And because ancient rabbis worried about holding children's interest, the Seder's lectures are interspersed with songs and games.

According to two Israeli scholars, the reasoning of the ancient rabbis is best understood in the light of modern economic theory.

The very layout of the pages makes it possible to think that there is maintained a ceaseless conversation across time between ancient and modern rabbis.

"This my father told me as a little boy," Mr. Feuerstein said, quoting Hillel, the ancient rabbi.

As the ancient rabbis used to say, have your ears heard what your mouth has spoken?

The ancient rabbis are said to have used magical incantations to create beings called golems.

And, since the ancient rabbis were really Jewish legal scholars, so, too, was Jesus Christ.

Her view is that the ancient rabbis gradually granted women more autonomy and enacted laws that dealt with women in a fairer manner.

He held also that the words of the ancient rabbis should not be interpreted according to modern conception, such interpretation being liable to result in error.