Judaism described in the New Testament - Interview by Lawrence H. Schiffman

Bernard Starr, of the Huffington Post has done a superb interview to Lawrance H. Schiffman, on how the New Testament describes Jewish practices and beliefs of the Second Temple Judaism period.

Here it's a piece of the interview:

Q. The Sabbath mandate for rest and renewal in Jewish law and tradition invokes many restrictions on activities---particularly work. Acts 1:12 mentions the allowable distance one can walk on the Sabbath before it is considered a violation. Didn't Jews always know and practice that?
A. Yes and No. Yes we know about that law, but some say that these particular Sabbath laws only came into existence after the destruction of the Second Temple. But here we have verification that the laws existed in Jesus' time in the first century--- and that the disciples were scrupulously following Jewish law. In Acts 1:12 they were able to walk to the Mount of Olives (Olivet) on the Sabbath because it was in the allowable distance --"A Sabbath day's Journey away" of 3000 ft (2000 cubits). In fact, archaeological excavations have uncovered stones in some locations for marking the Sabbath limits. . 

It's an interesting read. Go ahead and have a look. You will learn heaps.