PROFESSOR TZVEE ZAHAVY
Education
Brown University, Department of Religious Studies, Ph.D.
Yeshiva University, M.S., Jewish History
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, Ordination
Yeshiva College, B.A., Mathematics
Academic Employment
Professor, Classical and Near Eastern Studies, University of Minnesota
Professor. Philosophy and Religion, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Professor. Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Teaching Award and Courses
Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Minnesota
Introduction to Liturgy
Liturgy of the Days of Awe
Introduction to Religious Studies
World Religions
Comparative Religions
War and Peace in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Classical Hebrew (Directed Independent Study)
Graduate: Taboo and Purification in Antiquity
Graduate: Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire
Fellowships and Academic Awards
American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship and Grant-in-aid
Conference Grant for The Holocaust and the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities Stipend
Principal Investigator, IBM Advanced Education Project Grant, Section on Teaching Hebrew
Minnesota Humanities Commission Grant for Sephardic Heritage Course, coordinator
Distinguished Teaching Award, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota 1985
Wexner Foundation Institutional Grant, principal investigator
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture Fellowship
Award for Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship, Yeshiva University
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture Doctoral Dissertation Grant
National Foundation for Jewish Culture Doctoral Dissertation Grant
Tisch Foundation Fellowship and University Fellowship, Brown University
Pi Mu Epsilon Mathematics Honor Society
Publications
i. Books
The Traditions of Eleazar Ben Azariah, Scholars Press, Brown University Judaic Studies, no. 2, Missoula, 1977, xvi + 365 pp.
The Mishnaic Law of Blessings and Prayers: Tractate Berakhot, Brown University Judaic Studies 88, Atlanta, 1987, xi + 160 pp.
The Talmud of the Land of Israel: Tractate Berakhot, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1989, xvii + 373 pp.
Studies in Jewish Prayer, Studies in Judaism, University Press of America, Lanham, MD, 1990, 191 pp. [A Jewish Book Club Alternate Selection, 1992.]
The Talmud of Babylonia: An American Translation. XXX.A: Tractate Hullin. Chapters 1-2, Brown Judaic Studies. Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1992, xiv + 238 pp.
The Talmud of Babylonia: An American Translation. XXX.B: Tractate Hullin. Chapters 3-6, Brown Judaic Studies. Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1993, xiv + 295 pp.
The Talmud of Babylonia: An American Translation. XXX.C: Tractate Hullin. Chapters 7-12, Brown Judaic Studies. Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1994, xiv + 352 pp.
Co-authored with Jacob Neusner, How the Halakhah Unfolds: Hullin, Part One and Part Two, 2 volumes, UPA, 2010, 908 pp.
Books in print at Amazon: Consult the Amazon Author Page
The Book of Jewish Festival Prayers in English - the Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot Machzors
The Book of Jewish New Year Prayers in English - the Rosh Hashanah Machzor
The Book of Jewish Day of Atonement Prayers in English - the Yom Kippur Machzor
ii. Articles
"The Sabbath Code of Damascus Covenant X, 14 - XI, 18: Form Analytical and Redaction Critical Observations." Revue de Qumran, Paris, December, 1981
"Form Analysis of Mishnaic Sentences." In Computing in the Humanities, ed. P. Patton, D.C. Heath, Lexington Books, 1981, pp. 113-134 (with R. Brooks)
"A New Approach to Early Jewish Prayer." In History of Judaism: the Next Ten Years, ed. B. Bokser, Brown Judaic Studies 21, Scholars Press, Chico, CA., 1980, pp. 45-60.
"Sources for the Seasonal Ritual in the Third through Fifth Centuries," in Proceedings of the Ninth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, 1986. [Based on a paper delivered at the World Congress of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, August, 1985]
" Beruryah," "Joshua ben Hananiah," " Judah bar Ilai," "Meir," "Simeon bar Yohai," "Simeon ben Gamaliel," "Tarfon," "Yose ben Halafta." Articles for The Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. M. Eliade, The Free Press, Macmillan: New York, December, 1986.
