CREATING JUDAISM History, Tradition, Practice Michael L. Satlow Columbia University Press New York Creating Judaism Michael l. Satlow Creating Judaism 3 History, Tradition, Practice 4 Columbia University Press New York Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York, Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © 2006 Michael L. Satlow All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Satlow, Michael L. Creating Judaism : history, tradition, practice / Michael L. Satlow p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isBn 0-231-13488-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — isBn 0-231-13489-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) — isBn 0-231-50911-1 (ebook) 1. Judaism. 2. Jews—Identity. I. Title. Bm45.s226 2006 296—dc22 2006018056 Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Jacqueline r contents Acknowledgments ix Chronology xi Introduction 1 1 Promised Lands 22 2 Creating Judaism 69 3 Between Athens and Jerusalem 96 4 The Rabbis 115 5 Rabbinic Concepts 140 6 Mitzvot 164 7 The Rise of Reason 187 8 From Moses to Moses 209 9 Seeing God 229 10 East and West 250 Epilogue: Whither Judaism? 288 Glossary 297 Bibliographical Notes 307 Index 325 acknowledgments riting this Book has brought me far outside of my usual W comfort zone, and I have turned to many colleagues, students, friends, and family for guidance. It is a pleasure for me to ac- knowledge their help and generosity. The idea for this book, and the intellectual model underlying it, emerged slowly over long and pleasant conversations with former colleagues at In- diana University, especially Robert Orsi and Steven Weitzman. I benefited immensely from the comments that I received when presenting earlier drafts of the introduction at the Jewish Theological Seminary as well as to my colleagues in Judaic Studies at Brown University and the graduate stu- dents in the Department of Religious Studies. My colleague Muhammad Qasim Zaman helped me work through one important problem, and the trenchant comments of Shaul Magid and Charles Mathewes to yet another draft helped me sharpen my thoughts. Several colleagues read individual chapters. Michah Gottlieb, Hindy Naj- man, and David Novak saved me from numerous mistakes. A series of con- versations with Daniel Abrams was similarly helpful at a critical moment. It was my good fortune, as I began writing this book, to meet Moshe Rosman. Moshe not only read several chapters with extraordinary care, repeatedly correcting errors and pushing me to clarify and refine my arguments, but also has been a valuable dialogue partner. The extensive comments of the anonymous referees for Columbia University Press were extraordinarily useful. For all remaining errors and problems in this book, I have only my- self to thank.