Writing a Torah scroll on Masada

MORE MASADA: INSCRIBING THE JEWISH FUTURE ON MASADA. “By writing a Torah on Masada, we are continuing what the Romans wanted to stop 2,000 years ago,” said Rabbi Shimshon Israeli (ALAN ROSENBAUM, Jerusalem Post).

“By writing a Torah on Masada, we are continuing what the Romans wanted to stop 2,000 years ago,” said Rabbi Shimshon Israeli, the scribe who works each day in the renovated synagogue housing the scrolls. “The Romans are no longer here, but we continue to write the Torah.”

As you might imagine, the article also mentions Josephus.

For some past posts on Masada, see here and links.

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Josephus podcasts

MORE JOSEPHUS: TVL1 has a series of podcasts on the work of Flavius Josephus. So far:

Josephus’s “Jewish Antiquities”

“The Life:” The Biography of Flavius Josephus

They have some introductory comments on Josephus and readings from the old, but still usable, Whiston translation.

I have only listened to the first, but it was good.

More on Josephus here and links.

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Josephus, Jeremiah, and the Essenes

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF JOSEPHUS, Bible History Daily has a couple of recent essays on him:

Titus Flavius Josephus and the Prophet Jeremiah. Avishai Margalit contrasts the legacies of a historian and a prophet. That's an interesting way to think about him.

Josephus on the Essenes.

Both essays link to BAR articles that give additional information, but are behind the subscription wall.

There are many, many, past PaleoJudaica posts on Josephus. For some of them, see here and links. For the rest, see the archives.

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Review of Magness, Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth

BOOK REVIEW: Is one of history’s most rousing speeches apocryphal? Eleazar Ben-Yair’s death-and-glory address at Masada in AD 73 may have been fabricated by Josephus. But that hasn’t deterred devotees from flocking to the site (Justin Marozzi, The Spectator).

Magness ends with a practical and refreshingly non-academic visitors’ guide to Masada. Should you ever visit the place and hear a lot of noise at the top while searching for your inner Eleazar Ben-Yair, you can blame her. ‘Before leaving,’ she writes, ‘listen to the amazing echo created by the sheer cliff of Mount Eleazar opposite, by shouting as loudly as possible across the chasm’.

Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth
Author: Jodi Magness
Publisher: Princeton
Page count: 242
Price: £20

For past PaleoJudaica posts on the history and archaeology of, and revisionist views on, Masada, see here and links. And some subsequent Masada-related posts are here, here, here, and here.

For more on Professor Magness and her work, see here, here, here, and links.

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Geniza Fragments 77

GENIZA FRAGMENTS, the Newsletter of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library has published its April 2019 Issue. Topics include news on more fragments of an early Torah scroll (see also here, here, here, and here, and links), an obituary for Joel L. Kraemer, and a new book on Ben Sira.

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Magical amulets among the Dead Sea Scrolls?

DECIPHERED DEAD SEA SCROLLS POSE QUESTIONS FOR HISTORIANS. Deciphered by Prof. Ariel and Faina Feldman, the segments written in semi-cursive script, folded and were encased in small leather remnants (ALEX WINSTON, Jerusalem Post).

However, unlike tefillin, which contain parchments quoting the Book of Exodus or Deuteronomy, the previously undechipered writing was found found to be prayers and the names of angels, components which are consistent with Jewish amulets, which whilst using holy words, did not directly quote from the Bible.

This is intriguing and could be very important. It would be the first evidence for the existence of Jewish magical amulets in the Second Temple period.

I have not yet had a chance to look up the two peer-reviewed articles mentioned at the end of this article. But I look forward to reading them.

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Letters in defense of Peter Schäfer

CONTROVERSY: Jewish Studies Scholars Support Resigned Director of Berlin’s Jewish Museum with Two Public Letters. Leading Jewish studies scholars came out in defense of Peter Schäfer, himself a prominent Talmud Scholar, and called accusations of anti-Semitism against him “false” and “outrageous” (Hakim Bishara, Hyperallergic). This situation only came to my attention very recently. As regular readers know, I have had other things on my mind.

Professor Schäfer is a superstar in the field of Jewish studies. His work has had a massive influence on mine. I have the highest respect for him and confidence in him. That does not mean I always agree with him. I have yet to meet that person.

To be quite clear, I utterly reject BDS. I also respect free speech. Let controversial ideas be debated so that the bad ones can be debunked and discredited through rational discourse.

It is also worth underlining that the twitter account* of the Jewish Museum of Berlin clarified that the link to the article in question was not intended to take a position against the resolution against BDS by the German Bundestag. I accept that clarification.

Sometimes people do not express themselves clearly in the first instance. I don't want to live in a hell world where they can't clarify what they say. Or, for that matter, even change their mind upon reflection.

Beyond that, I should let Professor Schäfer speak for himself. He addresses the major points of criticism in this interview in Der Spiegel. Google English translation here.

For some past posts on Professor Schäfer, see here.

*The original link to the twitter account was incorrect. Now corrected. Sorry for the error.

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New documentary on the Cairo Geniza

THE ETC BLOG: From Cairo to the Cloud: The World of the Cairo Geniza (John Meade). I agree that the trailer looks great, but the DVD is pretty expensive.

