Shai Secunda

Prof.

Shai Secunda

Bard College

Prof. Shai Secunda is Jacob Neusner Professor of Judaism at Bard College. He is a founder and co-editor of the Talmud Blog, fellow at Project TABS, and editor of TheGemara.com. He is the author of The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in its Sasanian Context and Like a Hedge of Lilies: Menstruation and Difference in the Talmud and its Sasanian Context.

Publish Date

8/12/2021

The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in Its Sasanian Context

Shoshannat Yaakov: Jewish and Iranian Studies in Honor of Yaakov Elman

The Talmud's Red Fence: Menstrual Impurity And Difference In Babylonian Judaism And Its Sasanian Context

Amazon paid links

Tractate Nazir: A Talmudic Outlier

The uniqueness of Tractate Nazir and what it teaches us about Talmudic transmission.

Why and How a Complete Midrash on Esther was Preserved in the Babylonian Talmud

When Babylonian rabbis produced and preserve midrashic discussions, they compiled them into relatively short, oral collections, using the mishnaic structure underlying the Bavli as a bibliographic “storage system.” Why did the Babylonian rabbis compile and preserve a complete midrash on Esther if this was not their regular working method? What technique did they use to preserve and store this midrash?

The Development of the Chanukah Oil Miracle in Context of Zoroastrian Fire Veneration

The ancient fire that fueled the Chanukah story.

Why the Talmud is the Only Rabbinic Work from Babylonia

The Babylonian Talmud as an oral library for rabbinic collections.

Innovating, Adapting, and Historicizing the Rules for Returning Lost Objects

The rabbinic rules of restoring lost property (השבת אבידה) include a requirement to announce the finds that possess identifying marks – סימנים. This post-biblical innovation is described in a variety of ways that highlight the manner in which the rabbis reworked and reinterpreted their traditions.