Black Fire on White Fire: An Essay on Jewish Hermeneutics, from Midrash to Kabbalah (Contraversions, 10) [Hardcover]

Betty Rojtman (Author), Steven Randall (Translator), Moslie Idel (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 27, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0520203208 | ISBN-13: 978-0520203204 | Edition: 1

Using the tools of contemporary semiotic theory to analyze classical rabbinic hermeneutics and medieval mystical exegesis, Betty Rojtman unveils a striking modernity in these early forms of textual interpretation. The metaphor from rabbinic literature that describes the writing of the Torah--black fire on white fire--becomes, in Rojtman's analysis, a figure for the differential structures that can be found throughout rabbinic discourse. Moving through the successive levels of traditional commentary, from early Midrash to modern Kabbalah, Rojtman examines the tension between the fluidity and nuance of the biblical text and the fixed commitment to ideological and theological content. To examine this strain between open text and sacred language, Rojtman scrutinizes the demonstrative, "this," as a word whose significance changes with every change in context. Her analysis suggests a double-layered meaning for "this," which refers to the existential world in its multiplicity but also to transcendence and the eternal presence of God.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

From the Inside Flap

"A remarkable book. . . . Rojtman's analysis is very stimulating, especially since the use of linguistic notions does not prevent her from remaining sensitive to the spiritual concerns of the commentators she analyzes."--Thomas Pavel, author of The Feud of Language

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 205 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (February 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520203208
• ISBN-13: 978-0520203204
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,259,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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