Jacob Neusner

Jacob Neusner ( born July 28, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut ) is an American scholar of religion and Judaic scholar. He has written or edited over 900 books on the Torah, the Talmud and other Jewish writings, and also deals with the Christian writings of the New Testament.

Biography

Neusner was born in Hartford, Connecticut and grew up in an American Reform Judaism belonging to family in a Christian environment marked on. He studied at Harvard University, Oxford University and at Columbia University, and at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Rabbinical Seminary of American Conservative Judaism, where he received his rabbinical ordination. He taught at Columbia University, the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Brandeis University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, the University of South Florida and at Bard College, New York.

Neusner was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and a life member at Clare College, Cambridge. He is the only scientist who is a member of both the National Foundation of the United States of Humanities and those for the Arts. In addition, he has received numerous academic awards, honors and other Achtungsbezeugungen.

Neusner is a devout Jew of the American conservative direction of its claims to be returning to the American Reform Judaism of his childhood. He teaches with Christian theologians together at the university and shows deep respect for the faith of his Christian colleagues, without reason to question the validity of the Jewish interpretation of the Holy Scriptures in question.

Research and teaching

Neusner scientific activity is very broad. The focus of his research of the ancient rabbinic Judaism are the time of the Mishnah and the Talmud. Neusner was one of the pioneers in the application of " form criticism " for the development of rabbinic texts. Many of his works aim, the predominant method in which rabbinic Judaism is seen as a unified religious movement to deconstruct. In contrast to the prevailing view Neusner sees each rabbinic document as individual contribution to evidence of Judaism, through which only one light is thrown on the local and specific Judaism of the author ( " Judaism: The Evidence of the Mishnah. " Chicago, 1981; translated into Hebrew and Italian ).

The method individually to understand documents without putting the other rabbinical documents of the same age or genre in a context that led to a series of studies on the formation of understanding Categories in Judaism and their mutual relationships - as exemplified in the various rabbinic texts appear. Neusner work for example, show how much Judaism is integrated into the system of the Pentateuch, as categories such as "merit" and "purity" act in Judaism and how the classical Judaism the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 processed and transcended.

Neusner has many rabbinic writings translated into English and made available to scientists from other disciplines who do not speak Hebrew and Aramaic. His translation technique uses the " Harvard outline" - format, which attempts, the reasoning chains rabbinic texts to make understandable Those who are not familiar with Talmudic reasoning.

In addition to his historical works and the text edits Neusner has written and theologically oriented books, so "Israel: Judaism and its Social Metaphors " and "The Incarnation of God: The Character of Divinity in Formative Judaism ."

Neusner has written several books that explore the relationship of Judaism to other religions. His book " A rabbi talks with Jesus " ("A Rabbi Talks with Jesus ", Philadelphia, 1993; translated into German, Italian and Swedish ) is an attempt to develop a religiously sound basis for the Christian-Jewish dialogue. Neusner turns it against both Christological efforts to put the Judaism of Jesus in the foreground, as well as against Jewish attempts to recognize Jesus as a rabbi. The book was written by Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI. ) In his book " Jesus of Nazareth. From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration " positively valued. Neusner has taken the Pope because in 2008 against the fierce criticism from the Jewish side because of the recognition and revision of the " intercession for the conversion of Jews " in the Good Friday liturgy of the extraordinary rite in protection and the prayer text as an expression of liberal thought ( " liberality of spirit " ) appreciated as it expresses itself in prayer, say the Jews every day, in which they ask that God may enlighten the peoples and let them merge in his kingdom.

Neusner developed as part of his studies to Judaism and to the Jewish religion methods and theories that are generally applicable to the study of religions and has also collaborated with scientists from other religions. A comparison between Judaism and Christianity in " The Bible and Us: A Priest and A Rabbi Read Scripture Together" worked out. (New York, 1990; translated into Spanish and Portuguese ). In collaboration with scholars of Islam is in " World Religions in America: An Introduction " ( third edition, Nashville, 2004) an idea of ​​learn how the different religions that have developed in the typical American context.

