Isaiah Gafni (born 1944) is a historian of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

in the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

and

Talmudic The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) 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 cente ...

periods. He is the Sol Rosenbloom Chair of

Jewish History Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, and president (since 2016) of

Shalem College Shalem College ( he, המרכז האקדמי שלם, ''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 live ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Biography

Isaiah Gafni was born in New York. He

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

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

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in Jewish History,

(1978), under the direction of

Menahem Stern Menahem Stern ( he, מנחם שטרן; 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 ...

and

Shmuel Safrai Shmuel Safrai (Hebrew: שמואל ספראי) (born 1919; died 2003) was Professor Emeritus of History of the Jewish People at Hebrew University. Safrai authored over eighty articles and twelve books. Awards In 1986, Safrai received the Jerusalem P ...

; 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 (see also Isra ...

. 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 22-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, holidays, langua ...

. 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 in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

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 ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...

, 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 research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. 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: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/author/professor-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