In search of another law : three talmudic readings of Benjamin’s Kafka / Bat Chen Laila Cheri

By: Material type: TextLanguage: English Publisher: Lund : Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, 2025Description: 200 pISBN:
  • 9789190055298
Subject(s): Additional physical formats: Annat format: No titleOnline resources: Summary: The project offers a study of German-Jewish thought by examining Walter Benjamin’s notion of law through the interpretive framework of the Talmud. The widely recognised locus of Benjamin's discussion of law is his essay Toward the Critique of Violence. In his later essays on Kafka, however, Benjamin develops an alternative to the familiar negative notion of law found in the Critique, a development that has often been overlooked. The originality of the project lies in articulating "talmudic reading" as a methodology grounded in the hermeneutical resources of rabbinic thought. A close reading of Benjamin’s Kafka essays—paying special attention to the dynamics of the rabbinic textual categories halakhah and haggadah—uncovers a notion of law oriented toward the practice of study and interpretation. The project aims to contribute to contemporary debates in political philosophy, literary studies, and philosophy of religion, situating itself particularly within the expanding discourse on Talmud and philosophy.Supplement to:
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Standardlitteratur Johannelunds teologiska högskola Huvudbiblioteket Historisk och Praktisk teologi (242-299) 296.3 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 166115987

The project offers a study of German-Jewish thought by examining Walter Benjamin’s notion of law through the interpretive framework of the Talmud. The widely recognised locus of Benjamin's discussion of law is his essay Toward the Critique of Violence. In his later essays on Kafka, however, Benjamin develops an alternative to the familiar negative notion of law found in the Critique, a development that has often been overlooked. The originality of the project lies in articulating "talmudic reading" as a methodology grounded in the hermeneutical resources of rabbinic thought. A close reading of Benjamin’s Kafka essays—paying special attention to the dynamics of the rabbinic textual categories halakhah and haggadah—uncovers a notion of law oriented toward the practice of study and interpretation. The project aims to contribute to contemporary debates in political philosophy, literary studies, and philosophy of religion, situating itself particularly within the expanding discourse on Talmud and philosophy.

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