Nine Talmudic Readings

Emmanuel Levinas (Author), Annette Aronowicz (Translated by)

9780253040497

Paperback / softback, published 16 May 2019

362 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.531 kg

"No work . . . more readily opens this classic of Judaic learning to the general reader. Admirable and different."—The Key Reporter
"Beautifully translated . . . these essays are crucial to the interpretation of Levinas's thought."—Religious Studies Review
"This book is a stimulating introduction to a difficult but highly rewarding thinker."—The Jewish Law Annual

Nine rich and masterful readings of the Talmud by the French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas translate Jewish thought into the language of modern times. Between 1963 and 1975, Levinas delivered these commentaries at the annual Talmudic colloquia of a group of French Jewish intellectuals in Paris. In this collection, Levinas applies a hermeneutic that simultaneously allows the classic Jewish texts to shed light on contemporary problems and lets modern problems illuminate the texts. Besides being quintessential illustrations of the art of reading, the essays express the deeply ethical vision of the human condition that makes Levinas one of the most important thinkers of our time.

Levinas's Talmudic Readings: Thirty Years Later / Annette Aronowicz
Acknowledgments
Translator's Introduction / Annette Aronowicz
Four Talmudic Readings
Introduction
Toward the Other
The Temptation of Temptation
Promised Land or Permitted Land
"As Old as the World?"
From the Sacred to the Holy: Five New Talmudic Readings
Preface
Judaism and Revolution
The Youth of Israel
Desacralization and Disenchantment
And God Created Woman
Damages Due to Fire
Glossary