Holy men and hunger artists : fasting and asceticism in rabbinic culture / Eliezer Diamond.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Diamond, Eliezer.

Contributor:

Class of 1891 Department of Arts Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Asceticism in rabbinical literature.

Fasting--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Fasting.

Rabbinical literature--History and criticism.

Rabbinical literature.

Physical Description:

viii, 228 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Summary:

The existence of ascetic elements within rabbinic Judaism has generally been either overlooked or actually denied. Diamond shows that rabbinic asceticism does indeed exist. This asceticism is mainly secondary, rather than primary, in that the rabbis place no value on self-denial in and of itself, but rather require of themselves the virtual abandonment of familial, social, and economic life in favor of an absolute commitment to the study of the Torah. It is an asceticism of neglect, rather than negation. He also notes that this asceticism of neglect dovetails with the rabbinic theology of sin and punishment, which encourages delaying gratification in this world in the hopes of a greater reward in the next.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [209]-222) and indexes.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1891 Department of Arts Fund.

ISBN:

0195137507

OCLC:

50149512