Metamorphosis of love and death in the Talmudic texts

The book is devoted to the literature created by Jewish sages in late antiquity in the country of Israel and the Sasanian Persia. It is not strictly scientific, but belongs to the genre of the essay, that is, is something intermediate between scientific articles and literary essay, an introduction to the basics of Talmudic narratology and axiology, the explanation in terms of modern literary analysis and historical science.

Chapters of the book: "The wise men and their other" - leads the material on the site "other" in Talmudic culture, how she perceives herself vis stranger from outside; "Man and Woman" - comprehends the most important "other" are women; "Body and methods of temptation" says about the metamorphosis of Eros in the Talmudic texts; chapter "Testing and Lessons" is devoted to narratives in which the hero finds himself in Talmudic situation tests, and important values are opened in a dramatic collision; "Life and Death" was the story in which the hour of death is used to thinking about life.

The purpose of this book to make the elements of Talmudic culture clearer and closer to the modern reader, and introduce him to the narratives in the process of slow reading, is not devoid of pleasantness.

instead of a Preface

This book originated in a certain degree by accident. Galina Zelenina invited me to write a column in the online journal Vooktk; Taking into account the fact that I Talmudic scholar of literature, topics proposed speakers ought to be Talmudic style is - entertaining and tone - confidence and relaxed. The task seemed to me interesting. For me it was natural to turn to haggadic narrative, since their scientific Stude I analyze precisely such texts. I decided to choose for each column one story of Talmudic literature, which operates the Talmudic sage or some character of his world. Narrative genre - the most versatile of genres haggadic literature and stories from the sages, their neighbors and their future seemed to me the most suitable because of their ability to awaken in the reader participation, so necessary for the comprehension of the story. Over time, the set mission fascinated me more and more, and often I prezreval their scientific work, to write another, all lengthens column. Texts written for "Booknik" had the character of essays and written language was not an academic, and in the content, I sometimes allowed myself the freedom which are deprived of my scientific publications. Essays were written to reflect on topics of interest to me, waving boredom and melancholy, and, if possible, to amuse the reader. Topics chosen for speakers on a whim, I chose a story from the occupied me at the time and, perhaps, in tune with my mood. So, being in Rome, I like to publish stories, in whom my heroes were sent from Jerusalem, the capital of the empire.

Over time, bringing together speakers that were released more than two years, I decided to publish them without changing somewhat flippant tone of the narrative and staying true to one guise storyteller who wore during the publication of the speakers. But, turning the column into a book, I added something, something has lowered, and most importantly - structured whole heap of texts. Somewhat unexpectedly for myself, I found that despite the random selection of subjects all my speakers easily grouped by themes, which became the chapters of this book. In order to make the book suitable and within the Russian-speaking academic discourse, I wrote the introduction. In it, I used his didactic achievements, adding to them new ways of thinking, and some bibliographical references and notes, by which the reader can - if desired - to rise to a more advanced level of study of Talmudic narrative. If relying on the universality of the narrative genre and not less versatility of literary analysis, the reader wish to skip the introduction - the author is not mad.

Artist Sergey Nikolsky generously gave this book his illustrations decorating the title pages of chapters, for which I am very grateful to him.

table of contents

instead of a Preface

introduction

Basic concepts of Talmudic literature
The content of Talmudic literature
oral tradition
literary works
The story in the Talmudic literature
Literary characteristics of the Talmudic story

Sages and other

Treasury of rain, the wedding waters and property
mime of Caesarea
Sage, philosopher and Aphrodite in Acre
Sages, the Witch and the path of the city to the bottom of the bath
lake Tiberias
Sages against erotic magic, or the concealment
in flax seed and on the seabed
History of Ashkelon Gentiles, his stones and his cows

Man and woman

A romantic story
The house of one man and the woman in the house
The wife of a Galilean
Little commandment, dear whore and divine retribution

Body and seduction techniques

On a morning walk, a pleasant collaboration and bad instincts
Narcissus, Nazarite and methods of offense
Statues of kings, the bodies of people and a stranger in the house
"And fell the light", or the phenomenon of Eros in the Talmud
Ascetic, woman and fruit pomegranate
Three wise men, two beautiful women, one poor and one whose name is not pronounced

Trials and Lessons (dramatic didactics)

The young man in Rome
Rome, Jerusalem and the radical Jew in the way
Who foresaw the greatness of angels ministry?
Prayer in the ruins and the road home
The lessons of humility and mystical Mineralogy
Meat and lessons of charity
Lessons mercy waiting for the rain
Forgetful sage, his witty wife
and the price of loneliness
Mother of the Messiah, and her son

Life and death

"Give us one of you and ..."
Three of the king, the sage and utensils that remained in his house
If cedars in flames
Meets in the river and on weapons abandoned on the shore
History of the life and death of the righteous body.
Two rival, a woman of one of them and the price of a toothache
Bread, wine and youth hero
Weeds in the vineyard, vinegar, wine son,
and the weight of the cloak and scrip
The life and death of the righteous body

instead of an epilogue

Works of the Talmudic literature,
used in the book