Asking questions: rabbis and philosophers in medieval Provence
Posing a Halakhic query to a rabbi is often taken for granted, as the backdrop to a legal process that begins with the rabbi composing his responsum. At times, however, the question itself is the product of a calculated decision on the part of a layperson to become involved in the Halakhic process....
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2016]
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| In: |
The journal of Jewish studies
Year: 2016, Volume: 67, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-14 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Judaism
/ Middle Ages
|
| RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism TE Middle Ages TG High Middle Ages XA Law |
| Further subjects: | B
Philosophers
B Jews B Rabbinic Judaism B Halakhic Midrashim B Rabbis B Jewish Law |
| Summary: | Posing a Halakhic query to a rabbi is often taken for granted, as the backdrop to a legal process that begins with the rabbi composing his responsum. At times, however, the question itself is the product of a calculated decision on the part of a layperson to become involved in the Halakhic process. Focusing on responsa from medieval Provence, this article claims that the tensions that existed within the Jewish community between rabbis and philosophers were sometimes played out by asking Halakhic questions. Sensitivity to rhetorical dimensions in both the question and the answer, and to the cultural and social contexts in which the responsum was created, reveals a hidden polemic about Jewish law and power. |
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| ISSN: | 0022-2097 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of Jewish studies
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