The Mishnah: Religious Perspectives (handbook Of Oriental Studies/handbuch Der Orientalistik) (handbuch Der Orientalistik. Erste Abteilung, Der Nahe Und Mi)

Condensing research concerning questions of religion which encompass the social history of ideas and the religious use of language, this text deals with: the relationship of the Mishnah to Scripture; the relationship of the religious ideas people hold to their world; and the religious meaning of the formalization of language that characterizes the Mishnah in particular. In discussing how the Mishnah relates to Scripture an analysis is presented, based on a systematic application of a single taxonomic programme. Then an examination is made of how the stages in the unfolding of the Halakhah of the Mishnah relate to the principal events of the times which delinte those stages. Finally attention is given to methods of interpreting the rhetorical forms of the Mishnah in the context of the social culture laid bare by the socio-linguistics of the documents concerned. THE MISHNAH: RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 10 I. Category-Formations of the Halakhah Wholly Framed by the Written Torah......Page 14 a. Horayot......Page 16 b. Negaim......Page 17 c. Pesahim......Page 19 d. Shebuot......Page 21 e. Sotah......Page 22 f. Sukkah......Page 24 g. Yoma......Page 25 II. What the Oral Torah Did Not Contribute......Page 27 III. Category-Formations of the Halakhah Wholly Defined within the Oral Torah......Page 29 IV. Categories that Encompass in their System Facts Set forth in Scripture: [1] Berakhot......Page 31 V. Categories that Encompass in their System Facts Set forth in Scripture: [2] Taanit......Page 35 VI. The Oral Torah Forms a Category out of Scripture's Topic: Tamid......Page 37 VII. Categories beyond Scripture's Framework but Subordinate to Scripture's Own Categories: Demai......Page 39 VIII. The Oral, Torah's Own Categories: [1] Scripture's Imperatives without Scripture's Facts. Tohorot......Page 42 IX. The Oral Torah's Own Categories: [2] Uqsin......Page 45 X. The Oral Torah's Own Categories: [3] Ketubot......Page 47 XI. The Oral Torah's Original Categories: [4] Qiddushin......Page 49 XII. The Oral Torah's Original Categories......Page 51 XIII. The Oral Torah Systematizes the Written Torah's Category-Formations, Spirit and Letter Alike: The Four Interstitial Categories......Page 52 a. Subordinate but Not Concentric Expositions of the Same Category-Formations......Page 53 c. Received Letter, New Spirit: The Asymmetrical Category-Formations of the Oral Torah......Page 54 d. A Fresh Statement out of a Familiar Topic and Routine Exposition Thereof......Page 55 a. Abodah Zarah......Page 56 b. Arakhin......Page 59 c. Bekhorot......Page 60 d. Bikkurim......Page 61 e. Keritot......Page 62 f. Maaser Sheni......Page 64 g. Meilah......Page 65 h. Menahot......Page 67 j. Peak......Page 68 k. Rosh Hashanah......Page 69 l. Shebiˁit......Page 70 n. Yebamot......Page 71 XV. Where the. Letter Gives Life to the Spirit......Page 72 XVI. Types of Independent Exposition of Received Category-Formations. When the Oral Torah Reorganizes the Written Torah's Category-Formation......Page 74 a. Baba Qamma-Baba Mesia-Baba Batra......Page 75 b. Hagigah......Page 81 c. Kelim......Page 83 d. Megillah......Page 88 e. Miqvaot......Page 90 f. Sanhedrin-Makkot......Page 92 g. Zebahim......Page 95 XVII. Kaleidoscopic Discourse......Page 99 XVIII. Same Letter, New Spirit: When the Oral Torah Asks its Own Questions about the Written Torah's Topical Program......Page 103 a. Besah......Page 104 b. Erubin......Page 106 c. Gittin......Page 109 d. Hallah......Page 113 e. Hullin......Page 115 f. Moed Qatan......Page 118 g. Maaserot......Page 120 h. Makhshirin......Page 122 i. Ohalot......Page 124 j. Parah......Page 128 k. Shabbat......Page 131 XIX. Old Dog, New Tricks......Page 138 a. Kilayim......Page 143 b. Orlah......Page 145 c. Tebul Yom......Page 148 d. Temurah......Page 151 e. Terumot......Page 152 f. Yadayim......Page 155 g. Zabim and Niddah......Page 160 XXI. Original Variations on Borrowed Themes......Page 167 I. The Starting Point: Second Temple Times......Page 170 II. Methodological Foundations: Correlating Sequences of Sages with Sequences of Rulings......Page 174 III. Rabbinic Judaism in Second Temple Times?......Page 178 IV. The Phenomenological Reading: A quo......Page 181 V. The Historical Reading: Ad quem......Page 185 VI. Constructing Categories for Comparison and Contrast: The Systemic Approach......Page 192 VII. The Formative History of the Halakhic Category-Formations......Page 193 VIII. Vie Halakhah before 70......Page 196 IX. The Interim-Category-Formation: The Halakhah between the Wars of 66-70 and 132-135......Page 200 X. The Halakhah of the Mid-Second Century: The Halakhah's Fully-Realized Category-Formation in Structure and System......Page 206 XI. The Oral Torah Seen Whole: The Restoration of Eden through the Reconstruction of Israel's Social Order......Page 218 XII. One Whole Torah, Oral and Written?......Page 220 I. Formulation and Transmission of the Mishnah: By Whom, For What?......Page 224 II. Rhetoric and Reality......Page 229 III. Form and Meaning......Page 242 IV. Language, Reality, and Power......Page 246 V. Language Becomes ontology......Page 252 Abbreviations......Page 258 Index......Page 260 Back Matter......Page 264

