references to Sadducees(Ò4dûqîm)that owe to scribal alterations, there re-
mains a series of passages that seem to describe this alternative halakic tra-
dition and that stand in general agreement with the information available
from the Scrolls and other Second Temple texts. In this manner, some
sense of the general authenticity of rabbinic materials that report on the
Second Temple period has been gained, and scholars have begun to discard
more skeptical approaches of the last generation. This situation is exempli-
fied, perhaps exceptionally, by the collection of Pharisaic-Sadducean dis-
putes in MishnahYadayimand the parallel collection in the halakic docu-
ment found at Qumran,Miqjat Ma{akê ha-Torah (MMT). What is
astounding here is the presence of a group of traditions in both places, of
course stated from the opposing perspectives. In general terms, the rab-
binic literature and Second Temple texts often represent opposite sides of
the same coin, that is, two separate approaches to the same set of prob-
lems. Without the Second Temple materials, we would never have known
this.Phylacteries, Mezuzot, and “Bibles”
Scribal practice constitutes a distinct area of halakah. Here it seems clear
that much of the scribal art transcended sectarian religious affiliation. This
would explain why scribal law in rabbinic texts and indeed in later Jewish
tradition is so close to that found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other biblical
texts from the Judean desert. Rabbinic Judaism received a scribal tradition
from the earlier Jewish community and, for the most part, simply passed it
down, following virtually the same mechanics for the preparation and
production of hides, writing, and the storage of scrolls. Further, in the case
of mezuzot and phylacteries, there is an intersection of the common scri-
bal arts with the varying interpretations of the contents. Apparently, the
sectarians were willing to include passages from the previous and follow-
ing literary context, beyond those required by the Pharisaic-rabbinic tradi-
tion, which limited itself and did not allow any additional material. But the
commonality in the preparation and construction of phylacteries and in
the practice of mezuzot shows clearly that these were elements inherited
from the common Judaism of Second Temple times. This is the case even
though rabbinic traditions connect these religious objects closely to oral
law, an approach eschewed by the Qumran sectarians and other priestly
groups.426lawrence h. schiffmanEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:20 PM