Halevy and the Historiography of the Talmud
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Part One: Just Like Everyone Else, Only More So PAULA FREDRIKSEN
T HE J EWISH Q UARTERLY R EVIEW, Vol. 95, No. 1 (Winter 2005) 119–130 DAVID BIALE, ed. Cultures of the Jews: A New History. New York: .1196 ם Schocken Books, 2002. Pp. xxxiii Part One: Just Like Everyone Else, Only More So PAULA FREDRIKSEN Hard science deals with facts: it explains and successfully manipulates the physical universe. Its empirical successes attest to the validity of its truth-claims, and to the proximity (or identity) of its laws to and with Reality. Hard science is to facts as philosophy is to truth. Like its empirically REVIEW FORUM oriented sister, philosophy identifies what things really are (their es- sence) and how we truly know them (our epistemological foundations). Together, science and philosophy reveal the truths of the physical and the metaphysical universe. W RITING THE TWO preceding paragraphs just gave me the same guilty pleasure that I get when listening to classic soft-rock. Indeed, they are its intellectual equivalent. I had gotten through high school and even through college operating with these assumptions. Graduate school, in the mid-70s, hit hard. I read Kuhn. I read Wittgenstein. I watched friends in departments of English and in comparative literature spinning around as they encountered Derrida, de Man, Foucault, Lacan, Barthes. We all read cultural anthropology. The old definitions dissolved. The view from nowhere, whether scientific or philosophical, vanished. Only a welter of perspectives remained. Thirty years later, intellectually swamped as we are by the late twenti- eth century’s fervid overproduction of interpretive theories, a 1970s de- constructionist almost looks like a Litvak rabbi. -
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. -
INFORMATION ISSUED by the ASSOCIATION of JEWISH REFUGEES in GREAT BRITAIN 8 FAIRFAX MANSIONS, Office and Consulting Hours: FINCHLEY ROAD (Comer Fairfax Rosdl, LONDON
Vol. XV No. 5 May, 1960 INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH REFUGEES IN GREAT BRITAIN 8 FAIRFAX MANSIONS, Office and Consulting Hours: FINCHLEY ROAD (Comer Fairfax Rosdl, LONDON. N.W.3 Mondaylo Thursday 10 a.m.—I p.m. 3—6 p.m. Telephone: MAIda Vale 9096'7 (General Officel Friday 10 a.m.—l p.m. MAIda Vale 4449 (Employinent Agency and Socia) Services Dept.) ^i"* G. Reichmann hatte. Das Wiedergutmachungswerk, das der Herr Bundeskanzler mit der Hilfe seiner Parteifreunde und -gegner ins Leben gerufen hat, wird von den Menschen meines Kreises nicht nur wegen des DER FEIND IST DIE LAUHEIT materiellen Ergebnisses, sondern als Symbol guten Willens und ausgleichender Tat anerkannt. Und doch : trotz vieler hoffnungsvoUer Anfange Zur deutschen Situation von heute sind wir heute nicht zusammengekommen, um uns an Erfolgen zu freuen. Wir stehen vielmehr unter Wie wir bereits in der vorigen Nuininer berichteten, fandeu im Rahmen der " Woche dem Eindruck schwerer Riickschlage auf dem der Bruederlichkeit " in zahlreichen Staedten der Bundesrepublik und in West-Berlin Kund- rniihsamen Weg zueinander. Seien wir ganz offen : getungen statt. Die Redner waren in den meisten FaeUen fuehrende nichtjuedische sie kamen nicht unerwartet. Unerwar.tet konnten Persoenlichkeiten des oeffentlichen Lebens in Deutschland. Das folgende, gekuerzt wieder sie eigentlich nur von dem empfunden werden, gegebene Referat. das Dr. Eva G. Reichmann (London) auf der Kundgebung in Bonn hielt, der mit den Verhaltnissen in Deutschland wenig duerfte fuer unsere Leser deshalb von besonderem Interesse sein, weil es das Problem in vertraut war. Wer wie meine Mitarbeiter von der einer Weise darstellt. -
The Jews of Poland We Are Dedicated to Making Your Experience Rich in Content and Superior in Comfort
A Program for the Museum of Jewish Heritage Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow The Jews of Poland We are dedicated to making your experience rich in content and superior in comfort. October 1–12, 2021 This unique travel program combines the expertise and resources of two organizations that cherish the traditions, achievements, and faith of Jewish communities – past and present – around the world. Jewish Heritage Travel and the Museum of Jewish Heritage are delighted to have the opportunity to share this rich, varied, and poignant history and culture with you on these select trips. We look forward to traveling with you. Program Overview Before World War II, Poland’s 3 million Jews represented one of the largest and most influential Jewish communities in the world. The diverse community included Hasidim, secular Jewish intellectuals, Yiddish writers, Zionists, and socialists. Recently, a world-class museum opened in Warsaw, devoted to what Jewish life and culture were like in Poland. Jewish festivals in Kraków and other parts of Poland attract tens of thousands of people each year. Additionally, several universities have opened Judaic studies departments that have nurtured graduate students who have published impressive publications, bringing to life important aspects of Poland’s astonishingly rich Jewish history and culture. Join us on what promises to be a meaningful and fascinating trip— beginning in Warsaw, where a highlight will be a guided tour of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, a museum that explores Poland’s 1,000-year Jewish history. Additionally, in Warsaw, we will visit sites including the monument to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the memorial of Mila 18, and the Umschlagplatz—the site from which Jews were deported to Auschwitz and Treblinka. -
