Description: The challenge of this book has been to rethink prevailing ideas about the social map of Jewish society during the Tannaitic period (70 C.E.-220 C.E.). New insights were made possible by applying anthropological theories and conceptual tools.
Review Quotes: A fascinating insight into the social structure and dynamics of the Tannaitic period . . . Dr. Ben-Zion creates an intriguing typology of the processes of identity formation, full of ambivalence, contradictions, and challenges. The book itself is well written, integrates theoretical and empirical material, and sheds light on a topic not hitherto examined from an anthropological point of view. In my opinion, it is an excellent example of the confluence of history and anthropology at the center of our discipline.--Eyal Ben-Ari, Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem