The Cambridge Companion to the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature (Cambridge Companions to Religion)

This volume guides beginning students of rabbinic literature to the range of historical-interpretive and culture-critical issues that contemporary scholars use when studying the rabbinic texts of late antiquity. The editors, themselves well-known interpreters of rabbinic literature, have gathered an international collection of scholars to support students' initial steps in confronting the enormous and complex rabbinic corpus. Unlike other introductions to rabbinic writings, the present volume includes approaches shaped by anthropology, gender studies, oral-traditional studies, classics, and folklore studies. Cover 1 The Cambridge Companion to THE TALMUD AND RABBINIC LITERATURE 6 Contents 8 Contributors 10 Acknowledgments 12 Brief Time Line of Rabbinic Literature 14 Glossary 18 Abbreviations 22 THE TALMUD AND RABBINIC LITERATURE 24 Introduction: The Talmud, Rabbinic Literature, and Jewish Culture 26 the concept “rabbinic literature” 28 the main texts of rabbinic literature 30 the goals of the present volume 35 Part I: The Conditions of Rabbinic Literary Activity 40 1. Martin S. Jaffee: Rabbinic Authorship as a Collective Enterprise 42 all that writing – and no writers? the puzzle of rabbinic authorship 42 authorship in a collective mode 43 authorship by any other name: rabbinic representations of literary creativity 46 modes of collective authorship in rabbinic compilations 51 Lemmatic Composition 52 Intermediate Compositions: The “Microforms” 53 Documentary Compositions: The Macroforms 56 the anthological model of rabbinicliterary composition 57 conclusion: the authors of the rabbinic texts 60 Notes 60 2. Elizabeth Shanks Alexander: The Orality of Rabbinic Writing 63 oral torah: an unbroken chain of transmission 64 oral torah: actualizing the interpretive potential of written torah 67 a rhetoric of orality and written texts 71 the modern scholarly debate about the orality of rabbinic literature 73 purist understandings of rabbinic orality 74 integrating written texts into orality: a model from cross-cultural orality studies 76 rabbinic orality as the social enactment of written texts 78 Notes 81 3. Jeffrey L. Rubenstein: Social and Institutional Settings of Rabbinic Literature 83 tannaitic period (70–220 c.e.) 84 amoraic period: the land of israel (220–425 c.e.) 87 amoraic period: babylonia (200–550 c.e.) 91 the savoraic-stammaitic period (550–800 c.e.) 95 Notes 98 4. Seth Schwartz: The Political Geography of Rabbinic Texts 100 historiography and the question of rabbinic leadership 105 The Impact of Zionist Historiography 105 Reactions to Alon 107 Goodenough 108 Lieberman and Cultural History 110 History Challenged: The Intervention of Jacob Neusner 110 The Present 112 a remaining historiographical issue: rabbinic judaism in the christian roman empire 112 a remaining historiographical issue: rabbinic judaism in babylonia 114 Exilarchs and Rabbis 115 Notes 118 Part II: The Genres of Rabbinic Literary Composition 122 5. Steven D. Fraade: Rabbinic Midrash and Ancient Jewish Biblical Interpretation 124 exegetical traditions and contents 127 exegetical form and function 130 a case in point: reuben and bilhah 134 conclusion 143 Notes 144 6. Shaye J. D. Cohen: The Judaean Legal Tradition and the Halakhah of the Mishnah 146 1. scripture 148 2. the legal traditions of the ancient world 151 3. the common practice (or “common judaism”) of jewish society 152 4. the realia of jewish institutions 155 5. the teachings of the priests 156 6. the teachings of pietists and sectarians 158 7. the contribution of the mishnaic sages 159 conclusion: the old and the new in mishnaic law 163 Notes 165 7. Catherine Hezser: Roman Law and Rabbinic Legal Composition 169 the nature of roman and rabbinic legal thinking 169 the social setting of rabbis’ and roman jurists’ legal practice 172 the topics of legal discourse in roman and jewish society 176 the formulation and transmission of legal traditions in rabbinic and greco-roman society 178 legal codification in rabbinic and roman society 184 bibliographical excursus: key figures in comparative legal studies 186 Notes 187 8. Yaakov Elman: Middle Persian Culture and Babylonian Sages: Accommodation and Resistance in the Shaping of Rabbinic Legal Tradition 190 jews and persians 190 religious ferment in the sasanian empire 191 accommodation, resistance, and the shaping of rabbinic legal conceptions 193 the range of acculturation 194 intimate lifestyle issues 195 the kulturkampf: mahoza and pumbedita 198 intellectual-theological engagement 201 1. Authority and Authenticity of Oral Tradition 201 2. Theodicy 204 ritual acculturation 205 legal accommodation 208 1. Parallels and Convergences 208 2. Land Tenure and Private “Eminent Domain” 209 3. Conditional and Returnable Gifts 210 4. Meeting the Competition of Persian Courts 210 5. Keeping Estates Together 211 6. Nonaccommodation: Women’s Property, Inheritance, and Other