A new study from the University of Haifa sheds light on a little-known chapter of ancient Mediterranean history: Jewish religious scholars in Late Antiquity were not only spiritual leaders, but also active participants in the booming wine industry of the Roman and Byzantine eras.
Published this week in the peer-reviewed Journal of Interdisciplinary History, the study reveals that rabbinic authorities — commonly known as the Talmudic sages — possessed detailed knowledge of viticulture and helped shape agricultural practices in the region that is now Israel. Their legal rulings on vineyard layout, planting methods, and wine production were closely aligned with broader Mediterranean traditions, including those of classical Greece and Rome.
Moreover, the findings underscore that religious law was flexible and responsive to social, economic, and environmental realities, the researchers said.
“The sages’ rulings were not detached from the realities in which they lived,” said Dr. Shulamit Miller of the University of Haifa’s Center for Mediterranean History. “On the contrary, they reflect an intimate familiarity with agricultural work. The sages fully understood the economic systems in which they operated and sought ways to allow Jewish farmers to remain part of the wine industry without compromising religious law.”
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