David Berger, Persecution, Polemic, and Dialogue: Essays in Jewish-Christian Relations . Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2010. xiv, 437 pp.

women in tannaitic literature cannot simply be understood as coming from a lack of interest. Scholarly research on women in rabbinic literature has pointed out the rhetorical absence of women as a result of an active and deliberate process that Tal Ilan has so accurately labeled “silencing.” This silencing can be observed throughout tannaitic literature. Rosenblum himself notices that the Tannaim articulated a set of rules in an attempt to control a situation perceived to be potentially problematic. What he could have explored more profoundly is the obvious threat that the resource power of women concerning food preparation posed to the claimed tannaitic male hierarchy, turning it upside down. Through new rabbinic laws such as the later ‘eruv tavshilin, the rabbis regained their power over a female sphere of action. This rule was one tool that was used to “correct” the hierarchy between the sexes; although women could theoretically set the ‘eruv, it was by definition under the control of men. Women’s knowledge in food preparation was highly suspect to the rabbis and had to be silenced, particularly because food came to occupy such a central role, not only because of its nutritional function but also as a main component of Jewish identity. By linguistically silencing women, the Tannaim created—intentionally or not—the future basis for the exclusion of women, especially from the sacred realm of Judaism. The exclusion of women was an integral part of this new tannaitic identity construction, which Rosenblum so convincingly characterizes as Jewish, male, and rabbinic. Rosenblum’s book is an important scholarly contribution to the understanding of tannaitic literature and the themes of edible identity and the cross-cultural utility of the chef/sous-chef principle. Moreover, a good meal had to be tasty, but for a successful dinner one needed a beautifully set table. Rosenblum’s book is not just “tasty” in its “ingredients,” but is also very well written. The reader will not leave it until she or he gets to the dessert and will leave the table knowing that she or he will return to it.