Abraham Geiger's independent commentary on Mishnah

By claiming that the Talmud misinterpreted the Mishnah, Abraham Geiger's less known work, Lehr- und Lesebuch zur Sprache der Mischnah (1845), the focus of this article, challenged a fundamental axiom of the tradition of an immutable halakhic system. In this book, Geiger not only addressed the n...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:על ה"פרשנות העצמאית" למשנה של אברהם גייגר
Main Author: Gafni, Chanan (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:Hebrew
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Published: College 2006
In: Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
Year: 2006, Volume: 77, Pages: 51-70
IxTheo Classification:BH Judaism
TK Recent history
Further subjects:B Commentary
B Geiger, Abraham (1810-1874)
B Mishnah
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Summary:By claiming that the Talmud misinterpreted the Mishnah, Abraham Geiger's less known work, Lehr- und Lesebuch zur Sprache der Mischnah (1845), the focus of this article, challenged a fundamental axiom of the tradition of an immutable halakhic system. In this book, Geiger not only addressed the need for a modern commentary to the Mishnah, but also expressed reservations concerning the talmudic method of interpreting the Mishnah. The ensuing harsh attacks were a predictable response to Geiger's unprecedented critical approach and, even more so, to his essay's underlying ideological agenda. Whether seen as the result of the amoraic failure to grasp earlier tannaitic traditions or, alternatively, as a conscious amoraic attempt to shape halakhah according to the needs of their time, inherent in the assertion that the Talmud misinterpreted the Mishnah was a serious revision of the understanding of the history of halakhah, which raised questions as to its authoritative nature. Tracing Geiger's writing both prior to and following the publication of this book reveals moderation of Geiger's approach to the Talmud. In response to the criticism of his book, he came to portray the Talmud as a positive model for halakhic reform rather than as a legal corpus to be abandoned in modern times.
ISSN:0360-9049
Contains:In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion