Halakhic Theology: A Sourcebook

by Jacob Neusner

Overview

Laws, or Halakhah, and narratives, or Aggadah, comprises the Torah. Halakhah, normative law, makes the same statement in terms of behavior that Aggadah, in its systematic and abstract mode, makes in terms of beliefs. The Halakhic theology focuses on the interior existence of Israelite. In this sourcebook, author Jacob Neusner derives from details of legal expositions some of the Halakhah's theological propositions, in order to show how normative laws of conduct express the narrative monotheism of the Torah. An introductory overview of the Halakhic theological program, seen through topical expositions of law, briefly compares Halakhic texts with Aggadic theological programs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761833840
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	12/01/2005
Series:	Studies in Judaism
Pages:	334
Product dimensions:	6.44(w) x 8.96(h) x 1.07(d)

About the Author

Jacob Neusner is Research Professor of Theology and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College. He is also a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and Life Member of Clare Hall at Cambridge University, England. He has published numerous books with University Press of America on Jewish studies, in particular Rabbinic Judaism.

Table of Contents

1 Preface 2 Introduction Part 3 1: God, Creation, and the Land. The Sabbath [1] Shebi't Part 4 2: God, Creation, and Humanity. The Sabbath [2] Shabbat-Erubin Part 5 3: Israel and Adam: 'Orlah Part 6 4: Israel and the Nations: 'Abodah Zarah Part 7 5: Torah and Theology of History: Ta'anit Part 8 6: Between Death and Resurrection: Sukkah Part 9 7: Divine Justice: Sotah

Editorial Reviews

Neusner enables us to understand how this most convincing interpretation of how the Rabbinic sages read life as well as scripture is aptly illustrated by the Rabbinic sages' encounter with the ordeal described in Numbers 5:1-31 and spelled out in greaterdetail in M. Sotah 1:4-7 (see Halakhic Theology, pp. 258-60)... In Halakhic Theology: A Sourcebook, we have a perfect textbook for undergraduate students in the history of religions, who seek to develop their minds, and perhaps also their souls, byexamining how the classic literature of one relatively obscure but nevertheless ubiquitous faith community tells us how to go beyond the generalized conception of From Politics to Piety to concretizing in the nitty-gritty world of family and friendsand work the reality of Eden restored. For women and men of all ages who seek to improve the quality of our daily lives in the shadow of Al-Qaida, Hizballah, Iran, and North Korea (the modern-day equivalents of the ferocious, idolatrous Romans of the Mishnah, and its ancient commentaries), Halakhic Theology offers a path, which is not untrodeen. Succeeding in creating a textbook for undergraduates, Neusner has, in fact, offered us also a wholesome alternative to the pabulum offered up by all too ma

Ethics and Philosophy Theology

Neusner enables us to understand how this most convincing interpretation of how the Rabbinic sages read life as well as scripture is aptly illustrated by the Rabbinic sages' encounter with the ordeal described in Numbers 5:1-31 and spelled out in greater detail in M. Sotah 1:4-7 (see Halakhic Theology, pp. 258-60)... In Halakhic Theology: A Sourcebook, we have a perfect textbook for undergraduate students in the history of religions, who seek to develop their minds, and perhaps also their souls, by examining how the classic literature of one relatively obscure but nevertheless ubiquitous faith community tells us how to go beyond the generalized conception of From Politics to Piety to concretizing in the nitty-gritty world of family and friends and work the reality of Eden restored. For women and men of all ages who seek to improve the quality of our daily lives in the shadow of Al-Qaida, Hizballah, Iran, and North Korea (the modern-day equivalents of the ferocious, idolatrous Romans of the Mishnah, and its ancient commentaries), Halakhic Theology offers a path, which is not untrodeen. Succeeding in creating a textbook for undergraduates, Neusner has, in fact, offered us also a wholesome alternative to the pabulum offered up by all too many of the best-selling self-help books. This book is therefore highly recommended not only for students and scholars of Judaism and the history of religions but also for individuals and study groups whether their purpose is to obtain information about ancient Judaism or to join with the Rabbinic sages in attempting to recreate Eden on earth in the heart, the home, the neighborhood, published books, this volume leaves one asking, 'How did I get up in the morning and face life before I read this book, which changed my outlook completely, and gave me a ture understanding of what I can change and what I cannot?'--Theology, Ethics and Philosophy

From the Publisher