Abbayé and Raba (Talmudic Sages)
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TALMUDIC STUDIES Ephraim Kanarfogel
chapter 22 TALMUDIC STUDIES ephraim kanarfogel TRANSITIONS FROM THE EAST, AND THE NASCENT CENTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, SPAIN, AND ITALY The history and development of the study of the Oral Law following the completion of the Babylonian Talmud remain shrouded in mystery. Although significant Geonim from Babylonia and Palestine during the eighth and ninth centuries have been identified, the extent to which their writings reached Europe, and the channels through which they passed, remain somewhat unclear. A fragile consensus suggests that, at least initi- ally, rabbinic teachings and rulings from Eretz Israel traveled most directly to centers in Italy and later to Germany (Ashkenaz), while those of Babylonia emerged predominantly in the western Sephardic milieu of Spain and North Africa.1 To be sure, leading Sephardic talmudists prior to, and even during, the eleventh century were not yet to be found primarily within Europe. Hai ben Sherira Gaon (d. 1038), who penned an array of talmudic commen- taries in addition to his protean output of responsa and halakhic mono- graphs, was the last of the Geonim who flourished in Baghdad.2 The family 1 See Avraham Grossman, “Zik˙atah shel Yahadut Ashkenaz ‘el Erets Yisra’el,” Shalem 3 (1981), 57–92; Grossman, “When Did the Hegemony of Eretz Yisra’el Cease in Italy?” in E. Fleischer, M. A. Friedman, and Joel Kraemer, eds., Mas’at Mosheh: Studies in Jewish and Moslem Culture Presented to Moshe Gil [Hebrew] (Jerusalem, 1998), 143–57; Israel Ta- Shma’s review essays in K˙ ryat Sefer 56 (1981), 344–52, and Zion 61 (1996), 231–7; Ta-Shma, Kneset Mehkarim, vol. -
The Participation of God and the Torah in Early Kabbalah
religions Article The Participation of God and the Torah in Early Kabbalah Adam Afterman 1,* and Ayal Hayut‑man 2 1 Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel 2 School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: All Abrahamic religions have developed hypostatic and semi‑divine perceptions of scrip‑ ture. This article presents an integrated picture of a rich tradition developed in early kabbalah (twelfth–thirteenth century) that viewed the Torah as participating and identifying with the God‑ head. Such presentation could serve scholars of religion as a valuable tool for future comparisons between the various perceptions of scripture and divine revelation. The participation of God and Torah can be divided into several axes: the identification of Torah with the Sefirot, the divine grada‑ tions or emanations according to kabbalah; Torah as the name of God; Torah as the icon and body of God; and the commandments as the substance of the Godhead. The article concludes by examining the mystical implications of this participation, particularly the notion of interpretation as eros in its broad sense, both as the “penetration” of a female Torah and as taking part in the creation of the world and of God, and the notion of unification with Torah and, through it, with the Godhead. Keywords: Kabbalah; Godhead; Torah; scripture; Jewish mysticism; participation in the Godhead 1. Introduction Citation: Afterman, Adam, and Ayal The centrality of the Word of God, as consolidated in scripture, is a central theme in Hayut‑man. -
277 53 Anna D. Kartsonis, Anastasis
Book reviews 277 53 Anna D. Kartsonis, Anastasis: The Making of an Image (Princeton, Princeton Univ. Press), 1986, pp. 263 & 89 illustrations, 21 x 28 cm., $51.50, ISBN 0-691-04039-7. LEXIKON DES MITTELALTERS - II: JUDAISM. Lexikon des Mittelalters. Erster Band, 2110 col. (Oct.1977-Nov.1980): Aachen- Bettelordenskirchen. Zweiter Band, 2210 col. (May 1981-November 1983): Bettlerwesen-Codex von Valencia. Dritter Band, 2208 col. (May 1984-June 1986): Codex Wintoniensis- Erziehungs- und Bildungswesen). Vierter Band, Lief. 1-7 (1567 col.): Erzkanzler-Goslar (March 1987- - December 1988) München und Zürich, Artemis Verlag. The Lexikon des Mittelalters (hereafter: LM) aims at covering all aspects of the history of the European Middle Ages, viz. the period between A.D. 300 and 1500. It has already been illustrated in a previous review that LM, though primarily a reference-work for students of European medieval history, can be of great use to islamicists as well, in view of the high standard of the articles related, in one way or another, to Islam (Numen vol XXX, pp. 265-268). The present review aims at presenting an evaluation of the contributions of LM in the field of Jewish studies. At this point it should be stressed that the editorial preface of November 1980 stated:, "Ebenso ist die Geschichte des mittelalterlichen europaischen Judentums fester Bestandteil des Lexikons" (my italics, VK). In the volumes covering the letters A through G I have counted a total number of some 90 articles on Jewish subjects. This number has to be considered as an approximate one only, as I most likely have overlooked several items going through the enormous mass of articles published thus far. -
Why Was Maimonides Controversial?
