How to Read the Classical Rabbinic Literature as Historiography?: Reading m. Yad. 3:5

Abstract

Without the classical Rabbinic literature, there is no Rabbinic Judaism. Without the Rabbinic Judaism, there is no normative Judaism. In other words, the classical Rabbinic literature is the key to understanding Judaisms (in plural) throughout history: from antiquity to the modern period. Nevertheless, understanding the classical Rabbinic Literature as historiography is not an easy task, mostly due to halakhic and partially aggadic nature of the Rabbinic literature. This paper aims at introducing Korean readers how to deal with the classical Rabbinic literature as historiography, with a special focus on m. Yad. 3:5.