The Anti-Samaritan Attitude As Reflected in Rabbinic Midrashim
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Rebuke in Tanḥuma- Yelammedenu Literature
chapter 8 An Inescapable Obligation: Rebuke in Tanḥuma- Yelammedenu Literature The final chapter of our exploration of early Jewish and Christian responses to Lev. 19:17 takes us to a late (or “post-classical”) midrashic text of ambigu- ous provenance: Midrash Tanḥuma. Like the term Midrash, Tanḥuma refers to both a process or genre of literature and an actual work.1 What I shall refer to as Tanḥuma Yelammedenu or simply Yelammedenu denotes a process or genre of Midrash that involves a particular set of features, especially a record of stu- dents requesting of a teacher that he teach them – yelammedenu rabbenu, the phrase from which this genre derives its name.2 Yelammedenu traditions ap- pear in a number of later midrashic texts including Shemot Rabbah, Bemidbar Rabbah, and Devarim Rabbah, as well as Pesiqta Rabbati. What I shall designate here as Midrash Tanḥuma or simply Tanḥuma is a collection of midrashim or- ganized according to a triennial cycle of Pentateuchal readings. This collec- tion, which will be our primary focus, appears in two main versions typically referred to as the “printed edition” and the “Buber edition,” the latter named for its editor Salomon Buber. Previous generations of scholars debated the existence of an “early Tanḥuma” that preserved more “original” versions of the traditions found in our extant collections.3 There has also been significant debate over the dating of the Tanḥuma collections more generally. Contemporary work on Tanḥuma Yelammedenu suggests that this genre “began to crystallize toward the end of the Byzantine period in Palestine (5–7th cen. CE), but continued to evolve and spread throughout the Diaspora well into the Middle Ages, sometimes devel- oping different recensions of a common text.”4 The major versions of Midrash Tanḥuma as we know them stem from the medieval period with the printed edition likely redacted in geonic Babylonia and the Buber edition redacted in 1 See Bregman, Sifrut Tanḥuma-Yelammedenu, chap. -
Parshat Naso
Parshat Naso A free excerpt from the Kehot Publication Society's Chumash Bemidbar/Book of Numbers with commentary based on the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, produced by Chabad of California. The full volume is available for purchase at www.kehot.com. For personal use only. All rights reserved. The right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form, requires permission in writing from Chabad of California, Inc. THE TORAH - CHUMASH BEMIDBAR WITH AN INTERPOLATED ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY BASED ON THE WORKS OF THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE Copyright © 2006-2009 by Chabad of California THE TORAHSecond,- revisedCHUMASH printingB 2009EMIDBAR WITH AN INTERPOLATED ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARYA BprojectASED ON of THE WORKS OF ChabadTHE LUBAVITCH of CaliforniaREBBE 741 Gayley Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024 310-208-7511Copyright / Fax © 310-208-58112004 by ChabadPublished of California, by Inc. Kehot Publication Society 770 Eastern Parkway,Published Brooklyn, by New York 11213 Kehot718-774-4000 Publication / Fax 718-774-2718 Society 770 Eastern Parkway,[email protected] Brooklyn, New York 11213 718-774-4000 / Fax 718-774-2718 Order Department: 291 KingstonOrder Avenue, Department: Brooklyn, New York 11213 291 Kingston718-778-0226 Avenue / /Brooklyn, Fax 718-778-4148 New York 11213 718-778-0226www.kehot.com / Fax 718-778-4148 www.kehotonline.com All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book All rightsor portions reserved, thereof, including in any the form, right without to reproduce permission, this book or portionsin writing, thereof, from in anyChabad form, of without California, permission, Inc. in writing, from Chabad of California, Inc. The Kehot logo is a trademark ofThe Merkos Kehot L’Inyonei logo is a Chinuch,trademark Inc. -
Summer Quarter Sunday School 2006
FALL QUARTER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2014 THEME: DISPLACED BUT NOT MISPLACED THROUGH TRUSTING THE IMMUTABLE GOD Unit III – Visions of Grandeur “ The Return of God’s Glory” Sunday School Lesson No. IX – November 2, 2014 Presented by Rev. Frank A. Davis, III Lesson Text: Ezekiel 43:1-12 (NLT) Motto Text: Ezekiel 43:4 (NLT), “And the glory of the LORD came into the Temple through the east gateway.” Required Reading: Ezekiel 40 – 43:12 Reliable Resources: David Jeremiah Study Bible; Precepts for Living (UMI); Pilgrim Study Bible (Notes); Preaching from the Prophets (Kyle Yates); Union Gospel Press Expositor and Illuminator; Standard Lesson Commentary; Nelson’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible (1980); Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (1993); The Message (Translation); Children’s Ministry Resource Bible; The Outline Study Bible by H. L. Willmington LESSON INTRODUCTION First, I want to acknowledge