UID:
edocfu_9961564922802883
Format:
1 online resource (383 pages)
Edition:
1st ed.
ISBN:
1-62837-472-1
Series Statement:
Bible and Women Series ; v.4.2
Content:
For many, the Middle Ages in general evokes a sense of thesinister and brings to mind a world of fear, superstition, andreligious fanaticism. For Jews it was a period marked bypersecutions, pogroms, and expulsions. Yet at the same time, theMiddle Ages was also a time of lively cultural exchange andheightened creativity for Jews. In 〈em〉The Jewish Middle Ages〈/em〉,contributors explore the ways in which the stories of biblicalwomen, including, Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah, Zipporah, Ruth,Esther, and Judith, make their way into the rich tapestry ofmedieval Jewish literature, mystical texts, and art, particularlyin works emanating from Ashkenazic circles. Contributors includeCarol Bakhos, Judith R. Baskin, Elisheva Baumgarten, DagmarBörner-Klein, Constanza Cordoni, Rachel Elior, Meret Gutmann-Grün,Robert A. Harris, Yuval Katz-Wilfing, Sheila Tuller Keiter, KatrinKogman-Appel, Gerhard Langer, Aurora Salvatierra Ossorio, andFelicia Waldman. These essays give us a glimpse into the role womenplayed and the authority they assumed in medieval Jewish culturebeyond the rabbinic centers of Palestine and Babylonia.
Note:
Table of Contents -- Front Matter(pp. i-iv) -- Front Matter(pp. i-iv) -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.1 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.1 -- Table of Contents(pp. v-vi) -- Table of Contents(pp. v-vi) -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.2 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.2 -- Acknowledgments(pp. vii-viii) -- Acknowledgments(pp. vii-viii) -- Carol Bakhos -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.3 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.3 -- Abbreviations(pp. ix-xii) -- Abbreviations(pp. ix-xii) -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.4 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.4 -- Introduction(pp. 1-10) -- Introduction(pp. 1-10) -- Carol Bakhos -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.5 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.5 -- Part of an extensive international series exploring the reception history of female characters in the Bible with an eye toward gender-relevant biblical themes, this volume focuses on the different ways in which women of the biblical tradition are treated in Jewish literature of the medieval period. It does so within a variety of linguistic and cultural contexts, paying special attention to literature emanating from Ashkenazic circles. -- During the medieval period, Jews were given considerable communal autonomy, affording leaders an opportunity to control the degree to which community members engaged in non-Jewish practices. Like their ancestors who lived under Hellenistic and. . . -- Cultural Setting -- Gender and Daily Life in the Jewish Communities of Medieval Europe(pp. 13-32) -- Gender and Daily Life in the Jewish Communities of Medieval Europe(pp. 13-32) -- Elisheva Baumgarten -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.6 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.6 -- In a poem written in memory of his wife, Dulcia (d. 1196), who was murdered together with their two daughters during an attack on their house, Eleazar ben Judah of Worms (d. 1232), a well-known author and leader of the German-Jewish community, describes the many deeds that made Dulcia a pious, God-fearing woman as well as an ideal wife and mother. Eleazar ben Judah modeled his eulogy on the last chapter of Proverbs (Prov 31:10-31), starting each line with a quote from Proverbs and then elaborating on Dulcia's own life. He begins: -- Who can find a woman of valor. . . -- Late Midrashic Literature -- "If You Keep Silent in This Crisis" (Esth 4:14): Esther the Medieval Biblical Heroine(pp. 35-54) -- "If You Keep Silent in This Crisis" (Esth 4:14): Esther the Medieval Biblical Heroine(pp. 35-54) -- Constanza Cordoni -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.7 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.7 -- The Scroll of Esther, the name by which the book of Esther is known in the context of Jewish liturgy, is read during the festival of Purim (celebrated on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the Hebrew month of Adar). The book purports to provide the historical origins of the festival.¹ The narrative as transmitted in the Hebrew Bible may be summed up as follows. Under the reign of Ahasuerus, the Jewish communities of his kingdom faced annihilation because of the malicious plans of the vizier Haman. Haman had been offended by the Jew Mordecai, who refused to bow down. . . -- Judith in the Hebrew Literature of the Middle Ages(pp. 55-70) -- Judith in the Hebrew Literature of the Middle Ages(pp. 55-70) -- Dagmar Börner-Klein -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.8 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.8 -- The heroine of the book of Judith is a young, beautiful widow who lives in the city of Bethulia, which is being besieged by Nebuchadnezzar's troops.¹ The troops of the Assyrian king are led by Holofernes, who wants to capture Bethulia so that he can press forward to Jerusalem.