Since theMishnah is a code of law, its textual style is very concise and lacking in socio-historical background. While some scholarly attempts have been made to understand the meaning of the Mishnah and some attempts have been made to sketch the biographies of the authorities the Mishnah mentions (by referring to talmudic and midrashic sources, for example) Mishnat Eretz Yisrael is the only complete commentary to the Mishnah that uses socio-historical evidence of the time to provide context for the Mishnah's laws.
Of the expected 45 volumes, 22 have been completed.[1]
Born in Jerusalem in 1948, he studied in Yeshivat Netiv Meir, volunteered for theBnei Akiva religious (Jewish) youth movement, served in theIsrael Defense Forces, and then became a founding member ofKibbutz Ma'ale Gilboa. He received his doctorate from theHebrew University on the subject of "Historical Geography of the land of Samaria" under the guidance of ProfessorMenachem Stern and Professor Zakariah Klai.[1]
He married Dina fromKibbutz Yavneh in 1974 and settled there. She manages sales of the Mishnat Eretz Yisrael commentary.[2]
At Bar Ilan University, he has been head of the Department for Israel Studies and Deputy Rector of the University. He was on the secretariats of the Trustees of Torah and Avodah (a religious movement), theMafdal and on the permits committee of the Israel Archaeology Council. He served as head of the committee for the training ofTour Guides in the Israel Tourism Office. Currently he is a member of Israel Place Naming Committee, a member on the managerial committee of Ashkelon College, the Achvah Academic College,Givat Washington College and Yaakov Herzog Centre.[1]
Safrai describes himself as a 'servant' of the Mishnaic and Talmudic period. He works on all perspectives of the period, especially those areas where a combination of source types and methodological approaches are required, for instance the combination of the Sages' source and archaeological finds, or the Sages' sources and a socio-historical approach.[1]
The Rural Landscape of Ancient Israel, (with, E. Meir and S. Dar and Z' Safrai, eds), Oxford 2003.
The Literature of the Sages The Jewish People in the First Century, Compendia Rerum Judaicarum II, – S. Safrai, Z. Safrai, J. Schwartz, P.J. Thomson, Amsterdam 2006.
The Jewish People in the First Century Compendia Rerum Judaicarum II, Amsterdam 2006.
(Hebrew) Zofiah Hirshfeld,הערות שוליים - the true story, 4082959, Yediot Aharonot Newspaper, 16 June 2011. Interview with Ze'ev Safrai about his unusually close collaboration with his father[5] (Google translated version[6])
^Strand, Monica (21 March 1993). "BIBLICAL ATLAS ACCESSIBLE; BEAUTY EXPLORED THE MACMILLAN BIBLE ATLAS. BY YOHANAN AHARONI, MICHAEL AVI-YONAH, ANSON F. RAINEY, AND ZE'EV SAFRAI". Sun Sentinel.