3 Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes in Hebrew: Remarks on the Indirect Transmission of Arabic-Islamic Philosophy in Medieval Judaism
3 Al-FArAbi, AvicennA, And Averroes in Hebrew: remArks on tHe indirect trAnsmission oF ArAbic-islAmic PHilosophy in medievAl JudAism James T. Robinson erhaps as early as the eighth century, in the Islamic East, the traditional Sanskrit tales about the Buddha’s enlightenment—about his recognition of his own mortality and training with an ascetic monk—were translated into Persian and Arabic. The Arabic version, entitled Bilawhar wa-Būdhāsaf, then served as Pthe basis for renderings into Georgian, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and a long list of European vernacular languages.1 These renderings were, more often than not, not straightforward translations but adaptations, often introducing significant modifications into the frame narrative. The Greek version, for example, transformed Bilawhar—an ascetic teacher—into Barlaam, a saintly Christian monk, and his disciple Budasaf or Yudasaf—the Buddha—into Joasaph or Josaphat, a saintly Christian Neophyte.2 The Hebrew version is no less surprising than the Greek, when Bilawhar be- comes not a Jewish sage but a Neoplatonic philosopher, and his 1 For the Arabic and Persian versions, see D. Gimaret (1972); D. Gimaret (1971). See also S. M. Stern and S. Walzer (1971). For the Georgian and Greek versions, see: D. M. Lang (1957), idem (1966); John Damascene (1914). The Hebrew version was edited by A. M. Habermann (1951), with extensive apparatus and commentary. For the vernacular versions, see most recently the studies of the German and English versions: S. Calomino (1990); K. Ikegami (1999). 2 In fact, both Barlaam and Joasaph/Josaphat became Christian saints. 60 The Judeo-Christian-Islamic Heritage final lesson to his young disciple is not a lesson in religious prac- tice but an introduction to neoplatonic metaphysics, based on the Arabic versions of Plotinus—namely, that complex of texts associated with the Theology of Aristotle.3 This is one example of the indirect transmission of Greek and Arabic philosophy in medieval Judaism. -
Etudes Sur Le Judaisme Medieval
Etudes sur le Judaisme Medieval Fondees par Georges Vajda Dirigees par Paul B. Fenton TOME XLIII Karaite Texts and Studies Edited by Meira Polliack Michael G. Wechsler VOLUME 2 BM6nnorpa(J)MH KapaMTMKa AHHOTMpoBaHHan 6n6nMorpa(J)MH KapaMMOB M KapanMM3Ma COCTaBMTeTIb Bappw Hob Ba/ic|)Miii npw ynacTHM Mwxaiina Kn3MjioBa m PlHCTMTyT BeH-U,BM Mepyca/iMM _ . • S ' ' 6 8 * ' BRILL JlewfleH • BOCTOH BpMTITI Bibliographia Karaitica An Annotated Bibliography of Karaites and Karaism By Barry Dov Walfish with Mikhail Kizilov m THE BEN-ZVI INSTITUTE JERUSALEM .0 • S ' ' 6 8 * ' BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2011 CONTENTS Preface to the Series ix Introduction liii Acknowledgements lix Mikhail Kizilov's Introduction lxi BBefleHwe (Russian Introduction) lxiii Abbreviations lxxiii Latin-Romanic lxxiii Cyrillic lxxvi Hebrew lxxvii Library Symbols lxxix Transliteration Tables lxxxi Hebrew lxxxi Arabic lxxxi Cyrillic lxxxii PART ONE GENERALIA CHAPTER ONE MANUSCRIPTS, ARCHIVES, BIBLIOGRAPHIES, PRINTING 1.1. Manuscript Lists and Library Holdings 3 1.1.1. General 3 1.1.2. Manuscripts in Private Collections 3 Medieval 3 Modern 3 Adler, E. N 4 Geiger, Abraham 4 Tischendorf, Konstantin von 5 1.1.3. Manuscripts in Public Collections 5 Western Europe 5 Austria 5 England 5 British Library, London 5 Cambridge 6 Germany—Leipzig 6 Netherlands—Leiden 6 Eastern Europe 6 Lithuania 6 Poland 7 Russia 7 General 7 Moscow 7 St. Petersburg 7 General 7 Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences 7 National Library of Russia 8 Firkovich Collections 8 Harkavy's Reports on the Firkovich Collections 11 Ukraine 15 Crimea 15 Bakhchisaray (Later Moved to Simferopol and Moscow) 15 Eupatoria (Yevpatoriya) 16 Xiv CONTENTS Sevastopol 16 Kiev 16 Odessa 16 1.1.4. -
A Comparative Study of Jewish Commentaries and Patristic Literature on the Book of Ruth
