SELECTED REFORM RESPONSA

marriage with non-Jews was reflected in Josephus ’ tale of Joseph, who loved a pagan actress(Josephus , Antiquities XII, 4.6); he was eventually tricked into marrying the Jewish daughter of his own brother. Further evidence of mixed marriage is provided by some of the papyri(Tcherikover , Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews, p. 70). Those who left Judaism and probably were motivated by the desire to marry Gentiles were also vigorously denounced in Egypt by Philo (Moses 1, 147) and by the author of /// Maccabees (7:10fF).

Talmudic Period

The vast literature of the Talmud contains few discussions concerning mixed marriage. Each of the Biblical statements cited in the earlier section provided a basis for further development Every effort was made to create a protective wall against the outer pagan world and to shield Jews from contact with non-Jews . During the most restrictive periods, non-Jewish bread, wine, and oil were prohibited, and anything cooked by non-Jews could not be consumed by a Jew (Avoda Zara 35b-38a); virtually all contact with non-Jews was prohibited(Nid. 34a; Shab 16b; Avoda Zara 36b ). Naturally, this prohibition extended to casual sexual contact, and those who violated this injunction faced punishment without trial in the same fashion as imposed by Phinehas (Num. 25:7f, Avoda Zara 36b ). If the parties involved went further and actually married, they were subject to whipping (Avoda Zara 36b ; Kid. 6b; Yad, Isurei Bi-a 12.1).

Not all the Talmudic authorities and not all periods were as restrictive as those previously cited and, and the exchange of food, as well as social intercourse, with non-Jews was allowed but the basic wall of separation remained(Avoda Zara 57a, 58b, and 59a).

The most significant change made during this period was the declaration of invalidity of mixed marriages. This remained a dictum of rabbinic literature(Mishna , Kid. 6b, 68b). This Talmudic tractate

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