Contraversions: Critical Studies in Jewish Literature, Culture, and Society

1. Auflage 1998
ISBN: 978-0-520-20321-1
Verlag: UNIV OF CALIFORNIA PR

Buch, Englisch, Band 10, 205 Seiten, Trade Paperback, Format (B × H): 138 mm x 211 mm, Gewicht: 272 g

Reihe: Contraversions: Critical Studi

Using the tools of contemporary semiotic theory to analyze classical rabbinic hermeneutics and medieval mystical exegesis, Betty Rojtman unveils a striking modernity in these early forms of textual interpretation. The metaphor from rabbinic literature that describes the writing of the Torah—black fire on white fire—becomes, in Rojtman's analysis, a figure for the differential structures that can be found throughout rabbinic discourse. Moving through the successive levels of traditional commentary, from early Midrash to modern Kabbalah, Rojtman examines the tension between the fluidity and nuance of the biblical text and the fixed commitment to ideological and theological content. To examine this strain between open text and sacred language, Rojtman scrutinizes the demonstrative, "this," as a word whose significance changes with every change in context. Her analysis suggests a double-layered meaning for "this," which refers to the existential world in its multiplicity but also to transcendence and the eternal presence of God.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rojtman, Betty

Weitere Mitwirkende

Idel, Moslie

Randall, Steven

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Übersetzungswissenschaft, Translatologie, Dolmetschen
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Heilige & Traditionelle Texte, Mythologie, Vergleichende Mythologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Semantik & Pragmatik
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien: Literatur & Kunst
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Heilige & Traditionstexte: Torah, Talmud, Mischna, Halacha
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Spiritualität & Mystik (Kabbala, Chassidismus)

Über Autor(innen)

Betty Rojtman is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Director of the Desmarais Research Center for French Culture. Steven Rendall is Professor of Romance Languages at the University of Oregon and editor of Comparative Literature.