Between Temple and Torah

This volume contains articles by Martha Himmelfarb on topics in Second Temple Judaism and the development and reception of Second Temple traditions in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The section on "Priests, Temples, and Torah addresses the themes of its title in texts from the Bible to the Mishnah. "Purity in the Dead Sea Scrolls contains articles analyzing the intensification of the biblical purity laws, particularly the laws for genital discharge, in the major legal documents from the Scrolls. In "Judaism and Hellenism the author explores the relationship between these two ancient cultures by examining the ancient and modern historiography of the Maccabean Revolt and the role of the Torah in ancient Jewish adaptations of Greek culture. "Heavenly Ascent considers the relationship between the ascent apocalypses of the Second Temple era and later works involving ascent, particularly the hekhalot texts. In the final section, "The Pseudepigrapha and Medieval Jewish Literature, Martha Himmelfarb investigates knowledge of works of the Second Temple period by medieval Jews with consideration of the channels by which the works might have reached these later readers.