Editing Jacob Neusner (section)

== Scholarship ==

Neusner's research centered on [[rabbinic Judaism]] of the [[Mishna]]ic and [[Talmud]]ic eras. His work focused on bringing the study of rabbinical text into nonreligious educational institutions and treating them as non-religious documents.<ref name=":2" />
Neusner's five-volume ''History of the Jews in Babylonia'', published between 1965 and 1969, is said to be the first to consider the [[Babylonian Talmud]] in its Iranian context.<ref name=":1" /> Neusner studied [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Middle Persian]] to do so.<ref name=":1" />

Neusner, with his contemporaries, translated into English nearly the entire Rabbinic canon.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grimes |first1=William |title=Jacob Neusner, Judaic Scholar Who Forged Interfaith Bonds, Dies at 84 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/us/jacob-neusner-judaic-scholar-who-forged-interfaith-bonds-dies-at-84.html |access-date=24 February 2019 |agency=The New York Times |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 11, 2016}}</ref> This work has opened up many Rabbinic documents to scholars of other fields unfamiliar with [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], within the academic study of [[religion]], as well as in [[ancient history]], [[culture]] and [[Near East|Near]] and [[Middle Eastern Studies]].

In addition to his work on Rabbinic texts, Neusner was involved in [[Jewish Studies]] and [[Religious Studies]]. Neusner saw Judaism as "not particular but exemplary, and Jews not as special but (merely) interesting."<ref name=":2" />

=== Interfaith work ===
Neusner also wrote a number of works exploring the relationship of Judaism to other religions. His ''A Rabbi Talks with [[Jesus]]'' attempts to establish a religiously sound framework for [[Christian–Jewish reconciliation|Judaic-Christian interchange]]. It earned the praise of [[Pope Benedict XVI]] and the nickname "The Pope's Favorite Rabbi".<ref name=":0" /> In his book ''Jesus of Nazareth,'' Benedict referred to it as "by far the most important book for the Jewish-Christian dialogue in the last decade."<ref name=":1" />