“Research Refutes Thesis of Unified Diaspora in Ancient Jewry”
Hagahot notes the appearance of a new study by two Tel Aviv University scholars, Arye Edrei and Doron Mendels, “A Split Jewish Diaspora: Its Dramatic Consequences,” Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 16:2 (2007): 91-137, wherein the authors demonstrate that the Jewish diaspora in Europe basically disappeared after the destruction of the Second Temple. Probably, they felt cut off from the spiritual center in Jerusalem, and eventually melded into their host culture. This is very significant for medieval Jewish…