" Kavvanah (Concentration) for Prayer in the Mishnah and the Talmud," in New Perspectives on Ancient Judaism, Lanham, 1987. [Based on a paper delivered December 2, 1985, at the Bar Ilan University Talmud Department, Departmental Seminar, Ramat Gan, Israel ]
"Altered States of Consciousness: Prayer in the Mishnah," The Reconstructionist, Vol. LIII, No. 6, April/May 1988.
"Three Stages in the Development of Early Rabbinic Prayer," in The Festschrift for Marvin Fox, Brown Judaic Studies, 1989, vol. I, pp. 233-265.
"Judaism, the Mishnaic Period," in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, New York, 1992, vol. III, pp. 1083-1089.
"The Politics of Piety: Social Conflict and the Emergence of Rabbinic Liturgy," in The Making of Jewish and Christian Worship, ed. L. Hoffman and P. Bradshaw, Notre Dame University Press, 1991. [Based on a paper presented at a Symposium at the University of Notre Dame, June, 1988.]
"Political and Social Dimensions in the Formation of Early Jewish Prayer: the Case of the Shema`," in the Proceedings of the Tenth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, Division C, Vol. 1, pp. 33-40, Jerusalem, 1990. [Based on a paper delivered at the World Congress of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, August, 1989]
" Biblical Theory and Criticism: Midrash and Medieval Commentary," in the Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism, 1994, pp. 81-84, and in the 2 nd edition (December 10, 2004)
Articles: Macmillan Dictionary of Biblical Judaism (65 entries): Abadim (tractate); Academy on High; Aha b. Rav; Aha of Shabha; Animals, Treatment of in Rabbinic Judaism; Balsam; Batlan; Beard and Shaving; Beggars and Begging; Birkat David; Birkat Geulah; Birkat Ha'aretz; Birkat Hahodesh; Birkat Haminim; Birkat Hamishpat; Birkat Hanehenim; Birkat Hashanim; Birkat Hashir; Birkat Hatov Vehametiv; Birkat Hatzadikim; Birkat Hazan; Birkat Hatanim; Birkat Yerushalaim; Evil eye, in Rabbinic Judaism; Fables, Rabbinic; Flogging; Gambling; Heqdesh; Jeremiah b. Abba; Lease, Rabbinic law of; Listes; Martyrs, ten; Me`ilah; Medicine, Talmudic; Mekilta of R. Simeon b. Yohai; Men of the Great Assembly; Mezuzah (tractate); Money lending; Monogamy and polygamy; Nations, the seventy; New Moon; Noahides; Oil, use in Rabbinic Period; Partnership; Property, Rabbinic law for lost; Qal vehomer; Sale, Talmudic law of; Sefer Torah (tractate); She'iltot; Shofarot; Sick, visiting; Simeon Hatimni; Simeon b. Shetah; Simeon b. Yohai; Takkanah; Tefillin (tractate); Triennial Cycle; Tzitzit (tractate); Wills; Wine; Zaddiq; 'Abot (tractate); 'Asmakta'; 'Ona'ah; 'Ones. NY, 1996
"The Predicament of the Postmodern American Jew," in Charles Selengut, ed., Jewish Identity in the Postmodern Age, St. Paul, 1999
"Piety" in The Encyclopedia of Judaism, Leiden and New York, 1999
“Jewish Piety,” in the Blackwell Reader in Judaism (Blackwell Readers) ed. Alan J. Avery-Peck, Jacob Neusner, Blackwell Publishing, Incorporated (December 1, 2000) and (Paperback - Feb 1, 2003)
“How Society Shaped the Liturgy of the Scribes, Priests and Rabbis,” in When Judaism and Christianity Began: Essays in Memory of Anthony J. Saldarini (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism) by Alan J. Avery-Peck (Editor), Daniel J. Harrington (Editor), Jacob Neusner (Editor), Brill Academic Publishers, (April 2004)
“In Search of the Logic of Judaism: From Talmudic Chaos to Halakhic Linearity,” in Judaic Logic, Judaism in Context, 2010
“Six People You Meet in the Synagogue: Visions of Social Order in Early Rabbinic Prayer,” in Judaic and Christian Visions of the Social Order, Studies in Religion and the Social Order, UPA, 2011
“Varieties of Religious Visualizations,” in A Legacy of Learning: Essays in Honor of Jacob Neusner (The Brill Reference Library of Judaism) by Alan J. Avery-Peck (Editor), Bruce Chilton (Editor), William Scott Green (Editor), Gary G. Porton (Editor), Brill, 2014
iii. Translations
"Tosefta Tractate Berakhot." Chapter one in The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. First Division. Zera`im, ed. J. Neusner and R. Sarason, KTAV, New York, 1986.
