Justifications for foodways are too often ignored in the academic study of commensality. In seeking to understand how a particular group constructs the rules around the table – what, how, and with whom one will or will not eat – the rationales for these rules must be factored into any scholarly analysis. In this essay, I use the example of anc…[Read more]

A discussion of rabbinic meal practices.

In this essay, I attempt to inscribe the mysterious location known as “the cities
of the sea” (כרכי הים) onto the map of rabbinic scholarship. Classical rabbinic
authors look toward this mythic locale for three reasons: (1) to discuss tales of
sin (and sometimes salvation); (2) to offer definitions and clarifications of
obscure words; and…[Read more]

In this article, I compare Judaism to tofu. Tofu is a food derived from pressed soy curds and comes in a variety of textures, from soft to firm. While it is intrinsically flavorless, it absorbs the flavor of the ingredients with which it is cooked. Like tofu, Judaism absorbs the “flavors” of its surrounding environment; like tofu, Judaism has…[Read more]

Household sacrifice is a common feature of the ancient Mediterranean. While offerings are made in temples, a home altar is a frequent sacrificial site. This raises an intriguing question for scholars of Judaism in antiquity: do Jews also sacrifice on household altars? While Judaism in antiquity is riotously diverse, it often looks very much like…[Read more]

In the rabbinic worldview, man goes through life surrounded by temptation. The world is a place where temptation lurks on every street corner, at every table, and at every moment. For the rabbis, Torah – both Written and Oral – is the solution to controlling the yeẓer (יצר), the inclination to act on one’s desires. The ability to control on…[Read more]

This essay explores how changing the subject can function as a valid legal process in classical rabbinic literature. In order to do so, it first establishes standard rabbinic legal procedure, in which the legal reasoning for arguments is debated and either supported or refuted. Next, it discusses cases that do not fit this pattern: namely, those…[Read more]

Imagine it is the year 209 C.E. You are a disciple in a rabbinic circle located in a city in Palestine. Your rabbinic mentor invites you to a banquet that he is hosting in celebration of his son’s wedding. Do you bring your wife?
In essence, this is the question that I seek to answer in this essay. Were women present at such commensal e…[Read more]