This book examines the nature and sources of the unique authority accordedin Judaism to the Sages of the first five centuries C.E. These teachers--oftenreferred to reverentially as Chazal, a Hebrew acronym for "our Sages of blessedmemory"--occupy a central and unrivaled position in traditinal Judaism. Theirstatements, collected in the vast corpus of Rabbinic literature, serve as thebasis for Halakhah (Jewish law) which developed since the Babylonian Talmud wasredacted over thirteen centuries ago. Berger critically examines the notion ofthe Sages' authority, laying bare the asssumptions that undergird it and theimplications that follow from it. Berger's purpose is not to justify specificnormative claims about talmudic law, but to show the deeply nuanced concept ofauthority in a textual and interpretive tradition.