{"title":"Jeffrey L Rubenstein","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"rabbinic-stories-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9780809140244","title":"Rabbinic Stories","description":"In an appealing contribution to the Classics of Western Spirituality, Jeffrey Rubenstein has translated stories from the main works of classical rabbinic literature that were produced by Jewish sages between 200-600 C.E. The narratives include stories, legends, anecdotes and other traditions that relate to basic rabbinic values and practical concerns—charity, good deeds, marriage and children; and those that address important theological question, including suffering, theodicy, atonement and story of Torah.  Each story is accompanied by a brief analysis of the story's principal themes, meaning and literary character, while accompanying notes explain technical terms and references. In addition, to underscore the oral nature of the stories, the author offers translations of several versions of the same story, showing how later versions are more embellished and elaborate. The book treats the rabbinic stories not as accurate history, but as didactic fictions that model character, teach virtue and provide lessons.  There is no standard corpus of rabbinic stories available, says Rubenstein, and therefore this volume is a unique resource for courses on Judaism and rabbinic culture, comparative religions and religious narrative. Anyone interested in Jewish culture, early Christianity, folklore and Late Antique culture will find it to be fascinating reading as well. †","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49994413506833,"sku":"CIN0809140241G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53076610875665,"sku":"NIN9780809140244","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0809140241.jpg?v=1751170291"},{"product_id":"talmudic-stories-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9780801861468","title":"Talmudic Stories","description":"How should we understand the stories of the Babylonian Talmud? Where do they come from? Why are they in the Talmud? How do they relate to Talmudic law? In  Talmudic Stories, Jeffrey Rubenstein deepens our appreciation for the complexity of these texts by drawing attention to the literary aspects and cultural contexts that are essential to understanding their narrative art, meanings, and importance. Focusing on six famous stories of the Babylonian Talmud and discussing many others in relation to these, Rubenstein's analysis illuminates the ways in which the rabbis used narratives to grapple with fundamental tensions of their culture. The book also features an appendix including the original Hebrew\/Aramaic texts for the reader's reference.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50246164414737,"sku":"CIN0801861462G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0801861462.jpg?v=1750849464"},{"product_id":"talmudic-stories-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9780801877544","title":"Talmudic Stories","description":"How should we understand the stories of the Babylonian Talmud? Where do they come from? Why are they in the Talmud? How do they relate to Talmudic law? In  Talmudic Stories, Jeffrey Rubenstein deepens our appreciation for the complexity of these texts by drawing attention to the literary aspects and cultural contexts that are essential to understanding their narrative art, meanings, and importance. Focusing on six famous stories of the Babylonian Talmud and discussing many others in relation to these, Rubenstein's analysis illuminates the ways in which the rabbis used narratives to grapple with fundamental tensions of their culture. The book also features an appendix including the original Hebrew\/Aramaic texts for the reader's reference.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50413194117393,"sku":"CIN0801877547G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50624692486417,"sku":"GOR014015207","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51007192629521,"sku":"NIN9780801877544","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52126650663185,"sku":"NLS9780801877544","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0801877547.jpg?v=1750785777"},{"product_id":"rabbinic-stories-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9780809105335","title":"Rabbinic Stories","description":"Stories from the main works of classical rabbinic literature, which were produced by Jewish sages in either Hebrew or Aramaic, between 200 and 600 CE.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50484297269521,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50484298023185,"sku":"CIN0809105330G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0809105330.jpg?v=1751329265"},{"product_id":"culture-of-the-babylonian-talmud-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9780801882654","title":"The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud","description":"In this pathbreaking study Jeffrey L. Rubenstein reconstructs the cultural milieu of the rabbinic academy that produced the Babylonian Talmud, or Bavli, which quickly became the authoritative text of rabbinic Judaism and remains so to this day. Unlike the rabbis who had earlier produced the shorter Palestinian Talmud (the Yerushalmi) and who had passed on their teachings to students individually or in small and informal groups, the anonymous redactors of the Bavli were part of a large institution with a distinctive, isolated, and largely undocumented culture. The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud explores the cultural world of these Babylonian rabbis and their students through the prism of the stories they included in the Bavli, showing how their presentation of earlier rabbinic teachings was influenced by their own values and practices. Among the topics explored in this broad-ranging work are the hierarchical structure of the rabbinic academy, the use of dialectics in teaching, the functions of violence and shame within the academy, the role of lineage in rabbinic leadership, the marital and family lives of the rabbis, and the relationship between the rabbis and the rest of the Jewish population. This book provides a unique and new perspective on the formative years of rabbinic Judaism and will be essential reading for all students of the Talmud.