12 Nov 2014, 19 Cheshvan 5775 B”H Congregation Adat Reyim Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Adult Education Why was Maimonides controversial? Introduction Always glad to talk about Maimonides: He was Sephardic (of Spanish origin), and so am I He lived and worked in Egypt, and that's where I was born and grew up His Hebrew name was Moshe (Moses), and so is mine He was a rationalist, and so am I He was a scientist of sorts, and so am I He had very strong opinions, and so do I And, oh yes: He was Jewish, and so am I. -Unfortunately, he probably wasn’t my ancestor. -Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, aka Maimonides, aka The Rambam: b. 1135 (Córdoba, Muslim Spain) – d. 1204 (Fostat, Egypt): Torah scholar, philosopher, physician: Maimonides was the most illustrious figure in Judaism in the post-talmudic era, and one of the greatest of all time… His influence on the future development of Judaism is incalculable. No spiritual leader of the Jewish people in the post- talmudic period has exercised such an influence both in his own and subsequent generations. [Encyclopedia Judaica] -Best-known for Mishneh Torah and Guide for the Perplexed: -Mishneh Torah (Sefer Yad ha-Chazaka) codifies Jewish law. Gathers all laws from Talmud and adds rulings of later Sages. Clear, concise, and logical. No personal opinions. -The Guide for the Perplexed (Dalalat al-Ha'erin; Moreh Nevukhim) is a non-legal philosophical work, for general public, that bridges Jewish and Greek thought. -Controversial in his lifetime and for many centuries afterwards. Controversies concerning Maimonides 1-No need to study Talmud -He appears to downplay study of Talmud. -
Wirtschaftsgeschichte Der Mittelalterlichen Juden Fragen Und Einschätzungen
Wirtschaftsgeschichte der mittelalterlichen Juden Fragen und Einschätzungen Herausgegeben von Michael Toch unter Mitarbeit von Elisabeth Müller- Luckner R. Oldenbourg Verlag München 2008 JcoS/ J_A+CJ Hans-Georg von Mutius Taking Interest from Non-Jews - Main Problems in Traditional Jewish Law Questions of money lending between Jews and non-Jews and the problems of in- terest-charged loans can be viewed through the mirror of Jewish law and have been discussed by rabbinical authorities. To begin with the legal sources: All Jewish communities of the Middle Ages in the Mediterranean area and in non-Mediterra- nean Europe have a common stock of Holy Scriptures constituting the basis of their legal culture and life. Apart from the Hebrew Bible with the Pentateuch as the main law book, they all have in common use a corpus of legal und ritual works written in Palestine and Babylonia during the Late Antiquities: the Mishna com- piled at the beginning of the 3rd century C.E. in Northern Palestine, constituting the first comprehensive law-book of normative Judaism after the destruction of the Second Temple with laws and legal discussions mainly from the 2nd century; then a commentary to the Mishna in form of the Babylonian Talmud containing laws and legal discussions from the Jrd to the 6th century; further legal corpora of secondary importance as the Tosefta and the Palestinian Talmud from the 4th and 5th centuries; and the bulk of the so-called Midrashic literature. Midrashic litera- ture, of Jewish Palestinian origin, presents the rabbinical expositions of scriptural verses. Embodied into this literature is a canonical corpus of Midrashim with laws and legal discussions from the 2nd to the yd centuries expounding the laws of the Pentateuch. -
The Early Ibn Ezra Supercommentaries: a Chapter in Medieval Jewish Intellectual History