For many past posts on the Cairo Geniza, see here, here, and here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

The Talmud on when human life begins.

A RECENT DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: When Does Human Life Begin? This week’s ‘Daf Yomi’ Talmud study happens to pit contemporary abortion law against Jewish views of conception and viability in all animals. Indirectly, but yes.

Other Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

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A Geniza Torah fragment with nonstandard Tiberian vocalization

GENIZA FRAGMENT OF THE MONTH (APRIL 2019): Standard Tiberian Pronunciation in a Non-Standard Form: T-S AS 64.206 (Estara J. Arrant).

To summarise, we have a grouping of features in T-S AS 64.206 which together demonstrate that while the scribe used pataḥ, shewa, and ḥatef pataḥ in unique ways, he took measures to ensure that they did not lead to confusion with regards to the silent shewa and quiescent letters. Therefore, the text was mainly still pronounced according to the rigours of the ST tradition. This represents a tidy compromise between the scribe's individualistic use of particular signs and the accepted Tiberian pronunciation of the text. This unique document reminds us that non-standard placement of vowel signs does not always result in a non-standard reading of the text.

Past posts noting Cairo Geniza Fragments of the Month in the Cambridge University Library's Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit are here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

The Yazidis

NOT BY EVERYONE: The Yazidis - the forgotten people. Opinion: The Yazidis are today the most oppressed people on earth - yet are totally forgotten by the United Nations and liberal aid groups (Joseph Frager, MD, Arutz Sheva).

PaleoJudaica's readers have been hearing about the Yazidis since 2003 (see links collected here). And for many additional PaleoJudaica posts on the Yazidis, their Gnosticism-themed religion, and their tragic fate in the hands of ISIS, start here and follow the many links. Cross-file under Yazidi Watch.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Ritual impurity or contagious disease?

DR. YITZHAK FEDER: Tum’ah: Ritual Impurity or Fear of Contagious Disease? (TheTorah.com).

Already in the early 2nd millennium B.C.E., people knew that diseases were contagious, and fear of contagion plays a key role in the Torah’s laws regarding the skin ailment, tzaraʿat. What does this mean for understanding other kinds of tum’ah?

It makes sense to me that fear of contagious disease (in our terminology) was included in the ancient concept of ritual impurity. But the ancients did not have our modern germ theory. Ritual purity for them was a broader concept. It is somewhat artificial to try to parse our distinctions out of it.

That said, this is a good and thought-provoking essay. Have a look.

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PhD thesis: Elder, The Media Matrix of Early Jewish and Christian Literature

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Dissertation Spotlight | The Media Matrix of Early Jewish and Christian Literature (Nicholas Elder). A recent PhD thesis from Marquette University.

Taken together, the application of my five criteria to Joseph and Aseneth and Mark and the afterlives of these texts makes the case that there are remarkable similarities between the two narratives, explained by composition via dictation.

For some earlier comments on Joseph and Aseneth see here and links. And some related posts are here, here, here, and here. Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch.

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Review of Newman, Before the Bible

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Book Note | Before the Bible: The Liturgical Body and the Formation of Scriptures in Early Judaism (David Skelton).

Judith Newman. Before the Bible: The Liturgical Body and the Formation of Scriptures in Early Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Excerpt:

Newman’s book is a breath of fresh air and a welcome change of course that squarely places embodiment and performance at the heart of scripturalization. For Newman a text is not simply available for liturgy only after it becomes scripture. Rather, liturgy influences the textual composition process, stimulates textual growth, and creates textual authority before the process of canonization begins. ...

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The antiquities market in Israel

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Antiquities Market—A “Cat and Mouse Game.” How the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit stays one step ahead of the black market (Abigail VanderHart).

In the Middle East today, Israel is the only country with a legal antiquities market. Because of this, the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit has become a global expert in understanding how the antiquity market works—and how it doesn’t.

[...]

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Meade, A Critical Edition of the Hexaplaric Fragments of Job 22–42

THE ETC BLOG: New Book: A Critical Edition of the Hexaplaric Fragments of Job 22–42 (John Meade). John Meade's forthcoming book should be out in the autumn. This post gives you some information on it. For an earlier post by John on the project, see here.

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Palmyrene bust at the Getty Museum

PALMYRA WATCH: Ancient Portrait Bust from Palmyra Joins the Collection of the Getty Villa (Dr. Kenneth Lapatin, J. Paul Getty Museum via Brewminate).

Introduction

Hadirat Katthina has come to the Getty Villa. The J. Paul Getty Museum recently acquired the portrait of a woman who lived—and died—in the fabled ancient Syrian caravan city of Palmyra around the years 200 to 220. She is named by an inscription above her left shoulder in the local dialect of Aramaic that also identifies her as the daughter of Sha’ad and ends with the poignant exclamation “Alas.” Similar inscriptions appear on many of the funerary reliefs from Palmyra, sited advantageously at an oasis midway between the River Euphrates and the Mediterranean.

[...]

For many other past posts on Palmyra, its history, the ancient Aramaic dialect spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic reversals of fortune, now trending for the better, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.