Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism

The rabbinic corpus begins with a question — “when?” — and is brimming with discussions about time and the relationship between people, God, and the hour. This book explores the rhythms of time that animated the rabbinic world of late antiquity, revealing how rabbis conceptualized time as a way of constructing difference between themselves and imperial Rome, Jews and Christians, men and women, and human and divine. Each chapter explores a unique aspect of rabbinic discourse on time. The book shows how the ancient rabbinic texts artfully subvert Roman imperialism by offering “rabbinic time” as an alternative to “Roman time.” It examines rabbinic discourse about the Sabbath, demonstrating how the weekly day of rest marked “Jewish time” from “Christian time.” The book looks at gendered daily rituals, showing how rabbis created “men's time” and “women's time” by mandating certain rituals for men and others for women. The book delves into rabbinic writings that reflect on how God spends time and how God's use of time relates to human beings, merging “divine time” with “human time.” Finally, it traces the legacies of rabbinic constructions of time in the medieval and modern periods. In doing so, the book sheds new light on the central role that time played in the construction of Jewish identity, subjectivity, and theology during this transformative period in the history of Judaism.