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While many studies explore the literary role of the oath in general literature, none have contended with the role of the oath in the biblical narratives. This study seeks to fill that vacuum. The first section of this study examines the literary significance of the various oath formulae that appear in biblical narratives, focusing on anomalous formulations of the respective oath formulae. The second section of this study explores the narratives surrounding two characters, Saul and David, both of whom frequently engage in oath-making. The oaths taken by, to and about these characters mirror the narrative itself, and function as a prism through which the character’s career is refracted. This study demonstrates that by perceiving the oath as a literary device for plot and character development, additional or more precise meanings may be revealed in the biblical stories.
In this fluent and penetrating study of the Book of Ruth, Yael Ziegler provides a masterful primer on how to read biblical narratives with sensitivity and depth, using recent methodological breakthroughs in the study of Tanakh. Beyond providing an eye-opening reading of a familiar biblical book, the author creatively demonstrates that midrashic readings can reveal deep strata of textual meaning, and combines these insights with classical and contemporary scholarship to uncover the religious messages of this beautifully crafted story. In Ruth: From Alienation and Monarchy, modern techniques of literary analysis and rabbinic homilies merge to yield common insights into themes such as leadership, redemption, identity, and social morality. The Book of Ruth, with its focus on the exemplary behavior of Ruth and Boaz, stands at the crossroads between society¿s downward trajectory during the era of the Judges and its ascent during the era of the monarchy. It teaches the timeless lesson of how two individuals can act in accordance with their own conscience and, through small acts of kindness and humanity, change the course of history and restore hope and unity to a nation.
In this fluent and penetrating study of the Book of Ruth, Yael Ziegler provides a masterful primer on how to read biblical narratives with sensitivity and depth, using recent methodological breakthroughs in the study of Tanakh. Beyond providing an eye-opening reading of a familiar biblical book, the author creatively demonstrates that midrashic readings can reveal deep strata of textual meaning, and combines these insights with classical and contemporary scholarship to uncover the religious messages of this beautifully crafted story. In Ruth: From Alienation and Monarchy, modern techniques of literary analysis and rabbinic homilies merge to yield common insights into themes such as leadership, redemption, identity, and social morality.The Book of Ruth, with its focus on the exemplary behavior of Ruth and Boaz, stands at the crossroads between society's downward trajectory during the era of the Judges and its ascent during the era of the monarchy. It teaches the timeless lesson of how two individuals can act in accordance with their own conscience and, through small acts of kindness and humanity, change the course of history and restore hope and unity to a nation.
While many studies explore the literary role of the oath in general literature, none have contended with the role of the oath in the biblical narratives. This study seeks to fill that vacuum. This study demonstrates that by perceiving the oath as a literary device for plot and character development, additional or more precise meanings may be revealed in the biblical stories.
It is one of the curiosities of history that the most remarkable novel about Jews and Judaism, predicting the establishment of the Jewish state, should have been written in 1876 by a non-Jew – a Victorian woman and a formidable intellectual, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest of English novelists. And it is still more curious that Daniel Deronda, George Eliot’s last novel, should have been dismissed, by many of her admirers at the time and by some critics since, as something of an anomaly, an inexplicable and unfortunate turn in her life and work. Yet Eliot herself was passionately committed to that novel, having prepared herself for it by an extraordinary feat of scholarly...
A rich interdisciplinary exploration of the world of Sara Levy, a Jewish salonnière and skilled performing musician in late eighteenth-century Berlin, and her impact on the Bach revival, German-Jewish life, and Enlightenment culture.
Superfluous People describes Hannah Arendt's political and philosophical views on Nazi totalitarianism and the Shoah. In her contemplation of evil, Arendt initially spoke of the Shoah as a 'radical evil, ' a term used by Kant. However, unlike Kant, Arendt's radical evil cannot be explained by human motives. Many years later she changed her mind and spoke of 'the banality of evil, ' characterized by an inability to think and judge. Superfluous People seriously considers the question of whether thinking and judging can prevent ev
Faith: Jewish Perspectives explores important questions in both modern and premodern Jewish philosophy regarding the idea of faith. Is believing a voluntary action, or do believers find themselves within the experience of faith against their will? Can faith be understood through other means (psychological, epistemic, and so forth), or is it only comprehensible from the inside, that is, from within the religious world? Is a subjective experience of faith fundamentally communicative, meaning that it includes intelligible and transmittable universal elements, or is it a private experience that we can point to or talk about through indirect means (poetic, lyrical, and so forth), but never fully decipher? This book presents various manifestations of the concept of faith in Judaism as a tradition engaged in a dialogue with the outside world. It will function as an opening and an invitation to an ongoing conversation with faith.
This volume explores conversion experience in the ancient Mediterranean with attention to early Judaism, early Christianity, and philosophy in the Roman empire from an interdisciplinary perspective.
"[T]he Teamsters, the largest A.F.L. affiliate... has been understudied... Russell's motives in seeking to redress this imbalance are certainly commendable." ?Maurice Isserman, The New York Times Book Review"[A] well-researched study of the longtime Teamsters leader...[that] could put Hoffa back on the historical map for a new generation of students of labor history." ?Publishers Weekly "An unexpectedly enthralling account of Jimmy Hoffa's tactics and aspirations... Russell's history of the Teamsters under Hoffa illustrates the vibrancy of the labor movement?for better or worse?during the middle 50 years of the 20th century." ?Kirkus Reviews "In this gripping biography of Jimmy Hoffa... Thad...