Isaiah Gafni (born 1944) is a historian of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

in the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

and

Talmudic The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

periods. He is the Sol Rosenbloom Chair of

Jewish History Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, and president (since 2016) of

Shalem College Shalem College (, ''HaMerkaz HaAkademi Shalem'') is a private liberal arts college in Jerusalem, Israel providing undergraduate education and founded with the aim of producing "broadly educated citizens for lives of influence and service." It is ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Biography

Isaiah Gafni was born in New York. He

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to Israel in 1958.Shalem Taps Renowned Jewish Historian Isaiah Gafni for President
/ref> He has a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Jewish History,

(1978), under the direction of

Menahem Stern Menahem Stern (; March 5, 1925 – June 22, 1989) was an internationally acclaimed Israeli historian of the Second Temple period. He was murdered in Jerusalem by Palestinians during the First Intifada. Biography Menahem Stern was born in 1925 in ...

and

Shmuel Safrai Shmuel Safrai (; June 18, 1919 – July 16, 2003) was Professor Emeritus of Jewish History at Hebrew University and laurate of the Israel Prize for Land of Israel studies for 2002. Biography Safrai born in 1919 in Warsaw, Poland, and immigrate ...

; MA, Hebrew University (1969); BA, Hebrew University (1966).

Academic career

Gafni is interested in the attitudes of the Jews of the

towards the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

. His research focuses on how Judaism was reshaped during the years the Jews after the Temple's destruction. He has authored numerous academic articles, three books, and he edited over fifteen books regarding a wide range of topics in

. Gafni's focus is research on political, social and religious Jewish life during the Second Temple Period (516 BCE – 70 CE). His book The ''Jews of Talmudic Babylonia: A Social and Cultural History'' was honored with the 1992 Holon Municipality Prize for Jewish studies. Additionally he has written more than 100 entries in the

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...

. Gafni's most recent book, titled, ''Land, Center and Diaspora: Jewish Constructs in Late Antiquity'' was originally delivered in a series of lectures in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

called the Third Jacobs Lectures in Rabbinic Thought in January 1994. In the book he seeks to "shed some light on what the Jews of the period (post destruction of the Second Temple), in

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

, as well as in diaspora, might have thought about their particular situation as a scattered people, and how these thoughts translated into concrete policies and subsequent measures that shaped and defined relationships among the various Jewish communities of Late Antiquity." The most recent works published by Gafni are ''The Jewish Family – Metaphor and Memory'', explaining the institution of Jewish marriage in Rabbinic times, and ''Irano-Judaica II'' which articulates the expressions and types of "local-patriotism" among the Jews of Sasanian Babylonia. Gafni has been a professor in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for over 40 years and a visiting professor at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. He has offered courses entitled ''"The Beginnings of Judaism"'', ''"The Great World Religions"'', and has lectured in institutions throughout Israel and North America.

Published works

Books * Babylonian Jewry and Its Institutions in the Period of the Talmud (Hebrew), Jerusalem 1975, 117pp. * "The Jewish Community of Babylonia" (English trans. of chapter 1 of the above), Immanuel vol. 8 (1978), pp. 58–68 * "Die judische Gemeinde in Babylonien und ihre Institutionem" (German trans. of chapter 1 of the above), Freiburger Rundbrief, vol. 30 (1978) pp. 204–210 * The Jews of Babylonia in the Talmudic Era – A Social and Cultural History (Hebrew), Jerusalem 1990, 312pp. (Received the Holon Municipality Prize for Jewish Studies, 1992) * Russian translation of the above, Moscow 2003, 392pp. * Land, Center and Diaspora – Jewish Constructs in Late Antiquity, Sheffield 1997, 136pp.

Editorships

* The Samaritans, by Itzhak ben Zvi, 2nd revised edition, Jerusalem 1970 * Author and Editor: From Jerusalem to Yavne – Israel's Open University, Tel Aviv 1977 (Hebrew; translations in English and Spanish) * Priesthood and Monarchy – Studies in the Historical Relationships of Religion and State (Hebrew; ed. with G. Motzkin), Jerusalem 1983, 311pp. * Studies in Jewish History – The Second Temple Period., by M. Stern (Hebrew; ed. with M. Amit and M.D. Herr), Jerusalem 1991, 670pp. * The Kingdom of Herod, by M. Stern (Hebrew; edited with Ch. Stern), Tel-Aviv 1992, 112pp. *Sanctity of Life and Martyrdom – Studies in Memory of Amir Yekutiel (Hebrew; edited with A. Ravitzky), Jerusalem 1992, 312pp. * Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple, Mishna and Talmud Period- 2 Studies in Honor of Shmuel Safrai (Hebrew; edited with A. Oppenheimer and M. Stern), Jerusalem 1993, 408pp. * The Jews in the Hellenistic-Roman World – Studies in Memory of Menahem Stern, edited with A. Oppenheimer and D. Schwartz, Jerusalem 1996, Hebrew Section 488pp.; English Section 158pp. * Sexuality and the Family in History: Collected Essays (Hebrew; edited with I. Bartal), Jerusalem 1998, 432pp. * Kehal Yisrael: Jewish Self-Rule Through the Ages, vol. 1: The Ancient Period, Jerusalem 2001 (Hebrew) * Center and Diaspora: The Land of Israel and the Diaspora in the Second Temple, Mishna and Talmud Periods, Jerusalem 2004, xiii + 242pp.

References

External links

Articles by Isaiah Gafni
* Land, Center and Diaspora: Jewish Constructs in Late Antiquity (online preview): https://books.google.com/books?id=6voyO7it6IcC {{DEFAULTSORT:Gafni, Isaiah Historians of Jews and Judaism 1944 births Living people