Time and Life Cycle in Talmud and Midrash: Socio-Anthropological Perspectives by

Publisher Description

Focusing on the concepts of time and the life cycle, this collection of articles examines Jewish life in the Talmudic period through the lens of Jewish law and custom of the time. The essays are the work of Nissan Rubin (one of them written in collaboration with Admiel Kosman) and come together to present the cultural perspective of the sages and scholars who produced the stepping-stones of Jewish life and custom. By using a structural approach, Rubin is able to identify processes of long-term change in a society that remains largely traditional and stable. Symbolic analysis supplies an additional dimension to these studies, enabling the reader to experience the cultural subtexts.

Table of Contents

Preface; The Sociology & Anthropology of Talmudic Texts; The Clothing of the Primordial Adam as a Symbol of Apocalyptic Time in the Midrashic Sources (with Admiel Kosman); Brit Milah: A Study of Change in Custom; Coping with the Value of the Pidyon Ha'ben Payment in Rabbinic Literature: An Example of a Scoial Change Process; Birth & Marriage Rituals: Women's Status in a Critical Reading of the Texts; The Sages' Conception of the Body & Soul; From Corpse to Corpus: The Body as a Text in Talmudic Literature; Birkat Avelim -- The Blessing of Mourners: Ritual Aspects of Social Change; Index.

Long Description

Focusing on the concepts of time and the life cycle, this collection of articles examines Jewish life in the Talmudic period through the lens of Jewish law and custom of the time. The essays are the work of Nissan Rubin (one of them written in collaboration with Admiel Kosman) and come together to present the cultural perspective of the sages and scholars who produced the stepping-stones of Jewish life and custom. By using a structural approach, Rubin is able to identify processes of long-term change in a society that remains largely traditional and stable. Symbolic analysis supplies an additional dimension to these studies, enabling the reader to experience the cultural subtexts.

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