In addition to his scientific activities, Neusner in the development of Jewish and religious studies has been involved in American universities and has sponsored a number of conferences and projects aimed at understanding the religions. Were treated with topics such as " differences of religions ", " Religion and Society ", " Religion and material culture ", "Religion and Economy", " religion and charity " and " Religion and Tolerance". In addition, he has authored numerous textbooks and books intended for a wider audience. The best known are " The Way of Torah: An Introduction to Judaism " ( Belmont, 2003) and " Judaism: An Introduction " ( London and New York, 2002; translated into Portuguese and Japanese ). Neusner has book series and publication programs established with various academic publishers, thanks to which the careers of many young scientists could be promoted around the world.

Criticism

Neusner is criticized by many peers, as well as of his former teachers, Saul Lieberman, Solomon Zeitlin and Morton Smith. They accuse him of many of his arguments are circular or tried so-called "negative assumptions " to impose no hard evidence (eg, Cohen, Evans, Maccoby, Poirier, Sanders ). In addition, many scientists Neusner are reading and interpretations of rabbinic texts critically. Access to them is accelerated and imprecise (eg, Cohen, Evans, Maccoby, Poirier and in detail Zuesse ). They also make its Hebrew and Aramaic competence in question.

Neusner had tried to show that the Pharisees of the second temple actually only a sectarian fringe group represented, which had been formed as a sort of table fellowship with a special purity ritual in terms of food but to other Jewish values ​​and social problems was not interested. These assumptions are at odds with the contemporary designs Flavius ​​Josephus ', the (Hebrew Birkat Ha - Mason) describes as developed by the Pharisees said grace, which is also confirmed in early rabbinic literature. Neusner representation is doubted by Zeitlin and Maccoby. A detailed review comes from EP Sanders, who came to the conclusion that Neusner interpretations of the Pharisaic discussions and decisions are imprecise and arbitrary, and the conclusions drawn from them questionable. For example, Neusner asserts that 67% of the Pharisaic " houses" discussions on the topic of " purity of food " turned, Sanders goes, however, believe that this issue only accounts for less than 1% of the discussions.

Daniel Boyarin criticizes Neusner ' dealing with the method of intertextuality and accuses him to misunderstand the concept of intertextuality, if he understands it as a characteristic of a text, as opposed to another. As an example of this misunderstanding is called Boyarin, the work of James Ball, "Two Introductions to Midrash " ( "Two Introductions to Midrash " ), which was criticized in Neusner 's work The Case of James Ball 's Joking Rabbis and Other Serious Issues. Was Neusner, as Boyarin, obsessed, to argue against the misunderstood him notion of intertextuality as a feature of the Midrash and have in his desire to attack the representatives of intertextuality in every possible way, opened fire against those scholars who he as a ball and his friends, or sometimes referred to as a proof text circle.

Pope Benedict XVI. continues in his book Jesus of Nazareth. Has set out to Jesus From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration in detail with Neusner criticism of Jesus apart, as he says in his book A Rabbi.

Bibliography ( German )

• A rabbi talks with Jesus: a Jewish- Christian Dialogue; Freiburg: Herder, 2007; ISBN 978-3-451-29583-6
• A rabbi talks with Jesus: a Jewish- Christian Dialogue; . Munich: Claudius -Verl, 1997; ISBN 3-532-62208-4
• The taking shape of Judaism: the Jewish religion in response to the critical challenges of the first six centuries of the Christian era; Frankfurt am Main; Berlin; Bern; New York; Paris; Vienna: Lang, 1994; ISBN 3-631-44571-7
• Judaism in early Christian times; Stuttgart: Calw Verl, 1988; ISBN 3-7668-0775-7
• The Pharisaic and Talmudic Judaism: new approaches to its understanding; Tübingen: Mohr, 1984; ISBN 3-16-144795-6

Bibliography (selection English)

• The Case of James Ball 's Joking Rabbis and Other Serious Issues. In: Wrong Ways and Right Ways in the Study of Formative Judaism (Atlanta 1988) pp. 59-73.