The land of truth : Talmud tales, timeless teachings

The land of truth Talmud tales, timeless teachings

Jeffrey L. Rubenstein

Book - 2018

Making the rich narrative world of Talmud tales fully accessible to modern readers, renowned Talmud scholar Jeffrey L. Rubenstein turns his spotlight on both famous and little-known stories, analyzing the tales in their original contexts, exploring their cultural meanings and literary artistry, and illuminating their relevance. Delving into both rabbinic life (the academy, master-disciple relationships) and Jewish life under Roman and Persian rule (persecution, taxation, marketplaces), Rubenstein explains how storytellers used irony, wordplay, figurative language, and other art forms to communicate their intended messages. Each close reading demonstrates the story's continuing relevance through the generations into modernity. For exam...ple, the story "Showdown in Court," a confrontation between King Yannai and the Rabbinic judges, provides insights into controversial struggles in U.S. history to balance governmental power; the story of Honi's seventy-year sleep becomes a window into the indignities of aging. Through the prism of Talmud tales, Rubenstein also offers timeless insights into suffering, beauty, disgust, heroism, humor, love, sex, truth, and falsehood. By connecting twenty-first-century readers to past generations, The Land of Truth helps to bridge the divide between modern Jews and the traditional narrative worlds of their ancestors. --

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Subjects
Aggada > History and criticism.
Rabbinical literature > Translations into English.
Published
Lincoln : Philadelphia : University of Nebraska Press [2018]
Language
English
Main Author
Jeffrey L. Rubenstein (author)
Item Description
"Published by the University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book."
Physical Description
xxix, 294 pages ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780827613089
  • The surreal sleeper
  • What to do with an aged (and annoying) mother?
  • Forbidden fruit, or how not to seduce your husband
  • Men are from Babylonia, women are from the Land of Israel
  • Sufferings! Not them and not their reward!
  • The ugly vessel
  • An arrow in Satan's eye
  • The land of truth
  • Torah for richer and poorer
  • Heroism and humor
  • Showdown in court
  • Alexander the Great and the faraway king
  • The carpenter and his apprentice
  • Standing on one leg.
Review by Library Journal Review

The Talmud is an ancient compendium of civil and religious law as well as stories-some bordering on the fantastic and mystical-refined and elucidated through centuries of rabbinic discourse. As Rubenstein (Skirball Professor of Talmud and Rabbinic Literature, New York Univ.; The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud) notes, it is a text that requires study rather than a work of entertainment. Yet the author is pleased that many of his selected stories contain what he calls "interpretive gaps," which open up imaginative vistas. There's much to discover here; for example, a tale about a bad son leads to reflections on ageism as well as filial responsibility. At its core, Rubenstein's dynamic interpretive approach clearly presents struggles of suffering and love, along with how to make relevant choices and find meaning in life. Simply stated: the transformative power of these stories is the stuff of wisdom. VERDICT This highly recommended work is akin to talking with a wise friend.-Sandra Collins, Byzantine Catholic ­Seminary Lib., Pittsburgh © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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