Jewish-Christianity and the Diversity of Late Antique Judaism

FAIN: FT-53431-05

Annette Yoshiko Reed
University of Pennsylvania (Ontario, Canada)

How many varieties of Judaism survived the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE? Until recently the answer seemed obvious: the fall of the Temple catalyzed the rise of the Rabbis. Recent research however has questioned the idea of Late Antique Judaism as wholly Rabbinic. My project explores whether and how we can use this corrective as the basis for a new understanding of post-70 Judaism. I map the range of Jewish belief and practice, using Rabbinic, para-Rabbinic and non-Rabbinic sources, including Jewish-Christian sources. Whereas Jewish-Christians are typically studied in the context of Christianity, I reexamine them in light of other evidence for the Judaism by which they were influenced and in which they sought to participate.