The Meanings of Death in Rabbinic Judaism

by Kraemer,David

• ISBN13: 9780415211840
• ISBN10: 0415211840
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-11-12
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Meanings of Death in Rabbinic Judaismis the first study of death and the mourning practices of Judaism's founders-the Rabbis of late antiquity. David Kraemer examines the earliest canonical texts-the Mishnah, the Tosefta, the Midrashim, and the Talmud-to decipher what ancient Jewish death rituals were. Through his examination of these vital Jewish texts, he is able to discover the unexpected irrational foundations of these beliefs. He also includes a discussion of evidence from the largest Jewish burial complex in antiquity, Beth Shearim, and an interpretation of the death rituals recorded in the Babylonian Talmud.

Author Biography

David Kraemer is Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	vii
Preface and Acknowledgments	viii
Glossary	ix
List of abbreviations	xi
The presence of death	1	(13)
Jewish death customs before the rabbis	14	(9)
Early rabbinic death-practices: The evidence of the Mishnah	23	(13)
Early expansions and commentaries: The testimony of the Tosefta and Tannaitic Midrashim	36	(12)
Jewish death-practices in reality: The catacombs at Beth Shearim	48	(24)
Jewish death-practices in early Byzantine Palestine: The Yerushalmi and Aggadic Midrashim	72	(23)
Law as commentary: The Bavli on death and burial	95	(22)
The Bavli interprets the mourner	117	(16)
Post-Talmudic developments in Jewish death-practice	133	(9)
A personal theological postscript	142	(8)
Notes	150	(10)
References	160	(4)
Index	164