Responses to Suffering in Classical Rabbinic Literature

Contents......Page 12
Abbreviations......Page 16
1. Introduction......Page 20
Definitions......Page 25
Previous Scholarship and Methodological Considerations......Page 27
2. The Canonical Foundation......Page 34
The Classical Biblical Position: Retributive Suffering......Page 35
Suffering and Love......Page 39
Suffering and Future Justice......Page 42
The Tradition of Complaint......Page 44
Suffering in Vain......Page 50
3. Other Jews, Other Responses......Page 53
Justice After Death......Page 56
Come the Apocalypse......Page 57
Dualisms......Page 62
The Hellenistic Jewish View......Page 64
4. Early Rabbinic Responses: Mishnah and Avot......Page 68
Mishnah......Page 70
Avot......Page 78
5. Early Rabbinic Responses: The Tosefta......Page 83
The Destruction of the Temple and Historical Reality......Page 90
6. Early Rabbinic Responses: The Halakhic Midrashim......Page 96
Related Traditions......Page 108
National Suffering and the Destruction of the Temple......Page 113
Summary......Page 115
7. Later Palestinian Documents: The Yerushalmi......Page 119
Reward and Punishment......Page 120
The Hint of Alternatives......Page 125
Divine Mercy......Page 126
Proper Responses to Suffering......Page 127
8. Later Palestinian Documents: The Aggadic Midrashim......Page 132
Traditional Explanations......Page 133
Suffering and Divine Mercy......Page 137
The Voice of Ambivalence......Page 141
Lamentations Rabbah......Page 157
Summary......Page 163
9. The Bavli: Canonical Echoes, Intimations of Dissent......Page 167
The Nature of the Bavli......Page 168
The Bavli on Suffering......Page 171
Intimations of Dissent......Page 175
The Bavli Contrasted with the Palestinian Tradition......Page 182
The Bavli on Divine Justice......Page 189
The Bavli on the Destruction......Page 193
Shabbat 55a–b......Page 201
Berakhot 5a–b......Page 205
Hagiga 4b–5a......Page 217
Understanding the Bavli......Page 224
11. Summary and Conclusions......Page 228
Nonrabbinic Jews......Page 231
Non-Rabbis......Page 232
The History of Religious Ideas and Rabbinic Judaism......Page 235
The Growth and Flexibility of a Religious Canon......Page 239
Notes......Page 242
Bibliography......Page 266
E......Page 272
S......Page 273
Z......Page 274
New Testament......Page 276
Aggadic Midrashim......Page 277
Talmud Bavli......Page 278