Description
Book SynopsisIn Textual Mirrors, Dina Stein draws on literary theory, folklore studies, and semiotics to closely examine midrashic tales in which self-reflexivity operates as a central element. Within these texts, rabbinic discourse itself becomes the object of reflection, both complicating and confirming its religious and ideological principles.
Trade Review"Dina Stein focuses on some of the most complex and crucial questions concerning the proper understanding of midrashic discourse and the processes of its production and reception." * Joshua Levinson, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1. Simon the Just and the Nazirite: Reflections of (Im)Possible Selves
Chapter 2. A King, a Queen, and the Discourse Between: The Riddle of Midrash
Chapter 3. The Blind Eye of the Beholder: Tall Tales, Travelogues, and Midrash
Chapter 4. Being There: SeraÎ bat Asher, Magical Language, and Rabbinic Textual Interpretation
Chapter 5. A Maidservant and Her Master's Voice: From Narcissism to Mimicry
Epilogue: Midrash, Ruins, and Self-Reflexivity
Appendix: bBava Batra 73a-75b
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
