Too Close for Comfort

Too Close for Comfort

The closeness of Christians to Jews in the early centuries of the Common Era was troubling to the nascent Church Fathers. They repeatedly speak out against it because they understood that many Christians saw Jews in a very different light than what the emerging church...
Too Close for Comfort

Too Close for Comfort

The closeness of Christians to Jews in the early centuries of the Common Era was troubling to the nascent Church Fathers. They repeatedly speak out against it because they understood that many Christians saw Jews in a very different light than what the emerging church...
Too Close for Comfort

How important was the Birkat HaMinim?

Does the Birkat Haminim really show the Break between Jews and Christians? Did its adoption point to a definitive break between both communities? The institution of the Birkat HaMinim,  i.e., the malediction against heretics by the rabbi’s at Yavneh is...
Too Close for Comfort

The Limits of Rabbinic Authority in Antiquity

The limits of rabbinic authority in antiquity are critical to our discussion on the relationship between emerging Jewish and Christian identities. The rabbinic class undoubtedly had influence and even power, but it tempered by a number of factors that are important to...