Contents; Introduction; ONE: The Domains of Divine Revelation and Rabbinic Activity and Their Relationship; Part I: Institutional Authority of the Talmudic Sages; TWO: "The Judge in Charge at the Time": Rabbinic Authority as Divine Command; THREE: The Sages as the Sanhedrin; FOUR: Ordination: Standing in the Sandals of Moses; Part II: Personal Qualities of the Talmudic Sages; FIVE: The Rabbis as Experts; SIX: The Divinely Guided Sages; Part III: Rabbinic Authority as Authority Transformed; SEVEN: The Authority of Publicly Accepted Practice; EIGHT: The Authority of Texts
NINE: Rethinking Authority: Interpretive Communities and Forms of LifeConclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z
Summary
Examines the nature and sources of the authority accorded in Judaism to the Sages of the first five centuries CE, whose statements serve as the basis for Halakhah (Jewish law). Berger critiques the notion of their authority, the assumptions undergirding it and the implications that follow
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-213) and index
