Awards

• Commended for National Jewish Book Award (Scholarship) 2012

Overview

After his expulsion from Spain in 1492, Jacob ibn Habib created the En Yaaqov, a collection of Talmudic aggadah (non-legal material), by removing the majority of the Talmud's legal portions but preserving the chapter order of the remaining material and adding his own introduction and running commentary. In The En Yaaqov: Jacob ibn Habib's Search for Faith in the Talmudic Corpus author Marjorie Lehman argues that the En Yaaqov's anthologizer, Jacob ibn Habib, purposely sought to create a Talmud ""look-alike"" in order to prove that Judaism's foundational legal tract could also be seen as a theological document. By considering the factors that influenced ibn Habib, Lehman argues that his En Yaaqov was a reaction to the way that the Talmud was perceived and studied during the late medieval period among Spanish Jewry.

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Reviews

This is a beautifully written work that brings to life the world of Jacob ibn Habib and his contemporaries and explores the complex reception history of the En Yaaqov after its author's death. It's a must-read for anyone interested in the En Yaaqov, its author, and the history of aggadah. --Carol Bakhos associate professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages at UCLA A hugely important study of a crucial and much-neglected chapter in the history of rabbinic literature. Lehman's long-awaited study of the En Yaaqov, one of the great commentary works in the reception history of the Talmud, presents an indispensable contribution to the history of the Hebrew book. It provides a prehistory to the contemporary study of rabbinic aggadah, by compellingly embedding the En Yaaqov in the complex tapestry of the Jewish intellectual world of the post-1492 expulsion from Spain. Throughout, Lehman remains finely attuned to the significance of the En Yaaqov to the history of Jewish education. A beautiful book! --Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert associate professor of religious studies at Stanford University Marjorie Lehman's The En Yaaqov: Jacob ibn Habib's Search for Faith in the Talmudic Corpus is a major work of intellectual history that will stand as a model of close textual scholarship, Jewish history, and the subtle play of the history of ideas. --Burton Visotzky Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary Marjorie Lehmans well-written book sheds important light on ibn Habibs accomplishment and its ramifications for Judaisms future.--Ira Robinson The En Yaaqov is significant for studies of early modern Jewish rabbinic culture, especially in the Ottoman Empire, and for the history of the Jewish book.--Pinchas Roth

Marjorie Lehmans well-written book sheds important light on ibn Habibs accomplishment and its ramifications for Judaisms future. --Ira Robinson The En Yaaqov is significant for studies of early modern Jewish rabbinic culture, especially in the Ottoman Empire, and for the history of the Jewish book. --Pinchas Roth

Author Information

Marjorie Lehman is a distinguished professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. She is the author of numerous articles integrating her expertise in the field of Talmud with gender studies, medieval studies, ritual studies, and education.

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