Chaim Talbi

My research domain is the investigation of Jewish customs and their evolution in traditional communities. In order to reach this goal one needs to trace the origins of each law and custom, follow their development in a diachronic way and describe how they have been practiced in the Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Italian, Yemenite, Aleppo, Morocco, and Cochin communities. The researcher has to identify the ancient sources of where and how the custom arose, attempting to explain changes that took place over the ages. A careful check of all Talmudic and Rabbinic literature is required, including recent studies of Jewish Customs. The researcher must combine historical, social and literary methodology in order to decipher the innermost meaning of customs. I started teaching in the School of Basic Jewish Studies, Ber-Ilan University, in 1986.