Literary Criticism - General & Miscellaneous, Oral Tradition & Storytelling, Scriptures & Rabbinical Literature - Judaism, Jewish Law, Interpretation & Construction of Law

Transmitting Mishnah

Name: Transmitting Mishnah
Author: Elizabeth Shanks Alexander
ISBN: 9780521104623

by Elizabeth Shanks Alexander

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Overview

Departing from the conventional view of mishnaic transmission as mindless rote memorization, Transmitting Mishnah reveals how multifaceted the process of passing on oral tradition was in antiquity. Taking advantage of the recently burgeoning field of orality studies, Elizabeth Shanks Alexander develops a model of transmission that is both active and constructive. Proceeding by means of intensive readings of passages from tractate Shevuot and its Talmudic commentaries, Alexander alerts us to the fact that transmitters and handlers of mishnaic text crafted both the vagaries of expression and its received meanings. She illustrates how the authority of the Mishnah grew as the result of the sustained attention of a devoted community of readers and students. She also identifies the study practices and habits of analysis that were cultivated by oral performance and shows how they were passed on in tandem with the verbal contents of the Mishnah, thereby influencing how the text was received and understood.

About the Author, Elizabeth Shanks Alexander

Elizabeth Shanks Alexander received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 1998. She has taught at Haverford College, Smith College and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia. She received an NEH summer grant to work on this book.