Mishnah and Tosefta: A Synoptic Comparison of the Tractates Berakhaot and Shebiit.

AuthorGOLDBERG, ABRAHAM
PositionReview

Mishnah and Tosefta: A Synoptic Comparison of the Tractates Berakhaot and Shebiit. By ALBERDINA HOUTMAN. Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum, vol. 59. Tubingen: J. C. B. MOHR (PAUL SIEBECK). 1997. Pp. xv + 255, illustrations. DM 198.

Mishnah and Tosefta: A Synoptic Comparison of the Tractates Berakhaot and Shebiit. Appendix Volume, Synopsis of Tosefta and Mishnah Berakhot and Shebiit. By ALBERDINA HOUTMAN. Tubingen: J. C. B. MOHR (PAUL SIEBECK), 1996. Pp. iv + 92.

Very few critical problems in the study of Tannaitic literature have elicited so many differing and contradictory conclusions as that of the relationship between Mishna and Tosefta. It almost seems a natural assumption that a truly critical study of this relationship depends, first of all, upon at least a representative, if not complete, synopsis of Mishna and Tosefta. It is surprising that scholars who have worked on this problem have hardly attempted to present such a synopsis. Alberdina Houtman has indeed made a most welcome contribution by presenting us with a complete synoptic comparison of two unrelated tractates of the First Order: Berakhot and Shebiit. This indeed is a breakthrough, for only scattered discussions have appeared heretofore. What is more, she gives the Hebrew text according to the best available manuscripts, that of Kaufman for the Mishna and that of Vienna for the Tosefta. Most important of all, she has done something entirely new, and only possible in our age, developing a user-friendl y and multi-functional computer program for the preparation of her synopsis.

As the preparation of a computerized synopsis is what is completely new here, a short description of how it was organized is in place. It goes without saying that high intelligence and versatility are the prerequisites for such a program. Houtman devotes an entire chapter of her work to the role of the computer in the preparation of the texts. Although her work was made easier by use of the ChiWriter Hebrew word-processing program and the digitalized data from work already done at the Hebrew Language Academy in Jerusalem, there was a tremendous amount of original input, the details of which cannot be elaborated on here, all carefully thought out before the synopsis reached completion. This took a tremendous amount of time, perhaps even more than that required for preparing a synopsis without the use of a computer. Was it worthwhile?

Houtman argues that the time invested in entering the material in the computer and the development of appropriate programs was indeed...

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