The Elusive Ark: Locus of Longing in Exile

This paper compares the Babylonian and Palestinian talmudic traditions on the fate of the ark of the covenant—either lost before or during the Babylonian conquest, or buried in the Temple precincts (b. Yom'a 53b-54a; y. Sheqalim 6:1-2, 49c). In the Babylonian Talmud, the ark and the cherubim ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of Jewish thought & philosophy
Main Author: Adelman, Rachel (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill [2019]
In: The journal of Jewish thought & philosophy
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Talmûd bavlî / Talmûd yerûšalmî / Ark of Noah / Utopia / Longing / Diaspora (Religion) / Judaism
RelBib Classification:AE Psychology of religion
AG Religious life; material religion
HD Early Judaism
Further subjects:B Diaspora
B gender reading
B locative
B Ark
B counter-locative
B sense of sight
B Talmud
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This paper compares the Babylonian and Palestinian talmudic traditions on the fate of the ark of the covenant—either lost before or during the Babylonian conquest, or buried in the Temple precincts (b. Yom'a 53b-54a; y. Sheqalim 6:1-2, 49c). In the Babylonian Talmud, the ark and the cherubim are described in highly erotic, feminized terms, blurring traditional gender categories of Israel and God. The feminization of the ark serves as a "survival strategy" to counter the defiling gaze of the gentile conqueror, but also preserves the sacred center as a locus of longing for Jews in diaspora.
ISSN:1477-285X
Contains:Enthalten in: The journal of Jewish thought & philosophy
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1477285X-12341300