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Simcha Gross

9 Oct, 10 tweets, 4 min read

Finished Dune, & just learned that Frank Herbert’s messianic like figure, the Kwisatz haderach, was inspired by the Jewish concept of Kefitzat haDerekh (קפיצת הדרך), "shortening the way," miraculously speedy travel between distant lands. A short thread. 1/8

The concept first appears in rabbinic literature. It typically explains biblical episodes of travel which appear to transpire too quickly for the distance covered (b. Sanhedrin 95a-b): "Our Rabbis taught: For three did the earth shrink..." 2/

In the medieval period, some Jews believed it was still possible for saintly figures to "shorten the way". In this context, a famous medieval anecdote about a miraculously traveling rabbi developed as a foundation myth for the rabbinic Jews in Spain. 3

Some background: In the early medieval period, as Babylonian rabbinic teachings, authority, and texts spread around the Jewish world, Jewish communities developed stories that directly connected them to the Babylonian rabbis and Babylonian rabbinic center. 4

In Spain a story circulated that the academy head (i.e. Gaon) Rav Natronai miraculously traveled from Babylonia to them. The Catalan Judah ben Barzilai writes: "R. Natronai Gaon..came to [Spain] from Babylonia by "shortening the way." He taught them Torah and then returned." 5

When the story was told in a Babylonian academy, Hai Gaon (d. 1038) opposed it as a fiction: "..the Spaniard tradition about Natronai.. perhaps some impostor came to them and said I am Natronai, for had Natronai been famous for such activities I would have heard of it!" 6/

Intriguingly, a fifteenth century manuscript (NYPL ms. Heb. 190) with magical formulae includes a spell to "shorten the way for a one-year distance." Apparently the ability to "shorten the way" had entered practical magical handbooks. 7/

Here, as throughout the work, Herbert makes creative use of various religious traditions but is not bound by them - his use of “shortening of the way” refers not to the ability to travel in space, but in time, to see future potential eventualities. 8/fin

@KristaNDalton

Thanks to @KristaNDalton for relaying the teachings of @akarjooravary, organized by @Historiographos.

Also, @cobbpasha !

For those interested in reading more, see the article here. jstor.org/stable/4075309….

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More from @Simcha_Gross

Simcha Gross

@Simcha_Gross

6 Sep

Discussing Sasanian royal reliefs this week, and I have to say, Sasanians knew that the best way to convey the idea that they trample on their foes... was to literally depict themselves trampling on their fallen foes. 1/4

The motif appears in the 1st Sasanian king Ardashir's investiture relief, where not only does he trample on the last Parthian king, but the god Ohrmazd similarly tramples on the evil spirit Ahriman! King & god are symmetrical, as by implication are the earthly and divine realms.2

A few years later, in a number of reliefs, Shapur depicts the emperors Philip and Valerian kneeling before him, as his horse tramples on the fallen Gordian III. 3/4

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Simcha Gross

@Simcha_Gross

19 Aug

New Publication Wednesday! Just received the printed version of a chapter I wrote entitled "A Long Overdue Farewell: The Purported Jewish Origins of Syriac Christianity." A thread. 1/35 (sorry for length!)

The chapter appears in the now published volume I coedited with Aaron Butts entitled "Jews and Syriac Christians: Intersections across the First Millennium," which attempts to showcase the burgeoning interest in various "intersections" between these communities. 2

As its title suggest, the article, my first major foray into history of scholarship, investigates the genealogy of scholarly interest in the Jewish origins of Syriac Christianity (= SC), a prevalent and persistent claim. 3

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Simcha Gross

@Simcha_Gross

19 Jun

In response to a question posted by a colleague, a short thread on Jewish and Christians seals in the Sasanian Empire. 1

First, a bit of background on Sasanian seals: thousands of Sasanian seals and sealings have been discovered, currently in museum and private collections, and they are varied in terms of the imagery and motifs they employ, and the inscriptions they possess. 2

The seal inscriptions offer invaluable evidence of Sasnaian administration throughout its provinces. Many official titles appear on the seals. In some cases, they put to rest longstanding debates about the empire, such as the quadripartite division instituted under Khusro. 3

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Simcha Gross

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20 May

The recent tragic news about the arson attack on the shrine of Mordechai and Esther in Hamadan, Iran, is a good occasion to reflect on the history of this site, a window into Jewish-Iranian identity through the ages. A thread. 1/23

timesofisrael.com/tomb-of-mordec…

Esther and Mordechai are of course the protagonists of the eponymous Scroll of Esther. The story is primarily situated in Susa, in Khuzistan, the administrative capital of the Achaemenids. However, the shrine is located in Hamadan to the North. 2/

The tomb is first attested in Benjamin of Tudela's 12th century travelogue, where he reports that in "Hamadan, which is the great city of Media, where there are 30,000 Israelites. Esther and Mordechai are buried there in front of a synagogue." 3/

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Simcha Gross

@Simcha_Gross

26 Apr

A thread on Jewish incantations, rituals, and anxieties, related to memory in late antiquity and the early medieval period. 1/24

There were two main incantations for improved memory and learning capacity, one known as “opening the heart”, and the other as “Prince of Torah” praxis. While the former has some parallels in other magical traditions, I know of no parallels to the latter. 2

The genre of Jewish memory spells known as “opening the heart” (Petiḥat Lev) are so named because they seek to “open the heart” of the client, that is, provide them with a spongier more acquisitive brain to facilitate their studies. 3

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Simcha Gross

@Simcha_Gross

5 Apr

The Passover Haggadah is a famously accretive text, and its history has increasingly become clear due to breathtaking discoveries, fascinating individuals, and the support of a variety of institutions. A thread. 1

The Haggadah is comprised of citations from rabbinic literature, late antique Jewish poetry, medieval additions, and many unprovenanced passages, including those that strongly resemble but are absent from rabbinic literature, and some that are entirely unique. 2

Yet despite the many layers, additions, and changes the Haggadah underwent over time, reconstructing the history of its development can be rather difficult. 3

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