CANCELED: The Idea of the Torah in Rabbinic Writings: The Significance of the Roman Context

Whereas Jewish authors writing in Greek conceived of Mosaic law in universal terms, rabbinic literature presented Torah as a law that is the exclusive inheritance of Israel. What historical, political, cultural, legal, and religious factors account for such a contrast?

In this lunch lecture, Katell Berthelot, a professor at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and a member of the Paul Albert-Février research center at Aix-Marseille University, traces this surprising story about the Torah in the history of ancient Judaism, suggesting that rabbinic notions of Torah were impacted, at least in part, by Roman legal culture and its valorization of Roman positive law.