Adventures of Rabbah & friends : the Talmud's strange tales and their readers / by James Adam Redfield.
| Author/creator | Redfield, James Adam author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Providence, Rhode Island : Brown Judaic Studies, [2025] |
| Copyright Date | ©2025 |
| Description | xviii, 438 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm |
| Subjects |
| Variant title | Adventures of Rabbah and friends |
| Series | Brown Judaic Studies ; Brown Judaic studies ; number 374. ^A109625 |
| Contents | Introduction: an interpretive history of nonsense -- Genre trouble! -- The sea still resists: between myth and Midrash -- Genealogy and birth of the literary collection -- A wonderful world and the romance of the east -- The iridescence of Scripture: inner-Talmudic interpretations -- The allegorical canon. |
| Abstract | "Adventures of Rabbah & Friends offers a new reader-centered approach to some of the Talmud's most challenging stories. James Adam Redfield illustrates how these tales have interacted with diverse interpretive frameworks from ancient myth to modern mysticism. By reevaluating conventional assumptions about coherence, authority, and tradition, the book redefines how stories can function in the Talmud, reorients the study of rabbinic literature around practices of reading and reception, and opens pathways for connecting the Talmud with broader conversations in the study of literature. Redfield's analysis of the vibrant dialogue between many voices in this literary tradition--storytellers, editors, performers, transmitters, commentators, anthologizers, and more--reveals their diverse and original contributions to the art of interpretation in Jewish culture. Rich appendixes revealing the stories' reception in late ancient exegesis, medieval responsa, and early modern ethical and mystical commentaries make this volume a valuable specialist resource, while its lively prose is accessible for a wider audience of students and humanities scholars."--Publisher, page 4 of cover. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 387-420) and indexes. |
| Language | Text in English and Hebrew, with English translations. |
| ISBN | 9781967013036 |
| ISBN | 1967013039 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 1967013047 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 9781967013043 (hardcover) |
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