How did purity evolve into the one most significant
religious category during the Second Temple period? What was the role of purity
discourse in the reformation of Jewish society and religion in Late Antiquity?
The concern for purity shaped Second Temple Judaism,
and its significance expanded far beyond the limited realm of the Temple. The fear
of impurity shaped daily conduct, stood at the heart of ideological discourse
and set the contours of Jewish society. The question how to ensure ritual and
moral purity was of cosmic dimensions, and therefore determined the dividing
lines between the main parties of Jewish society in Palestine. The Qumran sect developed
the notion of the defiling sin, and Jesus was viewed by his followers as the
ultimate purifier. Against these alternatives, this book offers a comprehensive
analysis of the purity policy in the teachings of the dominant Pharisees. Early rabbinic traditions
alongside anti-pharisaic sources uncover a controversial policy focused on the
body and not on the purity of the Temple. They provided purification to wider
social circles, while preserving its role in maintaining their own status. The book further demonstrates the fundamental change
of religious life and social practices from the Second Temple period through
the rise of the rabbinic movement, which offered a new version of ritual purity
and community. A close analysis of the halakhic traditions in rabbinic
literature reveals the gradual disintegration of the ancient religious culture
and the emergence of the rabbinic culture within new social contexts.
" [...] the monograph by Furstenberg is an erudite, comprehensive, and enlightening study, which will serve as an excellent introduction to any future research exploring the observance of purity laws in ancient times. But beyond its discussion of purity, the author’s analysis of a variety of rabbinic, halakhic traditions and the conclusions he reaches, reveal, in my opinion, the complex process by which early rabbinic literature was redacted, and re-redacted, generation after generation, layer upon layer." - Enoch Seminar Online, Hanan Birenboim, January 2018
"Furstenberg’s chief innovation, however, is neither in the path he cuts between text and material remains, nor in his use of theory, but rather in the skill with which he dissects ancient texts, revealing hidden meanings and distinguishing between accreted layers. For those possessing philological souls, there is a palpable thrill to Furstenberg’s chase for the meanings of rabbinic purity. Furstenberg’s analysis of the rabbinic practice of washing one’s hands before eating bread is an example of his ingenious scholarship." - Jewish Review of Books, by Shai Secunda, July 2017
BEIT AVI CHAI, by Ariel Horowitz, September 2016
Galileo, June 2016