The First Date in Megillat Taʿanit in Light of the Karaite Commentary on the Tabernacle Dedication
The first date in Megillat Taʿanit (hereafter MT) states: "From the new moon of Nisan until the eighth thereof the Tamid was established." According to the scholium attached to MT, this date was fixed in order to mark the victory of the Pharisees over the Sadducees in a dispute regarding t...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Penn Press
1992
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| In: |
The Jewish quarterly review
Year: 1992, Volume: 82, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 263-283 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The first date in Megillat Taʿanit (hereafter MT) states: "From the new moon of Nisan until the eighth thereof the Tamid was established." According to the scholium attached to MT, this date was fixed in order to mark the victory of the Pharisees over the Sadducees in a dispute regarding the character of the daily burnt offering (עולת התמיד). The halakhic interpretation given by the scholium seems to be of no historical value and does not shed light on the reason for the specific choice of the first eight days of Nisan to commemorate this victory. This study attempts to demonstrate that the Karaite commentary on the Torah dealing with the dedication of the Tabernacle proves that the first date in MT refers to this event and explains what prompted the Sages to fix the date of the first eight days of Nisan. The Karaite interpretation of the issue of the Tabernacle, which runs counter to the interpretation of the Sages, is founded, as I show, on Qumran halakhah, and the first date in MT thus reflects a controversy between the Pharisees and the Qumran sect, and not between Pharisees and Sadducees, as suggested in the scholium. Ibn Ezra, in his commentary on the dedication of the Tabernacle, followed the Karaite interpretation in nearly every point, including the date of the patriarchs' offerings. This last issue is inseparably linked to the matter of the Tabernacle dedication, and is therefore also discussed here. Examination of Ibn Ezra's commentary sheds light not only on the first date in MT but on the second date as well. |
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| ISSN: | 1553-0604 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Jewish quarterly review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1454860 |