Tamás Visi The Early Ibn Ezra Supercommentaries: A Chapter in Medieval Jewish Intellectual History Ph.D. dissertation in Medieval Studies Central European University Budapest April 2006 To the memory of my father 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 7 Prolegomena............................................................................................................................ 12 1. Ibn Ezra: The Man and the Exegete ......................................................................................... 12 Poetry, Grammar, Astrology and Biblical Exegesis .................................................................................... 12 Two Forms of Rationalism.......................................................................................................................... 13 On the Textual History of Ibn Ezra’s Commentaries .................................................................................. 14 Ibn Ezra’s Statement on Method ................................................................................................................. 15 The Episteme of Biblical Exegesis .............................................................................................................. 17 Ibn Ezra’s Secrets ....................................................................................................................................... -
The Kuzari and the Shaping of Jewish Identity, 1167-1900 Adam Shear Index More Information
Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88533-1 - The Kuzari and the Shaping of Jewish Identity, 1167-1900 Adam Shear Index More information Index Abarbanel, Isaac, 101, 112, 118–119, 121–122, 168 Alashkar, Moses, 122–123 Abdelhac, Aron, 35 Albalag, Isaac, 34 Abelard, Peter, 193 Albo, Joseph, 45, 50–51, 85–86, 123, 156, 211–212, Abendana, Isaac, 177 271, 272 Abendana, Jacob, 53, 176–177, 178, 294 Aldabi, Meir, 32 Aboab, Immanuel, 179 Alemanno, Yoh. anan, 101, 117, 121, 125–126, Aboab, Isaac, 177 128–130, 132–133, 156–157 Aboab, Samuel, 179 Alexander, Isaak, 215 Abraham bar H. iyya, 36 Alexander the Great, 105 Abraham ben David, of Posquieres` (Rabad), 28, Alexander-Frizer, Tamar, 175 32 al-Farabi, 221–222 Abraham ben Isaac, 33, 73 Alfasi, Isaac (the Rif), 28, 298 Abraham ben Judah, 80 al-Ghazali, 11, 128, 129 Abraham ibn Daud, 24, 104 al-Harizi, Judah, 24 Abraham ibn Ezra aliyah, 296, 299–300. See also Zionist movement Ascher influenced by, 263 Alkabetz, Solomon, 174 folktales of, 271 Allony, Nehemya, 7, 174 Halevi as associate of, 23, 296, 298 Almangari, 162. See also Sangari, Isaac Halevi’s daughter married to, 192 Almoli, Solomon, 102 on magic, 153–154 Altmann, Alexander, 216 Mendelssohn on, 233, 234 Amelander, Menahem, 192 neoplatonists influenced by, 35 Amos (prophet), 291 on worship and belief, 72, 118 Amsterdam, 176–177, 178–179 writings in Hebrew language, 36–37 Anatoli, Jacob, 40 Abraham (Patriarch), 3, 222 Andalusian Jewish intellectuals, 23–27, 31–32, 36, Abulafia, Abraham, 75–76, 101 66, 175–176, 230, 297–298, 308–309 Abulafia, Meir ben Todros ha-Levi, 31, 32–33 animals, 155–156 academic treatment of the Kuzari, 4–12, 293–295 anonymous preacher, 168 accidents of transmission, 21–22 anti-rationalism. -
Introduction to JUDAISM WEEK 3 GOD IS ONE JEWISH VIEWS of GOD Adonai Echad
Temple Sinai, S. Burlington, VT. Rabbi David Edleson Introduction to JUDAISM WEEK 3 GOD IS ONE JEWISH VIEWS OF GOD Adonai Echad Do you have to believe in God to be Jewish? Jews and God by the Numbers Pew 2013 Jews and God by the Numbers Pew 2018 . Shabbat Stalwarts – regular participation in prayer and other religious practices 21% . God and Country Believers- express their religion through political and social conservatism 8% . Diversely Devout- follow the Bible but also believe in things like animism and reincarnation. 5% . Relaxed Religious- believe in God and pray but don’t engage in many traditional practices 14% . Spiritually Awake – hold some New Age beliefs 8% . Religious Resisters – believe in a higher power but have negative views of organized religion 17% . Solidly Secular- don’t believe in God and do not self-define as religious 28% Jews and God by the Numbers Pew 2018 45 percent of American Jews are listed in the two categories for the least religious: “religion resisters,” who believe in a higher power but have negative views of organized religion, or “solidly secular,” those who don’t believe in God and do not self-define as religious. The breakdown is 28 percent as “solidly secular” and 17 percent as “religion resisters.” “Jewish Americans are the only religious group with substantial contingents at each end of the typology,” the study says. Maimonides’13 Articles of Faith Principle 1 I believe with perfect faith that: God exists; God is perfect in every way, eternal, and the cause of all that exists. All other beings depend upon God for their existence. -
