Judaism and Disability: Introduction

Introduction to Judaism and Disability: Portrayals in Ancient Texts from the Tanach through the Bavli continued . . .

Table 1 summarizes the names, dates, and abbreviations of the documents we will study.

Table 1. Primary Sources
Document Date of Composition Abbreviation

Torah

Jahwist 10th c. B.C.E. J

Elohist 9th c. B.C.E. E

Deuteronomist 621 B.C.E. D

Priestly school 586 B.C.E. P

Holiness school 586 B.C.E. H or HS

Prophets 4th c. B.C.E.

Writings 2nd c. C.E.

Pseudepigrapha 586 B.C.E.-70 C.E.

Mishnah 200 C.E. M. + tractate name

Tosefta 220 C.E. T. + tractate name

Halakhic midrashim ca. 300 C.E.

Mechilta d'Rabbi Yishmael Mechilta

Sifra Sifre

Sifre Numbers Sifre N.

Sifre Deuteronomy Sifre D.

Aggadic midrashim ca. 400 C.E.

Genesis Rabbah

Leviticus Rabbah

Peskta d'Rav Kahana

Lamentations Rabbah

Tanhuma

Talmud Yerushalmi ca. 400 C.E. Y. + tractate name

Talmud Bavli 427-650 C.E. B. + tractate name

Table 1. Primary Sources
Document	Date of Composition	Abbreviation
Torah
Jahwist	10th c. B.C.E.	J
Elohist	9th c. B.C.E.	E
Deuteronomist	621 B.C.E.	D
Priestly school	586 B.C.E.	P
Holiness school	586 B.C.E.	H or HS
Prophets	4th c. B.C.E.
Writings	2nd c. C.E.
Pseudepigrapha	586 B.C.E.-70 C.E.
Mishnah	200 C.E.	M. + tractate name
Tosefta	220 C.E.	T. + tractate name
Halakhic midrashim	ca. 300 C.E.
Mechilta d'Rabbi Yishmael		Mechilta
Sifra		Sifre
Sifre Numbers		Sifre N.
Sifre Deuteronomy		Sifre D.
Aggadic midrashim	ca. 400 C.E.
Genesis Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Peskta d'Rav Kahana
Lamentations Rabbah
Tanhuma
Talmud Yerushalmi	ca. 400 C.E.	Y. + tractate name
Talmud Bavli	427-650 C.E.	B. + tractate name

A Preview

In this study of persons with disabilities in Jewish sources from the Tanach through the Bavli, we will focus on five main areas of inquiry: (1) the way disabilities affected priests and their functioning in the Temple and the way the priestly concept of physical perfection was adapted to the sages' system of observance once the Second Temple was destroyed, (2) how persons with disabilities were used as symbols of collective Israel, (3) how the life stories of individuals with disabilities often became literally object lessons in theology and God's justice, (4) the comparisons of how persons with disabilities were seen in Judaism and the cultures that surrounded it, and (5) the way persons with disabilities were grouped into categories and the significance of those designations. In general, to be able to act fully in the sages' system, a person must (1) have da'at ("cognition" or "consciousness"), (2) have the ability to act on that da'at, and (3) be entitled to put his or her da'at into action in the society the sages constructed.

In our study of these documents, we must remember whose vision of society and faith we are reading. The sages, intent on their vision of society and its members, were not concerned with an inclusive account of everyone's experiences. The actual lives of persons with disabilities remain largely hidden from us, as they were not generally described in the sources.

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