Nine Talmudic Readings, Paperback

Nine rich and masterful readings of the Talmud by the French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas translate Jewish thought into the language of modern times. Between 1963 and 1975, Levinas delivered these commentaries at the annual Talmudic colloquia of a group of French Jewish intellectuals in Paris. In this collection, Levinas applies a hermeneutic that simultaneously allows the classic Jewish texts to shed light on contemporary problems and lets modern problems illuminate the texts. Besides being quintessential illustrations of the art of reading, the essays express the deeply ethical vision of the human condition that makes Levinas one of the most important thinkers of our time.

Annette Aronowicz is the Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at Franklin and Marshall College. She is author of Freedom from Ideology: Secrecy in Modern Expressions and Jews and Christians on Time and Eternity: Charles Pguy's Portrait of Bernard-Lazare.