Papers by Moshe A Pinchuk
Materia giudaica, 2022
In this paper I analyze the relationship between the newly discovered Yerushalmi Bologna ms. on M... more In this paper I analyze the relationship between the newly discovered Yerushalmi Bologna ms. on Moed and the Leiden ms. These are the main findings:
1. The two manuscripts are basically identical. I am not aware of any other two Yerushalmi ms. that are so close over such a large amount of text.
2. There are a significant number of unique idiosyncrasies that are shared by Bologna and Leiden which we do not find in other places. The cumulative effect is weighty.
3. The paucity of Yerushalmi ms. in general, serves as a Razor of Occam when considering the possibility of the existence of an additional Yerushalmi ms. in between Bologna and Leiden.
These considerations led me to conclude that Bologna may possibly be the vorlage of Leiden.
However, there are opposite considerations:
A. There are a number of deviations between Leiden and Bologna that I am presently unable to account for if Bologna is the vorlage of Leiden. One firm unexplained deviation would suffice to disprove the above conclusion.
B. Perani has shown that Bologna Nezikin and Moed are both part of a single manuscript. If so, a similar analysis of the Nezikin ms. must be performed and must yield the same results as the present analysis of Bologna Moed.
Hélice 29, 2020
A culture with highly sophisticated and efficient communication capabilities, exposed to a long-t... more A culture with highly sophisticated and efficient communication capabilities, exposed to a long-term Covid-XX virus could potentially lead to the creation of a Solarian type society.
Tradition, 2020
In today`s world of psychologically engineered advertisements, it is almost a platitude that cons... more In today`s world of psychologically engineered advertisements, it is almost a platitude that consumers respond favorably to advertising messages that are congruent with their culture, and reward advertisers who understand their culture and tailor their ads to reflect its values. Providers wishing to maximize the effect of their advertising investment will research the culture, beliefs and religion of their target consumers and draft their advertisements accordingly. In this paper, I undertake the reverse process. An attempt will be made to infer values and beliefs of the advertisers and their perception of their target consumers` values, based on the content of their advertisements. Advertisements from two separate charitable funds calling for donations will be reviewed and compared. This analysis will attempt to uncover which, if any, social or halachic (halacha - term used to denote the body of Jewish religious law) values are being tacitly presented to the consumers; the contention being that the advertisers, i.e. the charitable funds assume that their contributors uphold these values in particular and are therefore expected to best respond to them. The results will show that each charitable fund is indeed addressing an audience with markedly different values that determine their charity giving. The value of this “reverse” analysis is twofold: 1) The conclusion that a relatively close knit and homogeneous society such as Ramat Bet Shemesh can be perceived to hold diverse values regarding a relatively neutral religious command as charity is in itself curious and invites further study. 2) The methodology presented here can be generalized and applied to many and diverse areas, as an additional tool for culling the values of a given social sector.
זכר לאברהם - אסופת מאמרים ביהדות ובחינוך לזכר ד"ר אברהם זלקין, 2020
“Sinai” and “O`ker Harim” (=Mountain Transposer) are descriptive terms applied to sages of statur... more “Sinai” and “O`ker Harim” (=Mountain Transposer) are descriptive terms applied to sages of stature in Talmud. “Sinai” is the sage of phenomenal memory who retains knowledge and traditions of earlier generations. “O`ker Harim” is the intellectual prodigy of superb analytical power. Already in the Talmud, the question is raised – which is the superior of these two qualities? Current scholarship has shown that the Bavli prefers the “O`ker Harim” whereas the Yerushalmi prefers “Sinai”. Recently, Tropper has narrowed this difference to the later strata in the Bavli.
The contribution of this article is twofold: I wish to draw attention to a sugya that has not yet been adduced in this discussion. The sugya appears in both Talmudim, the Babylonian version clearly gives preference to the “O`ker Harim”, while the Yerushalmi clearly gives preference to the “Sinai”.
Furthermore, I wish to widen the scope of the discussion to include Halachic sugyot as well. A group of halachic sugyot with parallels in Yerushalmi is analyzed. It would seem that in their later strata (that does not appear in Yerushalmi) clear preference is given to the “Sevara” a tool par-excellence of the ““O`ker Harim”, this preference is absent in the Yerushalmi parallels. This phenomenon is consistent with Tropper’s claim that this preference became felt only in later strata of Bavli.
