Carnal Israel

Reading Sex in Talmudic Culture

By: Daniel Boyarin

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Paperback | 30 August 1995 | Edition Number 1

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272 Pages

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22.92 x 15.22 x 1.73

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Beginning with a startling endorsement of the patristic view of Judaism-that it was a "carnal" religion, in contrast to the spiritual vision of the Church-Daniel Boyarin argues that rabbinic Judaism was based on a set of assumptions about the human body that were profoundly different from those of Christianity. The body-specifically, the sexualized body-could not be renounced, for the Rabbis believed as a religious principle in the generation of offspring and hence in intercourse sanctioned by marriage.

This belief bound men and women together and made impossible the various modes of gender separation practiced by early Christians. The commitment to coupling did not imply a resolution of the unequal distribution of power that characterized relations between the sexes in all late-antique societies. But Boyarin argues strenuously that the male construction and treatment of women in rabbinic Judaism did not rest on a loathing of the female body. Thus, without ignoring the currents of sexual domination that course through the Talmudic texts, Boyarin insists that the rabbinic account of human sexuality, different from that of the Hellenistic Judaisms and Pauline Christianity, has something important and empowering to teach us today.

Industry Reviews

"I find Boyarin's stance appealing, his fusion of Talmudic scholarship with post-modern literary theory brilliant, his arguments convincing."--Alicia Ostriker, "Women's Review of Books

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Non-Fiction Religion & Beliefs Judaism Society & Culture Social Groups Social & Cultural Aspects of Religious Groups Jewish Studies Literature, Poetry & Plays History & Criticism of Literature Christianity

Acknowledgments
A Note on the Term Rabbis
Introduction	p. 1
"Behold Israel According to the Flesh": On Anthropology and Sexuality in Late-Antique Judaisms	p. 31
Dialectics of Desire: "The Evil Instinct Is Very Good"	p. 61
Different Eves: Myths of Female Origins and the Discourse of Married Sex	p. 77
Engendering Desire: Husbands, Wives, and Sexual Intercourse	p. 107
Lusting After Learning: The Torah as "the Other Woman"	p. 134
Studying Women: Resistance from Within the Male Discourse	p. 167
(Re)producing Men: Constructing the Rabbinic Male Body	p. 197
Concluding Forward: Talmudic Study as Cultural Critique	p. 227
Bibliography	p. 247
General Index	p. 265
Index of Primary Jewish Texts	p. 271
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Carnal Israel

Reading Sex in Talmudic Culture

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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