Friendship in Jewish History, Religion, and Culture (Dimyonot: Jews and the Cultural Imagination) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0271087951 ISBN 13: 9780271087955

Publisher: Penn State University Press, 2023

Synopsis

The ubiquity of friendship in human culture contributes to the fallacy that ideas about friendship have not changed and remained consistent throughout history. It is only when we begin to inquire into the nature and significance of the concept in specific contexts that we discover how complex it truly is. Covering the vast expanse of Jewish tradition, from ancient Israel to the twenty-first century, this collection of essays traces the history of the beliefs, rituals, and social practices surrounding friendship in Jewish life.

Employing diverse methodological approaches, this volume explores the particulars of the many varied forms that friendship has taken in the different regions where Jews have lived, including the ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman world, Europe, and the United Sates. The four sections―friendship between men, friendship between women, challenges to friendship, and friendships that cross boundaries, especially between Jews and Christians, or men and women―represent and exemplify universal themes and questions about human interrelationships. This pathbreaking and timely study will inspire further research and provide the groundwork for future explorations of the topic.

In addition to the editor, the contributors are Martha Ackelsberg, Michela Andreatta, Joseph Davis, Glenn Dynner, Eitan P. Fishbane, Susannah Heschel, Daniel Jütte, Eyal Levinson, Saul M. Olyan, George Savran, and Hava Tirosh-Samuelson.

About this title

About the Author

Lawrence Fine is Irene Kaplan Leiwant Chair of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion Emeritus, at Mount Holyoke College. He is the author or editor of seven books, including the award-winning Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0271087951
• ISBN 13: 9780271087955
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 270
• Editor: Fine Lawrence