Zion, 2019
Titus` War Council From The Perspective Of An Overlooked Midrash
IBERIAN NEW CHRISTIANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS, 2019
There are two instances of non-Jews: The Maternal non-Jew whose father is Jewish, and the Paterna... more There are two instances of non-Jews: The Maternal non-Jew whose father is Jewish, and the Paternal non-Jew whose father is non-Jewish. For all practical purposes both the paternal and the maternal non-Jew are considered to be fully non-Jewish,
Judaism was almost never a proselyting religion and typically discouraged and avoided potential converts. Is this also the attitude toward the Maternal non-Jew? One could suggest that a Paternal Non-Jew indeed has no affinity or bond to the Jewish nation. Such a convert would be a newcomer. A Maternal Non-Jew, on the other hand, already has some connection and bond to the Jewish nation, his father is Jewish. His conversion could be considered a homecoming, a return of Jewish seed to the fold. Such a posture would have a favorable effect on the motivation of Jewish society to embrace and encourage such converts and conversions.
Korot, 2019
A large corpus of medical information can be culled from the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. T... more A large corpus of medical information can be culled from the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. The word Talmud means study. The Talmud is a composite work, consisting mainly of detailed discussion and analysis of the Jewish law. There are two Talmuds – The Jerusalm Talmud (henceforth Yerushalmi), redacted in the West (Tiberias) about 350 C.E. and the Babylonian Talmud (henceforth Bavli) , redacted in the East (Babylon) about 420 C.E.
One of the current trends in the history of medicine is the attempt to identify and reveal the sources from which the Talmudic sages acquired their medical knowledge. A general pattern which seems to be emerging is that sages of the Western Yerushalmi are influenced from Hippocratic sources, whereas sages of the Eastern Bavli show signs of influence from Eastern medicinal sources as well.
In this article we will be analyzing two sugyot. The first sugya concerns a situation in which a minor or fetus are endangering another human being. This discussion appears in both Bavli and Yerushalmi. We will show that the Yerushalmi`s discussion is influenced by Hippocratic theory, whereas the Bavli’s discussion may be influenced by medical theories of eastern provenance. These influences are expressed in the halachic argumentation of each Talmud, and in turn clarify the difference between the Bavli’s argument versus the Yerushalmi`s argument. This difference has eluded generations of Yerushalmi exegetes. The second sugya is the Wine barrel virginity test; this test appears twice in the Bavli, but not once in the Yerushalmi. It will be demonstrated that in contrast to prevalent scholarly opinion, it is highly doubtful that this test could be derived from either Hippocratic or Mesopotamic fertility tests, and therefore cannot serve as an example of Hippocratic influence in the Bavli.
Psefas, 2019
The poem "Candles" by Constantine Cavafy is rewritten using opposite terms. These two versions ar... more The poem "Candles" by Constantine Cavafy is rewritten using opposite terms. These two versions are compared to the opinions of Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai concerning the lighting of Hanukkah candles.
Beit Mikra, 2017
The comparison between David and Goliath`s combat and other single-combat narratives in the Iliad... more The comparison between David and Goliath`s combat and other single-combat narratives in the Iliad is a well-worn path in Biblical and Classical research. Nevertheless this paper offers a two-tiered contribution. Two types of single combat are identified in Mycenaean-Greek culture and literature with unique features and distinct objectives. Having established this distinction, a question of classification presents itself: What type of single-combat was Goliath offering? A feature analysis of the David and Goliath combat yields equivocal results, which are the basis for some hypotheses which warrant further study.
The Review of Rabbinic Judaism, 2016
Scholars have devoted relatively little attention to the development and redaction of the Talmud ... more Scholars have devoted relatively little attention to the development and redaction of the Talmud Yerushalmi. This is understandable, as scholars are generally more concerned with solving the Yerushalmi's severe textual and exegetical problems than with questions of redaction. Moreover, almost everything we know about the Yerushalmi's development and redaction is based on literary analysis of its sugyot. Thus questions of redaction are aggravated by exegetical difficulties and vice versa. Here I propose a solution to two problematic parallel pericopae. This solution may also afford us a rare glimpse into the activity of the redactor, in his attempt to merge two conflicting sugyot revolving about the same subject matter. Keywords Talmud Yerushalmi – Talmudic redaction – Arakhin Scholars have devoted relatively little attention to investigation of the development and redaction of the Talmud Yerushalmi (henceforth, TY). This is understandable , as scholars are generally more concerned with solving the severe textual and exegetical problems associated with the TY than with questions of redaction. Moreover, almost everything we know about the development and redaction of the TY is based on literary analysis of its sugyot.1 Thus questions of
Doctoral Thesis, 2012
עבודה לקבלת תואר דוקטור
Alei Sefer, 2011
Talmudic scholars have long recognized the importance of quotations and references to the Talmud ... more Talmudic scholars have long recognized the importance of quotations and references to the Talmud Yerushalmi (TY) in medieval exegeses as a powerful tool for TY research. A comprehensive compilation of all such quotations and references could well serve TY scholars in their quest. With the advent of computer and internet technology, such a database can readily be assembled and made available to all.
