From 516 BCE until 70 CE, the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem was the center of worship for Jews in both the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. The beginning of this era saw the composition of the Hebrew Bible’s latest books; its end saw such early talmudic rabbis as Hillel and Rabban Gamliel, as well as the beginning of Christianity. The interim period, however, is little remembered or understood outside of academic circles. In conversation with Matt Lynch, Malka Simkovich explains what both Jews and Christians get wrong about this pivotal period of Jewish history, how the rabbis built on its intellectual and interpretive legacy, and the dangers of paying excessive attention to the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Audio, 56 minutes.)

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.