"Mishnah Tractate Berakhot." Chapter one in The Mishnah. A New American Translation, ed. J. Neusner, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1988 (with Alan Avery-Peck).
The Talmud of the Land of Israel: An Academic Commentary to the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions: Based on the Translation by Tzvee Zahavy, Jacob Neusner, South Florida Academic Commentary Ser., Scholars Press, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. (1998)
Part One: Mishnah-Tosefta Berakhot in The Law of Agriculture in the Mishnah and the Tosefta: Translation, Commentary, Theology. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1, the Ancient near East. ed. Jacob Neusner. Brill Academic Pub (November 1, 2005), pp. 399-574
Mishnah-Tosefta Hallah, Chapters two, three and four in The Law of Agriculture in the Mishnah and the Tosefta: Translation, Commentary, Theology. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1, the Ancient near East. ed. Jacob Neusner. Brill Academic Pub (November 1, 2005), pp. 2601-2626
iv. Scholarly Papers, Lectures and Colloquia
"SIX PEOPLE YOU MEET IN THE SYNAGOGUE: VISIONS OF SOCIAL ORDER IN EARLY RABBINIC PRAYER," Bard College, April, 2010
"The Idea of Halakhah in Judaism," at the International Conference of Mishpat Ivri and Talmudic Law, New York, February, 1995
"The Making of Halakhah in Judaism: From Chaotics to Linearity," at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Chicago, November, 1994
"Identification of Birds in the Talmud Tractate Hullin," at the Eleventh World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, 1993
"A Post-modern Reading of Three Contemporary Historians of Hellenistic and Early Rabbinic Judaism," at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Francisco, November, 1992.
"The Rhetoric of Rabbinic Ritual," at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Kansas City, November, 1991
Shanghai Judaic Studies Association, Chinese Institute for Peace and Development Studies, Institute for World History, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "Research on Judaism in late antiquity." July, 1991
Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing. "The development of Jewish prayer in the time of the Mishnah and Talmud." July, 1991
"A Rabbi Reviews Romans: A Response to Neil Elliot's, The Rhetoric of Romans: Argumentative Constraint and Strategy and Paul's Dialogue with Judaism." The Goodman Lecture in Jewish and Christian Thought, The College of St. Catherine, March, 1991
"Talmud and Taboo: Kosher Laws and Sexual Restrictions in the Talmud," at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, New Orleans, November, 1990
"Anne Frank Fights Back: A Dutch Response to the Radicalism of the Right." Panel presentation: Culture and the Radical Right. Symposium at the University of Minnesota, November, 1991
"Teaching Mishnah, Midrash and Talmud at the University," at the Meeting of the Mid-West Jewish Studies Association, Chicago, October, 1990. Published in Shofar, vol. 9, no. 3, Spring,1991, pp. 119-129
"The American Influence on God Language:" Seminar Presentation, Temple Israel, April, 1990, co-sponsored by Minnesota Humanities Commission
"Historical Dimensions of the Formation of the Prayer of Eighteen Blessings," at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Anaheim, November, 1989
"From History to Form Criticism and Back: The Study of Jewish Prayer," at the Inaugural Meeting of the Mid-West Jewish Studies Association, Chicago, September, 1989
"It is not in Heaven: Judaic Systems, Laws and Discordant Discourses," submitted for publication in Religion and Law, ed. Bruce Lincoln. [Based on a paper presented, Conference on Religious Law: the Construction of Law as Sacred Discourse, University of Minnesota, May, 1989.]
"Judaism and Memories: Systemic Representations of the Holocaust," keynote address, Conference on the Effects of the Holocaust on the Humanities, University of Minnesota, March, 1989.