We describe exactly such a database. In particular, the method applied to create this database is explained, with its strengths and weaknesses. The various search options that can be applied to this database are also discussed
M.A. Thesis, 2008
עבודת מ.א
Elemente Der Mathematik, 1983
The purpose of this brief note is to present a derivation of the familiar formula for the sum of ... more The purpose of this brief note is to present a derivation of the familiar formula for the sum of the squares of the first n integers. This method is easy to remember, having an almost geometric character, and it can be iterated in a very simple manner to yield the sum of the first n integers raised to any positive integral power.
Conference Presentations by Moshe A Pinchuk
Medicine and Law, 2018
24th World Congress on Medical Law and Bioethics:
In this paper I will show an instance of Hippoc... more 24th World Congress on Medical Law and Bioethics:
In this paper I will show an instance of Hippocratic influence on Yerushalmi childbirth theory as opposed to the influence of Eastern or later medical theories on the childbirth theory in the Babylonian Talmud. A further novelty of this example will be to show how both talmuds, despite their radically opposing medical understanding of parturition, reach identical legal and ethical conclusions concerning embryotomy in case of acute dystocia. Their opinions may however diverge in other cases such as a person falling and endangering another ion the ground.
Rabbinic Papers by Moshe A Pinchuk
Moriah, 2024
חטאת שמינה is an enigmatic term that appears only twice and only in the Babylonian Talmud. Here a... more חטאת שמינה is an enigmatic term that appears only twice and only in the Babylonian Talmud. Here an explanation and source for this term is offered based on a discussion of the targum in Talmud Yerushalmi Megillah and Bikkurim.
A comment from Harav Hagaon Shaul Alter and my reply is appended at the end of this paper.
כי ברוך הוא - אסופת מאמרים מוגשת לפרופ' ברנרד פינצ'וק, 2023
In this paper we analyze the structure and meaning of the short viduy, Ashamnu Bagadnu.
Hama`yan, 2020
Amongst medieval Ashkenazic sages we find a thought provoking ruling, “Tishah Be-Av is a Holiday”... more Amongst medieval Ashkenazic sages we find a thought provoking ruling, “Tishah Be-Av is a Holiday” (Tishah Be-Av Ikri Moed). This ruling is is adduced by these sages as the rationale for some halakhot pertaining to Tishah Be-Av. The halakhot rulings in and of themselves are not problematic; they lend themselves to explanations that are congruent with Tishah Be-Av. The problem hereby presented is that the claim, “Tishah Be-Av is a holiday,” seems to be quite contradictory to our understanding of Tishah Be-Av as a day of national tragic mourning. In what follows, two questions will be addressed:
1. What is the source and rationale for proclaiming this ruling “Tishah Be-Av is a holiday,”? I will try to show that this ruling came in wake of the crusade massacres against the Jews in Europe.
2. In what way can this ruling be justified? How can Tishah Be-Av, the paragon of Jewish tragedy, have any characteristics of a holiday? I will try to delineate three areas of positive outcome or results of the destruction which could perhaps justify seeing an aspect of holiday in Tishah Be-av.
Hama`yan, 2018
In today`s world of psychologically engineered advertisements, it is almost a platitude that cons... more In today`s world of psychologically engineered advertisements, it is almost a platitude that consumers respond favorably to advertising messages that are congruent with their culture, and reward advertisers who understand their culture and tailor their ads to reflect its values. Providers wishing to maximize the effect of their advertising investment will research the culture, beliefs and religion of their target consumers and draft their advertisements accordingly.
