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Article
Contextualizing Bread: An Analysis of Talmudic Discourse in Light of Christian and Islamic Counterparts
Journal of the American Academy of Religion (2012)
  • David M. Freidenreich, Colby College
Abstract

Rabbinic Sages change the practical implications of received normative statements through the manipulation of context. The strategies of contextualization that these Rabbis employ when ascribing their own opinions to predecessors who espoused different ideas become evident through analysis of passages of the Babylonian Talmud that address the law prohibiting Jewish consumption of bread baked by gentiles. Analysis of these passages, moreover, sheds light on the way in which Rabbinic Sages think about gentiles. By placing Talmudic texts within an analytical context that includes texts from the New Testament, John Chrysostom, and various Muslim authorities, this article also demonstrates the value to academic scholars of comparing texts produced within multiple religious communities.

Keywords
  • bread,
  • Babylonian Talmud,
  • gentiles,
  • comparative religion
Disciplines
Publication Date
2012
Citation Information
David M. Freidenreich. "Contextualizing Bread: An Analysis of Talmudic Discourse in Light of Christian and Islamic Counterparts" Journal of the American Academy of Religion Vol. 80 Iss. 2 (2012)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/david_freidenreich/54/