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF JEWISH COMMENTARIES AND PATRISTIC LITERATURE ON THE BOOK OF RUTH by CHAN MAN KI A Dissertation submitted to the University of Pretoria for the degree of PHILOSOPHIAE DOCTOR Department of Old Testament Studies Faculty of Theology University of Pretoria South Africa Promoter: PIETER M. VENTER JANUARY, 2010 © University of Pretoria Summary Title : A comparative study of Jewish Commentaries and Patristic Literature on the Book of Ruth Researcher : Chan Man Ki Promoter : Pieter M. Venter, D.D. Department : Old Testament Studies Degree :Doctor of Philosophy This dissertation deals with two exegetical traditions, that of the early Jewish and the patristic schools. The research work for this project urges the need to analyze both Jewish and Patristic literature in which specific types of hermeneutics are found. The title of the thesis (“compared study of patristic and Jewish exegesis”) indicates the goal and the scope of this study. These two different hermeneutical approaches from a specific period of time will be compared with each other illustrated by their interpretation of the book of Ruth. The thesis discusses how the process of interpretation was affected by the interpreters’ society in which they lived. This work in turn shows the relationship between the cultural variants of the exegetes and the biblical interpretation. Both methodologies represented by Jewish and patristic exegesis were applicable and social relevant. They maintained the interest of community and fulfilled the need of their generation. Referring to early Jewish exegesis, the interpretations upheld the position of Ruth as a heir of the Davidic dynasty. They advocated the importance of Boaz’s and Ruth’s virtue as a good illustration of morality in Judaism. -
Dxy Iig F"Qyz Oeygxn F"K November 17•18, '06 Say It Clearly
zyxt zay e"dl dxy iig f"qyz oeygxn f"k November 17•18, '06 Say it clearly... and mean it Avraham sends Eliezer on a vital mission: to find a wife for Yitzchak. When he gets to the spring near Aram Naharayim towards evening, he realizes that he does not have a plan as to how to fulfill he task. He turns to G•d and asks A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical for kindness to his master Avraham. Eliezer now has a plan. He will ask the and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby girls who come to the spring to draw water, for a drink. The one that willbetter fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... give him a drink and also offer to water his camels • that's the one Thisfor Shabbat, we bench and Yitzchak. Okay, we all know that. And we also know that Rivka shows upannounce Rosh Chodesh Kislev, even before Eliezer's words are finished. And we know that she becamewhich will be Tuesday and Rivka Imeinu. But... Wednesday. "Usually", there is only one day R"Ch for Kislev, The Gemara says that even though Eliezer did not "ask" properly, he wassince Cheshvan "usually" has answered well. With his plan, he could have gotten an inappropriate shiduch only 29 days. In a "full" year (when there are 355 or 385 days for Yitzchak, but G•d sent him the right girl. Rambam takes this criticism of between one Rosh HaShana and the Eliezer one significant step further. -
Notes on the Noun Patterns in the Yemenite Tradition 51
NOTES ON THE NOUN PATTERNS IN THE YEMENITE TRADITION 51 Matthew MORGENSTERN University of Haifa NOTES ON THE NOUN PATTERNS IN THE YEMENITE TRADITION OF JEWISH BABYLONIAN ARAMAIC* RÉSUMÉ La tradition yéménite de lecture du Talmud de Babylone a été perçue par certains savants (par exemple S. Morag), comme une source fiable pour la vocalisation du judéo-araméen de Babylonie. Cette étude confronte la vocalisation yéménite des formes nominales aux données que nous fournissent les manuscrits ainsi que d'autres matériaux et suggère que, dans plusieurs cas, la tradition yéménite ne con- serve pas les formes authentiques. La seconde partie de l'article consiste en un examen détaillé de cas d'alternance entre gentilices et nomina agentis dans les textes araméens de Babylonie. SUMMARY The Yemenite reading tradition of the Babylonian Talmud has been regarded by some authorities (e.g. S. Morag) as providing a reliable source for the vocalization of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. The present study considers the Yemenite vocaliza- tion of nominal forms in the light of manuscript evidence and comparative material and suggests that in many cases, the Yemenite tradition does not preserve the his- torical forms. The article cncludes with a detailed examination of interchanges be- tween the gentilic and nomen agentis forms in Babylonian Aramaic sources. Until recently, information on the noun patterns found in Jewish Babylo- nian Aramaic (JBA) could be gleaned from three published grammars. The first is the English edition of Levias’s A Grammar of the Aramaic Idiom Contained in the Babylonian Talmud, which lists numerous examples ac- companied by copious notes and comparisons. -
Orthodox Divorce in Jewish and Islamic Legal Histories
