Covenant of Blood: Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic JudaismUniversity of Chicago Press, 1996 - 256 من الصفحات Central to both biblical narrative and rabbinic commentary, circumcision has remained a defining rite of Jewish identity, a symbol so powerful that challenges to it have always been considered taboo. Lawrence Hoffman seeks to find out why circumcision holds such an important place in the Jewish psyche. He traces the symbolism of circumcision through Jewish history, examining its evolution as a symbol of the covenant in the post-exilic period of the Bible and its subsequent meaning in the formative era of Mishnah and Talmud. In the rabbinic system, Hoffman argues, circumcision was neither a birth ritual nor the beginning of the human life cycle, but a rite of covenantal initiation into a male "life line." Although the evolution of the rite was shaped by rabbinic debates with early Christianity, the Rabbis shared with the church a view of blood as providing salvation. Hoffman examines the particular significance of circumcision blood, which, in addition to its salvific role, contrasted with menstrual blood to symbolize the gender dichotomy within the rabbinic system. His analysis of the Rabbis' views of circumcision and menstrual blood sheds light on the marginalization of women in rabbinic law. Differentiating official mores about gender from actual practice, Hoffman surveys women's spirituality within rabbinic society and examines the roles mothers played in their sons' circumcisions until the medieval period, when they were finally excluded. |
المحتوى
Circumcision as Symbol in the Jewish Psyche | 1 |
Bible and Birth Some Priestly Public Meanings | 27 |
Interlude from Priests to Rabbis Origins of a Liturgy | 49 |
Reconstructing the Rite | 64 |
Reconstructing the Rabbinic Meaning System | 78 |
Wine Blood and Salvation in Rabbinic Judaism | 96 |
Blood Salvation Works and Faith Circumcision in Early Judaism and Christianity | 111 |
Gender Opposition in Rabbinic Judaism Freeflowing Blood in a Culture of Control | 136 |
Control and Transformation The Raw and the Cooked in Rabbinic Culture | 155 |
Womens Spirituality and the Presence of Mothers in Rabbinic Ritual | 173 |
Brit or Milah? Circumcision in American Culture | 209 |
Notes | 221 |
253 | |
طبعات أخرى - عرض جميع المقتطفات
عبارات ومصطلحات مألوفة
Abraham amoraic Amram Amram Gaon ba'al ba'al brit ba'alat Babli Babylonian Ben Sira benediction Bible biblical binic Blessed art Thou blessing over wine brit milah celebrated century ceremony chapter chavurah child Christian circum circumcision circumcision blood circumcision rite cision cited claim commandments covenant covenantal cumcision custom deeds early Eilberg-Schwartz evidence example Ezekiel father firstborn Gaon gender geonic God's Hebrew Hoffman holy Ibid impurity Israelite Jerusalem Jewish Jews Kohen Land of Israel liturgy Maharil male marriage medieval midrash Milah Mishnah mobel mother official original Palestinian paschal lamb patrilineal pollution practice priest priestly public meanings purity Rabbah rabbinic culture rabbinic Judaism rabbinic system redemption Reform religious response ritual role rules Sabbath sacred sacrifice salvation sanctified sandek seder Shevua Sira symbol synagogue Talmud tannaitic Tefillah Temple texts textual theme theological things tion Torah Tosefta tradition Tzemach University Press woman womb women word York zeman