Exploring Mishnah's World(s): Social Scientific Approaches

Preface
	Why Mishnah? And Why Promote Social Science Approaches to the Study of Its Evidence?
	The Range and Scope of This Volume’s Essays and the Authors’ Conversation
Acknowledgments
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction: Challenges and Opportunities in the Social Scientific Study of the Evidence of the Mishnah
	Outline of Our Programmatic Introduction
	Why Is It Important to Seek to Know More About Palestinian Jewish Society and Culture in the Latter Half of the Second Century and Early Third Century CE?
	Why Turn to the Evidence of the Mishnah?
	Mishnah’s Most Pervasive Rhetorical and Literary Traits, the Basis for Methodological Challenges and Choices in the Use of Its Evidence
	Three Potentially Compelling Topical Directions of Inquiry in the Sociological and Anthropological Study of Mishnah’s Evidence
Chapter 2: Dignity or Debasement: The Destitute in the World of Mishnah
	Introduction
	The Support of the Poor
	The Status of the Poor Person
	Giver or Receiver? The Focus of Mishnah Peah
	Care and Compassion
	Personality Traits of Mishnah’s Poor
	Concluding Remarks
Chapter 3: “The Land of Israel Is Holier Than All Lands”: Diaspora in Mishnah’s Cosmos—The Message
	Introduction
	Mishnah
	The Sociology of Space
	The Land of Israel in Mishnah
	Diaspora
	Summary
	Summary
	Summary
	Concluding Remarks: The Message
Chapter 4: Marginal Person and/or Marginal Situation: The Convert in Mishnah
	Introduction
	Theoretical Framework
	Mishnah
		The Convert’s Status and Literacy in Mishnah
		From Gentile to Jew: A Transitional Situation
		Concern and Compassion
		Inheritance
	Preserving the Holy Seed
	Past Culture or Stigma
	Principles of Halakhah and Biblical Marginality
	Concluding Remarks
Chapter 5: Religious Authority in the Mishnah: Social Science Perspectives on the Emerging Role of Scholars
	Searching the Mishnah for Evidence
	Core Questions
	Social Science Guidelines
	The Identification of Rabbis/Scholars in the Status Hierarchy
	Legitimating Rabbinic Authority
	Multiple Paths to Legitimacy
	The Emergence of Disputes and Disagreements Among the Rabbinic Elite
	Generational Transmission of Authority
	Consequences of Scholarly Disputes
	The Power of Local Custom and Memory of Temple Practices
	Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 6: Family Structure, Kinship, and Life Course Transitions: Social Science Explorations of the Mishnah
	Family Themes: Preliminaries
	Family Formation: Marriage and Kiddushin
	Yebom, Generational Continuity, and Kinship Relationships
	Reproduction
	Intermarriage and Marriage Regulations
	Age Variation for Defining Girls (Women)
	Marital Obligations and Rights
	Rights of Widows and Stepchildren/Stepparents
	Control over Daughters
	Sotah
	Divorce: The Dissolution of Marriage
	Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 7: Study as a Socially Formative Activity: The Case of Mishnah Study in the Early Rabbinic Group
	Contextual Elements: Text, Study, and Occupational Groups in Ancient Judaic Societies
	Contextual Elements: Sage and Scribal “Classes” in Middle Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean Societies of the Greco-Roman Period
	Mishnah Study and Early Rabbinic Social Formation, a Case Study
	Extra-Mishnaic, Early Rabbinic Evidence for the Centrality of Mishnah Study to the Inner-Group Life of the Early Rabbinic Social Formation
	Intra-Mishnaic Evidence and the Nature of Inner-Group, Normative Traits Modeled and Re-enforced by Mishnah Study
	Macro-Literary Traits: Mishnah’s Topical Agenda and Scripture
	Micro-Rhetorical Traits: Inculcating “High-Grid” Taxonomical Vision
	Conclusions
Chapter 8: When Tosefta Was Read in Service of Mishnah Study: What Pervasive Literary-Rhetorical Traits of Toseftan Materials Divulge About the Evolution of Early Rabbinic Group Identity on the Heels of Mishnah’s Promulgation
	Introduction: The Question at Hand
		Recalling Conclusions Based on the Evidence of Mishnah
		The Task at Hand: The Evidence from Tosefta and the First Developments of a Post-Mishnaic Social Identity Within the Early Rabbinic Social Formation
		Underlying Historical Premises for This Study’s Approach
		What the Toseftan Evidence, Considered In Situ, Shows: Prefiguring This Study’s Findings
	Tosefta’s Literary-Rhetorical Traits as a Model of/for Mishnah Study
		Tosefta’s Macro Traits: Agenda and Organization
			Broadly Speaking, Mishnah Supplies Tosefta with Its Themes and Vision of Its “World”
			Tosefta Stands in Similar Relationship to Scripture as Mishnah Does
			Tosefta’s “Chapters” Have, Relative to Mishnah, Little Literary Unity and Coherence of Their Own, But, In Situ, Rely on the Unity and Coherence of Corresponding Mishnah “Chapters”
		Tosefta’s Intermediate Level, Literary-Rhetorical Traits
			Tosefta as “Commentary” and “Complement” Often Serves to Mitigate Mishnah’s Extremely Laconic Nature
			Tosefta as “Supplement” to Mishnaic “Chapters”
		Tosefta’s Micro-Level Literary-Rhetorical Traits
	Concluding Observations
Chapter 9: Studying Mishnah “Talmudic-ly”: What the Basic Literary-Rhetorical Features of the Talmuds’ Legal Compositions and Composite “Essays” Tell Us About Mishnah Study as an Identity-Informing Activity Within Rabbinic Groups at the End of Late Antiqu
	Introduction: Questions and Targeting a Specific Type of Evidence in Response
	Some Core, Pervasive Literary-Rhetorical Traits of the Yerushalmi’s and Bavli’s Legal Compositions
	The Literary-Rhetorical “Interrogative Drivers” of Compositions in Yerushalmi and Bavli
	Take, for Example, These Two “Parallel” Composite Essays from the Yerushalmi and Bavli
	What Has Happened to Mishnah Study in Studying It “Talmudic-ly” as an Identify-Forming Activity Within the Rabbinic Movement? Some Observations and Proposals
Index