The Fragility of the Mind
Confrontation Stories among Rabbis in the Babylonian Talmud
By: Yuval Fraenkel$43$30 (Launch Price)More details
Publisher:Magnes Press
Year: 2026
Catalog number : 45-131185
ISBN: 978-965-7854-97-6
Pages: 380
Language: Hebrew
Weight: 760 gr.
Cover: HardcoverSynopsis
Within the Babylonian Talmud are dozens of stories depicting sharp confrontations between the Amoraim, the Talmudic sages. These narratives portray the charged relationships among the sages, the emergence of conflict, and the profound emotional harm that results from it. Why do conflicts among the creators of Talmudic literature occupy such a central literary place? This book examines these stories as a distinct literary corpus. The analysis shows that the conflicts consistently center on one domain: injury to personal honor. They are also marked by a characteristic plot structure, in which conflict develops unintentionally and escalates uncontrollably, leading to a rupture between the characters. Using tools from narrative theory and comparative poetics, the book explores how these stories operate. They draw the reader into a web of misunderstandings and communicative failures, making simple moral judgment difficult. Instead, they direct attention to the inner and interpersonal worlds of the characters, and to the literary construction of the Talmudic study house as a space of mutual dependence and identity formation.
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