In this paper, I undertake the reverse process. An attempt will be made to infer values and beliefs of the advertisers and their perception of their target consumers` values, based on the content of their advertisements. Advertisements from two separate charitable funds calling for donations will be reviewed. This analysis will attempt to uncover which, if any, social or halachic values are being tacitly presented to the consumers; the contention being that the advertisers, i.e. the charitable funds assume that their contributors uphold these values in particular and are therefore expected to best respond to them. The results will show that each charitable fund is indeed addressing an audience with markedly different values that determine their charity giving.
Hama`yan, 2018
The Priestly blessing – Divine or Man-made?
A close reading of the verses describing the Priestl... more The Priestly blessing – Divine or Man-made?
A close reading of the verses describing the Priestly Blessing (Num. 6: 22-27) yields two distinct ways to understand the mechanics of the Priestly Blessing. 1) It is a Divine blessing, the Kohen acts merely and solely as a vehicle to transmit the blessing from origin to destination. 2) The Kohen has an active role in the blessing, He receives the blessing from Divine source, but then retransmits it as his own, to its destination. We further suggest that both options are in fact correct and ordinarily occur in the Priestly Blessing. We then analyze and develop Halachic ramifications of such a two-tiered Priestly Blessing.
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Papers by Moshe A Pinchuk
1. The two manuscripts are basically identical. I am not aware of any other two Yerushalmi ms. that are so close over such a large amount of text.
2. There are a significant number of unique idiosyncrasies that are shared by Bologna and Leiden which we do not find in other places. The cumulative effect is weighty.
3. The paucity of Yerushalmi ms. in general, serves as a Razor of Occam when considering the possibility of the existence of an additional Yerushalmi ms. in between Bologna and Leiden.
These considerations led me to conclude that Bologna may possibly be the vorlage of Leiden.
However, there are opposite considerations:
A. There are a number of deviations between Leiden and Bologna that I am presently unable to account for if Bologna is the vorlage of Leiden. One firm unexplained deviation would suffice to disprove the above conclusion.
B. Perani has shown that Bologna Nezikin and Moed are both part of a single manuscript. If so, a similar analysis of the Nezikin ms. must be performed and must yield the same results as the present analysis of Bologna Moed.
The contribution of this article is twofold: I wish to draw attention to a sugya that has not yet been adduced in this discussion. The sugya appears in both Talmudim, the Babylonian version clearly gives preference to the “O`ker Harim”, while the Yerushalmi clearly gives preference to the “Sinai”.
Furthermore, I wish to widen the scope of the discussion to include Halachic sugyot as well. A group of halachic sugyot with parallels in Yerushalmi is analyzed. It would seem that in their later strata (that does not appear in Yerushalmi) clear preference is given to the “Sevara” a tool par-excellence of the ““O`ker Harim”, this preference is absent in the Yerushalmi parallels. This phenomenon is consistent with Tropper’s claim that this preference became felt only in later strata of Bavli.
Judaism was almost never a proselyting religion and typically discouraged and avoided potential converts. Is this also the attitude toward the Maternal non-Jew? One could suggest that a Paternal Non-Jew indeed has no affinity or bond to the Jewish nation. Such a convert would be a newcomer. A Maternal Non-Jew, on the other hand, already has some connection and bond to the Jewish nation, his father is Jewish. His conversion could be considered a homecoming, a return of Jewish seed to the fold. Such a posture would have a favorable effect on the motivation of Jewish society to embrace and encourage such converts and conversions.
One of the current trends in the history of medicine is the attempt to identify and reveal the sources from which the Talmudic sages acquired their medical knowledge. A general pattern which seems to be emerging is that sages of the Western Yerushalmi are influenced from Hippocratic sources, whereas sages of the Eastern Bavli show signs of influence from Eastern medicinal sources as well.
In this article we will be analyzing two sugyot. The first sugya concerns a situation in which a minor or fetus are endangering another human being. This discussion appears in both Bavli and Yerushalmi. We will show that the Yerushalmi`s discussion is influenced by Hippocratic theory, whereas the Bavli’s discussion may be influenced by medical theories of eastern provenance. These influences are expressed in the halachic argumentation of each Talmud, and in turn clarify the difference between the Bavli’s argument versus the Yerushalmi`s argument. This difference has eluded generations of Yerushalmi exegetes. The second sugya is the Wine barrel virginity test; this test appears twice in the Bavli, but not once in the Yerushalmi. It will be demonstrated that in contrast to prevalent scholarly opinion, it is highly doubtful that this test could be derived from either Hippocratic or Mesopotamic fertility tests, and therefore cannot serve as an example of Hippocratic influence in the Bavli.
