Shop

Jack Lightstone

The historical era commencing with the birth of Jesus and ending with the death of Muhammad was one of major cultural change. Religious currents saw the Jesus movement emerge within Judaism, eventually displacing Roman paganism, while simultaneously rabbinic movements progressively rose to define Judaism. Early rabbinic movements produced a substantial body of homiletic and legal literature to articulate their understanding of the Jewish ethos. The legal rhetoric is difficult for a novice to understand, but it is important to study how the rabbis became the self-defined heirs of Moses.