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51007353356561,"sku":"NIN9780801882654","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52429770522897,"sku":"NLS9780801882654","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0801882656.jpg?v=1751107536"},{"product_id":"land-of-truth-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9780827613089","title":"The Land of Truth","description":"Making the rich narrative world of Talmud tales fully accessible to modern readers, renowned Talmud scholar Jeffrey L. Rubenstein turns his spotlight on both famous and little-known stories, analyzing the tales in their original contexts, exploring their cultural meanings and literary artistry, and illuminating their relevance.   Delving into both rabbinic life (the academy, master-disciple relationships) and Jewish life under Roman and Persian rule (persecution, taxation, marketplaces), Rubenstein explains how storytellers used irony, wordplay, figurative language, and other art forms to communicate their intended messages. Each close reading demonstrates the story’s continuing relevance through the generations into modernity. For example, the story “Showdown in Court,” a confrontation between King Yannai and the Rabbinic judges, provides insights into controversial struggles in U.S. history to balance governmental power; the story of Honi’s seventy-year sleep becomes a window into the indignities of aging. Through the prism of Talmud tales, Rubenstein also offers timeless insights into suffering, beauty, disgust, heroism, humor, love, sex, truth, and falsehood. By connecting twenty-first-century readers to past generations, The Land of Truth helps to bridge the divide between modern Jews and the traditional narrative worlds of their ancestors.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51008753959185,"sku":"NIN9780827613089","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416485363985,"sku":"CIN0827613083G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53351649706257,"sku":"GOR010990764","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53650035409169,"sku":"CIN0827613083VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0827613083.jpg?v=1761387529"},{"product_id":"history-of-sukkot-in-the-second-temple-and-rabbinic-periods-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9781930675339","title":"The History of Sukkot in the Second Temple and Rabbinic Periods","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51054177517841,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51054180368657,"sku":"NIN9781930675339","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52139541856529,"sku":"NLS9781930675339","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/193067533X.jpg?v=1751156032"},{"product_id":"studies-in-rabbinic-narratives-volume-1-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9781951498795","title":"Studies in Rabbinic Narratives, Volume 1","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51058958991633,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51058961514769,"sku":"NIN9781951498795","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52130459844881,"sku":"NLS9781951498795","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1951498798.jpg?v=1751413835"},{"product_id":"studies-in-rabbinic-narratives-volume-1-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9781951498801","title":"Studies in Rabbinic Narratives, Volume 1","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51059911426321,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51059914014993,"sku":"NIN9781951498801","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52131097444625,"sku":"NLS9781951498801","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1951498801.jpg?v=1751348099"},{"product_id":"studies-in-rabbinic-narratives-volume-2-book-jeffrey-l-rubenstein-9781967013005","title":"Studies in Rabbinic Narratives, Volume 2","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis essay collection contains studies of rabbinic narratives found in the Mishnah, Talmuds, and midrashim. 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Ranging from the humorous to the reflective, poignant, or tragic, these concise stories use narrative techniques and artistic elements to grapple with tensions and complexities in rabbinic culture.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJeffrey L. Rubenstein shows us how to use the tools of literary analysis to uncover meaning in these talmudic stories. This book provides a fascinating roadmap for readers and teachers who want to enlarge their understanding of these stories' messages and of their rabbinic storytellers' values, struggles, and interests.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJeffrey L. Rubenstein\u003c\/b\u003e is Skirball Professor of Talmud and Rabbinic Literature at New York University. 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