We describe exactly such a database. In particular, the method applied to create this database is explained, with its strengths and weaknesses. The various search options that can be applied to this database are also discussed
Conference Presentations by Moshe A Pinchuk
In this paper I will show an instance of Hippocratic influence on Yerushalmi childbirth theory as opposed to the influence of Eastern or later medical theories on the childbirth theory in the Babylonian Talmud. A further novelty of this example will be to show how both talmuds, despite their radically opposing medical understanding of parturition, reach identical legal and ethical conclusions concerning embryotomy in case of acute dystocia. Their opinions may however diverge in other cases such as a person falling and endangering another ion the ground.
Rabbinic Papers by Moshe A Pinchuk
A comment from Harav Hagaon Shaul Alter and my reply is appended at the end of this paper.
1. What is the source and rationale for proclaiming this ruling “Tishah Be-Av is a holiday,”? I will try to show that this ruling came in wake of the crusade massacres against the Jews in Europe.
2. In what way can this ruling be justified? How can Tishah Be-Av, the paragon of Jewish tragedy, have any characteristics of a holiday? I will try to delineate three areas of positive outcome or results of the destruction which could perhaps justify seeing an aspect of holiday in Tishah Be-av.
In this paper, I undertake the reverse process. An attempt will be made to infer values and beliefs of the advertisers and their perception of their target consumers` values, based on the content of their advertisements. Advertisements from two separate charitable funds calling for donations will be reviewed. This analysis will attempt to uncover which, if any, social or halachic values are being tacitly presented to the consumers; the contention being that the advertisers, i.e. the charitable funds assume that their contributors uphold these values in particular and are therefore expected to best respond to them. The results will show that each charitable fund is indeed addressing an audience with markedly different values that determine their charity giving.
A close reading of the verses describing the Priestly Blessing (Num. 6: 22-27) yields two distinct ways to understand the mechanics of the Priestly Blessing. 1) It is a Divine blessing, the Kohen acts merely and solely as a vehicle to transmit the blessing from origin to destination. 2) The Kohen has an active role in the blessing, He receives the blessing from Divine source, but then retransmits it as his own, to its destination. We further suggest that both options are in fact correct and ordinarily occur in the Priestly Blessing. We then analyze and develop Halachic ramifications of such a two-tiered Priestly Blessing.
1. The two manuscripts are basically identical. I am not aware of any other two Yerushalmi ms. that are so close over such a large amount of text.
2. There are a significant number of unique idiosyncrasies that are shared by Bologna and Leiden which we do not find in other places. The cumulative effect is weighty.
3. The paucity of Yerushalmi ms. in general, serves as a Razor of Occam when considering the possibility of the existence of an additional Yerushalmi ms. in between Bologna and Leiden.
These considerations led me to conclude that Bologna may possibly be the vorlage of Leiden.
However, there are opposite considerations:
A. There are a number of deviations between Leiden and Bologna that I am presently unable to account for if Bologna is the vorlage of Leiden. One firm unexplained deviation would suffice to disprove the above conclusion.
B. Perani has shown that Bologna Nezikin and Moed are both part of a single manuscript. If so, a similar analysis of the Nezikin ms. must be performed and must yield the same results as the present analysis of Bologna Moed.
The contribution of this article is twofold: I wish to draw attention to a sugya that has not yet been adduced in this discussion. The sugya appears in both Talmudim, the Babylonian version clearly gives preference to the “O`ker Harim”, while the Yerushalmi clearly gives preference to the “Sinai”.
Furthermore, I wish to widen the scope of the discussion to include Halachic sugyot as well. A group of halachic sugyot with parallels in Yerushalmi is analyzed. It would seem that in their later strata (that does not appear in Yerushalmi) clear preference is given to the “Sevara” a tool par-excellence of the ““O`ker Harim”, this preference is absent in the Yerushalmi parallels. This phenomenon is consistent with Tropper’s claim that this preference became felt only in later strata of Bavli.
Judaism was almost never a proselyting religion and typically discouraged and avoided potential converts. Is this also the attitude toward the Maternal non-Jew? One could suggest that a Paternal Non-Jew indeed has no affinity or bond to the Jewish nation. Such a convert would be a newcomer. A Maternal Non-Jew, on the other hand, already has some connection and bond to the Jewish nation, his father is Jewish. His conversion could be considered a homecoming, a return of Jewish seed to the fold. Such a posture would have a favorable effect on the motivation of Jewish society to embrace and encourage such converts and conversions.
