Talmudic Stories

Jeffrey L. Rubenstein is an associate professor in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. He is the author of The History of Sukkot in the Second Temple and Rabbinic Periods; Rabbinic Stories; and the forthcoming The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud, which will also be published by Johns Hopkins.

• Contents: Introduction *Torah, Shame, and "The Oven of Akhnai" (Bava Mesia 59a-59b) * Elisha ben Abuya: Torah and the Sinful Sage (Hagiga 15a-15b) * Torah and the Mundane Life: The Education of R. Shimon bar Yohai (Shabbat 33b-34a) * Rabbinic Authority and the Destruction of Jerusalem (Gittin 55b-56b) * Torah, Lineage, and the Academic Hierarchy (Horayot 13b-14a) * Torah, Gentiles, and Eschatology (Avoda Zara 2a-3b) * Conclusion

This book offers the best set of literary readings of Talmudic materials in English, and the best English introduction to the issues such readings entail, that this reviewer has seen. Choice This book goes well beyond the explanation of difficult Talmudic stories. It presents, indeed, an entirely innovative theory. Rubenstein's argument is not only important, but also, I think, persuasive. This book should not be allowed to go unnoticed: in a well-trodden field like Talmudic studies one rarely gets the feeling that a major breakthrough has been achieved. -- Sacha Stern Journal of Jewish Studies Rubenstein has produced a fascinating volume... Anyone who reads this book will find important new insights. -- Gary G. Porton Shofar This is a mature work, in which the author invested much labor and thought. The thoroughness, methodical diversity, and scholarly discretion can serve as a model of the demanding standards that are to be expected from serious research into rabbinic literature. -- Eliezer Segal Journal of the American Academy of Religion It analyzes several notable rabbinic stories in a fresh and detailed manner. -- Carol Bakhos Journal of Biblical Literature A distinctive and nuanced analysis of six narratives from the Babylonian Talmud... I would recommend this excellent book to Rubenstein's intended audience as well as anyone who is interested in the literary analysis of religious narratives... Rubenstein's analyses are careful and thorough, and he argues his points well. In addition, Talmudic Stories opens up a host of new challenges. -- Jonathan Schofer Hebrew Studies This work establishes Rubenstein as the leading scholar of narrative in the Babylonian Talmud. -- Marc Bregman Religious Studies Review