"On An Apocalyptic Tone Recently Adopted in Orthodox Judaism." Association for Jewish Studies Annual Meeting, December 15, 1987. Published as an Occasional Paper of the Center for Jewish Studies, University of Minnesota, 1988
"The Methodology of the American School of Talmudic Research." Tel Aviv University, June, 1987. Published as an Occasional Paper of the Center for Jewish Studies, University of Minnesota, 1987
"Rabbinic Prayer in the Time of Early Christianity." Paper read at the Annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Chicago, December, 1984
"Jewish Law and Jewish Life." Lyman Coleman Lecture, Easton College, Lafayette, PA. March, 1982
"Did Jesus Pray as a Jew?" Jay Phillips Lecture, St. John's University, Collegeville. December, 1981
"Hellenistic Judaism." Temple of Aaron Lecture Series, St. Paul, MN
"Rabbinic Theories of Ritual as a Mirror of Social Change." Invited paper delivered at the XIV International Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions. August, 1980
"The Rabbinic Repackaging of Scripture in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Paradigms of Biblical Exegesis." Invited paper, Program in Jewish Studies, University of California at San Diego and guest colloquium University of California at Berkeley. November, 1980
"Dissonance and Resolution in the Talmud." Colloquium of the College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota. May, 1980
"Scholarship on Judaism after 70 C.E." Invited paper, Spring Conference on Religion, AAR/SBL. Luther-Northwestern Theological Seminaries. April, 1978
" Babylonia: The Flowering of Rabbinic Judaism." October, 1978. "Rabbinic Judaism and Philosophy." November, 1975. Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
v. Reviews of Scholarship
Philo Judaeus: His Universe of Discourse. Beitraege zur erforschung des alten testaments und des antiken Judentums. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1995 by Naomi G. Cohen, for H-Judaic, June, 1997
Parables in Midrash. Narrative and Exegesis in Rabbinic Literature, by David Stern, in Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 61, no. 3, Fall, 1993, pp. 615-618.
Intertextuality and the Reading of Midrash, by Daniel Boyarin, in Critical Review of Books in Religion, vol. 5, 1992, pp. 356-359.
Early Rabbinic Writings, by Hyam Maccoby, in Critical Review of Books in Religion, 1991, pp. 368-70.
The Three Crowns: Structures of Communal Politics in Early Rabbinic Jewry, by Stuart A. Cohen, in Shofar, vol. 10, no. 3, Spring, 1992, pp. 157-159, and in Critical Review of Books in Religion, vol. 5, 1992, pp.361-363.
From Tradition to Commentary: Torah and Its Interpretation in the Midrash Sifre to Deuteronomy, in Shofar, vol. 10, no. 3, Spring, 1992, pp. 159-162.
Jewish Petitionary Prayer: A Theological Exploration, by Daniel Cohn-Sherbok, in Religious Studies Review, vol. 17, number 2, April, 1991, p. 174
Jacob Neusner, A History of the Mishnaic Law of Damages. Part 1, Baba Qamma: Translation and Explanation; Part 2, Baba Mesia: Translation and Explanation; Part 3, Baba Batra, Sanhedrin, Makkot: Translation and Explanation; Part 4, Shebuot, Eduyot, Abodah Zarah, Abot, Horayot: Translation and Explanation; Part 5, The Mishnaic System of Damages (SJLA 35; Leiden: Brill, 1983-5), for the Catholic Biblical Quarterly.
Methodology in the Academic Study of Judaism, Zev Garber, ed., Studies in Judaism. University Press of America: Lanham, Md., 1987, for Religious Studies Review.
Lawrence A. Hoffman, Beyond the Text: A Holistic Approach to Liturgy, Jewish Literature and Culture Series. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1987, for Religious Studies Review.
Frederic Manns, La Priere d'Israel a l'Heure de Jesus, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Analecta, n. 22. Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press, 1987, for Religious Studies Review.
J. Neusner, In Search of Talmudic Biography: The Problem of the Attributed Saying, Brown Judaic Studies, 70. Chico: Scholars, 1984, and J. Neusner, The Peripatetic Saying: The Problem of the Thrice-Told Tale in Talmudic Literature, Brown Judaic Studies, 89. Chico: Scholars, 1985. The Journal of Biblical Literature, 1987
S. S. Miller, Studies in the History and Traditions of Sepphoris, SJLA 37; Brill: Leiden, 1984. In The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1987
H. W. Basser, Midrashic Interpretation of the Song of Moses. In the Journal of Biblical Literature, 106, no.1, March, 1987, pp. 115-117.