One of the current trends in the history of medicine is the attempt to identify and reveal the sources from which the Talmudic sages acquired their medical knowledge. A general pattern which seems to be emerging is that sages of the Western Yerushalmi are influenced from Hippocratic sources, whereas sages of the Eastern Bavli show signs of influence from Eastern medicinal sources as well.
In this article we will be analyzing two sugyot. The first sugya concerns a situation in which a minor or fetus are endangering another human being. This discussion appears in both Bavli and Yerushalmi. We will show that the Yerushalmi`s discussion is influenced by Hippocratic theory, whereas the Bavli’s discussion may be influenced by medical theories of eastern provenance. These influences are expressed in the halachic argumentation of each Talmud, and in turn clarify the difference between the Bavli’s argument versus the Yerushalmi`s argument. This difference has eluded generations of Yerushalmi exegetes. The second sugya is the Wine barrel virginity test; this test appears twice in the Bavli, but not once in the Yerushalmi. It will be demonstrated that in contrast to prevalent scholarly opinion, it is highly doubtful that this test could be derived from either Hippocratic or Mesopotamic fertility tests, and therefore cannot serve as an example of Hippocratic influence in the Bavli.
We describe exactly such a database. In particular, the method applied to create this database is explained, with its strengths and weaknesses. The various search options that can be applied to this database are also discussed
In this paper I will show an instance of Hippocratic influence on Yerushalmi childbirth theory as opposed to the influence of Eastern or later medical theories on the childbirth theory in the Babylonian Talmud. A further novelty of this example will be to show how both talmuds, despite their radically opposing medical understanding of parturition, reach identical legal and ethical conclusions concerning embryotomy in case of acute dystocia. Their opinions may however diverge in other cases such as a person falling and endangering another ion the ground.
A comment from Harav Hagaon Shaul Alter and my reply is appended at the end of this paper.
1. What is the source and rationale for proclaiming this ruling “Tishah Be-Av is a holiday,”? I will try to show that this ruling came in wake of the crusade massacres against the Jews in Europe.
2. In what way can this ruling be justified? How can Tishah Be-Av, the paragon of Jewish tragedy, have any characteristics of a holiday? I will try to delineate three areas of positive outcome or results of the destruction which could perhaps justify seeing an aspect of holiday in Tishah Be-av.
In this paper, I undertake the reverse process. An attempt will be made to infer values and beliefs of the advertisers and their perception of their target consumers` values, based on the content of their advertisements. Advertisements from two separate charitable funds calling for donations will be reviewed. This analysis will attempt to uncover which, if any, social or halachic values are being tacitly presented to the consumers; the contention being that the advertisers, i.e. the charitable funds assume that their contributors uphold these values in particular and are therefore expected to best respond to them. The results will show that each charitable fund is indeed addressing an audience with markedly different values that determine their charity giving.
A close reading of the verses describing the Priestly Blessing (Num. 6: 22-27) yields two distinct ways to understand the mechanics of the Priestly Blessing. 1) It is a Divine blessing, the Kohen acts merely and solely as a vehicle to transmit the blessing from origin to destination. 2) The Kohen has an active role in the blessing, He receives the blessing from Divine source, but then retransmits it as his own, to its destination. We further suggest that both options are in fact correct and ordinarily occur in the Priestly Blessing. We then analyze and develop Halachic ramifications of such a two-tiered Priestly Blessing.
Profound cultural differences between the Jewish and Greek cultures have contributed to Agatharchides` ‘oversight’ and blinded him to the similarity between the Jewish devotion to the Sabbath and the Dorian devotion to the Carneia. The seven-day week is a purely abstract scheme. This entails that its origins must be conventional and cultural. The seven day scheme ending with a day of rest fits neatly and logically into the Jewish story of creation. However it makes no sense whatsoever in the Greek story of creation. Similarly, the concept of rest (and not waging war) on the Sabbath in recognition of G-d resting from creation on the seventh day are trivial according to the Jewish story of creation but seem ludicrous according to the Greek story of creation. Agatharchides was not criticizing the idea of devotion to a festival of the deity, he was criticizing the concept of Sabbath as such a festival.