² When the drinking water in besieged Bethulia begins to run short and the city elders consider capitulation, Judith plans her own single-handed rescue operation. She puts on her most beautiful clothing and, together with her maidservant, goes into the enemy camp and succeeds in calling upon Holofernes. Holofernes is so impressed. . . -- Commentary -- The Tradition of Eve in the Commentaries of Rashi and Ramban(pp. 73-90) -- The Tradition of Eve in the Commentaries of Rashi and Ramban(pp. 73-90) -- Gerhard Langer -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.9 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.9 -- Biblical and parabiblical themes appear in diverse forms in the Middle Ages. Judith, for example, who for a long time played hardly any role in the Jewish tradition, emerges from obscurity.¹ Along with genres already known from late antiquity, such as midrash, piyyut, or parabiblical narratives, there appear now, among others, the commentary, the sermon, and the mystical treatment of the tradition. The halakic pervasion of the commandments is further developed; rules of faith are established. In the liturgy, standards that are valid to the present day are set, but the narrative also is given greater space. The idea of. . . -- Sarah and Hagar in Medieval Jewish Commentaries(pp. 91-102) -- Sarah and Hagar in Medieval Jewish Commentaries(pp. 91-102) -- Carol Bakhos -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.10 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.10 -- Much like classical rabbinic literature, medieval commentaries attempt to fill in several gaps in the story of Sarah and Hagar and to address many potentially unsettling implications with respect to the moral character of Abraham and Sarah. And, much like their exegetical predecessors, Jewish medieval commentators were not of one mind in their characterization of these biblical figures. They scrutinize biblical passages for what is said and what is intended to be said, for not only the meaning on the surface but also the meaning in the interstices of any given verse or phrase. This is especially the case with. . . -- The Voice of the Woman: Narrating the Song of Songs in Twelfth-Century Rabbinic Exegesis(pp. 103-132) -- The Voice of the Woman: Narrating the Song of Songs in Twelfth-Century Rabbinic Exegesis(pp. 103-132) -- Robert A. Harris -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.11 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.11 -- From the period of canonization through the premodern era, the Song of Songs has been almost universally interpreted as an allegorical work. This holds true for Christianity as well as Judaism. Rabbinic masters such as Rabbi Akiva championed the book as celebrating God's love for the people of Israel and narrating (among other things) the exodus from Egypt and the revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai.¹ While exegesis of the Song is found throughout ancient rabbinic literature (both talmudim and midrashim), the most centralized location for rabbinic interpretation eventually found its expression in the midrash on the Song of. . . -- The Irony of the Eshet Hayil: Proverbs 31:10-31 in Jewish Medieval Exegesis(pp. 133-150) -- The Irony of the Eshet Hayil: Proverbs 31:10-31 in Jewish Medieval Exegesis(pp. 133-150) -- Sheila Tuller Keiter -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.12 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.12 -- The book of Proverbs, along with Ecclesiastes and the book of Job, constitutes a major portion of the Jewish Bible's wisdom literature. Like Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes, Proverbs attributes its authorship to King Solomon. Following the lead of the rabbis of the Talmud and midrash, the rabbinic commentators of the Middle Ages took the Solomonic authorship of these books for granted. However, the rabbis of the Middle Ages made little effort to read into Proverbs content specific to the Solomon narrative beyond that which was already contained in midrash. This includes their treatment of the final twenty-two verses of. . . -- Hasidei Ashkenaz -- Representations of Biblical Women in the Writings of the Hasidei Ashkenaz(pp. 153-170) -- Representations of Biblical Women in the Writings of the Hasidei Ashkenaz(pp. 153-170) -- Judith R. Baskin -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.1
,
In the second part of the essay, I explicate the ways in which the authors of Sefer Hasidim signify specific biblical women and female personifications. The final section discusses the extensive exegesis of the "woman. . . -- Poetry and Piyyut -- Biblical Women in the Hebrew Poetry of Al-Andalus(pp. 173-188) -- Biblical Women in the Hebrew Poetry of Al-Andalus(pp. 173-188) -- Aurora Salvatierra Ossorio -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.14 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.14 -- During the tenth through fifteenth centuries, first in al-Andalus¹ and later in Christian Spain, medieval Iberia became the stage for one of the most fascinating expressions of Jewish culture throughout its history. Particularly from the time of the Caliphate of Córdoba, the Jews of al-Andalus were a people who prided themselves on living exclusively in accordance with the religious values that served as their sign of identity, zealously protecting themselves from outside influences and yet feeling attracted by the intellectual and artistic climate of the era. Arab culture was thus added to the Jewish tradition as part of the