Prof. Stuart S. Miller is Professor Emeritus of Hebrew, History, and Judaic Studies at the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where he also served as chair of the Hebrew and Judaic Studies Section (“HEJS”) in the Department of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages and as Academic Director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life. Miller holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies and History from New York University, and is the author of Studies in the History and Traditions of Sepphoris (Brill, 1984); Sages and Commoners in Late Antique ’Erez Israel: A Philological Inquiry into Local Traditions in Talmud Yerushalmi (Mohr-Siebeck, 2006), and At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee (V&R 2015). He is presently preparing a sequel to his first book on Sepphoris (Tsippori).
Last Updated
May 19, 2023
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Jacob and Samson celebrate their marriages for seven days. The earliest mention of marriage blessings, however, is in the apocryphal book of Tobit and the Dead Sea Scrolls, both from the late second Temple times. 3, 5, 6 and even 7 blessings circulated in Jewish society before the rabbis formalized the series as the “Sheva Berakhot” by early medieval times. Their recitation by guests during the celebratory week was promoted by the rabbis as occasions to engage in an “act of lovingkindness” (gemilut ḥasadim).
Jacob and Samson celebrate their marriages for seven days. The earliest mention of marriage blessings, however, is in the apocryphal book of Tobit and the Dead Sea Scrolls, both from the late second Temple times. 3, 5, 6 and even 7 blessings circulated in Jewish society before the rabbis formalized the series as the “Sheva Berakhot” by early medieval times. Their recitation by guests during the celebratory week was promoted by the rabbis as occasions to engage in an “act of lovingkindness” (gemilut ḥasadim).
