Over a century ago, Louis Ginzberg noted a shared theological concept between Second Baruch and rabbinic literature describing a treasury of souls that must be depleted prior to the coming of messiah, a discourse that exists significantly in Fourth Ezra, as well (see, e.g., bYev 63b; 2Bar 23:1-7; 4Ez 4:34-43). This paper explores and expands on that common soul-related theology, considering other related conceptions from “apocalyptic” Jewish writings that appear in rabbinic literature, including a concept of God delineating all future souls at the time of creation. Moreover, it traces the deployment and expansion of the teaching around future souls within rabbinic literature, comparing it to parallel conceptions in earlier apocalyptic and contemporaneous Christian literature (e.g., Eunomius of Cyzicus, Clementine literature).
This paper will trace the development of Hanukah fire rituals demonstrating that while the Books of Maccabees emphasize the Hasmonean inauguration of the sacrificial altar, the rabbis shifted the focus of the commemoration from the altar to the menorah after the Temple’s destruction as part of an effort to transfer the holiness of the Temple to the Jewish home. A contextual and literary analysis of the locus classical of the Hanukah laws at Bavli Shabbat 21a-24b reveals themes connecting Hanukah lamps both to the Temple menorah and to household Shabbat lamps. The Talmud communicates this new centrality of home holiness through details of ritual law as well as by recontextualizing and retelling the miracle of the oil. Methodologically, this paper will also offer a new contribution to Talmudic research by demonstrating a thematic continuity, purpose, and literary structure over an extended section of Talmud.
It is frequently asserted by scholars that both Josephus and the rabbis know of the conversion to Judaism of the royal house of Adiabene. This paper argues that this is far from clear in Tannaitic sources. These sources do hint at Helena and Monobaz’s provenance from outside the Land of Israel, but they never mention that they were not born Jewish. If they know of the conversion, it is not a factor they choose to highlight in their assessment of these figures. Queen Helena and her son Monobaz appear several times in rabbinic literature, starting in the Mishnah and Tosefta. Only one later source (Genesis Rabbah 46:10) directly mentions the conversion of either party. This story, however, has no clear relationship to the earlier sources which mention Helena and Monobaz. This narrative was likely incorporated separately from an external source (some scholars have suggested Josephus himself, an intermediary, or a shared source) and therefore cannot be taken as evidence that the earlier, inner-rabbinic sources have any knowledge of the conversion nor that they mean their depiction of Helena and Monobaz as a reflection on their status as converts.