Final Copy of Dissertation
The Talmudic Zohar: Rabbinic Interdisciplinarity in Midrash ha-Ne’lam by Joseph Dov Rosen A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley in Jewish Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Daniel Boyarin, Chair Professor Deena Aranoff Professor Niklaus Largier Summer 2017 © Joseph Dov Rosen All Rights Reserved, 2017 Abstract The Talmudic Zohar: Rabbinic Interdisciplinarity in Midrash ha-Ne’lam By Joseph Dov Rosen Joint Doctor of Philosophy in Jewish Studies with the Graduate Theological Union University of California, Berkeley Professor Daniel Boyarin, Chair This study uncovers the heretofore ignored prominence of talmudic features in Midrash ha-Ne’lam on Genesis, the earliest stratum of the zoharic corpus. It demonstrates that Midrash ha-Ne’lam, more often thought of as a mystical midrash, incorporates both rhetorical components from the Babylonian Talmud and practices of cognitive creativity from the medieval discipline of talmudic study into its esoteric midrash. By mapping these intersections of Midrash, Talmud, and Esotericism, this dissertation introduces a new framework for studying rabbinic interdisciplinarity—the ways that different rabbinic disciplines impact and transform each other. The first half of this dissertation examines medieval and modern attempts to connect or disconnect the disciplines of talmudic study and Jewish esotericism. Spanning from Maimonides’ reliance on Islamic models of Aristotelian dialectic to conjoin Pardes (Jewish esotericism) and talmudic logic, to Gershom Scholem’s juvenile fascination with the Babylonian Talmud, to contemporary endeavours to remedy the disciplinary schisms generated by Scholem’s founding models of Kabbalah (as a form of Judaism that is in tension with “rabbinic Judaism”), these two chapters tell a series of overlapping histories of Jewish inter/disciplinary projects. -
F Ine J Udaica
F INE J UDAICA . HEBREW PRINTED BOOKS, MANUSCRIPTS &CEREMONIAL ART K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY TUESDAY, JUNE 29TH, 2004 K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY . Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art Lot 340 Catalogue of F INE J UDAICA . HEBREW PRINTED BOOKS, MANUSCRIPTS &CEREMONIAL ART Including Judaic Ceremonial Art: From the Collection of Daniel M. Friedenberg, Greenwich, Conn. And a Collection of Holy Land Maps and Views To be Offered for Sale by Auction on Tuesday, 29th June, 2004 at 3:00 pm precisely ——— Viewing Beforehand on Sunday, 27th June: 10:00 am–5:30 pm Monday, 28th June: 10:00 am–6:00 pm Tuesday, 29th June: 10:00 am–2:30 pm Important Notice: The Exhibition and Sale will take place in our New Galleries located at 12 West 27th Street, 13th floor, New York City. This Sale may be referred to as “Sheldon” Sale Number Twenty Four. Illustrated Catalogues: $35 • $42 (Overseas) KESTENBAUM & COMPANY Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art . 12 West 27th Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001 • Tel: 212 366-1197 • Fax: 212 366-1368 E-mail: [email protected] • World Wide Web Site: www.Kestenbaum.net K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY . Chairman: Daniel E. Kestenbaum Operations Manager & Client Accounts: Margaret M. Williams Press & Public Relations: Jackie Insel Printed Books: Rabbi Bezalel Naor Manuscripts & Autographed Letters: Rabbi Eliezer Katzman Ceremonial Art: Aviva J. Hoch (Consultant) Catalogue Photography: Anthony Leonardo Auctioneer: Harmer F. Johnson (NYCDCA License no. 0691878) ❧ ❧ ❧ For all inquiries relating to this sale please contact: Daniel E. Kestenbaum ❧ ❧ ❧ ORDER OF SALE Printed Books: Lots 1 – 224 Manuscripts: Lots 225 - 271 Holy Land Maps: Lots 272 - 285 Ceremonial Art:s Lots 300 - End of Sale Front Cover: Lot 242 Rear Cover: A Selection of Bindings List of prices realized will be posted on our Web site, www.kestenbaum.net, following the sale. -
