Description
Book SynopsisIn Becoming the People of the Talmud, Talya Fishman examines ways in which circumstances of transmission have shaped the cultural meaning of Jewish traditions. Although the Talmud''s preeminence in Jewish study and its determining role in Jewish practice are generally taken for granted, Fishman contends that these roles were not solidified until the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. The inscription of Talmud—which Sefardi Jews understand to have occurred quite early, and Ashkenazi Jews only later—precipitated these developments. The encounter with Oral Torah as a written corpus was transformative for both subcultures, and it shaped the roles that Talmud came to play in Jewish life.
What were the historical circumstances that led to the inscription of Oral Torah in medieval Europe? How did this body of ancient rabbinic traditions, replete with legal controversies and nonlegal material, come to be construed as a reference work and prescriptive guide to
Trade Review
"A vital addition to any Jewish studies library in America." * Jewish Book World *
"Talya Fishman's ambitious new study . . . indicates the sweep of the issues that are a significant part of Jewish cultural history from late antiquity through the High Middle Ages." * American Historical Review *
"For every historian of intellectual history of the (Christian) High Middle Ages the book is a must." * Journal of Transcultural Medieval Studies *
"An indispensable study, whose exemplary exposition of Jewish attitudes toward oral, written, and legal matters may well spark comparisons with other cultures, for Fishman has brilliantly shown that words can produce meaning through their epistemological categorization as oral or written, a categorization that itself remains undetermined by their actual mediatic support." * Law and History Review *
"Becoming the People of the Talmud offers a unique and highly original contribution to our understanding of Jewish culture in the Middle Ages. The book indubitably places Talya Fishman in the vanguard of scholarly research." * Israel J. Yuval, Hebrew University of Jerusalem *
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Place of Oral Matters in Geonic Culture
Chapter 2. Oral Matters among Jews of Qayrawan and al-Andalus: Framing Sefarad
Chapter 3. Framing Ashkenaz: Cultural Landmarks of Medieval Northern European Societies
Chapter 4. Textualization of North European Rabbinic Culture: The Changing Role of Talmud
Chapter 5. Medieval Responses to the Textualization of Rabbinic Culture
Chapter 6. Rhineland Pietism and the Textualization of Rabbinic Culture in Medieval Northern Europe
Epilogue
Glossary
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
