Meals in Early Judaism

This is the first book about the meals of Early Judaism. As such it breaks important new ground in establishing the basis for understanding the centrality of meals in this pivotal period of Judaism and providing a framework of historical patterns and influences.

"Meals in Early Judaism offers a much needed evaluation of the early Jewish meal, a social and religious institution whose importance in late antique Judaism it successfully demonstrates. The book's contribution lies not only in its thorough investigation of the meal's ritual structures and literary traditions, but also in the unique theoretical framework it develops and the broad methodological approach it applies." - Gil P. Klein, Assistant Professor, Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University, USA "This collection of studies is an important set of investigations into the ways in which Jewish ritual meals resembled and were built on Hellenistic and Roman models, and how they developed their own distinctive characteristics. No claim is made to giving a complete history, which would not be possible, but rather the contributors examine the many aspects of ritual dining: food, speech, dance, and other practices. This is an impressive contribution to a topic of continuing interest." - Carolyn Osiek, Professor Emerita, Brite Divinity School, USA

Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, McGill University, CanadaJonathan Brumberg-Kraus, Wheaton College, USAJudith Hauptman, Jewish Theological Seminary and Rabbinic Culture, USAMatthias Klinghardt, Technische Universitaet, GermanyAndrew McGowan, University of Melbourne, USAJordan Rosenblum, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USADennis Smith, Phillips Theological Seminary, USA