Reading Texts with Objects: Rethinking Rabbinic Materiality by the Light of Early Sabbath Laws

Abstract

Abstract: Classical rabbinic literature is intensely material, as it invokes numerous objects on seemingly every page. Through the earliest rabbinic discussions on kindling Sabbath lights (M. Shabbat 2), this paper explores new pathways into rabbinic materiality or "talmudic archaeology." Whereas texts can promote a narrow focus on unique or exceptional objects, I argue that they could also provide a promontory to help us see more typical and widely used artifacts, which nets a broader understanding of the material culture that was more likely to be known by most people in Roman Galilee, including rabbis. The "Palestinian Discus Lamp" was the lighting device of choice for most people in the place and time when the Mishnah took shape. Its popularity, I argue, demonstrates the importance of design and practical use, functional aspects that have received insufficient attention. This paper contributes to rabbinics, late antique Judaism, and Jewish material culture studies, while building bridges to design theory, economics, and material religion. Abstract: Classical rabbinic literature is intensely material, as it invokes numerous objects on seemingly every page. Through the earliest rabbinic discussions on kindling Sabbath lights (M. Shabbat 2), this paper explores new pathways into rabbinic materiality or "talmudic archaeology." Whereas texts can promote a narrow focus on unique or exceptional objects, I argue that they could also provide a promontory to help us see more typical and widely used artifacts, which nets a broader understanding of the material culture that was more likely to be known by most people in Roman Galilee, including rabbis. The "Palestinian Discus Lamp" was the lighting device of choice for most people in the place and time when the Mishnah took shape. Its popularity, I argue, demonstrates the importance of design and practical use, functional aspects that have received insufficient attention. This paper contributes to rabbinics, late antique Judaism, and Jewish material culture, while building bridges to design theory, economics, and material religion.