my limitations as an expositor of this great text and pray that the Holy Spirit will bring illumination to those who study the text so that all glory will rest at the feet of our God! Now, according to the notes of the Union Gospel Press Expositor and Illuminator: “Our lessons this quarter began with several passages from Jeremiah that reassured Judah in its darkest days…But as our second unit from Habakkuk and Job revealed, dark nights can descend on the soul to tax hope to the breaking point…Our final five lessons, four from Ezekiel and one from Isaiah, return us to the brighter prospects awaiting the saints in the last days.” In “Precepts for Living” we find, “Just as God showed the Apostle John a revelation of the future in a vision, which included the New Jerusalem (Rev. -
A Midrashic Reading of the Akedah
The Fruits of Dissent and the Operationalization of Faith: A Midrashic Reading of the Akedah Elliot Lyons 1 Introduction The Bible is a text fraught with ‘gaps’ – narrative silences, inconsistencies, and places where questions arise – and as such yearns to be interpreted. Genesis 22, Abraham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac, the Akedah (‘binding’) as it is known in Judaism, is nothing but exemplary in this regard. The biblical text main- tains two ‘gaps’1 where Midrash – biblical interpretation in the Jewish tradi- tion which juxtaposes biblical passages – places Satan into the narrative in a manner that emphasizes the fortification of faith through interrogating its very premises.2 The more questions put to Abraham, in other words, the deeper his faith becomes. Accordingly, this chapter will begin by locating the two main ‘gaps’ in the text: Genesis 22:1, where Abraham was tested “after these things/ words”, and the narratological gap between verses three and four. In presenting the textual gaps, I will use traditional historical-critical exegesis in order to juxtapose the radical potential and imagination present in Midrash to a method of interpre- tation that either entirely fails to answer the gaps, or only glimpses the tip of the theological iceberg that is the Akedah. Next I will discuss three Midrashim, from Genesis Rabbah (GR), from Midrash Tanhumah Yelammedenu (TY), and from the Babylonian Talmud (BT), which reconsider the gaps from the first half of the chapter in light of Satan questioning the ethics of a sacrifice-forged faith, and God pressing the grim task of filicide. 1 There is another ‘gap’ between the end of chapter 22 and the beginning of chapter 23, where Abraham returns and finds Sarah dead. -
TALMUDIC FORGERIES a CASE STUDY in ANTI-JEWISH PROPAGANDA by BEN ZION BOKSER HROUGHOUT History, the Talmud Has Been a Main Targe
TALMUDIC FORGERIES A CASE STUDY IN ANTI-JEWISH PROPAGANDA By BEN ZION BOKSER HROUGHOUT history, the Talmud has been a main target of the attacks by enemies of Judaism. The recent rise in Nazi-inspired propaganda, accordingly, brought with it a recrudescence of the accusations made against this store- house of Jewish lore. The falsification of Talmudic texts and the distortion of their teachings are spread with increased vigor throughout the English-speaking world. The fact that these libels have been exposed repeatedly by the testimony of Jewish as well as Christian scholars has not deterred present day purveyors of these slanders from at- tempting to portray the Talmud as the fountainhead of an inferior and unethical morality. It may seem incredible to the average person that the Jewish religion, mother of all monotheistic religions of justice and mercy, should need de- fense against such accusations. But this study is less a defense and refutation than an analysis of the way these propagandists work, and the combination of unscrupulous distortion and crudity which characterizes their attack. It is also an ex- posure of the real motives for which these attacks are only an opening wedge. WHAT THE TALMUD IS The Talmud is a record of opinions and discussions on all phases of law and life culled from the utterances of those out- standing Jewish teachers who functioned in the academies of Palestine and Babylonia during the first five centuries of the 1939 TALMUDIC FORGERIES 7 common era. The earliest layer of the Talmud is the Mish- nah, a product of Palestinian scholarship and written in a clear, lucid Hebrew. -
The Generic Transformation of the Masoretic Text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah
Durham E-Theses Wine, women and work: the generic transformation of the Masoretic text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah Hardy, John Christopher How to cite: Hardy, John Christopher (1995) Wine, women and work: the generic transformation of the Masoretic text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5403/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 WINE, WOMEN AND WORK: THE GENERIC TRANSFORMATION OF THE MA50RETIC TEXT OF QOHELET 9. 7-10 IN THE TARGUM QOHELET AND QOHELET MIDRASH RABBAH John Christopher Hardy This tnesis seeks to understand the generic changes wrought oy targum Qonelet and Qoheiet raidrash rabbah upon our home-text, the masoretes' reading ot" woh. -
