This article identifies a development in rabbinic discourse about Torah study. Whereas early texts contrast study with activities like earning a living, the Palestinian Talmud presents a new debate in which study stands in binary opposition to activities otherwise considered part of the life of Torah, such as good deeds and prayer. This debate shaped the eventually dominant view of the rabbinic sage as primarily, or even exclusively, a scholarly figure. The article shows how this discourse was formulated through adaptation of earlier sources and considers how it may have responded to broader transformations in the sages’ world.

This article explores the nexus between the law of the sea and the potential future treaty on plastic pollution, which is currently being negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme. The potential treaty aims to regulate the full lifecycle of plastics, including in the marine environment. The relevance of the law of the sea regime is fundamental given the highly transboundary nature of already existing legacy plastic pollution in the ocean as well as ocean and land-based sources of plastic pollution. A particular contentious element is the engagement of stakeholders such as industry, academia, Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the development of this treaty. The article will explore possible options for the formulation of the treaty and draws on lessons learnt from the negotiations of the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

Attributes of familial relationships, ascribed in biblical metaphors to YHWH and Israel, can be traced back to ancient Near Eastern mythological and diplomatic concepts. In Hosea 11, the dynamic between YHWH and Israel mirrors political and authoritarian conventions prevalent in that era. Israel is depicted as an adopted son of God, analogous to an Egyptian or Assyrian monarch whose authority derives from a divine heritage. Simultaneously, Israel assumes the role of a subjugated and devoted son, akin to a vassal subdued according to the norms of the ancient Near East. As a result, the characteristics of the chosen son in Hosea 11 blend attributes of both a king and a vassal, two entities who have no influence over their own chosen status. Consequently, Israel’s position is best described as that of a “divine vassal,” one whose privileges are affirmed, while his very existence and territorial rights remain in perpetual jeopardy.

In this paper, we study the kernels of the $\mathrm{SO}(3)$-Witten–Reshetikhin–Turaev quantum representations $\rho_p$ of mapping class groups of closed orientable surfaces $\Sigma_g$ of genus g. We investigate the question whether the kernel of $\rho_p$ for p prime is exactly the subgroup generated by pth powers of Dehn twists. We show that if $g\geq 3$ and $p\geq 5$ then $\mathrm{Ker} \rho_p$ is contained in the subgroup generated by pth powers of Dehn twists and separating twists, and if $g\geq 6$ and p is a large enough prime then $\mathrm{Ker} \rho_p$ is contained in the subgroup generated by the commutator subgroup of the Johnson subgroup and by pth powers of Dehn twists.

This article explores the intersection of, and relationship between, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement and the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). It examines the status of the Southern Ocean as an ‘area beyond national jurisdiction’ before analysing the application of the ‘not undermine’ principle to the ATS as developed in Article 5 BBNJ Agreement. The article examines the implications of the BBNJ Agreement in relation to environmental impact assessments, area-based protection, marine genetic resources and dispute resolution within the ATS. It argues that the thus far defensive approach of the Antarctic Treaty parties to the BBNJ Agreement is neither sustainable nor in the long-term interests of either agreement. It argues for positive engagement between the two regimes for the ultimate benefit of Southern Ocean governance.

Islam spread to the area of present-day northern Nigeria in the eleventh century and further southward in the nineteenth century. Some scholars claimed that although Islamic traditions appeared hegemonic, they did not completely supplant local music traditions (e.g., Trimingham 1959). Through a musical ethnography of two predominantly Muslim communities in Nigeria, our article interrogates this claim and explores specific ways Muslim musicians and community members contest Islamic orthodoxy and negotiate some form of liberalism. We argue that negotiating liberalism has been crucial to the sustenance of indigenous music traditions in the communities we studied in Nigeria.

In this forum, four scholars re-examine the noble or commoner status of Indigenous Andean chronicler Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala. They debate the validity of his assertions and how the conditions of his life should frame our reasoning. They re-consider how written documents were used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A handful of archival documents generated by petitions and lawsuits fuels this scholarly reconsideration of his lineage, local status, and economic circumstances. These court cases enliven the study of this fascinating historical figure who wrote a long letter to the King accompanied by hundreds of line drawings. In the first article in the forum, historians Adrian Masters and Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra shape the discussions over Guaman Poma’s rank and status into a debate. They unequivocally declare Guaman Poma a commoner who unsuccessfully attempted to use an increasingly document-oriented colonial system to gain power and official recognition. They assert that this commoner Lázaro was an imposter whipped for falsely asserting an Indigenous elite heritage (cacique). They argue that Lázaro’s commoner status further elevates his historical importance for the study of the early modern era. In two responses to these assertions, historians Francisco Quiroz Chueca and José de la Puente Luna point out the many ways scholars have already been raising questions about Guaman Poma’s identity, and they voice caution about how much the existing documents can definitively resolve these questions. In a rebuttal, Masters and Cañizares-Esguerra return to underscore why they think Guaman Poma was an “uncommon commoner.”

A remarkable tale in the Babylonian Talmud (b. Qidd. 81a–b) recounts how Pelimo, who regularly exclaimed “an arrow in Satan’s eye!,” ironically attracts Satan’s personal attention. Disguised as a pauper, Satan wreaks havoc until he ultimately offers an alternative apotropaic formula—a biblical verse (Zech 3:2)—for Pelimo to use against him. While often read as a moral allegory, this article argues that the story is rooted in late antique Babylonian notions about demons and apotropaic practices, as evidenced in incantation bowls, amulets, and related objects. The narrative not only presumes this cultural context but actively engages it—contrasting two protective formulae and casting Satan as an advocate for one. In doing so, it reveals how rabbis participated in broader debates over the legitimacy and efficacy of different magical practices, using narrative as a tool of persuasion. Comparison with other Talmudic passages further highlights evolving rabbinic views on ritual power and the shifting role of biblical verses in Jewish magic.

This article offers a rereading of Theatre Workshop HaTikva Neighborhood’s activity as a unique troupe in the field of community-based theatre in Israel. There are three interrelated factors that account for this group’s distinctiveness: (1) it functioned as an independent theatre without public subsidies; (2) its repertoire shifted from a politics of distribution to a politics of recognition; (3) it underwent a transition from amateurism to professionalism. This is a rare status in relation to the common model of community-based theatre in Israel. The study explores these three factors within the theatrical and historical-political contexts of the period.