On Jerusalem As a Feminine and Sexual Hypostasis: from Late Antiquity Sources to Medieval Kabbalah*
On Jerusalem as a Feminine and Sexual Hypostasis: From Late Antiquity Sources to Medieval Kabbalah* Moshe IDEL 1. Introduction Modern scholarship of Jewish mysticism has addressed the status of the feminine within the divine realm in different ways. Unlike the more standard views of some Jewish theologians, like Maimonides, who envisioned Jewish thought as subscribing to a stark abstract monotheistic vision, scholars started recently to elaborate on a variety of diverging visions of the deity, some of which include feminine elements that played an important role in medieval Jewish sources known as Kabbalah. The origins of these elements are a mat- ter of dispute. Some scholars trace them to biblical times, as there are de- scriptions of the divinity or divinities in feminine terms in ancient Judaism.1 Gershom Scholem, however, opted for the importance of Gnostic sources as a major clue for understanding the background of early Kabbalistic discussions, and focused his explanation in a shift of the understanding of a Rabbinic 1 * This study is part of a more comprehensive book dealing with the emergence of the Kab- balistic views of femininity in preparation. For the vast scholarly literature on YHWH and the Asherah see, for example, the studies of Moshe Weinfeld, “Feminine Features in the Imagery of God in Israel; the Sacred Marriage and the Sacred Tree,” Vetus Testamentum, vol. 46 (1996), pp. 515–529, Mark S. Smith, “God Male and Female in the Old Testament: Yahveh and His ‘Asherah’,” Theological Studies, vol. 48 (1987), pp. 333–340, or J. A. Emerton, “‘Yahweh and his Asherah’: The Goddess or Her Symbol?,” Vetus Testamentum, vol. -
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Under One Crown: A Renewed Look at Creation in Word and Image. By Raachel Nathan Jurovics, Sarah Stein, Mary Blocher, and illustrated by Andrea Gomez. Raleigh, North Carolina: Under One Crown Publishing, 2019. iix+76 pages. $36, paperback. The Name: A History of the Dual-Gendered Hebrew Name for God. By Mark Sameth. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2020. xiii+175 pages. $44, cloth; $24, paperback; $9.99, eBook. Bewilderment is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “to lose in pathless places, to confound for want of a plain road.” Bewilderment is a sacred, even salutary process, correcting “the inclination to unwarranted certainty,” write theologians James D. Whitehead and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead, in their essay, “Transgender Lives: From Bewilderment to God’s Extravagance.”1 Taken as a spiritual state, bewilderment asks for humility, curiosity and the courage to “not know.” If we have that valor, we will encounter “a signature feature of creation—God’s extravagance. We inhabit a universe that dazzles with its size and diversity,” the Whiteheads write. As theologians and institutions resist, explore or embrace nonbinary views of individuals created in the divine image, bewilderment indeed carries us forward. Theologians, mystics and social historians have long explored ideas of the divine feminine and masculine, matriarchy and patriarchy. Now this journey comes to a new vista: the nonbinary identity of God itself. A scholar of Judaism and text (medieval literature). Raachel Jurovics, and her colleagues, Sarah Stein, professor of media studies, Mary Blocher, a feminist reader, and Andrea Gomez, an artist and illustrator, have come together to create an extraordinary extended midrash, Under One Crown: A Renewed Look at Creation in Word and Image.