Power, Ethics, and Ecology in Jewish Late Antiquity
«'Reading this volume was both easy and enjoyable. At times, Belser's prose is poetic. (A rare statement for an academic tome!) … Belser's volume offers many fresh insights into an oft-studied tractate. While this book might focus on disaster, as a work of scholarship, it is in fact a success.' Jordan Rosenblum, AJS Review»
Rabbinic tales of drought, disaster, and charismatic holy men illuminate critical questions about power, ethics, and ecology in Jewish late antiquity. Through a sustained reading of the Babylonian Talmud's tractate on fasts in response to drought, this book shows how Bavli Taʿanit challenges Deuteronomy's claim that virtue can assure abundance and that misfortune is an unambiguous sign of divine rebuke. Les mer
Detaljer
- Forlag
- Cambridge University Press
- Innbinding
- Paperback
- Språk
- Engelsk
- ISBN
- 9781107533929
- Utgivelsesår
- 2020
- Format
- 23 x 15 cm
Anmeldelser
«'Reading this volume was both easy and enjoyable. At times, Belser's prose is poetic. (A rare statement for an academic tome!) … Belser's volume offers many fresh insights into an oft-studied tractate. While this book might focus on disaster, as a work of scholarship, it is in fact a success.' Jordan Rosenblum, AJS Review»
«'This excellent study of Bavli tractate Ta'anit investigates the nexus of meaning that links Jewish conceptions of ecology, theology, and ethics … The carefully orchestrated sequence of chapters leads from a focus on droughts and rain as signs to the inherent ambiguity of natural signs, the protective power of merit in view of disasters, charisma and ritual fasting, the limits of human charismatic power, and the critique of surface appearances. An introduction that outlines the main themes and a short conclusion entitled 'Power and Perception' in Bavli Ta'anit frame the analytic chapters … I can highly recommend the book to students and scholars of ancient Judaism, rabbinic literature, ancient Christianity, Graeco-Roman and Persian culture. It constitutes an important contribution not only to studies of the Babylonian Talmud but also to the wider study of holy (wo)men in late antique society.' Catherine Hezsec , Theologische Literaturzeitung»