Peshat and Derash: Plain and Applied Meaning in Rabbinic Exegesis [Hardcover]

David Weiss Halivni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1991

From the days of Plato, the problem of the efficacy and adequacy of the written word as a vehicle of human communication has challenged mankind, yet the mystery of how best to achieve clarity and exactitude of written expression has never been solved. The most repercussive instance of this universal problem has been the exegesis of the law embodied in Hebrew scripture. Peshat and Derash is the first book to trace the Jewish interpretative enterprise from a historical perspective. Applying his vast knowledge of Rabbinic materials to the long history of Jewish exegesis of both Bible and Talmud, Halivni investigates the tension that has often existed between the plain sense of the divine text (peshat) and its creative, Rabbinic interpretations (derash). Halivni addresses the theological implications of the deviation of derash from peshat and explores the differences between the ideological extreme of the religious right, which denies that Judaism has a history, and the religious left, which claims that history is all that Judaism has. A comprehensive and critical narration of the history and repercussions of Rabbinic exegesis, this analysis will interest students of legal texts, hermeneutics, and scriptural traditions, as well as anyone involved in Jewish studies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Halivni] is one of the few scholars in the world who has the scope of Jewish erudition to be able to survey two thousand years of exegesis--of both biblical and rabbinic texts--and draw conclusions about patterns of development....Fascinating, erudite, and controversial. It deserves to be read by all scholars and by all Jews who find the tensions between peshat and derash worthy of consideration."--Hebrew Studies

"This reviewer is awed by Professor Weiss Halivni's learning and originality, and would rise in his presence as one stands before a Torah scholar....Only a great man and mind could write such a provocative work which stimulates thought and learning."--The National

About the Author

David Weiss Halivni, Professor of Religious Studies, Columbia University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 10, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195060652
• ISBN-13: 978-0195060652
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,848,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two books in one, December 25, 2006

By 

Gregory Olsen "renaissance man" (San Ramon, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peshat and Derash: Plain and Applied Meaning in Rabbinic Exegesis (Paperback)

The title derives from peshat - the plain meaning of the text - and derash - the interpreted or homiletical meaning of the text in Rabbinic Judaism. The book is divided into two halves. The first half chronicles the history of rabbinic exegesis from ancient to renaissance times. The issue dealt with is the development of methodologies. The ancient rabbis were dealing with their predilection for justified law - that is, interpreting the Bible to justify the traditions codified in the foundation document of Rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah (and the later Talmud). The second half of the book develops a theology, compatible with orthodox tradition, that accounts for the tension between peshat and derash.

This book is definately densely written, a mere 173 pages including appendices. It assumes a knowledge of the primary texts of Rabbinic Judaism, the medieval commentators (Rashi, Rashbam, Rambam, Ramban, Ibn Ezra), and medieval law codes. Before attempting this book, I recommend first becoming familiar with these sources. Barry Holtz's Back to the Sources is a good book to gain familiarity with these sources.

Halivni is definately in same intellectual vein as the more famous Jacob Neusner. No writer has produced more works on Judaism since Rabbi Judah Hanasi than Neusner. Like Neusner, Halivni writes in a secular scholarly context, however, he exhibits extreme sensitivity toward traditional belief and orthodoxy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Derash on Peshat and beyond, September 14, 2011

By 

Steven Joseph "botsina1" (alameda & tucson) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peshat and Derash: Plain and Applied Meaning in Rabbinic Exegesis (Paperback)

Outstanding and difficult book. Accessible in large part to educated laypersons like myself. His argument really clarifies the stakes in holding the opposites of a deep belief in / experience of the reality of revelation mediated by Torah tradition, on the one hand, and a commitment to the "just the facts" perspective of contemporary secular science (hopefully not scientism), on the other hand.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Preliminary review, August 13, 2008

By 

Gary J. Schreiber "ecbgm" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peshat and Derash: Plain and Applied Meaning in Rabbinic Exegesis (Paperback)

I am awaiting delivery of Prof Halivni's work but having read the excerpt that Amazon has posted I can offer some preliminary thoughts. Prof Halivni lists 3 examples of how the rabbis "read into" the text a meaning which dispensed with the plain meaning of the text. While one might readily understand why the rabbis wished to dispense with the literal meaning of "an eye for an eye", the same can not be said for the other 2 examples which he lists ie the difference in the liability of the various types of bailees or the "establishing on behalf of the name of the deceased brother" as it pertains to levirate marriage. Why would the rabbis wish to supplant one meaning for the other rather than just create an additional layer of meaning? The traditional and I beleive more logical explanation is that the rabbis had a long standing tradition that these verses were meant to be interpretd in a manner which deviated from the plain meaning of the text. This in essence is the point of departure between Conservative and Orthodox approach to exegesis.
More to come once I read the whole work.