A New Reading of the Three Dialogues in Mishnah Avodah Zarah

Abstract

Rabbi Benaya said: One should always dwell deep in mishnayot. For if he knocks, they will reveal to him-if [on the door of] study, study; if [on the door of] Aggadah, Aggadah." 1 Mishnah Avodah Zarah discusses and describes the laws pertaining to relationships between Jews and the Gentile world that they inhabit. It is also studded with narrative, dialogue and homily: approximately 20 percent of the tractate belongs to at least one of these genres. The combination of legal and non-legal material in this tractate makes the tractate a perfect starting point for any discussion of the complex relationships the rabbis had with Others around them and the laws they shaped for dealing with them and their world. Within the tractate there are three dialogue-stories between rabbis and Gentiles or between rabbis about Gentiles. These stories share various formal textual traits. First, they are dialogues. Second, they all begin with the verb shaal, which in this context has the technical mean