In this class I look at the following issues:
- Why does Antigonus have a Greek name? Who was he named after? Is it permitted for a Jew to have a non-Jewish name?
- His statement in Pirkei Avot appears to contradict what we read in last week’s Torah reading. If it was already well known that the Torah was not to be taken literally, why did his students part ways with his theology and become Sadducees and Baitusees?
- What impact did the Sadducees and Baitusees have on modern Judaism?