| Judaism's Theological Voice: The Melody of the Talmud Contributor(s): Neusner, Jacob (Author) |
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ISBN: 0226576493 ISBN-13: 9780226576497 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $31.68 Product Type: Paperback Published: May 1995 Annotation: Jacob Neusner ventures for the first time into constructive theology. In this book he explains the character of Jewish faith in terms of the central insight that Torah is sung theology. The result is an original theological reflection that conveys the immediacy and the reality of the religious encounter with God that Judaism affords. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Judaism - Theology |
| Dewey: 296.3 |
| LCCN: 94033405 |
| Series: Chicago Studies in the History of Judaism |
| Physical Information: 0.73" H x 5.57" W x 8.48" (0.70 lbs) 242 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Jewish |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Distinguished historian of Judaism Jacob Neusner here ventures for the first time into constructive theology. Taking the everyday life of contemporary Judaism as his beginning, Neusner asks when in the life of the living faith of the Torah does Israel, the holy community, meet God? Where does the meeting take place? What is the medium of the encounter? In his attempt to answer these questions, Neusner sets forth the character and the form of the Torah as sung theology. Israel, the holy community, meets God in the synagogue, while at prayer, and in the yeshiva, when studying the Torah--at the moment in each setting when the Torah is received. In both circumstances people do not read but sing out its words. With the written part of the Torah sung in the synagogue, and the oral part declaimed in centers of sacred learning, music provides the medium for Judaism's theological voice. Neusner identifies a reciprocal exchange between the holy community Israel and God: Israel sings to God when the Torah is studied, and God sings to Israel when the Torah is declaimed. Through the metaphor of music, Neusner offers an account of how he believes those faithful to the Torah meet God in the Torah, and how they should listen to the melody of God's self-revelation. The result is an original theological reflection that will interest all students of Judaism. |
Contributor Bio(s): Neusner, Jacob: - Jacob Neusner, 1932-2016, was one of the world's foremost scholars of Jewish rabbinical texts. He taught at Dartmouth College, Brown University, the University of South Florida, and Bard College. He was author or editor of more than 900 books for students, scholars, and general readers in Judaism, comparative religion, and the history and analysis of rabbinic texts. He was general editor of The Talmud of the Land of Israel, published in thirty-five volumes by the University of Chicago Press. |