Nine Talmudic Readings

Nine rich and masterful readings of the Talmud by the French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas translate Jewish thought into the language of modern times. Besides being quintessential illustrations of the art of reading, the essays express the deeply ethical vision of the human condition that makes Levinas one of the most important thinkers of our time.

Nine rich and masterful readings of the Talmud by the French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas translate Jewish thought into the language of modern times. Between 1963 and 1975, Levinas delivered these commentaries at the annual Talmudic colloquia of a group of French Jewish intellectuals in Paris. In this collection, Levinas applies a hermeneutic that simultaneously allows the classic Jewish texts to shed light on contemporary problems and lets modern problems illuminate the texts. Besides being quintessential illustrations of the art of reading, the essays express the deeply ethical vision of the human condition that makes Levinas one of the most important thinkers of our time.

Levinas's Talmudic Readings: Thirty Years Later / Annette Aronowicz

Acknowledgments

Translator's Introduction / Annette Aronowicz

Four Talmudic Readings

Introduction

Toward the Other

The Temptation of Temptation

Promised Land or Permitted Land

"As Old as the World?"

From the Sacred to the Holy: Five New Talmudic Readings

Preface

Judaism and Revolution

The Youth of Israel

Desacralization and Disenchantment

And God Created Woman

Damages Due to Fire

Glossary