Intellectual Templates of the Law of Judaism
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A01=Jacob Neusner
Author_Jacob Neusner
Category=QRJ
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Product details
- ISBN 9780761833956
- Weight: 934g
- Dimensions: 157 x 230mm
- Publication Date: 07 Mar 2006
- Publisher: University Press of America
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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What purpose information? Facing a vast corpus of facts, the heirs of the Mishnah answered this question by showing the cogency of data. They adopted analytical templates that transcended details and transformed the Mishnah's collection of topical expositions into a system of law. This was accomplished in the Bavli, the Talmud of Babylonia, which systematized and imposed an orderly program on the numerous subjects treated by the Mishnah. The Bavli follows a limited repertoire of analytical procedures, and so in parsing the law it often says the same thing about many things. Four templates govern, two form clear patterns from the data and two use various analytical arguments to transform these patterns into generalizations. Two types of analytical arguments, dialectical or moving and formal or static, join the exegetical analyses of clarification and contextualization. The systematization of the law proceeded in four steps. First, the words, phrases, principles, and authorities of the Mishnah were clarified in a uniform manner, following a rigid pattern. Second, the laws of the Mishnah were harmonized and shown to be coherent. Third, the laws were exhibited to showcase their dynamic quality, which was conveyed through disputation. Fourth, the dialectical argument extended through many topics. In this book, the author systematically defines and classifies these four analytical initiatives of the Bavli.
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, particularly Rabbinic Judaism.
