Jewish Concepts of Scripture: A Comparative Introduction

345 Pages·2012·4.237 MB·English

by  Benjamin D. Sommer

Jewish Concepts of Scripture
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Jewish Concepts
of Scripture
A Comparative Introduction
Edited by
Benjamin D. Sommer
a
New York University Press
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2012 by New York University
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jewish concepts of Scripture : a comparative introduction /
edited by Benjamin D. Sommer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8147-4062-0 (cl : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8147-6002-4 (pb : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8147-2479-8 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-8147-2460-6 (ebook)
1. Bible. O.T. — Criticism, interpretation, etc., Jewish.
I. Sommer, Benjamin D., 1964 –
BS1186.J474 2012
221.1 — dc23 2012015882
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials
to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
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p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
,תִי בַּ לַ רבֶ עֵ מֵ ,םשָׁ
,קפֶֹאבָּ
םימִ לְּ אִ הָ םהֶ יֵ יּחַ תאֶ םיִיּחַ
םיטִ וֹעהָ ,םיפִּ שְׁ ִנּהַ םירִהָ הֶ
,רֹפאָ ףיעִ צָ בְּ םדָ וֹס תאֶ
תִי בַּ הַ תפַּ צְ רִלְ תחַ תַּ מִ וּ
,םירִימִ טְּ הַ ויָיּחַ תאֶ יחַ
,םידִ חָ ֻימְ הַ ויָיּחַ תאֶ
,רפָ עָ הֶ
וֹכוֹתבְּ ןוּמטָּ שֶׁ המַ לכָ וְ
. . . תוֹנָיעְ מַ ,םישִׁ רָשָׁ ,םיעִ רְָז
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
הכָ וּפשְׁ תוּימִ תָ סְ לשֶׁ תשֶׁ רֶאֲ
— תוֹהכֵּ הַ ויָנבָ אֲ יֵנפְּ לעַ  
.ןוֹחטָּ בִּ טעַ מְ כִּ הֶז ירֵהֲ וְ
“ן שיה תיבה” ,הדלז — 
Th ere, beyond the house,
on the horizon,
the loft y mountains, wearing
their secret as a gray veil,
live their mute lives,
and beneath the fl oor of the house
the dust
lives its hidden life,
its unique and solitary life,
along with all that is hidden in it —
seeds, roots, springs . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
An expression — u ncertainty, just so — i s poured
over the surface of its dark stones —
and aft er all, that is almost faith.
— Z eldah, “Th e Old House,” in Shirei Zeldah
(Tel Aviv: Haqqibbutz Hame’uchad, 1985), 9
Translation by Benjamin D. Sommer
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction: Scriptures in Jewish Tradition, and
Traditions as Jewish Scripture 1
Benjamin D. Sommer
2 Concepts of Scripture in the Synagogue Service 15
Elsie Stern
3 Concepts of Scripture in Rabbinic Judaism:
Oral Torah and Written Torah 31
Steven D. Fraade
4 Concepts of Scripture in the Schools of
Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael 47
Azzan Yadin-Israel
5 Concepts of Scriptural Language in Midrash 64
Benjamin D. Sommer
6 Concepts of Scripture among the Jews of the
Medieval Islamic World 80
Meira Polliack
7 Concepts of Scripture in the School of Rashi 102
Robert A. Harris
8 Concepts of Scripture in Maimonides 123
James A. Diamond
9 Concepts of Scripture in Nahmanides 139
Aaron W. Hughes
10 Concepts of Scripture in Jewish Mysticism 157
Moshe Idel
vii
viii Contents
11 Concepts of Scripture in Martin Buber and
Franz Rosenzweig 179
Jonathan Cohen
12 Th e Pentateuch as Scripture and the Challenge of
Biblical Criticism: Responses among Modern
Jewish Th inkers and Scholars 203
Baruch J. Schwartz
13 Concepts of Scripture in Yehezkel Kaufmann 230
Job Y. Jindo
14 Concepts of Scripture in Moshe Greenberg 247
Marc Zvi Brettler
15 Concepts of Scripture in Mordechai Breuer 267
Shalom Carmy
16 Scripture and Modern Israeli Literature 280
Yael S. Feldman
17 Scripture and Israeli Secular Culture 299
Yair Zakovitch
Glossary 317
About the Contributors 321
Index 325
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Jennifer Hammer from New York University Press for sug-
gesting that I edit this volume and for her patience. I worked on the vol-
ume during sabbaticals at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Tikvah Center for Law and Jewish
Civilization at New York University School of Law and also while serving
as a faculty member at Northwestern University and the Jewish Th eologi-
cal Seminary. All these places provide settings that nurture rigorous and
engaged scholarship, and I am privileged to be associated with each of
them. Funding for producing the indices and proofreading was provided
by the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation. I am, always, very grateful to their
support for research in Jewish Studies. My friend Richard Tupper gave me
consistently excellent advice on matters of writing, conceptualization, and
style. Andrew Katz did a fi ne job of editing the manuscript and preparing
it for publication. Leslie Rubin did a masterful job preparing the index and
aiding me with the proofs. It was a pleasure working with her. My family
— Jennifer, Avraham Ayyal, Sarah Gilah, and Eliana Shlomit — create the
perfect mix of respect and love, sometimes letting me sit in my offi ce to
study and work, and sometimes coming in and thus reminding me it’s time
to play. הכרבה לע םלכ ודמעי.
Benjamin D. Sommer
ב״עשת רופכ םוי ברע
October 7, 2011
Teaneck, NJ
ix