Here the late Raphael Patai (1910-1996) recreates the fascinating world
of Jewish seafaring from Noah's voyage through the Diaspora of late
antiquity. In a work of pioneering scholarship, Patai weaves together
Biblical stories, Talmudic lore, and Midrash literature to bring alive
the world of these ancient mariners. As he did in his highly acclaimed
book The Jewish Alchemists, Patai explores a subject that has never
before been investigated by scholars. Based on nearly sixty years of
research, beginning with study he undertook for his doctoral
dissertation, The Children of Noah is literally Patai's first book and
his last. It is a work of unsurpassed scholarship, but it is accessible
to general readers as well as scholars.
An abundance of evidence demonstrates the importance of the sea in the
lives of Jews throughout early recorded history. Jews built ships,
sailed them, fought wars in them, battled storms in them, and lost their
lives to the sea. Patai begins with the story of the deluge that is
found in Genesis and profiles Noah, the father of all shipbuilders and
seafarers. The sea, according to Patai's interpretation, can be seen as
an image of the manifestation of God's power, and he reflects on its
role in legends and tales of early times. The practical importance of
the sea also led to the development of practical institutions, and Patai
shows how Jewish seafaring had its own culture and how it influenced the
cultures of Mediterranean life as well. Of course, Jewish sailors were
subject to the same rabbinical laws as Jews who never set sail, and
Patai describes how they went to extreme lengths to remain in adherence,
even getting special emendations of laws to allow them to tie knots and
adjust rigging on the Sabbath.
The Children of Noah is a capstone to an extraordinary career. Patai
was both a careful scholar and a gifted storyteller, and this work is at
once a vivid history of a neglected aspect of Jewish culture and a
treasure trove of sources for further study. It is a stimulating and
delightful book.
