Needs Help with the Hebrew: Ancient Cue Cards 158 19. Purim and Hanukkah 161 How to Observe Purim: Lots of Options 162 A Pedagogical Holiday 164 What Would Hanukkah Be Like? 164 The Lulav and the Hanukkah Lights 166 A Different Miracle 166 What’s the Point? Resisting the Romans! 167 20. Fast Days 169 The Seventeenth of Tammuz: Stage the Breaking of the Ten Commandments 169 What Would Tisha B’Av Be Like? 171 Messianic Hopes Gone for Good 173 Purim and Hanukkah and the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av 176 Part 4 LIFE CYCLE 177 21. Childbirth (Women Are in Charge) and Parenthood 179 (Il)legitimacy 180 What Parents Must Do for Their Children 181 22. School, Coming of Age, and Learning Differences 183 A Learning System or a Legal System? 184 Grandparents Are an Important Part of the Educational Process 185 Informal Learning 186 Child Development Is an Individual Thing 186 Parental Influence 187 Powerbrokers v. Teachers: The Teachers Are the Good Guys 188 Does Anything Trump Learning? 190 23. What Would Your Wedding and Married Life Be Like? 192 Getting Engaged: Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi Doesn’t Get the Girl 192 “Going to the Chapel”? Maybe Not 193 Sex in the Ketubah 194 Wedding Crowns 199 The Chuppah: The Honeymoon Suite 200 Wedding Blessings 200 Blessing before Consummation? 201 Dancing Before the Bride 202 The Romans Threaten the Wedding’s Joy 203 24. What Would Old Age Be Like? 206 Honoring One’s Parents 207 The Indignities of Aging 208 How to Die: Rabbi Eliezer’s Deathbed 209 What Would Funerals Be Like? 210 Grave Changing 211 Rabbi’s Instruction at Death 212 Other Sages’ Shrouds 212 Buried with a Bit of the Land of Israel 213 Conclusion: What We Can Recapture 215 Abbreviations 216 When, Who, and Where 217 Orders and Tractates of the Mishnah 219 Glossary 226 The Sages 231

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Israel
• Yerushalmi
• Judaism
• Religion
• Talmud

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 16 août 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580236331
• Langue: English

Extrait

Contents
Acknowledgments
Timeline
Introduction
The Script: Development Problems
Casting Is 99 Percent of Directing
Behind the Scenes of Our Yerushalmi Script
Editing: What Makes Hot Fuzz Go from Stupid Cop Comedy to a Truly, Hysterically Funny Cop Comedy?
How We ll Make Our Movie
One Last Thing to Bear in Mind
Part 1: DAILY LIFE
1. What Would Your Livelihood and Levies Be?
Location Scouting
What Would You Do for a Living?
Creative Accounting v. Honesty in Business
What Kind of Taxes Would You Be Paying?
2. Who Would Your Celebrities Be?
Priestly Watches
Scandal and the Priestly Watches
Disabled Priests
Other Celebrities: Helen and Munbaz
Rabbi as Celebrity
Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish
3. The Obnoxious Rich Kid: How Would You Feel about Those Jews in Babylonia?
Hillel: The Archetypal Babylonian
Tensions Between Sages in Israel and Babylonia
Israeli Pride
4. Right and Wrong, Crime and Punishment
What Would Your Greatest Virtues Be?
What Would Your Worst Sins Be?
Sin Causes the Temple s Destruction
Rogues Gallery: Sinning Sages
Response to God s Unfairness
5. How Can Judaism Compete with Christianity?
Intentions Count
The Afterlife and Limbo in the Yerushalmi
6. Tefillin and Tallit: Essential Props and Costumes
Women, Tzitzit, and Tefillin
7. Who, Beside Rabbis, Was Running the Jewish Community?
Rabbis Who Do It All
8. How Would You Be Reading Torah?
More Coverage: Translation Is a Must
Who Are the Yerushalmi s Extras ?
9. Con Men and Characters in Disguise
The Straight Man: The Honest Townsfolk
The Underdog Catches a Break: Dealing with Financial Adversity and Giving Charity
Karma: Justice Prevails
10. Who Would Your Enemy Be?
A Smothering Sense of Danger
Craven, Incompetent Government Officials
How Do You Carry Out Warfare?
Civil Disobedience
Martyrdom
Part 2: BUILDING BLOCKS OF PRAYER
11. The Toolbox of Prayers
Meditation and the Shema
When the Prayer Book Needs a Ruthless Editor
The Amidah
Short Services, Please
Giving Thanks
An Attitude of Gratitude: Ben Zoma s Prayers
Responses to the Priestly Benediction
For the New Moon
Prayers from the Cutting Room Floor
Prayers for Healing
A Blessing for Dessert
12. Ad-Libbing
A Blessing for Honesty in Business
Making the Best of a Bad Situation
When Someone Else Experiences Financial Loss
Passing Through a Cemetery
On Seeing a Rainbow
Options for Havdalah
13. What Would Your Mysticism Be?
Nishmat as Mysticism
Aleinu and Kaddish: Not Just Cleanup but Mystical Ascents
Other Heichalot Prayers You Know
The Tree of Life
14. Trailers: Meditation Techniques of the Sages
Silent Prayer
Shabbat: Looking for Loopholes
Women Getting Around the Rules
The Kiddush Cup
Women and Shabbat
Part 3: THE HOLIDAYS
15. What Would the High Holy Days Be Like?
God s Three Books
High Holy Day Services Don t Have to Be So Long
Yom Kippur: The Photonegative of a Pilgrimage Festival
Yom Kippur Was a Fashion Show
16. What Would Sukkot Be Like?
The Sukkah
Happy Endings
Sukkot = Spring Break in Florida
Sukkot = Memorial Day
Sukkot = Ritual of Rebellion
Sukkot v. Passover
17. Passover
The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends
Pesach in Temple Times
Massaging the Script
Four Cups
Exile = Slavery
The Real Four Questions
The Miracles of Disabilities
Catering a Movie: Making the Matzah Look Better
Lettuce
Shopping for Charoset
Fish for the Seder and the Thanksgiving Turkey
The Afikoman
How to Be Happy on the Holiday
Fun and Dysfunction at Thanksgiving, and Family Dynamics at the Seder
18. What Would Shavuot Be Like?
Why Shavuot Is the Ugly Duckling
Reaping the Omer
Everyone Needs Help with the Hebrew: Ancient Cue Cards
19. Purim and Hanukkah
How to Observe Purim: Lots of Options
A Pedagogical Holiday
What Would Hanukkah Be Like?
The Lulav and the Hanukkah Lights
A Different Miracle
What s the Point? Resisting the Romans!
20. Fast Days
The Seventeenth of Tammuz: Stage the Breaking of the Ten Commandments
What Would Tisha B Av Be Like?
Messianic Hopes Gone for Good
Purim and Hanukkah and the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av
Part 4: LIFE CYCLE
21. Childbirth (Women Are in Charge) and Parenthood
(Il)legitimacy
What Parents Must Do for Their Children
22. School, Coming of Age, and Learning Differences
A Learning System or a Legal System?
Grandparents Are an Important Part of the Educational Process
Informal Learning
Child Development Is an Individual Thing
Parental Influence
Powerbrokers v. Teachers: The Teachers Are the Good Guys
Does Anything Trump Learning?
23. What Would Your Wedding and Married Life Be Like?
Getting Engaged: Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi Doesn t Get the Girl
Going to the Chapel ? Maybe Not
Sex in the Ketubah
Wedding Crowns
The Chuppah: The Honeymoon Suite
Wedding Blessings
Blessing before Consummation?
Dancing Before the Bride
The Romans Threaten the Wedding s Joy
24. What Would Old Age Be Like?
Honoring One s Parents
The Indignities of Aging
How to Die: Rabbi Eliezer s Deathbed
What Would Funerals Be Like?
Grave Changing
Rabbi s Instruction at Death
Other Sages Shrouds
Buried with a Bit of the Land of Israel
Conclusion: What We Can Recapture
Abbreviations
When, Who, and Where
Orders and Tractates of the Mishnah
Glossary
The Sages
List of Searchable Terms
About the Author
Copyright
Also Available
About Jewish Lights



