Essential and inessential in the Torah: Different attitudes in medieval Jewish philosophy
This article discusses some basic attitudes of medieval Jewish philosophers to the evaluation of different parts of the Torah, whether as a sacred text or as a legal system. The assertion that all parts of the Torah are equally sacred is based, generally speaking, on its divine origin, on the fact t...
| Published in: | Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion |
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| Subtitles: | עיקר וטפל בין חלקי התורה: גישות שונות בהגות ימי-הביניים |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | Hebrew |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1995
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
|
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Judaism
/ Middle Ages
|
| RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism HB Old Testament TE Middle Ages |
| Further subjects: | B
Torah
|
| Summary: | This article discusses some basic attitudes of medieval Jewish philosophers to the evaluation of different parts of the Torah, whether as a sacred text or as a legal system. The assertion that all parts of the Torah are equally sacred is based, generally speaking, on its divine origin, on the fact that the entire Torah is to be considered as having come 'from heaven'. However, although the belief in 'Torah from heaven' is common to all the classical Jewish thinkers, one can discern different interpretations of this principle and different evaluations of the parts of the Torah, depending on their content. Such distinctions derived from a given thinker's world-wiew and from his particular scale of religious values. Some hold that rationality or faith constitutes the essential component of the Torah; others assign the central role to the practical aspect in general or to ritual in particular; and still others return to the basic tenet that all parts of the Torah are equivalent, from whatever viewpoint. |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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