Performing Israel's Faith

Jacob Neusner (Ph.D. Columbia and Union Theological Seminary) is a Research Professor of Theology and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College.

Preface Introduction 1 The Aggadic Theology of the Nations 2 The Halakhic Theology of Idolatry 3 The Aggadic Theology of Sin, Repentance, and Atonement 4 The Halakhic Theology of Atonement 5 Law and Theology, Halakhah and Aggadah Epilogue Covenantal Conduct: The Outcome of Performing Israel's Faith Notes Index of Ancient Sources Index of Subjects

Neusner brings together into a coherent picture the diverse legal and theological worlds of Halakhah and Aggadah, demonstrating how each in its own way was an integral component of rabbinic covenantal religion. Especially instructive is the manner in which he is able to extrapolate from the law's specific aspects of the realia of everyday life to which the Halakhah spoke. As a bonus, students of early Jewish literature and the New Testament will find fresh points of continuity and discontinuity with the traditions of rabbinic Judaism. George W. E. Nickelsburg, Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa Building on Ed Sanders' understanding of "covenantal nomism," Neusner provides a synthetic overview of rabbinic theology and concludes with a discussion of the relationship between law and lore, Halakhah and Aggadah. This book will be especially useful as an introduction to rabbinic theology for those who are not specialists in that literature. It is one of the most accessible of Neusner's voluminous writings on rabbinic Judaism. John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament, Yale University In Performing Israel's Faith , Neusner demonstrates the centrality of Halakhah-Jewish practice-in any consideration of the theology of Judaism. Eschewing the flawed paradigm which looks only to the narrative compilations of the rabbis to discern their theological stance, Neusner pursues the oft-neglected insight of students of ritual: we don't merely espouse our faith, we perform it. By so doing, Neusner offers a fresh and original reading of Jewish theology as enacted, a reading that is both challenging and persuasive. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, Jewish Theological Seminary