Scripture and Tradition : Rabbi Akiva and the Triumph of Midrash / Azzan Yadin-Israel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Yadin-Israel, Azzan, Author.

Series:

Divinations.

Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Halakhic Midrashim--History and criticism--Theory, etc.

Halakhic Midrashim.

Bible. Deuteronomy--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Jewish.

Bible.

Bible. Leviticus--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Jewish.

Sifrei. Deuteronomy--Hermeneutics.

Sifrei.

Sifra--Hermeneutics.

Sifra.

Akiba ben Joseph, approximately 50-approximately 132.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (317 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The earliest rabbinic commentary to the Book of Leviticus, the Sifra, is generally considered an exemplum of Rabbi Akiva's intensely scriptural school of interpretation. But, Azzan Yadin-Israel contends, the Sifra commentary exhibits two distinct layers of interpretation that bring dramatically different assumptions to bear on the biblical text: earlier interpretations accord with the hermeneutic principles associated with Rabbi Ishmael, the other major school of early rabbinic midrash, while later additions subtly alter hermeneutic terminology and formulas, resulting in an engagement with Scripture that is not interpretive at all. Rather, the midrashic terminology in the Sifra's anonymous passages is part of what Yadin-Israel calls "a hermeneutic of camouflage," aimed at presenting oral traditions as though they were Scripture-based injunctions.Scripture and Tradition offers a radical rereading of the Sifra and its authorship, with far-reaching ramifications for our understanding of rabbinic literature as a whole. Using this new understanding of the Sifra as his starting point, Yadin-Israel demonstrates a two fold break in the portrayal of Rabbi Akiva: hermeneutically, the sober midrashist who appeared in earlier rabbinic sources is transformed into an inspired, oracular interpreter of Scripture in the Babylonian Talmud; while the biographically unremarkable sage is recast as a youthful ignoramus who came to Torah study late in life. The dual transformations of Rabbi Akiva-like the Sifra's hermeneutic of camouflage-are motivated by an ideological shift toward a greater emphasis on scriptural authority and away from received traditions, an insight that sheds new light on the vexing question of midrash and oral tradition in rabbinic sources. Through this close examination of a notoriously difficult text, Scripture and Tradition recovers a vital piece of the history of Jewish thought.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

Part I. A Hermeneutic of Camouflage

Chapter 1. The Sifra as Midrash: Hermeneutic Markedness

Chapter 2. The Sifra as Midrash: Vacuity and Semantic Discontinuity

Chapter 3. Terminological Identity and the Hermeneutics of Camouflage

Chapter 4. "On the Basis of This, They Said" (Mikan 'Amru) and the Role of Scripture

Part II. The Curious Career of Rabbi Akiva

Chapter 5. Rabbi Akiva the Interpreter: From the Mishnah to the Talmud

Chapter 6: Rabbi Akiva, the Anonymous Sifra, and the Hermeneutics of Camouflage

Chapter 7. Rabbi Akiva's Biographical Transformation

Part III . Midrash and Halakhot: A Reevaluation

Chapter 8. The Anomaly of Tannaitic Literature: Interpretation, Revelation, and Mysteries

Excursus. Oral Tradition as the Site of Esotericism

Chapter 9. Midrash and Extra-Scriptural Tradition: A Synchronic Model

Conclusion: Rabbi Akiva and the Ironic Triumph of Midrash

Appendix: Hebrew Sources

List of Abbreviations

Notes

Index of Classical Sources

General Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 26. Nov 2019)

ISBN:

9780812290431

0812290437

OCLC:

900889360