J. Neusner, A History of the Mishnaic Law of Appointed Times. Part I, Shabbat: Translation and Explanation. Leiden, 1981. In The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 46, 1984, pp. 174-175.
A. Peck, The Priestly Gift in Mishnah: A Study of Tractate Terumot. In The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 45, 1983, pp. 696-697.
S. Ravidowicz, Studies in Jewish Thought. In Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. xiv, no. 2, June, 1977.
L. Davidowicz, The Jewish Presence. In New Review of Books and Religion, Vol. ii, no. 9, May, 1978.
D.R.G. Beattie, Jewish Exegesis of the Book of Ruth in Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. xcviii, no. 1, March, 1979.
vi. Multimedia Curricular Materials
Video Tape: "Ancient Synagogues Explored." Half hour video tape. Photography and script by Tzvee Zahavy. Edited with assistance from Media Resources, at the Rarig Center, University of Minnesota. 1984.
Study Guide: "Modern Judaism." Study guide for Continuing Education and Extension, University of Minnesota.
Study Guide: "Introduction to Judaism: Civilization and the Jews." Study guide for Television Independent Study, University of Minnesota. In conjunction with the PBS series, "Heritage: Civilization and the Jews." Fall, 1984; revised Winter, 1986 and Spring, 1986
Study Guide: " Readings in Judaism and Jewish History." Historical survey and collected essays used in conjunction with the course, "Jewish Studies 3034: Introduction to Judaism." Revised and expanded, 1988.
Video Tape: "Interviews with Twin Cities Jewish Leaders." Two hour video taped interview sessions conducted by Tzvee Zahavy. Produced and edited with assistance from Media Resources, at the Rarig Center, University of Minnesota, summer, 1985.
Textbook: Extension Independent Study: Study Guide, Introduction to Judaism, 122 pp., 1990
Study Guides: "Introduction to Classical Hebrew. I, II, and III" Extension Independent Study, University of Minnesota, 1992
Designer: display of the Joss Collection of Jewish Art and Artifacts, 1991-1993
vii. Computer Assisted Instruction: Software and Related Publications
"MILIM (Multi-International Language Instruction Module): Vocabulary Drill for Foreign Language Instruction." Published by IBM WiscWare, University of Wisconsin, by Gamma Productions, and by Exceller Software.
"MILIM-Windows: A Microsoft Windows compatible Vocabulary Drill for Foreign Language Instruction." Published by IBM WiscWare, and Exceller Software.
"VERBS: Drill and Instruction for Hebrew Language Acquisition." Published by Exceller Software.
Co-authored (with Prof. Gary Jahn): "SENTENCES -- a language instruction software environment." Published by Exceller Software.
"A Judaica Scholar's Introduction to Computer Communications," Jewish Studies Network, Spring, 1991, volume 5, number 1, pp. 8-10.
"CD-ROM Computer Resources: Rabbinic Literature and Bibles," Religious Studies News, November, 1990, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 40-45. Also in CD-ROM Enduser and AJS Newsletter.
"Demonstration and Theory of Computer-aided-instruction: Milim, Verbs, Sentences," at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, New Orleans, November, 1990.
Chair, Editorial Committee of the international Jewish Studies listserver journal, H-Judaic, an H-net list based at the University of Illinois (UICVM) (1400+ subscribers).
"Microcomputing and Jewish Studies," Review Article, Association for Jewish Studies Review, Spring, 1989.
"Computer-aided-instruction for Hebrew (and Other Less Commonly Taught Languages)," IBM Academic Computing Conference, Anaheim, CA, June, 1989.
"What can we learn from the Humanities about computers?" Collegiate Microcomputer, Vol. V, No. 3, August, 1987.
"Computers, Myth and Culture," in The Paradigm Exchange, Minneapolis, 1987. [Based on a paper read at the Sixth Colloquium of Humanities and Arts, Univ. of Minn., Feb., 1985]
"Homebrew Hebrew: Using the Microcomputer from Right to Left," Collegiate Microcomputer, Vol. V, no. 1, February, 1987. [Based on a paper read at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Chicago, December, 1984]