Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Composition, and Culture » (New Edition)

Jeffrey L. Rubenstein is an associate professor in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. He is the author of The History of Sukkot in the Second Temple and Rabbinic Periods; Rabbinic Stories; and the forthcoming The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud, which will also be published by Johns Hopkins.

"A distinctive and nuanced analysis of six narratives from the Babylonian Talmud." -- Hebrew Studies

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Rubenstein (Hebrew and Judaic studies, New York U.) investigates how to understand the stories of the Babylonian Talmud, where they come from, why they are in the Talmud, and how they relate to Talmudic law. He focuses on six famous stories to examine the literary aspects and cultural contexts that help clarify their narrative art, meanings, and importance. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents: Introduction Torah, Shame, and "The Oven of Akhnai" (Bava Mesia 59a-59b) Elisha ben Abuya: Torah and the Sinful Sage (Hagiga 15a-15b) Torah and the Mundane Life: The Education of R. Shimon bar Yohai (Shabbat 33b-34a) Rabbinic Authority and the Destruction of Jerusalem (Gittin 55b-56b) Torah, Lineage, and the Academic Hierarchy (Horayot 13b-14a) Torah, Gentiles, and Eschatology (Avoda Zara 2a-3b) Conclusion