Upcoming Lecture: Dead Sea Scrolls, Ancient and Modern
I will be presenting on the topic “Dead Sea Scrolls, Ancient and Modern” at Congregation Talmud Torah of Flatbush on Saturday night, November 17, 2012 at 8:00 PM.
Address:
1305 Coney Island Ave (between Aves I & J)
Brooklyn, New York 11230
Eruv and Sectarianism in Ancient Judaism: Related Prohibitions
Water Channel at Qumran
The prohibition found in Zadokite Fragments 11:1-2 of carrying water from a watercourse seems to presume that it is forbidden to carry on the Sabbath from domain to domain:
On the road, if he goes down to wash, let him drink where he stands, but let him not draw (water) into any vessel.
This text requires that someone who is in the public domain, that is, not in an enclosed area, must drink directly from a water source, since he is forbidden to draw water into any vessel. Mishnaic law permitted the drawing of water from a well within the private domain. An eruv would also permit drawing of water from a flowing watercourse. Under no circumstances could water be taken from a source in the public domain, according to the rabbis. M. Eruvin 10:6 allows one to drink in the public or private domain provided that the head and torso are in the same domain as the water. In the public domain, where water drawing was prohibited, the action permitted would be that of bending over and drinking directly with the mouth. This Mishnaic tradition accords completely with the Qumran halakhah. It is even… Continue reading
Eruv and Sectarianism in Ancient Judaism: Sectarian Prohibitions on Carrying from Domain to Domain
Cairo Genizah Fragment
The Zadokite Fragments (Damascus Document) 11:7-9 preserves the following prohibition:
No one shall carry (anything) from the house to the outside, or from the outside into (the) house. And if he is in the sukkah, let him not carry (anything) out from it or bring (anything) into it.
(cf. 4Q270 6 v 13-14 and 4Q271 5 i 3-5 for the same text.) We should note at the outset that this text, originally known from the Cairo genizah manuscript, is also preserved in two manuscripts found at Qumran. The first clause of this law is the prohibition of carrying from the private into the public domain or vice versa. From the wording, it is clear that this law constitutes a rephrasing of Jer. 17:21 and 22.
M. Shabbat 1:1 seems to be similarly based. Although this Mishnah is linguistically tied to the Jeremiah passage, the Jerusalem Talmud contains an argument about its derivation. Some amoraim persist in saying that the law stems from Exodus 36:6. This passage refers to Moses’ command to the people to stop bringing contributions for the building of the tabernacle. Clearly, this cannot be the origin of this law. This derivation may… Continue reading
