Roman Officers Learn Torah
It once happened that the wicked [Roman] government dispatched two officers to learn Torah from Rabban Gamaliel. They learned from him Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud, and Aggadah. At the end, they said to him, “Your entire Torah is pleasant and praiseworthy except for these [inequitable] rulings which you say:
An Israelite woman may not serve as…
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In the tradition of the biblical books of Daniel and Jonah, the rabbis occasionally fantasize about their enemy’s recognition of the Jewish God and admiration for Jewish tradition. This passage from the Palestinian Talmud contains a fanciful tale in which Roman officers study and praise the Torah and inspire improvements to rabbinic law.
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Related Guide
Real and Imagined "Others" in Ancient Jewish Literature
4th Century BCE–6th Century CE
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