| The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the logic behind the identification of Rome with the pig in rabbinic literature. This identification is observed in the light of the broad context of the discourse concerning the pig and the avoidance of pork in rabbinic literature. Following this, we address the possible link of the rabbinic identification with porcine simile in Roman political discourse. We also identify the role of the pig in the legend of the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the midrash concerning Jacob and Esau in Genesis Rabbah, and the midrash concerning forbidden animals in Leviticus Rabbah chapter 13 as well some in other midrashim. It is proposed that by identifying Rome with the pig, the sages made the avoidance of pork a locus of resistance to the Empire, which was first pagan and later Christian. By making the pig a symbol of dialogical relations with the other in time, the avoidance of pork was inscribed in history as embodying past, present, and future relations between Jacob and Esau, between Jews and Romans, and between Judaism and Christianity. |
