בין מגילות כיתתיות לספרות חז"ל: ניגוד, דמיון והקבלה

The article deals with several cases that illustrate the manifold relationships between the corpus of the so-called sectarian scrolls from Qumran (including CD) and rabbinic literature, in both halakhic and theological matters. In one case, the author contends that sectarian passages react to a midrash that is known to us only from rabbinic literature; in some cases, an integrative study of the two corpora is crucial for interpreting the texts and their settings. In other cases, however, similar traditions in both the scrolls and passages of rabbinic literature seem to be independent parallels pertaining to the same issues; but even in these cases, a comparative study of the two corpora and their inner dynamics is often instructive for the understanding of the concerns and viewpoints of each. The main issues dealt with in the article are: I Halakhah: (1) The polemic concerning the legitimacy of marrying one’s niece. (2) The privileges of priests: priority in meals; the priest’s role in eating and/or uttering the blessing before the meal; dynamics of social hierarchy in the scrolls and in rabbinic literature. (3) The minimal quorum of ten people for constituting a community; the biblical proof-texts suggested for this at Qumran; the rules concerning the idolatrous city (עיר הנידחת) that are connected to this issue at Qumran. II Theology: the striking similarity between the phraseology of the concluding unit of Seder Olam (chapter 30) and passages in the sectarian scrolls.