“Talmudo-Mīmāṃsā: Towards a Science of Sacrifice” (Harvard Theological Review) - New Publication by Dr. Anand Mishra with Naphtali S. Meshel and Hillel Mali

Our assistant professor Dr. Anand Mishra, in collaboration with Naphtali S. Meshel (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Hillel Mali (New York University) published their most recent article Talmudo-Mīmāṃsā: Towards a Science of Sacrifice in the most recent volume of the Harvard Theological Review (Vol. 117, Issue 4).

The article explores the unique theoretical and analytical approaches to ritual sacrifice that developed within the Indian Mīmāṃsā tradition and the Jewish Talmudic tradition. Both literature traditions introduced sophisticated methods for analyzing sacrifice and conceptualizing the relationship between texts and practices. While comparative studies of Vedic/Brahmanical and biblical/Jewish sacrifices have been central to the modern study of religion, a detailed comparison of these internal “sciences of sacrifice” has not been conducted until now.

Focusing on two specific texts—the Jaimini-Mīmāṃsā-Sūtra and the Babylonian Talmud—the study examines their treatment of a similar issue: the handling of ritual byproducts. Within their respective commentarial traditions, these texts display striking similarities in dialectical methods, terminology, interpretive frameworks, and underlying thought structures, despite notable differences. The article also discusses potential factors contributing to this convergence and the broader implications of this comparative analysis.