Between the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds: Accounting for Halakhic Difference in Selected Sugyot from Tractate Avodah Zara

In this book, Hayes addresses the central concern in talmudic studies over the genesis of halakhic (legal) divergence between the Talmuds produced by the Palestinian rabbinic community (c. 370 C.E.) and the Babylonian rabbinic community (c. 650 C.E.). Hayes analyzes selected divergences between parallel passages of the two Talmuds. Proceeding on a case-by-case basis, she considers whether external influences (cultural or regional differences), internal factors (textual, hermeneutical, or dialectical), or some intersection of the two best accounts for the differences.
This book explores the degree to which and the manner in which legal differences between the two Talmuds may be utilized for the purposes of historical reconstruction of talmudic culture. The vast complex of Jewish religious and civil law at the close of late antiquity is contained in two great collective works: the Babylonian Talmud (the Bavli) and its smaller, more concise counterpart, the Palestinian Talmud (the Yerushalmi). At the base of the two Talmuds stands the Mishnah, a legal compendium edited, it is thought, by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi around 220 C.E. and containing the traditions of Palestinian sages (tannaim; sing. = tanna) who flourished after the destruction of the temple until the early third century.