Acknowledgments
No one writes a book alone, and in the case of this book, my debts of gratitude are tendered with great thanks.
Thanks go to those with whom I learn: Micky Rosen, Cathy Schechter, Rabbi Gordon Fuller, Rabbi David Lyon, Rabbi Mark Miller, Rabbi Adrienne Scott, and Cantor Robert Gerber (emeritus) of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston; and Barbara Sussman, Howard Stern, Bernice Kaufman, Beverley Sufian, Sondra Shapiro, Ellen Glass, and my students in the ALEPH rabbinical program, all of whom willingly stepped away from the Talmud they knew to explore the Talmud they didn t. God bless you for your wisdom, insights, and courage!
To Larry Dachslager, theater director of the Emery/Weiner School, for his help with the movie metaphors.
To Wendy Good, my friend in NOLA, for supplying parallels between a ravaged Jerusalem and a Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.
To Stuart M. Matlins, publisher of Jewish Lights, and Emily Wichland, vice president of Editorial & Production, for being open to a book on this topic. Thank you and God bless you!
And, of course, to my long-suffering family, who saw our home s already-limited shelf space burdened with more sets of Talmud than any one house should hold. To my husband, Steven, and my children, Michael, Ruth, and Hannah, this book is dedicated with much love and deep thanks.



Timeline
70 CE Temple destroyed.
132–135 Bar Kokhba Revolt.
136 Jerusalem rebuilt as Aelia Capitolina.
164–180 Roman Empire weakened by smallpox and bubonic plague.
early 200s Rome attacked by barbarians and weakened by civil war: twenty-nine emperors in forty-nine years.
212 By this time, there are Jewish communities in Spain, France, southern Germany, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor.
259 Nehardea academy closes due to fire; Pumbedita becomes preeminent academy.
293 Tetrarchs, or collegiate emperors, realize Roman Empire is too big to be ruled by one emperor and Diocletian divides it into two.
315 Code of Constantine limits rights of non-Christians; Jews forbidden to enter Jerusalem except on one day of the year to mourn the Temple s destruction.
320 Council of Nicaea.
351 Revolt against the Romans in Israel is suppressed.
c. 429 Roman authorities abolish the office of nasi ; Jewish community in Israel becomes poorer, and the center of rabbinical authority shifts to Babylonia.



Introduction


M oviemaking will serve as a guiding metaphor for our examination of the Yerushalmi, the Talmud of the Land of Israel. The art of filmmaking has more to do with Talmud than you might imagine. Both tell stories and convey information. Both depend heavily on editing to shape that information and make it intelligible. Both use stock themes and stock scenes to guide perception (e.g., wedding scenes, villains getting their due). Both cover important scenes in different ways. ( Coverage in a film refers to the director s shooting the same scene ten times or more so that when the film is edited, the director has many options from which to choose. For example, a scene can be shot from a distance or close up.) To help you get a handle on a topic, we ll liken topics in the Yerushalmi to recognizable building blocks you find in movies.
So, imagine, if you will, that you re a Hollywood filmmaker. Together, we re going to make a movie that retells the history of the Jewish people in the years 200–425 CE. There have been many books a