The Land of Truth

Talmud Tales, Timeless Teachings

Jeffrey L. Rubenstein

• Publisher: The Jewish Publication Society
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780827614352
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

Making the rich narrative world of Talmud tales fully accessible to modern readers, renowned Talmud scholar Jeffrey L. Rubenstein turns his spotlight on both famous and little-known stories, analyzing the tales in their original contexts, exploring their cultural meanings and literary artistry, and illuminating their relevance. Delving into both rabbinic life (the academy, master-disciple relationships) and Jewish life under Roman and Persian rule (persecution, taxation, marketplaces), Rubenstein explains how storytellers used irony, wordplay, figurative language, and other art forms to communicate their intended messages. Each close reading demonstrates the story's continuing relevance through the generations into modernity. For example, the story "Showdown in Court, " a confrontation between King Yannai and the Rabbinic judges, provides insights into controversial struggles in U.S. history to balance governmental power; the story of Honi's seventy-year sleep becomes a window into the indignities of aging. Through the prism of Talmud tales, Rubenstein also offers timeless insights into suffering, beauty, disgust, heroism, humor, love, sex, truth, and falsehood. By connecting twenty-first-century readers to past generations, The Land of Truth helps to bridge the divide between modern Jews and the traditional narrative worlds of their ancestors.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part 1
• 1. The Surreal Sleeper
• 2. What to Do with an Aged (and Annoying) Mother?
• 3. Forbidden Fruit, or How Not to Seduce Your Husband
• 4. Men Are from Babylonia, Women Are from the Land of Israel
• 5. Sufferings! Not Them and Not Their Reward!
• Part 2
• 6. The Ugly Vessel
• 7. An Arrow in Satan’s Eye
• 8. The Land of Truth
• 9. Torah for Richer or Poorer
• 10. Heroism and Humor
• Part 3
• 11. Showdown in Court
• 12. Alexander the Great and the Faraway King
• 13. The Carpenter and His Apprentice
• 14. Standing on One Leg
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Subjects Index
• Biblical and Rabbinic Sources Index
• About Jeffrey L. Rubenstein