This series of lectures by an Israeli rabbi, educator, and community leader with a Ph.D. in Talmud from Bar-Ilan University attempts to bring together the reflective world of the yeshiva and methodological disciplines of the academy. The first volume, published in 2010, focused on setting out a chronology for hundreds of years of the Second Temple period; this one covers the seventy years from Yavneh to the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Lau seeks to negotiate an approach somewhere between prevailing academic approaches and traditional ones. He draws from the many rabbinic materials based on accepting Aggadic traditions, unless they contradict one another or other sources or are too clearly fanciful in his judgment.
Lau’s historical discussion traces the tension that develops between those who supported Akiva’s vision and aspirations and those who opposed them. One of Lau’s interests is the conflicting dynamics within Judaism that emerge between those who want to preserve traditional interpretations and those who regard change as an inherently sacred part of interpretation – a living concern in many areas of study and discourse to this day. Sections include Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai and his Students; Yavneh: From Rabban Gamliel to Rabbi Yehoshua; The Generation of Rabbi Akiva; Winds of War and Visions of Redemption, and After the Destruction.
Nonfiction
The Sages: Character, Context and Creativity; Vol. II: From Yavneh to the Bar Kokhba Revolt
- Review
By
– October 3, 2012
Mark D. Nanos, Ph.D., University of Kansas, is the author of Mysteryof Romans, winner of the 1996 National Jewish Book Award, Charles H. RevsonAward in Jewish-Christian Relations.
Discussion Questions
Jewish literature inspires, enriches, and educates the community.
Help support the Jewish Book Council.