Statement

To organize the story, the chapter picks three moments: the rise of the rabbis after the Temple's destruction, their gaining authority over the Jewish community in the following centuries, and the move of rabbinic culture to Babylonia, from where it spread across the Jewish world. The authors admit this narrative simplifies: reconstructions vary widely, the sources do not allow even a clear chronology, and Yohanan or Judah the Patriarch, as flesh-and-blood people, almost entirely elude us.

References

1. p. 132

   supports · main text · ch. 5

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Section: Putting the Rabbis Into the Picture

   Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text

2. p. 132

   supports · main text · ch. 5

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Section: Putting the Rabbis Into the Picture

   Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text