In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Professor Lawrence Schiffman about Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism.

Lawrence Schiffman is a professor at New York University, where he lectures on topics such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Midrashei Halacha, and Second Temple Judasim. He joins us today to discuss the evolution from early Judaism to modern observance, as well as the outcomes of superimposing ancient Judaism onto our present day understandings.

- Who is a “common Jew”?

- Is Jewish disunity as modern as we think it is?

- Why would one cling to modern Judaism despite its evolution over history?

Tune in to hear a conversation on the development of Judaism and how faith must be the answer when history fails us.

Interview begins at 23:48

Lawrence Schiffman is a professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University and Director of the Global Institute for Advanced Research in Jewish Studies. Dr. Schiffman is a specialist in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Judaism in Late Antiquity, the history of halacha, and Talmud. He has served as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Judaic Studies at Yeshiva University. Dr. Schiffman was featured in the PBS Nova series documentary, Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and several other documentaries. Dr. Schiffman’s book, From Text to Tradition, is a journey through the history of the emergence of rabbinic Judaism in the Second Temple era. Dr. Schiffman joins us to talk about the world of Early Judaism.

References:

“The Rambam’s Introduction to the Mishna” by Maimonides
Zakhor: Jewish History And Jewish Memory by Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi
The Formation of the Talmud: Scholarship and Politics in Yitzhak Isaac Halevy's Dorot HaRishonim by Dr. Ari Bergmann
Dorot HaRishonim by Rav Yitzhak Isaac Halevy
“Wissenschaft Des Judentums, Historical Consciousness, and Jewish Faith: The Diverse Paths of Frankel, Auerbach, and Halevy” by David Ellenson
From Text to Tradition, a History of Judaism in Second Temple and Rabbinic Times: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism by Lawrence Schiffman
Josephus: The Complete Works by Flavius Josephus
Comparing Judaism and Christianity: Common Judaism, Paul, and the Inner and the Outer in Ancient Religion by E.P. Sanders
Book of Jeremiah
Tractate Yadayim
Pirkei Avot 1:1
Book of Ezra
Book of Nechemia
Divrei HaYamim II 35:13
The Four Stages of Rabbinic Judaism by Jacob Neusner
Matthew 12, The New Testament
Miktzat Ma'ase Ha-Torah
Der Babylonische Talmud by Lazarus Goldschmidt
Sefer HaIkkarim by Rav Yosef Albo
Texts and Traditions: A Source Reader for the Study of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism by Lawrence Schiffman
Sefer HaChinuch by Anonymous