Charity in rabbinic Judaism : atonement, rewards, and righteousness /
Studying the many ideas about how giving charity atones for sin and other rewards in late antique rabbinic literature, this volume contains many, varied and even conflicting ideas, as the multiplicity must be recognized and allowed expression. Topics include the significance of the rabbis' use...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Routledge,
[2019]
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Series: | Routledge Jewish studies series.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Studying the many ideas about how giving charity atones for sin and other rewards in late antique rabbinic literature, this volume contains many, varied and even conflicting ideas, as the multiplicity must be recognized and allowed expression. Topics include the significance of the rabbis' use of the biblical word "tzedaqah" as charity, the coexistence of the idea that God is the ultimate recipient of tzedaqah along with rabbinic ambivalence about that idea, redemptive almsgiving and the reward for charity of retention or increase in wealth. Rabbinic literature's preference for "teshuvah" (repentance) over tzedeqah to atone for sin is also closely examined. Throughout, close attention is paid to chronological differences in these ideas, and to differences between the rabbinic compilations of the land of Israel and the Babylonian Talmud. The book extensively analyses the various ways the Babylonian Talmud especially tends to put limits on the divine element in charity while privileging its human, this-worldly dimensions. This tendency also characterizes the Babylonian Talmud's treatment of other topics and briefly surveys some post-Talmudic developments. As the study fills a gap in existing scholarship on charity and the rabbis, it is an invaluable resource for scholars and clergy interested in charity within comparative religion, history and religion. |
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| Physical Description: | [x], 214 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781138599963 1138599964 9780429471162 0429471165 9780429895906 0429895909 9780429895890 0429895895 |