{"product_id":"web-of-life-9780804732277","title":"Web of Life","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWeb of Life\u003c\/i\u003e weaves its suggestive interpretation of Jewish culture in the Palestine of late antiquity on the warp of a singular, breathtakingly tragic, and sublime rabbinic text, \u003ci\u003eLamentations Rabbah\u003c\/i\u003e. The textual analyses that form the core of the book are informed by a range of theoretical paradigms rarely brought to bear on rabbinic literature: structural analysis of mythologies and folktales, performative approaches to textual production, feminist theory, psychoanalytical analysis of culture, cultural criticism, and folk narrative genre analysis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe concept of context as the hermeneutic basis for literary interpretation reactivates the written text and subverts the hierarchical structures with which it has been traditionally identified. This book reinterprets rabbinic culture as an arena of multiple dialogues that traverse traditional concepts of identity regarding gender, nation, religion, and territory. The author''s approach is permeated by the idea that sc\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eWeb of Life\u003c\/i\u003e is a brilliant study that makes an ancient text relevant to the modern reader . . . Hasan-Rokem demonstrates not only a thorough scholarly knowledge of folklore and Jewish studies, but also a familiarity with current theoretical trends in literary analysis and interpretation.\"—Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania\u003cbr\u003e\"Hasan-Rokem provides a deeply suggestive analysis of the poignant midrashic text, \u003ci\u003eLamentations Rabbah\u003c\/i\u003e, employing and blending folkloristic techniques, structural analysis of mythologies, feminist theory, cultural criticism and other theoretical trends in literary analysis and interpretive techniques . . . This is an engaging and enlightening book.\"—\u003ci\u003eReligious Studies Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"By adding the folkloristic dimension to the scholarly discourse associated with amoraic stories, Hasan-Rokem's book addresses a long-felt need . . . [Hasan-Rokem] is the first to present a comprehensive discussion associating folklore with rabbinics.\"—\u003ci\u003eHebrew Studies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eLamentations Rabbah\u003c\/i\u003e presents Jewish society in its daily, but not mundane, actions. It is a literature of disaster, of personal and collective tragedy that leaves the reader pondering the meaning of life. The breadth of folklore enables Hasan-Rokem to explore these tales in a multifaceted analysis that situates them in the their textual, historical and comparative contexts and that transcends them all by presenting narratives and riddles as a search for meaning.\"—Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreface  1. The study of folk narratives in Rabbini literature  2. The literary context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: interpreting narrative structure  3. The genre context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: riddles about the wise people of Jerusalem  4. The comparative context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: tales of dream interpretation  6. The social context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: the feminine power of laments, tales, and love  7. The religious context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: the rhetoric of intimacy as a rhetoric of the sacred  8. The historical context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: three tales on Messianism  Epilogue: Rabbi Joshua's Odyssey  Notes  Bibliography  Index.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stanford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49405529129303,"sku":"9780804732277","price":25.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780804732277.jpg?v=1730492745","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/web-of-life-9780804732277","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}