education. . . -- The Female Figure Zion in the Liturgical Literature of Al-Andalus(pp. 189-216) -- The Female Figure Zion in the Liturgical Literature of Al-Andalus(pp. 189-216) -- Meret Gutmann-Grün -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.15 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.15 -- Is the female person speaking here Zion? On the basis of the Hebrew forms, it cannot be determined whether the "I" who is speaking here is masculine or feminine. But the voice sounds like an echo from Song 5:7 where the loving woman laments that watchmen beat her. Here though, the voice adds being loved and being spurned to that scene of being beaten, elements that are not found in the Song of Songs. These scenes possibly allude to the bitter postbiblical experiences of Zion as a mirror image of the Jewish people. If this poem actually does portray the. . . -- Mysticism -- The Development of the Feminine Dimension of God in the Jewish Mystical Tradition(pp. 219-246) -- The Development of the Feminine Dimension of God in the Jewish Mystical Tradition(pp. 219-246) -- Rachel Elior -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.16 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.16 -- Unlike other languages, Hebrew has no gender-neutral nouns or any gender-neutral verbs. Each inflection of a verb in all of its tenses, each and every pronoun, every pluralization of a noun and its accompanying adjective, each compound construct (noun or adjective) touching on person, object, or concept-in all such cases the speaker or writer must choose between the feminine or masculine form of expression. This iron-clad grammatical requirement has far-reaching consequences concerning the identity of an unseen biblical God, a God who creates and who explains, a giver of laws and dispenser of justice and benevolence, one who makes. . . -- The Biblical Woman Who Is Not in the Bible: Feminine Imagery in Kabbalah(pp. 247-262) -- The Biblical Woman Who Is Not in the Bible: Feminine Imagery in Kabbalah(pp. 247-262) -- Felicia Waldman -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.17 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.17 -- One of the most significant moments in the one thousand years of medieval Judaism, a period characterized by the geographic dispersion of the Jews living "under Crescent and Cross,"¹ was the emergence toward the end of the twelfth century of kabbalah. Kabbalistic thought revolutionized the Jewish world and its outlook on everything, from daily life to social interaction and even international relations. It presented ideas that challenged the establishment, sometimes even verging on heresy, but which were always daring and eventually managed to win the support of a vast number of the members of the Jewish elite class. -- Kabbalah was. . . -- The Figure of Ruth as a Convert in the Zohar(pp. 263-282) -- The Figure of Ruth as a Convert in the Zohar(pp. 263-282) -- Yuval Katz-Wilfing -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.18 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.18 -- The biblical figure of Ruth is the protagonist of the book of Ruth or the scroll of Ruth (Megillat Ruth), a rather small book of only four chapters in the Hebrew Bible. According to the story, Ruth is the Moabite wife of an Israelite living in the land of Moab. She is married to a son of Elimelech and his wife Naomi who come to Moab to escape a famine. After Elimelech and his two sons die, Naomi decides to return to the land of Israel. Despite Naomi urging her to stay in Moab, Ruth insists on accompanying Naomi to. . . -- Art -- Female Protagonists in Medieval Jewish Book Art(pp. 285-322) -- Female Protagonists in Medieval Jewish Book Art(pp. 285-322) -- Katrin Kogman-Appel -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.19 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.19 -- From the time that Jewish culture embraced the visual arts, various forms of cyclic or programmatic visualization of biblical history came into being. Embedded within a narrative framework, cyclic treatments of biblical events allow us to investigate the way in which medieval Jewish visual language approached any particular group of protagonists. Image cycles reflect selections made by either the team who produced them, the manuscript's patron, or both. The selection of specific themes underscored the specific interests of the patronage. The themes chosen conveyed these agendas and are indicative of the reception of the contents on the part of those. . . -- Bibliography(pp. 323-350) -- Bibliography(pp. 323-350) -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.20 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.20 -- Contributors(pp. 351-354) -- Contributors(pp. 351-354) -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.21 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.21 -- Ancient Sources Index(pp. 355-364) -- Ancient Sources Index(pp. 355-364) -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.22 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.22 -- Modern Authors Index(pp. 365-370) -- Modern Authors Index(pp. 365-370) -- https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176891.23 -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.1176891.23.
Additional Edition:
ISBN 1-62837-471-3
Additional Edition:
ISBN 1-58983-572-7
Language:
English
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