Understanding the religious perspectives of the Mishnah starts with asking three questions. First, what is the relationship of the Mishnah to Scripture, or “oral torah” to “written torah,” for understanding the religion of Judaism? Second, what is the relationship between religious ideas and the world in which those ideas emerged? Third, what is the formal religious significance of the language of the Mishnah? These questions are posed with regard to a Judaism that existed from just prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. until around 200 C.E. and assumes as well the groundwork of Neusner’s earlier volume The Mishnah: Social Perspectives. In the present volume, Neusner condenses years of research on these questions and offers a clear and thorough analysis through a single lens. He looks closely at how the Halakhah of the Mishnah relates to the events prior to the Mishnah’s writing (e.g., the destruction of the Temple, ca. 70 C.E., and the Bar Kokhba War, ca. 135 C.E.), through the reconstruction following Bar Kokhba until the close of the Mishnah (ca. 200 C.E.). Readers also profit from a thorough sociolinguistic explication of the rhetorical forms of the Mishnah in the light of the social context of that time. The religious perspectives of the Mishnah do not simply record the rules and regulations of bygone times; rather, they mirror the way of life and the social and religious history of Judaism.

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Condensing Research Concerning Questions Of Religion Which Encompass The Social History Of Ideas And The Religious Uses Of Language, This Book Deals With Three Questions: The Relationship Of The Mishnah To Scripture, The Relationship Of The Religious Ideas People Hold To The World In Which They Live, And The Religious Meaning Of The Formalization Of Language That Characterizes The Mishnah In Particular. In Discussing How The Mishnah Relates To Scripture - In The (later) Mythic Language Of Rabbinic Judaism: The Oral Torah To The Written Torah - A Complete Analysis Is Presented, Based On A Systematic Application Of A Single Taxonomic Program. Then An Examination Is Made Of How The Stages In The Unfolding Of The Halakhah Of The Mishnah Relate To The Principal Events Of The Times, Which Delineate Those Stages. Here Focus Is Given To Those Pre-70 C.e. Components Of The Halakhah That Later Come To The Surface In The Mishnah, But Discussion Extends To The Periods From The Destruction Of The Temple In 70 C.e. To The Bar Kokhba War, Concluded In Ca. 135 C.e., Then From The Reconstruction, 135 C.e., To The Closure Of The Mishnah, 200 C.e. Finally Attention Is Given To Methods Of Interpreting The Rhetorical Forms Of The Mishnah In The Context Of The Social Culture Laid Bare By The Socio-linguistics Of The Documents Concerned. This Publication Has Also Been Published In Paperback, Please Click Here For Details. This text deals with: the relationship of the Mishnah to Scripture; the relationship of the religious ideas people hold to the world in which they live; and the religious meaning of the formalization of language that characterizes the Mishnah in particular.