Abraham Geiger's independent commentary on Mishnah
By claiming that the Talmud misinterpreted the Mishnah, Abraham Geiger's less known work, Lehr- und Lesebuch zur Sprache der Mischnah (1845), the focus of this article, challenged a fundamental axiom of the tradition of an immutable halakhic system. In this book, Geiger not only addressed the n...
| Subtitles: | על ה"פרשנות העצמאית" למשנה של אברהם גייגר |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | Hebrew |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
2006
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
Year: 2006, Volume: 77, Pages: 51-70 |
| IxTheo Classification: | BH Judaism TK Recent history |
| Further subjects: | B
Commentary
B Geiger, Abraham (1810-1874) B Mishnah |
| Summary: | By claiming that the Talmud misinterpreted the Mishnah, Abraham Geiger's less known work, Lehr- und Lesebuch zur Sprache der Mischnah (1845), the focus of this article, challenged a fundamental axiom of the tradition of an immutable halakhic system. In this book, Geiger not only addressed the need for a modern commentary to the Mishnah, but also expressed reservations concerning the talmudic method of interpreting the Mishnah. The ensuing harsh attacks were a predictable response to Geiger's unprecedented critical approach and, even more so, to his essay's underlying ideological agenda. Whether seen as the result of the amoraic failure to grasp earlier tannaitic traditions or, alternatively, as a conscious amoraic attempt to shape halakhah according to the needs of their time, inherent in the assertion that the Talmud misinterpreted the Mishnah was a serious revision of the understanding of the history of halakhah, which raised questions as to its authoritative nature. Tracing Geiger's writing both prior to and following the publication of this book reveals moderation of Geiger's approach to the Talmud. In response to the criticism of his book, he came to portray the Talmud as a positive model for halakhic reform rather than as a legal corpus to be abandoned in modern times. |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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