A bride without a blessing: A study in the redaction and content of Massekhet Kallah and its gemara.

摘要

Massekhet Kallah (MK) and the first two chapters of Kallah Rabbati (KR 1–2), which form a “gemara” style commentary on MK, are so-called Minor Tractates of the Babylonian Talmud (BT), although they are not part of BT and their relationship to that text is far from clear. While currently most scholars consider MK and KR 1–2 to have been redacted in the geonic period (ca. the eighth century CE), this study demonstrates that they derive from the amoraic period, with MK likely having been redacted in the third century and KR 1–2 likely in the fourth.; This dating was assessed by means of source-critical and linguistic analyses. All rabbinic parallels with MK and KR 1–2 were examined. Most of the statements in MK and KR 1–2 had parallels in BT, yet these parallels almost always manifested significant variants. As an example, only fifteen percent of parallel amoraic statements in BT and KR 1–2 shared the same attribution, with few if any of these variants being explainable as the result of scribal errors. These parallels revealed that BT cannot be considered the source for the material found in MK and KR 1–2 as had previously been assumed by many scholars. Instead, the study showed that KR 1–2 shared related sources with BT, and that MK was at times the direct and at other times the indirect source for BT.; A study of the content of MK was also undertaken. MK proved to be a carefully redacted text with well crafted transitions from topic to topic. Yet, at first sight, several of these topics seem entirely unrelated. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that each of the topics was in some way a consecrated object. For the redactors of MK, misuse of these sanctified objects results in physical harm being inflicted upon the bodies of the men and their offspring and, ultimately, in the removal of God's presence from the Jewish people. Proper interaction with these sanctified objects, on the other hand, merits healthy and wise children, a direct encounter with God, and, ultimately, world redemption.