Plato and the Talmud

Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 11
Introduction......Page 15
The Nature of the Inquiry......Page 28
Scripture, Midrash and Mishnah Forms, and Oral Torah......Page 40
The Mishnah and the Gemara......Page 51
Halakha, Aggadah, and Talmudic Pedagogy......Page 56
Interpretative Imagination: Talmudic and Platonic Storytelling......Page 65
Philosophy in Action: The Case for Socrates......Page 69
Philosophy and Tradition: Plato’s Complex Pedagogy......Page 77
The Ambition of the Texts......Page 84
2 Rabbis and Holy Men......Page 90
The Context and the Mishnah of Ta’anit 3......Page 92
Honi in the Gemara: Self-Knowledge, Heroism, and Community......Page 100
Salvation and Exile......Page 115
3 Prophets and Philosophers......Page 119
Socrates’ Strangeness......Page 122
Socrates’ Faith......Page 125
Socrates as Exemplar......Page 129
Socrates as Prophet......Page 133
Emulating Socrates: Philosophical Pedagogy and Judaism......Page 140
4 Fathers and Sons......Page 146
Socratic Paternalism and the Promise of Community......Page 147
Euthyphro, Socrates, and the Fathers of Athens......Page 150
Meletus, Son of the City......Page 158
Beginning from the Beginning: The Erotic and Prophetic Philosopher......Page 163
Meletus and Euthyphro: Archaic Aspirations......Page 171
Back to the Beginning: Socrates......Page 174
5 Words and Deeds......Page 178
Elazar and the Ugly Man......Page 180
Models of Merit: The Sages in Action......Page 186
Another Ugly Man: Na.um of Gam Zu......Page 196
6 Gods and Men......Page 202
Piety in Action: Definition and the Dramatic Paradigm......Page 204
The Mantle of Piety: Euthyphro’s Divine Revenge......Page 208
Exposing Euthyphro: Socrates’ Philanthropic and Philotheistic Therapy......Page 213
Philosophy as Piety: A New Beginning......Page 223
The Grammar of Socratic Religious Invention......Page 231
7 Miracles and Necessity......Page 236
Praying for Miracles: The Ambivalence of the Rabbis......Page 242
The Moral Economy of Miracles......Page 248
Mercy and Humility......Page 261
Epilogue: Texts and Traditions......Page 267
Works Cited......Page 275
Index to Biblical and Rabbinic Texts......Page 285
General Index......Page 289