Through the Looking Glass: Reflections on Ezek 43:3, Num 12:8 and 1 Cor 13:8
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: REFLECTIONS ON EZEK 43:3, NUM 12:8 AND 1 COR 13:8 by MICHAEL FISHBANE Brandeis University. Waltham, MA 02254-91 JO The role of visions dominates the Book of Ezekiel. Apart from the prophet's inaugural vision in chap. I, and the related vision of the divine Glory in chap. IO, prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, there is, of course, the guided heavenly tour of the New Temple which Ezekiel receives in chaps. 40-42. In addition to these cosmic or meta-historical visions, a whole series of historical visions makes up the texture of Ezekiel's prophecies. Generations of scholars pondered their Sit:z im Leben and speculated about their authenticity. In this context, we may simply recall the diverse discussions concerning the content of the vision of the abominations in Jerusalem found in chap. 8. 1 In addition, many other of Ezekiel's predictions (like the vision of the Valley of Bones and the Gog and Magog prophecy) are rendered in a highly descriptive and visual imagery. Ezekiel is thus a seer: a seer of the future and of transcendent realities. Moreover, like his ancient counterparts, the key verb used in Ezekiel's visions is the stem riPah;2 and the key expression describing the intensity of divine influence is that the "hand of YHWH" was "upon" him. 3 I. Cf. the commentaries of Cooke (1936), Greenberg (1983) and Zimmerli (1979, 1983) ad loc (with literature cited); and also Gaster (1969), pp. 607 I I. 2. For this verb in the book of Ezekiel, cf. -
Feminist Sexual Ethics Project
Feminist Sexual Ethics Project Same-Sex Marriage Gail Labovitz Senior Research Analyst, Feminist Sexual Ethics Project There are several rabbinic passages which take up, or very likely take up, the subject of same-sex marital unions – always negatively. In each case, homosexual marriage (particularly male homosexual marriage) is rhetorically stigmatized as the practice of non-Jewish (or pre-Israelite) societies, and is presented as an outstanding marker of the depravity of those societies; homosexual marriage is thus clearly associated with the Other. The first three of the four rabbinic texts presented here also associate homosexual marriage with bestiality. These texts also employ a rhetoric of fear: societal recognition of such homosexual relationships will bring upon that society extreme forms of Divine punishment – the destruction of the generation of the Flood, the utter defeat of the Egyptians at the Exodus, the wiping out of native Canaanite peoples in favor of the Israelites. The earliest source on this topic is in the tannaitic midrash to the book of Leviticus. Like a number of passages in Leviticus, including chapter 18 to which it is a commentary, the midrashic passage links sexual sin and idolatry to the Egyptians (whom the Israelites defeated in the Exodus) and the Canaanites (whom the Israelites will displace when they come into their land). The idea that among the sins of these peoples was the recognition of same-sex marriages is not found in the biblical text, but is read in by the rabbis: Sifra Acharei Mot, parashah 9:8 “According to the doings of the Land of Egypt…and the doings of the Land of Canaan…you shall not do” (Leviticus 18:3): Can it be (that it means) don’t build buildings, and don’t plant plantings? Thus it (the verse) teaches (further), “And you shall not walk in their statutes.” I say (that the prohibition of the verse applies) only to (their) statutes – the statutes which are theirs and their fathers and their fathers’ fathers. -
Why Sacrifices in the Millennium
Scholars Crossing Article Archives Pre-Trib Research Center May 2009 Why Sacrifices in The Millennium Thomas D. Ice Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_arch Recommended Citation Ice, Thomas D., "Why Sacrifices in The Millennium" (2009). Article Archives. 60. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_arch/60 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Pre-Trib Research Center at Scholars Crossing. It has been accepted for inclusion in Article Archives by an authorized administrator of Scholars Crossing. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHY LITERAL SACRIFICES IN THE MILLENNIUM Tom's Perspectives by Thomas Ice A common objection to the consistent literal interpretation of Bible prophecy is found in Ezekiel’s Temple vision (Ezek. 40—48). Opponents argue that if this is a literal, future Temple, then it will require a return to the sacrificial system that Christ made obsolete since the prophet speaks of “atonement” (kiper) in Ezekiel 43:13, 27; 45:15, 17, 20. This is true! Critics believe this to be a blasphemous contradiction to the finished work of Christ as presented in Hebrews 10. Hank Hanegraaff says that I have “exacerbated the problem by stating that without animal sacrifices in the Millennium, Yahweh’s holiness would be defiled. That, for obvious reasons, is blasphemous.” He further says that such a view constitutes a return “to Old Covenant sacrifices.”1 “Is it heretical to believe that a Temple and sacrifices will once again exist,” ask John Schmitt and Carl Laney? “Ezekiel himself believed it was a reality and the future home of Messiah. -
