Cisterns, Waterways, and Rabbis: a Rabbinic Lens into Conflict Avoidance in the Riparian World

Abstract

In the liminal spaces between concretized biblical law and a world in which “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17:6), the Rabbinic tradition developed enactments toward the pursuit of harmony and to minimize conflict. This paper delves into the role of one such mechanism, found throughout the primary sources, in an area of irrigation policy. The article seeks to understand the topic’s contours in the arena of rhetoric vs. reality. I argue that, contrary to initial appearances, the enactment of peace under discussion has every indication of being rooted in its social, legal and natural milieus.