Description
Discover a transformative exploration of early Judaism with 'The Closed Book' by Rebecca Scharbach Wollenberg. This groundbreaking work reinterprets the millennia before the Bible became the focal point of Jewish life, shedding light on a vibrant culture that thrived despite its ambivalence towards the biblical text. Wollenberg compellingly argues that the Jewish community did not fully embrace the Bible until nearly a thousand years post-canonization. She intricately weaves together narratives that reveal how early Jewish thinkers conceptualized a unique form of biblical revelation that has been sidelined in contemporary practice.
In contrast to the widely acknowledged significance of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, Wollenberg introduces a fascinating 'third Torah'. This concept revolves around the memorized spoken formulas of the biblical tradition, providing a dynamic and living tradition passed down orally. This tradition offered a more nuanced and authentic witness to the sacred revelation at Sinai, ultimately allowing early rabbinic authorities to engage with biblical revelation while maintaining a distance from the written text.
Ideal for scholars, students, and anyone passionate about Jewish history, 'The Closed Book' opens new avenues for understanding early Judaism. Embrace this enlightening addition to your bookshelf today!
Shipping is free for this item, and please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Note that once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled. Get your BRAND NEW copy now! ISBN: 9780691243290, Format: Trade binding, Year: 2023, Publisher: Princeton University Press.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691243290
Format: Trade binding
Year: 2023
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
A groundbreaking reinterpretation of early Judaism, during the millennium before the study of the Bible took center stage
Early Judaism is often described as the religion of the book par excellence—a movement built around the study of the Bible and steeped in a culture of sacred bookishness that evolved from an unrelenting focus on a canonical text. But in The Closed Book, Rebecca Scharbach Wollenberg argues that Jews didn’t truly embrace the biblical text until nearly a thousand years after the Bible was first canonized. She tells the story of the intervening centuries during which even rabbis seldom opened a Bible and many rabbinic authorities remained deeply ambivalent about the biblical text as a source of sacred knowledge.
Wollenberg shows that, in place of the biblical text, early Jewish thinkers embraced a form of biblical revelation that has now largely disappeared from practice. Somewhere between the fixed transcripts of the biblical Written Torah and the fluid traditions of the rabbinic Oral Torah, a third category of revelation was imagined by these rabbinic thinkers. In this “third Torah,” memorized spoken formulas of the biblical tradition came to be envisioned as a distinct version of the biblical revelation. And it was believed that this living tradition of recitation passed down by human mouths, unbound by the limitations of written text, provided a fuller and more authentic witness to the scriptural revelation at Sinai. In this way, early rabbinic authorities were able to leverage the idea of biblical revelation while quarantining the biblical text itself from communal life.
The
In contrast to the widely acknowledged significance of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, Wollenberg introduces a fascinating 'third Torah'. This concept revolves around the memorized spoken formulas of the biblical tradition, providing a dynamic and living tradition passed down orally. This tradition offered a more nuanced and authentic witness to the sacred revelation at Sinai, ultimately allowing early rabbinic authorities to engage with biblical revelation while maintaining a distance from the written text.
Ideal for scholars, students, and anyone passionate about Jewish history, 'The Closed Book' opens new avenues for understanding early Judaism. Embrace this enlightening addition to your bookshelf today!
Shipping is free for this item, and please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Note that once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled. Get your BRAND NEW copy now! ISBN: 9780691243290, Format: Trade binding, Year: 2023, Publisher: Princeton University Press.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691243290
Format: Trade binding
Year: 2023
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
A groundbreaking reinterpretation of early Judaism, during the millennium before the study of the Bible took center stage
Early Judaism is often described as the religion of the book par excellence—a movement built around the study of the Bible and steeped in a culture of sacred bookishness that evolved from an unrelenting focus on a canonical text. But in The Closed Book, Rebecca Scharbach Wollenberg argues that Jews didn’t truly embrace the biblical text until nearly a thousand years after the Bible was first canonized. She tells the story of the intervening centuries during which even rabbis seldom opened a Bible and many rabbinic authorities remained deeply ambivalent about the biblical text as a source of sacred knowledge.
Wollenberg shows that, in place of the biblical text, early Jewish thinkers embraced a form of biblical revelation that has now largely disappeared from practice. Somewhere between the fixed transcripts of the biblical Written Torah and the fluid traditions of the rabbinic Oral Torah, a third category of revelation was imagined by these rabbinic thinkers. In this “third Torah,” memorized spoken formulas of the biblical tradition came to be envisioned as a distinct version of the biblical revelation. And it was believed that this living tradition of recitation passed down by human mouths, unbound by the limitations of written text, provided a fuller and more authentic witness to the scriptural revelation at Sinai. In this way, early rabbinic authorities were able to leverage the idea of biblical revelation while quarantining the biblical text itself from communal life.
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