Eyal Ben-Eliyahu, Yehudah Cohn, and Fergus Millar
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265222
- eISBN:
- 9780191771873
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265222.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
From major seminal works such as the Mishnah or the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds, to Biblical commentaries, translations of Biblical books into Aramaic or relatively little-known mystical, ...
More
From major seminal works such as the Mishnah or the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds, to Biblical commentaries, translations of Biblical books into Aramaic or relatively little-known mystical, liturgical, or apocalyptic writings, this book is a complete guide to the rich tradition of Jewish literature in the second to seventh centuries of the Common Era. Each work is described in a way that covers its contents, dating, language, and accessibility (or otherwise) in print or online. The aim throughout is to cover all of this literature and to answer the following questions: What Jewish literature, written either in Hebrew or Aramaic, has survived? What different genres of such literature are there? What printed texts or translations into any modern language, or commentaries (either in Hebrew or a European language) are there? And, for those who want to enquire further, what are the manuscripts on which modern editions are based?Less
From major seminal works such as the Mishnah or the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds, to Biblical commentaries, translations of Biblical books into Aramaic or relatively little-known mystical, liturgical, or apocalyptic writings, this book is a complete guide to the rich tradition of Jewish literature in the second to seventh centuries of the Common Era. Each work is described in a way that covers its contents, dating, language, and accessibility (or otherwise) in print or online. The aim throughout is to cover all of this literature and to answer the following questions: What Jewish literature, written either in Hebrew or Aramaic, has survived? What different genres of such literature are there? What printed texts or translations into any modern language, or commentaries (either in Hebrew or a European language) are there? And, for those who want to enquire further, what are the manuscripts on which modern editions are based?
David M. Freidenreich
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520253216
- eISBN:
- 9780520950276
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520253216.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Talmuds contain a considerable number of passages regarding foreign food restrictions, each with its own set of intricacies and complications. Zvi Arie Steinfeld has analyzed many of these ...
More
The Talmuds contain a considerable number of passages regarding foreign food restrictions, each with its own set of intricacies and complications. Zvi Arie Steinfeld has analyzed many of these passages in a series of articles, and this chapter draws on his important studies. It begins with a brief survey of passages that pursue “ivory tower” goals of classification and legal precision with respect to foodstuffs. It then turns to more sustained analysis of passages that reflect efforts to limit social intercourse with gentiles through commensality-oriented restrictions. This analysis devotes particular attention to the ways in which scholastic methods of interpreting and transmitting sources advance a social agenda. The final third of the chapter is devoted to a close reading of Talmudic texts addressing a single foreign food restriction, the prohibition of bread baked by gentiles. This case study illuminates the interplay of various pedagogical and pragmatic concerns within the scholastic environment of rabbinic academies and the Talmuds they produced. Whether oriented toward theoretical or practical matters, however, all of the authorities whose statements are examined in the chapter regard non-Jews as indistinct and mostly nondescript. Talmudic Sages construct the otherness of gentiles in order to serve as a contrasting background against which to define Jewish identity.Less
The Talmuds contain a considerable number of passages regarding foreign food restrictions, each with its own set of intricacies and complications. Zvi Arie Steinfeld has analyzed many of these passages in a series of articles, and this chapter draws on his important studies. It begins with a brief survey of passages that pursue “ivory tower” goals of classification and legal precision with respect to foodstuffs. It then turns to more sustained analysis of passages that reflect efforts to limit social intercourse with gentiles through commensality-oriented restrictions. This analysis devotes particular attention to the ways in which scholastic methods of interpreting and transmitting sources advance a social agenda. The final third of the chapter is devoted to a close reading of Talmudic texts addressing a single foreign food restriction, the prohibition of bread baked by gentiles. This case study illuminates the interplay of various pedagogical and pragmatic concerns within the scholastic environment of rabbinic academies and the Talmuds they produced. Whether oriented toward theoretical or practical matters, however, all of the authorities whose statements are examined in the chapter regard non-Jews as indistinct and mostly nondescript. Talmudic Sages construct the otherness of gentiles in order to serve as a contrasting background against which to define Jewish identity.
Michael D. Swartz
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814740934
- eISBN:
- 9780814723784
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814740934.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This introductory chapter explains how in the study of language and culture, scholars may be interested in the significance of meaning for reasons other than the pursuit of meaning for its own sake. ...
More
This introductory chapter explains how in the study of language and culture, scholars may be interested in the significance of meaning for reasons other than the pursuit of meaning for its own sake. Analyzing how societies speak about rituals and interpret them indicates a larger interest about the nature of ritual action, hermeneutics, and historiography. The study presents myths and methods that may turn out to represent social or cultural circles lying at the skirts of rabbinic authority. But, at the same time, it derives from bodies of ancient Jewish literature, such as magical and divination texts and liturgical poetry or piyyut, that are not included in the rabbinic canon. While there is still debate about whether these forms of expression should be included in the category of “rabbinic” Judaism, it is clear that these literatures were not produced by the central shapers of the Talmuds.Less
This introductory chapter explains how in the study of language and culture, scholars may be interested in the significance of meaning for reasons other than the pursuit of meaning for its own sake. Analyzing how societies speak about rituals and interpret them indicates a larger interest about the nature of ritual action, hermeneutics, and historiography. The study presents myths and methods that may turn out to represent social or cultural circles lying at the skirts of rabbinic authority. But, at the same time, it derives from bodies of ancient Jewish literature, such as magical and divination texts and liturgical poetry or piyyut, that are not included in the rabbinic canon. While there is still debate about whether these forms of expression should be included in the category of “rabbinic” Judaism, it is clear that these literatures were not produced by the central shapers of the Talmuds.
