Theology of the Oral Torah: Revealing the Justice of God

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McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, 1999 - Religion - 699 pages
In The Theology of the Oral Torah Neusner crafts the central conceptions of rabbinic Judaism into a rigorous, coherent argument by setting forth four cogent principles: that God formed creation in accord with a plan which the Torah reveals; that the perfection of creation is signified by the conformity of human affairs to a few enduring paradigms that transcend change; that Israel's condition, public and personal, is indicative of flaws in creation; and that God will ultimately restore the perfection embodied in his plan for creation. A masterful and original construction of theology of rabbinic Judaism, Neusner's story of the Oral Torah is also remarkably familiar - the emphasis is still on man's sin and God's response, God's justice and mercy, and the human mirroring of God through the possession of the power of will. The Theology of the Oral Torah is part of Neusner's ongoing major project - the construction of theology of rabbinic Judaism - a project which rivals in its scope that of the great Maimonides or, in Christian theology, that of Thomas Aquinas's Summa.

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Contents

Imagining Eden and Representing the Result
3
SOURCES OF WORLD ORDER
49
The Moral Order Reward and Punishment
51
The Political Order Israel and the Torah
90
The Political Order The Gentiles and Idolatry
131
Ordering the Ultimate Anomaly Private Lives
191
PERFECTING WORLD ORDER
239
World Beyond Time
241
Intentionality
411
Sin
457
RESTORING WORLD ORDER
509
Repentance and Atonement
511
Restoring Private Lives Resurrection
554
Restoring the Public Order The World to Come
599
EPILOGUE
639
Before and After
641

World without Change
280
Complementarity
321
Correspondence
365
SOURCES OF WORLD DISORDER
409
Index of Subjects
671
Index of References to Ancient Texts
675
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About the author (1999)

Jacob Neusner is Distinguished Service Professor of the History and Theology of Judaism and Senior Fellow, Institute of Advanced Theology, Bard College.

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