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Jewish Identity in Early Rabbinic Writings
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Jewish Identity in Early Rabbinic Writings is more than a question of legal status: it is the experience of being Jewish or of 'Jewishness' in all its social and cultural dimensions. This work describes this experience as it emerges in Talmudic and Midrashic sources.
Besides the question of “who is a Jew?”, topics include the contrast between Israel and the non-Jews, the physical embodiment of Jewish identity, the 'boundaries' of Israel and resistance to assimilation. Jewish identity, it is argued, hinges essentially on the Divine commandments (mitzvot) and on Israel's perceived proximity with the Divine.
Drawing on a variety of disciplines, including the theories of William James and Merleau-Ponty, this study raises important issues in anthropology, as well as accounting for central aspects of early rabbinic Judaism.
Besides the question of “who is a Jew?”, topics include the contrast between Israel and the non-Jews, the physical embodiment of Jewish identity, the 'boundaries' of Israel and resistance to assimilation. Jewish identity, it is argued, hinges essentially on the Divine commandments (mitzvot) and on Israel's perceived proximity with the Divine.
Drawing on a variety of disciplines, including the theories of William James and Merleau-Ponty, this study raises important issues in anthropology, as well as accounting for central aspects of early rabbinic Judaism.
Sacha Stern, Ph.D. (1992) in Jewish Studies, University of Oxford, is currently Sidney Corob Lecturer in Jewish Studies at Jew's College, London.
'Dr Stern has written a scholarly and insightful study which challenges many modern concepts of Jewish identity.'
Daniel Sinclair, Le'ela, 1995.
'It is essentially a study of the rabbinic theology of Israel, and within these parameters it makes interesting reading.'
N.R.M. de Lange, Society for Old Testament Study, 1995.
Daniel Sinclair, Le'ela, 1995.
'It is essentially a study of the rabbinic theology of Israel, and within these parameters it makes interesting reading.'
N.R.M. de Lange, Society for Old Testament Study, 1995.
All those of undergraduate level and above interested in Jewish Studies (especially Jewish thought); also historians of Late Antiquity, theologians, and social anthropologists.