Naftali S. Cohn teaches religion at Concordia University in Montreal.

"A learned, nuanced, and well-written study of an important theme in a foundational text of rabbinic Judaism. Cohn shows that we must look outside rabbinic literature if we are to place the Mishnah in a meaningful context. Well done."-Shaye J. D. Cohen, Harvard University

• Notes on UsageIntroduction: The Narration of Temple Ritual as Rabbinic Memory in the Late Second or Early Third CenturyChapter 1. Rabbis as Jurists of Judaean Ritual Law and Competing Claims for AuthorityChapter 2. The Temple, the Great Court, and the Rabbinic Invention of the PastChapter 3. Narrative Form and Rabbinic AuthorityChapter 4. Constructing Sacred SpaceChapter 5. The Mishnah in the Context of a Wider Judaean, Christian, and Roman Temple DiscourseConclusion: The Memory of the Temple and the Making of the RabbisAppendix A: The Mishnah's Temple Ritual Narratives and Court-Centered Ritual NarrativesAppendix B: Mishnaic Narratives in Which a Rabbi or Rabbis Issue an Opinion with Respect to a CaseNotesBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments

Naftali S. Cohn teaches religion at Concordia University in Montreal.

"A learned, nuanced, and well-written study of an important theme in a foundational text of rabbinic Judaism. Cohn shows that we must look outside rabbinic literature if we are to place the Mishnah in a meaningful context. Well done."-Shaye J. D. Cohen, Harvard University

• Notes on UsageIntroduction: The Narration of Temple Ritual as Rabbinic Memory in the Late Second or Early Third CenturyChapter 1. Rabbis as Jurists of Judaean Ritual Law and Competing Claims for AuthorityChapter 2. The Temple, the Great Court, and the Rabbinic Invention of the PastChapter 3. Narrative Form and Rabbinic AuthorityChapter 4. Constructing Sacred SpaceChapter 5. The Mishnah in the Context of a Wider Judaean, Christian, and Roman Temple DiscourseConclusion: The Memory of the Temple and the Making of the RabbisAppendix A: The Mishnah's Temple Ritual Narratives and Court-Centered Ritual NarrativesAppendix B: Mishnaic Narratives in Which a Rabbi or Rabbis Issue an Opinion with Respect to a CaseNotesBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments

Naftali S. Cohn teaches religion at Concordia University in Montreal.

"A learned, nuanced, and well-written study of an important theme in a foundational text of rabbinic Judaism. Cohn shows that we must look outside rabbinic literature if we are to place the Mishnah in a meaningful context. Well done."-Shaye J. D. Cohen, Harvard University

• Notes on UsageIntroduction: The Narration of Temple Ritual as Rabbinic Memory in the Late Second or Early Third CenturyChapter 1. Rabbis as Jurists of Judaean Ritual Law and Competing Claims for AuthorityChapter 2. The Temple, the Great Court, and the Rabbinic Invention of the PastChapter 3. Narrative Form and Rabbinic AuthorityChapter 4. Constructing Sacred SpaceChapter 5. The Mishnah in the Context of a Wider Judaean, Christian, and Roman Temple DiscourseConclusion: The Memory of the Temple and the Making of the RabbisAppendix A: The Mishnah's Temple Ritual Narratives and Court-Centered Ritual NarrativesAppendix B: Mishnaic Narratives in Which a Rabbi or Rabbis Issue an Opinion with Respect to a CaseNotesBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments