On Jacob Neusner's Judaism's Theological Voice

The Review of Rabbinic Judaism 14 (2011) 111–119 brill.nl/rrj

From Metaphor to Substance: On Jacob Neusner’s Judaism’s Theological Voice: The Melody of the Talmud1

Dov Schwartz Department of Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900 Israel [email protected]

When discussing the role of music within the Jewish philosophical tradition, at least three different domains could be considered:

(A) The theory of music. This domain is concerned with the laws of music and involves two central aspects: (1) An educational aspect. In antiquity, in the Middle Ages, and in the Renaissance, musical theory was a required subject of study for every intellectual. (2) A content aspect. Musical theory was perceived as mathematical, hence also related to natural phenomena such as astronomy (the movement of the spheres and planets) and anatomy (the pulse). (B) Musical performance. This domain is concerned with musical skill and also includes two aspects: (1) A historical and apologetic aspect. The song of the Levites in the Temple was perceived as the ideal model of musical performance. (2) A value aspect. Musical performance was perceived as important so long as it served religious aims. Religious thought viewed the playing of secular music as improper, even until the present. (C) Musical creativity. This domain deals with composition and also involves two aspects: (1) A liturgical aspect. Composition is connected to prayer, that is, to piyyut. The concern with the text ofpiyyutim ultimately touches on their musical value.

1 Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.

(2) A conscious aspect. In the modern period, interest has focused on the connection between composition and the composer’s religious world.2

This review addresses the literary endeavor of Professor Jacob Neusner, who not only studies but creates a theology. Neusner’s theological creativity, which seems to be profoundly indebted to music and musical inspiration, covers all aspects of music.

Music and Theology In Judaism’s Theological Voice, Jacob Neusner has written an entire book pre- senting the Talmud as a musical theology. Unlike theologians such as Heschel, he does not deal systematically with medieval Jewish thought, relying rather directly on Talmudic literature. Yet, Judaism’s Theological Voice: The Melody of the Talmud is unquestionably a theological building requiring separate discussion. It could be viewed as another link in Neusner’s claim that tannaitic and amoraic literature reflect a philosophy and conceptual world view. Contrary to the widely accepted view among scholars in various disciplines that states that this literature is almost entirely indifferent to Greek and Hellenistic philosophy, Neusner claims it does include philosophical claims and analyses. He holds that Talmudic literature relies on distinctively philosophical modes of thought.3 Theology for Neusner evolves by means of a rational philosophical method.4 In Judaism’s Theological Voice, Neusner focuses as usual for him on Talmu- dic literature and, through it, proposes a constructive and definitely musical theology of Judaism. It bears note that this is a theological work in both form and content. Neusner writes almost without any of the footnotes and the bibliography that are inseparable aspects of his other works. The book, how- ever, has hardly evoked any reaction since its publication and has not aroused wide interest, despite its originality. Neusner’s discussion appears to be the culmination of the perception of music as metaphor, as language, as dialogue, and as a leading theological and hermeneutical principle in Judaism. The

2 I discuss these aspects in a book about the manifestations of the musical motif in Jewish thought (in progress). 3 See, for instance, Raphael Jospe, “Jafet in Sems Zelten: oder was die Talmudischen und jüdischen Philosophen unter ‘Weisheit des Griechischen verstanden,’ ” in Judaica: Beiträge zum Verstehen des Judentums, 65 (2009), pp. 319–320. 4 Neusner, Judaism’s Theological Voice, pp. 55, 180–182.