Jeremy Rosen
Yohanan ben Zakkai, Shimon bar Yochai, and Simon bar Kokhba
Summary
The lecture delves into a pivotal era in Jewish history marked by conflict with Rome, examining its profound impact on Jewish culture and identity. Discussing key figures like Pompey the Great and the emergence of religious and political factions within the Jewish community, Jeremy Rosen navigates through Roman emperors’ reigns and their interactions with Jewish communities. The lecture underscores the complexities of Jewish-Roman relations, emphasizing enduring legacies and survival strategies amid turbulent times.
Jeremy Rosen
Manchester-born Jeremy Rosen was educated at Cambridge University England and Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He has practiced as an orthodox rabbi, as principal of Carmel College in the UK, and as professor at the Faculty for Comparative Religion in Antwerp, Belgium. He has written and lectured extensively in the UK and the US, where he now resides and was the rabbi of the Persian-Jewish community in Manhattan.
Yes, because Jews were dispersed in the Roman Empire. Many of them went to Italy. From Italy they moved up into southern France. But other Jews moved from Spain into southern France, and southern France up into the north.
Yes, by and large they do. They didn’t agree with the text that we had of the Torah, but there’s no disagreement about the historical perspective, largely because it’s echoed by most of the non-Jewish Roman and Persian historians.
Ben is the Hebrew. Bar is the Aramaic. They’re the same thing and the Talmud is written in both Hebrew and Aramaic. The Mishnah is in Hebrew, but the Gemara is Aramaic.