520) 'Creating' sacred sites: Who is buried there, and does it matter?

Alleged tomb of Rav Ashi, on the Israel Lebanon border

Introduction

This article—based extensively on the research by Professors Shai Sekunda and Isaac Hershkowitz—examines the historical accuracy of some popular gravesites attributed to biblical figures and great rabbis. Many thousands of fervent worshippers flock to these sites, and the question is: Are the righteous Tzadikim who are claimed to be buried there really buried there, and if not, does it matter? We shall discuss a number of these purported burial sites, including those of Rav Ashi on Mount Shinan, R. Shimon bar Yochai in Meron and the biblical Binyamin in Jerusalem. 

519) When rabbis dared to challenge the Divine: The case of Midrash Tehillim

Midrash Shocher Tov, the first section of Midrash Tehillim (on Psalms 1-118)  produced between the third and eight centuries in Palestine.

 

Introduction

This article—based extensively on the research by Professor Dov Weiss[1]— examines the rise and decline of rabbinic protest theology. It looks at the audacious attempts by some Mishnaic rabbis to defy a general ethos of protest prohibition, particularly upheld by the schools of R. Akiva and R. Elazar. By tracing the gradual evolution of rabbinic protest theology through the Talmudic period to its peak in post-Talmudic times, Weiss maps a distinct theological arc that eventually waned and merged into modern times as a subdued tradition.

518) Messianic Immunity—The Perfect Storm: The case of R. Avraham Baruch haRofeh

Responsa by R. Chaim Benveniste, 1743

Introduction

This article—based extensively on the research by Professor Abraham Ofir Shemesh[1]—examines an extreme case of messianic immunity. In the sixteenth century, a medical doctor, R. Avraham Baruch haRofeh, under the influence of the Sabbatian messianic movement of Shabbatai Tzvi, felt he could administer harmful drugs to non-Jews in order to kill them. Because he believed he was living in the stirrings of the messianic era, he also believed he could do so with impunity—if not hasten the full awakening of the messianic age as he saw it unfolding before his very eyes. 

While R. Avraham Baruch may have been an extreme case, unfortunately, due to the vicissitudes of a long and oppressive Jewish history, he did have some textual precedent to draw upon. We shall look at some of that precedent, but also show how many of the later rabbis contextualised those earlier rulings and declared that they were no longer applicable. 

517) A historical context to Midrashim

 

Introduction

This article—based extensively on the research by Professor Gary Porton[1]— investigates the historical conditions that may have fostered the complex and often elusive evolution of Midrash. Midrashim are the creative and often fanciful interpretations of the biblical text that dramatically expand its plain meaning. While some adopt a literal approach to the interpretation of Midrashim, others opt for an allegorical methodology. Based on a reading of Talmudic texts, Porton suggests a more diachronic or historical approach based on how and where Midrashim were first taught. 

Fascinatingly, he discovers that Midrashim may never have been intended for communal consumption. They were not, as many have claimed, produced for sermons to entertain those in the synagogues. Instead, he hypothesises, they were part of an internal rabbinic tradition that was rarely expounded in the public domain. This research could significantly contribute to the way we read and understand Midrashim.