Gafni, Isaiah (emeritus)

Personal: Born 1944, Brooklyn, NY; Ph.D. 1978, Hebrew Univ.; Sen. Lect. 1984; Assoc. Prof. 1989; Prof. 1996.

Research Interests:

Social, political and religious history of the Jews in the Second Temple, Mishna and Talmud periods (up to the 7th century C.E.). Diaspora communities in Late Antiquity and their links to the Judean center. The Jews of Babylonia. Talmudic chronology and historiography.

Abstract of Current Research:

Attitudes towards the phenomenon of Jewish Diaspora in Late Antiquity:

This study entails examination of shifting Jewish attitudes and reflections on the Diaspora as a social and religious phenomenon, and on the status of Diaspora Jewry in Late Antiquity. A comparison is made of Hellenistic-Jewish and rabbinic statements. The role of political developments in the forming of positions towards the Diaspora and its legitimacy - or illegitimacy - is examined.

Recent Publications:

GAFNI, I. The Jews of Babylonia in the Talmudic Era: A Social and Cultural History. Jerusalem, The Zalman Shazar Center, 1990, 312 pp.

GAFNI, I. The institution of Jewish marriage in rabbinic times. In: The Jewish Family - Metaphor and Memory, ed. D. Kraemer, Oxford/New York, Oxford University Press, 1989, pp.13-30.

GAFNI, I. Expressions and types of "local-patriotism" among the Jews of Sasanian Babylonia. In: Irano-Judaica II, eds. S. Shaked and A. Netzer, Jerusalem, The Ben-Zvi Institute, 1990, pp.63-71.