Deconstructing the Talmud

<p>This monograph uses deconstruction—a philosophical movement originated by Jacques Derrida—to read the most authoritative book in Judaism: the Talmud. Examining deconstruction in comparison with Kant’s and Hegel’s philosophies the volume argues that the movement opens an innovative debate on Jewish Law. </p><p></p><p>First the monograph interprets deconstruction within the major streams of continental philosophy; then it criticizes many aspects of Foucault’s and Agamben’s philosophy rejecting their notion of law. On these premises the research delivers a close examination of many fundamental aspects of the Talmud. Consequently it provides a short history of Rabbinic literature a history of the dissemination of the Talmud from Babylon to Northern France and an analysis of Talmudic vocabulary from a deconstructive perspective. Each key concept of the Talmud is analysed according to the deconstructive dialectics between orality and writing. Closing with a comparison between the Talmud and Derrida’s most enigmatic text <em>Glas</em> the study argues that deconstruction dismantles the traditional notion of the Talmud to outline a new approach to Jewish Law.</p><p></p><p>Reading the Talmud through deconstruction this new angle makes the volume an essential resource for students and scholars interested in Jewish studies continental philosophy and the Middle East.</p>