Background
Weiss, David was born on December 21, 1928 in Sighet, Rumania. Son of Callel and Fanny (Weiss) Wiederman. came to the United States, 1947, naturalized, 1953.
( Modern critical scholars divide the Pentateuch into dis...)
Modern critical scholars divide the Pentateuch into distinct components, identifying areas of unevenness in the scriptural tradition, which point to several interwoven documents rather than one immaculate whole. While the conclusions reached by such critical scholarship are still matters of dispute, the inconsistencies which it has identified stand clearly before us and pose a serious challenge to the believer in divine revelation. How can a text marred by contradiction be the legacy of Sinai? How can there be reverence for holy scriptures that show signs of human intervention? David Weiss Halivni explores these questions, not by disputing the evidence itself or by defending the absolute integrity of the Pentateuchal words at all costs, but rather by accepting the inconsistencies of the text as such and asking how this text might yet be a divine legacy.Inconsistencies and unevenness in the Pentateuchal scriptures are not the discovery of modern textual science alone. Halivni demonstrates that the earliest stewards of the Torah, including some of those represented in the Bible itself, were aware of discrepancies within the tradition. From the Book of Chronicles through the commentaries of the Rabbis, sensitive readers have perceived maculations, which mitigate against the notion of an unblemished, divine document, and have responded to these maculations in different ways.Revelation Restored asserts that acknowledging and accounting for human intervention in the Pentateuchal text is not alien to the Biblical or Rabbinic tradition and need not belie the tradition of revelation. Moreover, it argues that through recognizing textual problems in the scriptures, as well as efforts to resolve them in tradition, we may learn not only about the nature of the Pentateuch itself but also about the ongoing relationship between its people and its source.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0813333474/?tag=2022091-20
(From the days of Plato, the problem of the efficacy and a...)
From the days of Plato, the problem of the efficacy and adequacy of the written word as a vehicle of human communication has challenged mankind, yet the mystery of how best to achieve clarity and exactitude of written expression has never been solved. The most repercussive instance of this universal problem has been the exegesis of the law embodied in Hebrew scripture. Peshat and Derash is the first book to trace the Jewish interpretative enterprise from a historical perspective. Applying his vast knowledge of Rabbinic materials to the long history of Jewish exegesis of both Bible and Talmud, Halivni investigates the tension that has often existed between the plain sense of the divine text (peshat) and its creative, Rabbinic interpretations (derash). Halivni addresses the theological implications of the deviation of derash from peshat and explores the differences between the ideological extreme of the religious right, which denies that Judaism has a history, and the religious left, which claims that history is all that Judaism has. A comprehensive and critical narration of the history and repercussions of Rabbinic exegesis, this analysis will interest students of legal texts, hermeneutics, and scriptural traditions, as well as anyone involved in Jewish studies.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195115716/?tag=2022091-20
Weiss, David was born on December 21, 1928 in Sighet, Rumania. Son of Callel and Fanny (Weiss) Wiederman. came to the United States, 1947, naturalized, 1953.
Bachelor, Brooklyn College, 1953. Master of Arts, New York University, 1956. MHL, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1957.
Doctor of Humane Letters, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1958. Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), Haifa University, Israel, 1993. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Gratz College, 1994.
Doctor of Theology (honorary), University Lund, Sweden, 1995. Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), Tel Aviv University, 1998. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Baltimore Hebrew University, 1998.
Instructor religion and Talmud, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1957-1962;
assistant professor Talmud, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1962-1968;
associate professor, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1968-1986;
professor Rabbinics, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1970-1986;
lecturer religion, Columbia University, New York City, 1961-1963;
adjunct assistant professor, Columbia University, New York City, 1963-1965;
adjunct associate professor, Columbia University, New York City, 1965-1968;
Adjunct Professor, Columbia University, New York City, 1968-1986;
professor, Columbia University, New York City, since 1986;
Lucius N. Littauer professor classical Jewish civilization, Columbia University, New York City, since 1995. Visiting professor Talmud Bar-Ilan U., Israel, 1974. Lady Davis visiting professor Talmud Hebrew U., Israel, 1984.
Visiting professor Harvard University Law School, 1996.
(From the days of Plato, the problem of the efficacy and a...)
( Modern critical scholars divide the Pentateuch into dis...)
(Book by Halivni, David Weiss)
(Brand New. In Stock. Will be shipped from US. Excellent C...)
Member American Academy Jewish Research (past president), American Academy Arts and Sciences.
Married Tzipora Hager, December 9, 1953. Children— Baruch, Ephraim, Isaiah.