The optional evening prayer: a babylonian invention?

This article argues that the well-known debate about the obligatory nature of the evening prayer, attributed to tannaitic authorities in both the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds, is in fact a Babylonian invention. The article documents the significant evidence that the evening prayer was assumed...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:AJS review
Subtitles:Research Article
Main Author: Rosenberg, Michael 1978- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: University of Pennsylvania Press [2018]
In: AJS review
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Evening prayer / Talmûd yerûšalmî / Talmûd bavlî / Duty / Invention
RelBib Classification:BH Judaism
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This article argues that the well-known debate about the obligatory nature of the evening prayer, attributed to tannaitic authorities in both the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds, is in fact a Babylonian invention. The article documents the significant evidence that the evening prayer was assumed to be obligatory in tannaitic and early amoraic texts and then argues that the literary context of the debate in both Talmuds strongly suggests Babylonian origins for the debate. Dating the debate is more complex, but it seems relatively unlikely that this represents a pre-amoraic Babylonian tradition. Finally, the article considers the motivation for such a development in amoraic Babylonia and suggests that antiquarian interest in the temple may be the likeliest avenue to pursue.
ISSN:1475-4541
Contains:Enthalten in: Association for Jewish Studies, AJS review
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0364009418000089