A Bride Without a Blessing

A Bride Without a Blessing
Author: David Brodsky
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Total Pages: 588
Release: 2006
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9783161490194

David Brodsky uses form and source criticism to date Massekhet Kallah and the first two chapters of Kallah Rabbati - which form a commentary on Massekhet Kallah - to the mid-amoraic period (circa late third and early fifth centuries CE respectively), and to locate their redaction in Babylonia. This makes these two sources the only known rabbinic texts whose final redaction took place in Babylonia during the amoraic period, and establishes them as the closest extant relatives of the Babylonian Talmud. Parallels between these two sources and the Babylonian Talmud elucidate the nature of oral transmission and of the redactional processes of Babylonian rabbinic material during this critical period, and, thereby, of the Babylonian Talmud itself. In addition, the author deciphers Massekhet Kallah's peculiar asceticism: a concern with men's inappropriate use of or interactions with their wives, charity, vows, and even with the group's own transmitted traditions. Massekhet Kallah fears the physical and at times cosmic effects of such inappropriate behavior. Brodsky finds that these items were all deemed consecrated, removed from the realm of normal interaction. To have mundane interaction with them was a powerful and dangerous act. Brodsky explores the fascinating gender and theological implications of this unique asceticism.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion

The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion
Author: Adele Berlin
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 962
Release: 2011
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 0199730040

"The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion has been the go-to resource for students, scholars, and researchers in Judaic Studies since its 1997 publication. Now, The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, Second Edition focuses on recent and changing rituals in the Jewish community that have come to the fore since the 1997 publication of the first edition, including the growing trend of baby-naming ceremonies and the founding of gay/lesbian synagogues. Under the editorship of Adele Berlin, nearly 200 internationally renowned scholars have created a new edition that incorporates updated bibliographies, biographies of 20th-century individuals who have shaped the recent thought and history of Judaism, and an index with alternate spellings of Hebrew terms. Entries from the previous edition have been be revised, new entries commissioned, and cross-references added, all to increase ease of navigation research." -- Provided by publisher.

A Scripture Index to Rabbinic Literature

A Scripture Index to Rabbinic Literature
Author: Caleb T. Friedeman
Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers
Total Pages: 569
Release: 2021-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 168307193X

A Scripture Index to Rabbinic Literature is a comprehensive Scripture index that catalogs approximately 90,000 references to the Bible found in classical rabbinic literature. This literature comprises two categories: (1) Talmudic literature (i.e., the Mishnah and related works) and (2) midrashic literature (i.e., biblical commentary). Each rabbinic reference includes a hard citation following SBL Handbook of Style, the page number where the reference can be found in a standard English edition, and an indication of whether the biblical reference is a direct citation, allusion, or editorial reference. This incredibly handy reference work is the first of its kind and is a welcome addition to Hendrickson's well-crafted line of reference books. Key points and features: A comprehensive Scripture index to classical rabbinic literature in EnglishIncludes references to the Mishnah, the Tosefta, the Jerusalem Talmud, and the Babylonian Talmud, as well as the Mekilta, Midrash Rabbah, Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer, and many moreApproximately 90,000 references include a hard citation, a page number in a standard English edition, and an indication of whether the biblical reference is a direct citation, allusion, or editorial referenceSaves researchers large amounts of time and energy by bringing together a vast amount of data that was previously located across many disparate resources.

Lost Documents of Rabbinic Judaism

Lost Documents of Rabbinic Judaism
Author: Jacob Neusner
Publisher: University Press of America
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2010-07-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0761852425

The canonical documents of Rabbinic Judaism impose upon most of their components fixed patterns of rhetoric, recurrent logic of coherent discourse, and a well-defined topic or program, for example, a commentary on a biblical book or on a legal topic. But some few compositions and composites of the Rabbinic canon of late antiquity diverge from the formal norms of the compilations in which they occur. In these pages, Neusner assembles anomalous compositions that occur in the Mishnah, Tosefta, four Tannaite Midrashim, and Genesis Rabbah, and he further tests the uniformity of the forms that govern in a familiar chapter of the Bavli. Neusner's surveys show for the documents probed here that some small segment of the composites and compositions of the surveyed documents does not conform to the indicative rules of rhetoric, topic, and logic. Consequently, we face the challenge of constructing models of lost documents of the Rabbinic canon, conforming to the models governing anomalous compositions. These follow other topical and rhetorical norms and therefore belong in other, different types of documents from those in which they now are located. These anomalous writings in topic, logic, or rhetoric (or all three) in theory reveal indicative characteristics other than the ones defining the compositions and composites of the documents in which they are now located.

Jewish Biblical Legends

Jewish Biblical Legends
Author: Joel S. Allen
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2013-09-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1621898903

This book introduces Christian readers of the Bible to the otherworldly way in which the rabbis of ancient times interpreted sacred texts. You will discover how the rabbis sought to keep their congregations engaged by telling tales, parables about the Bible. Sometimes they made up whole new background stories that do not appear in Scripture but shed light on it. They were gifted storytellers, and sometimes--almost like Doc in Back to the Future--crazy but brilliant inventers. And like Marty McFly, we can climb into this literary DeLorean and speed back to a time when sages saw things in Scripture that we could never see. Their interpretive insights were based upon immense knowledge of what we call the Old Testament. This knowledge they employed to keep the congregations engaged and informed. They may end up doing the same for us if we listen to what they have to teach us.

The Iranian Talmud

The Iranian Talmud
Author: Shai Secunda
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2014
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812245709

The Iranian Talmud reexamines the Babylonian Talmud—one of Judaism's most central texts—in the light of Persian literature and culture, providing an unprecedented and accessible overview to the vibrant world of pre-Islamic Iran that shaped the Bavli.