The earliest rabbinic commentary to the Book of Leviticus, the Sifra, is generally considered an exemplum of Rabbi Akiva's intensely scriptural school of interpretation. But, Azzan Yadin-Israel contends, the Sifra commentary exhibits two distinct layers of interpretation that bring dramatically different assumptions to bear on the biblical text: earlier interpretations accord with the hermeneutic principles associated with Rabbi Ishmael, the other major school of early rabbinic midrash, while later additions subtly alter hermeneutic terminology and formulas, resulting in an engagement with Scripture that is not interpretive at all. Rather, the midrashic terminology in the Sifra's anonymous passages is part of what Yadin-Israel calls "a hermeneutic of camouflage," aimed at presenting oral traditions as though they were Scripture-based injunctions. Scripture and Tradition offers a radical rereading of the Sifra and its authorship, with far-reaching ramifications for our understanding of rabbinic literature as a whole. Using this new understanding of the Sifra as his starting point, Yadin-Israel demonstrates a two fold break in the portrayal of Rabbi Akiva: hermeneutically, the sober midrashist who appeared in earlier rabbinic sources is transformed into an inspired, oracular interpreter of Scripture in the Babylonian Talmud; while the biographically unremarkable sage is recast as a youthful ignoramus who came to Torah study late in life. The dual transformations of Rabbi Akiva-like the Sifra's hermeneutic of camouflage-are motivated by an ideological shift toward a greater emphasis on scriptural authority and away from received traditions, an insight that sheds new light on the vexing question of midrash and oral tradition in rabbinic sources. Through this close examination of a notoriously difficult text, Scripture and Tradition recovers a vital piece of the history of Jewish thought.
Azzan Yadin-Israel is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and Classics at Rutgers University and author of Scripture as Logos: Rabbi Israel and the Origins of Midrash, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Introduction PART I. A HERMENEUTIC OF CAMOUFLAGE Chapter 1. The Sifra as Midrash: Hermeneutic Markedness Chapter 2. The Sifra as Midrash: Vacuity and Semantic Discontinuity Chapter 3. Terminological Identity and the Hermeneutics of Camouflage Chapter 4. "On the Basis of This, They Said" (Mikan ?Amru) and the Role of Scripture PART II. THE CURIOUS CAREER OF BARRI AKIVA Chapter 5. Rabbi Akiva the Interpreter: From the Mishnah to the Talmud Chapter 6. Rabbi Akiva, the Anonymous Sifra, and the Hermeneutics of Camouflage Chapter 7. Rabbi Akiva's Biographical Transformation PART III. MIDRASH AND HALAKHOT: A REEVALUATION Chapter 8. The Anomaly of Tannaitic Literature: Interpretation, Revelation, and Mysteries Excursus. Oral Tradition as the Site of Esotericism Chapter 9. Midrash and Extra-Scriptural Tradition: A Synchronic Model Conclusion: Rabbi Akiva and the Ironic Triumph of Midrash Appendix: Hebrew Sources List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments
"Conceptually sophisticated and wonderfully erudite, Scripture and Tradition touches on the most fundamental questions of the Midrashic project." (Moshe Halbertal, New York University)