The Relationship Between Targum Song of Songs and Midrash Rabbah Song of Songs
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TARGUM SONG OF SONGS AND MIDRASH RABBAH SONG OF SONGS Volume I of II A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2010 PENELOPE ROBIN JUNKERMANN SCHOOL OF ARTS, HISTORIES, AND CULTURES TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME ONE TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................ 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. 2 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. 6 DECLARATION ........................................................................................................ 7 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ....................................................................................... 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND DEDICATION ............................................................... 9 CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 11 1.1 The Research Question: Targum Song and Song Rabbah ......................... 11 1.2 The Traditional View of the Relationship of Targum and Midrash ........... 11 1.2.1 Targum Depends on Midrash .............................................................. 11 1.2.2 Reasons for Postulating Dependency .................................................. 14 1.2.2.1 Ambivalence of Rabbinic Sources Towards Bible Translation .... 14 1.2.2.2 The Traditional -
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Maxwell Institute Publications 2000 The eD ad Sea Scrolls: Questions and Responses for Latter-day Saints Donald W. Parry Stephen D. Ricks Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/mi Part of the Religious Education Commons Recommended Citation Parry, Donald W. and Ricks, Stephen D., "The eD ad Sea Scrolls: Questions and Responses for Latter-day Saints" (2000). Maxwell Institute Publications. 25. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/mi/25 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maxwell Institute Publications by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Preface What is the Copper Scroll? Do the Dead Sea Scrolls contain lost books of the Bible? Did John the Baptist study with the people of Qumran? What is the Temple Scroll? What about DNA research and the scrolls? We have responded to scores of such questions on many occasions—while teaching graduate seminars and Hebrew courses at Brigham Young University, presenting papers at professional symposia, and speaking to various lay audiences. These settings are always positive experiences for us, particularly because they reveal that the general membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a deep interest in the scrolls and other writings from the ancient world. The nonbiblical Dead Sea Scrolls are of great import because they shed much light on the cultural, religious, and political position of some of the Jews who lived shortly before and during the time of Jesus Christ. -
4 / Midrash and History: a Key to the Babelesque Imagination
4 / Midrash and History: A Key to the Babelesque Imagination Myth as History Myth in Babelʹ’s fiction gives an illusion of the epic while mocking it, and reads unorthodox interpretations and essential truths into history. For Babelʹ, the myths of history and religion were a subtle medium for allegorical parallels, as well as ironic allusions to a moral message. This is an essentially midrashic approach to history, fol- lowing the ancient Jewish storytelling tradition that imaginatively elaborates on biblical and historical narrative, usually for exegetic or homiletic purposes, and playfully draws on intertextual, ver- bal, and semantic associations. Often new, contemporary meaning is introduced into the reading of familiar stories, or biblical ver- ses are given unexpected levels of meaning that dramatizes bib- lical figures as human. As Daniel Boyarin has demonstrated, midrash, the biblical metacommentary that forms part of Tal- mudic lore, is fundamentally intertextual and sets up a coded dua- lity between the exegetical text and the quoted or referenced pas- sage. When a textual moment is felt to be awkward, what Michel Rifattere terms “ungrammaticality” points to gaps that provide the key to decoding through another text.1 The midrashic mode informs the Jewish imagination at times of cultural repression (such as under the Romans or the Tsars), and characterizes the way the canon of Jewish literature has developed and renewed itself. There is something we might call midrashic in Babelʹ’s view of history. 129 4 / Midrash and History We may find a key to Babelʹ’s midrashic view of history in the art of the Polish painter in Red Cavalry.