| Creating Judaism: History, Tradition, Practice Michael L. Satlow |
Discussion Questions:
1. What does it mean to talk of the "theology" of the Rabbis? Do the Rabbis have a theology?
2. Who was a Jew for the Rabbis?
3. Why do good things happen to bad people and vice-versa, according to the Rabbis?
5. What are the rabbinic meanings of "covenant"?
6. Why is the doctrine that in the World-to-Come there will be resurrection of the dead so important
to the Rabbis?
7. Do the Rabbis offer useful intellectual resources for thinking about or even answering modern
problems?
Resources
There are several discussions of what the Rabbis “believe,” although most of them treat rabbinic
thought selectively by minimizing those aspects that are less relevant to modern sensibilities. David
S. Ariel, What Do Jews Believe? The Spiritual Foundations of Judaism (New York: Schocken,
1995), provides a balanced, if partisan, treatment. Older studies include George Foot Moore,
Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era: The Age of the Tannaim (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1927–1930); and Ephraim E. Urbach, The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs,
trans. Israel Abrahams (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1979). Solomon Schechter, Aspects
of Rabbinic Theology (reprint Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, 1993 [New York: Schocken, 1961]) is
still worthwhile reading. The notion of “organic” theology derives from Max Kaddushin, Organic
Thinking: A Study in Rabbinic Thought (New York: Bloch, 1938), which remains a difficult book.
Multimedia Resources
1. What does it mean to talk of the "theology" of the Rabbis? Do the Rabbis have a theology?
2. Who was a Jew for the Rabbis?
3. Why do good things happen to bad people and vice-versa, according to the Rabbis?
5. What are the rabbinic meanings of "covenant"?
6. Why is the doctrine that in the World-to-Come there will be resurrection of the dead so important
to the Rabbis?
7. Do the Rabbis offer useful intellectual resources for thinking about or even answering modern
problems?
Resources
There are several discussions of what the Rabbis “believe,” although most of them treat rabbinic
thought selectively by minimizing those aspects that are less relevant to modern sensibilities. David
S. Ariel, What Do Jews Believe? The Spiritual Foundations of Judaism (New York: Schocken,
1995), provides a balanced, if partisan, treatment. Older studies include George Foot Moore,
Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era: The Age of the Tannaim (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1927–1930); and Ephraim E. Urbach, The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs,
trans. Israel Abrahams (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1979). Solomon Schechter, Aspects
of Rabbinic Theology (reprint Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, 1993 [New York: Schocken, 1961]) is
still worthwhile reading. The notion of “organic” theology derives from Max Kaddushin, Organic
Thinking: A Study in Rabbinic Thought (New York: Bloch, 1938), which remains a difficult book.
Multimedia Resources
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"Rabbinic Concepts" |
| Copyright Michael L. Satlow 2007 All rights reserved Comments? Suggestion? Contact the author! |
View of the cemetery on the Mount of
Olives. Some Jews believe that those
buried here will be resurrected first.
Olives. Some Jews believe that those
buried here will be resurrected first.