The art of the chain novel in b. Yoma 35b: reconsidering the social values of the babylonian Yeshivot
This article investigates the tension regarding values that arises from the redaction of an aggadic passage in the Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 35b. The conceptual framework for the analysis presented here draws from Ronald Dworkin's theory concerning the hermeneutic character of legal activity, whi...
| Published in: | Hebrew Union College annual |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
2018
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 2017, Volume: 88, Pages: 55-88 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Haggadah
/ Talmud
|
| IxTheo Classification: | BH Judaism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article investigates the tension regarding values that arises from the redaction of an aggadic passage in the Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 35b. The conceptual framework for the analysis presented here draws from Ronald Dworkin's theory concerning the hermeneutic character of legal activity, which he describes as akin to a “chain novel.” This type of analysis of aggadic stories emphasizes multi-generational and multi-staged activity by the sages, whose purpose was to create identity-forming narratives. Three fundamental claims emerge from this article, relating to structure, methodology, and historical content, respectively. (1) The supposedly uniform aggadic story is in fact an arena of competing tensions and conflicts of values. These tensions were preserved intentionally by the Stammaitic editors of the Talmud, who thus produced the multi-layered structure of the aggadah - a dialectical parallel to the genre of halakhic negotiation. (2) In order to expose these tensions, one must employ methodological pluralism. The scholar of aggadah must utilize both literary and philological-historical tools, while also taking into consideration the subject matter and the values reflected therein. (3) One must offer a more sophisticated description of the Babylonian yeshivah's universe of values during the late stages of the Talmud's redaction. This should be more complex than what has been accepted in the last generation of scholarship (particularly in North America). |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.15650/hebruniocollannu.88.2017.0055 |