Every Law Tells a Story: Orthodox Divorce in Jewish and Islamic Legal Histories Lena Salaymeh* I. Defining Wife-Initiated Divorce ................................................................................. 23 II. A Judaic Chronology of Wife-Initiated Divorce .................................................... 24 A. Rabbinic Era (70–620 CE) ............................................................................ 24 B. Geonic Era (620–1050 CE) ........................................................................... 27 C. Era of the Rishonim (1050–1400 CE) ......................................................... 31 III. An Islamic Chronology of Wife-Initiated Divorce ............................................... 34 A. Legal Circles (610–750 CE) ........................................................................... 34 B. Professionalization of Legal Schools (800–1050 CE) ............................... 37 C. Consolidation (1050–1400 CE) ..................................................................... 42 IV. Disenchanting the Orthodox Narratives ................................................................ 44 A. Reevaluating Causal Influence ...................................................................... 47 B. Giving Voice to the Geonim ......................................................................... 50 C. Which Context? ............................................................................................... 52 V. An Interwoven Narrative of Wife-Initiated Divorce ............................................ -
Berachot 5A When You Get up from the Sefer, Look for Something You Have Learned That You Can Live by (Igeret Ramban( NEWSLETTER - WEEK 7 - FEB 23-29, 2020
BeRachot 5a When you get up from the sefer, look for something you have learned that you can live by (Igeret Ramban( NEWSLETTER - WEEK 7 - FEB 23-29, 2020 haLachot • Even a Talmid Hacham, who constantly reviews his learning in his mind, must recite at least one verse of merciful supplication before retiring at night, such as (Tehillim 31:6): In Your hand I entrust my spirit; You redeemed me, O Hashem, God of truth (Gemara; see Pesukim). • Shulhan Aruch states that upon retiring for the night one says Shema, a collection of various verses (including Tehillim ibid.) and Birkat HaMapil (see O.H. 239:1). • One who recites Keriat Shema upon his bed when retiring for the night is as if he holds a double-edged sword in his hand to ward of the demons (see Likute Amarim #7; and Kaf HaHaim ibid. #14). • One fulfills the bedtime requirement by saying the first paragraph of Shema (Shulhan Aruch ibid.). It is preferable, though, to recite all three paragraphs (Kaf HaHaim ibid. #1). • Women are included in this requirement just like men (Kaf HaHaim ibid. #3). • When one experiences suffering it is an opportunity to serve Hashem with love by accepting the suffering willingly (Orah Mesharim 1:18; cf. Maharsha, Taanit 8a). • A person who suffers also must analyze his deeds and attempt to determine what he did wrong to deserve this suffering and rectify his deeds (Gemara; see Mussar). inspiRation The Gemara teaches that Hashem visits suffering upon those whom He loves, in order to cleanse them from their sins and increase their reward in the World to Come (Rashi; cf. -
Hebrew Names and Name Authority in Library Catalogs by Daniel D
Hebrew Names and Name Authority in Library Catalogs by Daniel D. Stuhlman BHL, BA, MS LS, MHL In support of the Doctor of Hebrew Literature degree Jewish University of America Skokie, IL 2004 Page 1 Abstract Hebrew Names and Name Authority in Library Catalogs By Daniel D. Stuhlman, BA, BHL, MS LS, MHL Because of the differences in alphabets, entering Hebrew names and words in English works has always been a challenge. The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) is the source for many names both in American, Jewish and European society. This work examines given names, starting with theophoric names in the Bible, then continues with other names from the Bible and contemporary sources. The list of theophoric names is comprehensive. The other names are chosen from library catalogs and the personal records of the author. Hebrew names present challenges because of the variety of pronunciations. The same name is transliterated differently for a writer in Yiddish and Hebrew, but Yiddish names are not covered in this document. Family names are included only as they relate to the study of given names. One chapter deals with why Jacob and Joseph start with “J.” Transliteration tables from many sources are included for comparison purposes. Because parents may give any name they desire, there can be no absolute rules for using Hebrew names in English (or Latin character) library catalogs. When the cataloger can not find the Latin letter version of a name that the author prefers, the cataloger uses the rules for systematic Romanization. Through the use of rules and the understanding of the history of orthography, a library research can find the materials needed.