Judaism and Disability
Portrayals in Ancient Texts from the Tanach through the Bavli

Notes to Chapter 1: Introduction:

1. An entire book, Morgan (1990), has been written on the issue of Writings' diverse viewpoints and their place in the canon. Back to the text
2. Strack and Stemberger (1991, 145) note that "The attempt to illustrate a long prehistory of M[ishnah] by way of an early stage of halakhic presentation, based on Scripture and deriving from exegesis, can be considered a failure." Back to the text
3. But cf. Jaffee (1992) on the role of the written word in the transmission and redaction of the Mishnah, as well as Strack and Stemberger (1991, 155). Back to the text
4. Halivni (1981, 207), suggests that Tosefta was created due to dissatisfaction with Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi's Mishnah. Back to the text
5. Kraemer (1995, 115-16), sees this interpretation as basically true but oversimplified. Back to the text
6. One need only think of the difference between an order to do something and a commercial urging that one take the same action to grasp this concept. Kraemer (1990, 101), points out, "The Bavli is a rhetorical text in the sense that it wishes to convince. It attempts throughout to increase our minds' adherence to its theses. Second, in part the way the Bavli seeks to achieve this goal is by creating argumentational dialogues that ask us to take the position of each respective advocate in turn." Back to the text