Place · Land of Israel / Judea
Sepphoris
Ancient names: Sepphoris, Diocaesarea
An important Galilean city to which Judah ha-Nasi moved the patriarchate, bringing the rabbinic movement into an urban setting.
32.7532°N 35.2789°E · representative coordinate · Pleiades 678387 ↗
Statements linked to this place
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Judah may have been the most influential patriarch and, it seems, the first to act outside rabbinic circles, dispatching rabbis to communities as judges and scribes. By taking the patriarchate's seat to Sepphoris, a major Galilean city, he helped the movement urbanize and reach more people; he may also have created paid posts for some sages and a tithe on behalf of poor disciples. He also cultivated ties with Roman power that extended his office's authority to Jewish communities elsewhere in the empire.
Community: The patriarchate at Sepphoris
Judah may have been the most influential patriarch and, it seems, the first to act outside rabbinic circles, dispatching rabbis to communities as judges and scribes. By taking the patriarchate's seat to Sepphoris, a major Galilean city, he helped the movement urbanize and reach more people; he may also have created paid posts for some sages and a tithe on behalf of poor disciples. He also cultivated ties with Roman power that extended his office's authority to Jewish communities elsewhere in the empire.