Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism

Sarit Kattan Gribetz

Published by Princeton University Press 2020

Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism

Sarit Kattan Gribetz

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691209807

Overview
Contents

About this book

How the rabbis of late antiquity used time to define the boundaries of Jewish identity

The rabbinic corpus begins with a question—"when?"—and is brimming with discussions about time and the relationship between people, God, and the hour. Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism explores the rhythms of time that animated the rabbinic world of late antiquity, revealing how rabbis conceptualized time as a way of constructing difference between themselves and imperial Rome, Jews and Christians, men and women, and human and divine.

In each chapter, Sarit Kattan Gribetz explores a unique aspect of rabbinic discourse on time. She shows how the ancient rabbinic texts artfully subvert Roman imperialism by offering "rabbinic time" as an alternative to "Roman time." She examines rabbinic discourse about the Sabbath, demonstrating how the weekly day of rest marked "Jewish time" from "Christian time." Gribetz looks at gendered daily rituals, showing how rabbis created "men's time" and "women's time" by mandating certain rituals for men and others for women. She delves into rabbinic writings that reflect on how God spends time and how God's use of time relates to human beings, merging "divine time" with "human time." Finally, she traces the legacies of rabbinic constructions of time in the medieval and modern periods.

Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism sheds new light on the central role that time played in the construction of Jewish identity, subjectivity, and theology during this transformative period in the history of Judaism.

Author / Editor information

Sarit Kattan Gribetz is associate professor of theology at Fordham University.

Reviews

"This compelling and marvelously readable book draws scholarly attention to the importance of time as an analytic rubric for understanding rabbinic culture. The breadth of scholarship is so wide-ranging that it took my breath away at times."—Elizabeth Shanks Alexander, author of Gender and Timebound Commandments in Judaism

"Kattan Gribetz considers rabbinic rhythms of time as they shape relationships between rabbis and Romans, Jews and Christians, men and women, and God and human beings. Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism is a thoughtful, meaningful, and beautifully written work of scholarship."—Beth A. Berkowitz, author of Defining Jewish Difference

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Prologue Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 1. Rabbinic and Roman Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
Chapter 2. Jewish and Christian Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	92
Chapter 3. Men’s and Women’s Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
Chapter 4. Human and Divine Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	188
Conclusion: Temporal Legacies: What Difference Does Time Make Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	228
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	257
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	323
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	383
Figure Credits Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	391