Civil Rights 211 rabbinic cultural sensibility 213 1. Judicial Efficiency 213 2. Cosmopolitanism 214 conclusion: degrees of acculturation in different communities 215 Mahoza 215 Samuel of Neharde'a 217 R. Yosef of Pumbedita 217 Rav of Sura 218 Notes 220 9. Michael D. Swartz: Jewish Visionary Tradition in Rabbinic Literature 223 visions of god 223 the visionary tradition 225 hekhalot literature 229 A. Narratives of Ascent 230 B. Hymnology 233 C. The Shape of God 235 D. Rituals and Incantations 236 experience, literature, myth, and ritual 238 jewish visionary traditions in context 241 Notes 244 10. Galit Hasan-Rokem: An Almost Invisible Presence: MultilingualPuns in Rabbinic Literature 247 Notes 261 Part III: Hermeneutical Frames for Interpreting Rabbinic Literature 266 11. Christine Hayes: The “Other” in Rabbinic Literature 268 external others: gentiles 269 The Gentile as Ethnic Other 270 The Gentile as Religious Other 271 Gentiles and Purity 273 Gentiles and Moral Impurity 275 Interethnic Sexual Unions and Intermarriage 276 Converts 278 Fearers/Venerators of God/Heaven 280 internal others 282 Christians and Heretics 283 Holy Men, Wonder Workers 284 The ‘Am Ha’arez. 285 conclusion 287 Notes 288 12. Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert: Regulating the Human Body: Rabbinic Legal Discourse and the Making of Jewish Gender 295 the body in rabbinic legal discourse 299 ambiguous bodies 305 the rabbinic hermaphrodite and its roman context 309 conclusion 313 Notes 314 13. Isaiah Gafni: Rabbinic Historiography and Representations of the Past 320 Notes 334 14. Jonathan Wyn Schofer: Rabbinical Ethical Formation and the Formation of Rabbinic Ethical Compilations 338 ethical themes and concerns 338 ethical anthologies 341 a maxim and ethical exegesis: “make a fence for the torah” 344 a maxim and its travels 348 a concept and its development 353 conclusion 358 Notes 358 15. Daniel Boyarin: Hellenism in Jewish Babylonia 361 dating the talmud: the stammaitic hypothesis 364 between the talmuds 368 dialectic and divination 373 rabbi eliezer at nicaea: rufinus at yavneh 376 Notes 383 Bibliography 390 Index 418 Source Index 426 Other titles in the series (continued from page iii) 438 Back Cover 440 Rabbinic Authorship As A Collective Enterprise / Martin S. Jaffee -- The Orality Of Rabbinic Writing / Elizabeth Shanks Alexander -- Social And Institutional Settings Of Rabbinic Literature / Jeffrey L. Rubenstein -- The Political Geography Of Rabbinic Texts / Seth Schwartz -- Rabbinic Midrash And Ancient Jewish Biblical Interpretation / Steven D. Fraade -- The Judaean Legal Tradition And The Halakhah Of The Mishnah / Shaye J.d. Cohen -- Roman Law And Rabbinic Legal Composition / Catherine Hezser -- Middle Persian Culture And Babylonian Sages : Accommodation And Resistance In The Shaping Of Rabbinic Legal Tradition / Yaakov Elman -- Jewish Visionary Tradition In Rabbinic Literature / Michael D. Swartz -- An Almost Invisible Presence : Multilingual Puns In Rabbinic Literature / Galit Hasan-rokem -- The Other In Rabbinic Literature / Christine Hayes -- Regulating The Human Body : Rabbinic Legal Discourse And The Making Of Jewish Gender / Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert -- Rabbinic Historiography And Representations Of The Past / Isaiah Gafni -- Rabbinical Ethical Formation And The Formation Of Rabbinic Ethical Compilations / Jonathan Wyn Schofer -- Hellenism In Jewish Babylonia / Daniel Boyarin. Edited By Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert, Martin S. Jaffee. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 365-392) And Indexes. Rabbinic authorship as a collective enterprise / Martin S. Jaffee The orality of rabbinic writing / Elizabeth Shanks Alexander Social and institutional settings of rabbinic literature / Jeffrey L. Rubenstein The political geography of rabbinic texts / Seth Schwartz Rabbinic midrash and ancient Jewish biblical interpretation / Steven D. Fraade The Judaean legal tradition and the halakhah of the Mishnah / Shaye J.D. Cohen Roman law and rabbinic legal composition / Catherine Hezser Middle Persian culture and Babylonian sages : accommodation and resistance in the shaping of rabbinic legal tradition / Yaakov Elman Jewish visionary tradition in rabbinic literature / Michael D. Swartz The almost invisible presence : multi-lingual puns in rabbinic literature / Galit Hasan-Rokem The "other" in rabbinic literature / Christine Hayes Regulating the human body : rabbinic legal discourse and the making of Jewish gender / Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert Rabbinic historiography and representations of the past / Isaiah Gafni Rabbinical ethical formation and the formation of rabbinic ethical compilations / Jonathan Wyn Schofer Hellenism in Jewish Babylonia / Daniel Boyarin. This companion guides beginning students of rabbinic literature to the range of historical-interpretive and culture-critical issues that contemporary scholars use when studying the rabbinic texts of late antiquity