| Theology and Poetry: Studies in the Medieval Piyyut Contributor(s): Petuchowski, Jakob J. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1904113168 ISBN-13: 9781904113164 Publisher: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in Ass OUR PRICE: $30.44 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Language: Hebrew Published: June 2004 Annotation: This reprint of a classic work by scholar and theologian Jakob Petuchowski contends that theology has a greater affinity to poetry than to the sciences. Petuchowski points out that unconventional theological views were often expressed in poetic form and such poetry was frequently incorporated into the traditional liturgy of the Synagogues. In Theology and Poetry, Petuchowski provides the texts, English translations, and commentaries on a number of theological poems (piyyutim) written from the sixth through the fourteenth centuries in Palestine, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy. The themes of the poems range from the problem of speaking about God to confronting adversity, the concept of man, Revelation, and the messianic hope. Petuchowski introduces each poem with a survey of Jewish thought on the poem's particular theme. Petuchowski shows Rabbinic literature to be a vast storehouse of different, often conflicting theoretical positions, with no attempt made to achieve doctrinal uniformity. Theology and Poetry will interest scholars and students of medieval studies, poetry, and Jewish liturgy. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Medieval - Literary Criticism | Poetry - Religion | Judaism - Theology |
| Dewey: 296.4 |
| Physical Information: 0.34" H x 5.43" W x 8.5" (0.42 lbs) 160 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Jewish - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) - Ethnic Orientation - Jewish |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Petuchowski's Theology and Poetry is a unique contribution to Jewish thought and Jewish literature. It is the first-and to this day, the only-discussion of the religious message of the poetry composed for the synagogue by poets who were active during a period of more than a millennium. Petuchowski explores ten representative poems from this great body of literature through translations and explications that are sensitive both to the poems' theological and poetic values. These explications restore liturgical poetry to its rightful role as a repository of Jewish religious thought and experience and point the way to important future research. The book is essential reading for a fuller understanding of Jewish thought and worship.' Ray Scheindlin In the Middle Ages, unconventional theological views were often expressed in poetic form. Jakob Petuchowski provides parallel texts of ten medieval theological poems in the standard liturgy that express unconventional and daring theological ideas, each with a commentary on the poem and its author, and a survey of Jewish thought on its particular theme. |
