David Weiss Halivni's The Formation of the Babylonian Talmud; originally published in Hebrew and here translated by Jeffrey L. Rubenstein; is widely regarded as the most comprehensive scholarly examination of the processes of composition and editing of the Babylonian Talmud.Halivni presents the summation of a lifetime of scholarship and the conclusions of his multivolume Talmudic commentary; Sources and Traditions (Meqorot umesorot). Arguing against the traditional view that the Talmud was composed c. 450 CE by the last of the named sages in the Talmud; the Amoraim; Halivni proposes that its formation took place over a much longer period of time; not reaching its final form until about 750 CE. The Talmud consists of many literary strata or layers; with later layers commenting upon and reinterpreting earlier layers. The later layers differ qualitatively from the earlier layers; and were composed by anonymous sages whom Halivni calls Stammaim. These sages were the true author-editors of the Talmud. They reconstructed the reasons underpinning earlier rulings; created the dialectical argumentation characteristic of the Talmud; and formulated the literary units that make up the Talmudic text.Halivni also discusses the history and development of rabbinic tradition from the Mishnah through the post-Talmudic legal codes; the types of dialectical analysis found in the different rabbinic works; and the roles of reciters; transmitters; compilers; and editors in the composition of the Talmud. This volume contains an introduction and annotations by Jeffrey L. Rubenstein.
#442159 in Books 2013-03-14 2013-03-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.70 x 1.50 x 9.70l; 2.71 #File Name: 0199672423704 pages
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