Law and Self-Knowledge in the Talmud

Highlights the emergence of self-knowledge in rabbinic literature, showing how Babylonian rabbis relied on knowledge accessible only to the individual to determine the law.

List of contents

1. The inward turn in rabbinic literature; 2. Knowledge of the body: the case of sensation; 3. Asserting the needs of the body; 4. Between body and mind: the suffering self; 5. Self-knowledge and a wife's autonomy.

About the author

Ayelet Hoffmann Libson is an assistant professor at the Radzyner Law School at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, and the Gruss Visiting Assistant Professor in Talmudic Civic Law at Harvard University, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (B.A.) and New York University (M.A., Ph.D.), and has held postdoctoral appointments at the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University. She is also a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and has won fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Lady Davis Foundation, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.

Summary

This book discusses the emergence of self-knoweldge in rabbinic literature, highlighting a unique and surprising development in Talmudic jurisprudence, whereby legal decision-making came to incorporate personal and subjective information. The book is intended for scholars of religion and late antiquity, but is written in an accessible style to appeal to a broader audience.

Product details

• Authors: Ayelet Libson, Ayelet Hoffmann Libson, Ayelet Hoffmann (Harvard Law School Libson
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.05.2018
• EAN: 9781108427494
• ISBN: 978-1-108-42749-4
• No. of pages: 224
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Judaism; RELIGION / Judaism / General, Middle East, Theology, Judaism, Palestine, Religion and beliefs, Judaism: sacred texts and revered writings, Judaism: Sacred Texts