Law and truth in biblical and rabbinic literature / Chaya T. Halberstam.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Halberstam, Chaya T., 1972-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jewish law--Interpretation and construction.

Jewish law.

Truth--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Truth.

Rabbis--Office.

Rabbis.

Rabbinical literature--History and criticism.

Rabbinical literature.

Bible. Old Testament--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible.

Physical Description:

x, 225 p.

Other Title:

Law & truth in biblical and rabbinic literature

Place of Publication:

Bloomington, Ind. : Indiana University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

How can humans ever attain the knowledge required to administer and implement divine law and render perfect justice in this world? Contrary to the belief that religious law is infallible, Chaya T. Halberstam shows that early rabbinic jurisprudence is characterized by fundamental uncertainty. She argues that while the Hebrew Bible created a sense of confidence and transparency before the law, the rabbis complicated the paths to knowledge and undermined the stability of personal status and ownership, and notions of guilt or innocence. Examining the facts of legal judgments through midrashic discussions of the law and evidence, Halberstam discovers that rabbinic understandings of the law were riddled with doubt and challenged the possibility of true justice. This book thoroughly engages law, narrative, and theology to explicate rabbinic legal authority and its limits.

Contents:

Stains of impurity

Signs of ownership

The impossibility of judgment

Theologies of justice

Objects of narrative.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-53982-5

9786612539824

0-253-00398-9

OCLC:

694146669