Time in the Babylonian Talmud
Natural and Imagined Times in Jewish Law and Narrative
Published on 8. February 2018
Book
Hardback
202 pages
978-1-108-42323-6 (ISBN)
Description
In this book, Lynn Kaye examines how rabbis of late antiquity thought about time through their legal reasoning and storytelling, and what these insights mean for thinking about time today. Providing close readings of legal and narrative texts in the Babylonian Talmud, she compares temporal ideas with related concepts in ancient and modern philosophical texts and in religious traditions from late antique Mesopotamia. Kaye demonstrates that temporal flexibility in the Babylonian Talmud is a means of exploring and resolving legal uncertainties, as well as a tool to tell stories that convey ideas effectively and dramatically. Her book, the first on time in the Talmud, makes accessible complex legal texts and philosophical ideas. It also connects the literature of late antique Judaism with broader theological and philosophical debates about time.
Reviews / Votes
'Kaye's reconnection of time with place can take us closer to how not only the Rabbis or Augustine, but also modern scholars, could have conceived challenges in articulating the sense of time.' Sergey Dolgopolski, Reading Religion 'In this fascinating monograph, Kaye shows how many of the Bavli texts can contribute to contemporary theoretical examinations of time, and suggests future directions of research, particularly the application of similar methods of analysis to case law and narrative texts in the Mishna ... This is a captivating book on a number of topics that are essential to the crux of Jewish life and philosophy. At 160 pages, it is a good launching point, and Kaye provides plenty of references for additional reading.' Ben Rothke, The Times of IsraelMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 1 Halftones, black and white; 2 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
493 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-42323-6 (9781108423236)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2018
Cambridge University Press
€73.99
Available for download
E-Book
01/2018
Cambridge University Press
€88.99
Available for download
Person
Lynn Kaye is Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at The Ohio State University. Her research in rabbinic literature combines historical and textual analysis with literary theory, poetics, phenomenology and legal theory. She holds a Ph.D. from New York University and an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge. She has held fellowships at the law schools of Yeshiva University and New York University.
Content
1. Spatial, temporal and kinesthetic concepts of simultaneity; 2. Divine temporal precision and human inaccuracy; 3. Being fixed in time; 4. Retroactivity reimagined; 5. Matzah and madeleines.