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Confronting vulnerability : the body and the divine in rabbinic ethics / Jonathan Wyn Schofer.
De Gruyter University of Chicago Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013 Available online
View online- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Schofer, Jonathan Wyn.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Death in rabbinical literature.
- Human body in rabbinical literature.
- Ethics in rabbinical literature.
- Rabbinical literature--History and criticism.
- Rabbinical literature.
- Jewish ethics.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (229 p.)
- Place of Publication:
- Chicago ; London : University of Chicago Press, 2010.
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- While imparting their ethical lessons, rabbinic texts often employ vivid images of death, aging, hunger, defecation, persecution, and drought. In Confronting Vulnerability, Jonathan Wyn Schofer carefully examines these texts to find out why their creators thought that human vulnerability was such a crucial tool for instructing students in the development of exemplary behavior. These rabbinic texts uphold virtues such as wisdom and compassion, propound ideal ways of responding to others in need, and describe the details of etiquette. Schofer demonstrates that these pedagogical goals were achieved through reminders that one's time on earth is limited and that God is the ultimate master of the world. Consciousness of death and of divine accounting guide students to live better lives in the present. Schofer's analysis teaches us much about rabbinic pedagogy in late antiquity and also provides inspiration for students of contemporary ethics. Despite their cultural distance, these rabbinic texts challenge us to develop theories and practices that properly address our frailties rather than denying them.
- Contents:
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Introduction
- ONE. Aging and Death
- TWO. Elimination
- THREE. Early Death
- FOUR. Drought
- FIVE. Life Cycles
- Conclusion
- References
- Source Index
- Notes:
- Description based upon print version of record.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)
- ISBN:
- 9786612894787
- 9781282894785
- 1282894781
- 9780226740102
- 0226740102
- OCLC:
- 676697362
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