A word conventionally imbued with melancholy meanings; "diaspora" has been used variously to describe the cataclysmic historical event of displacement; the subsequent geographical scattering of peoples; or the conditions of alienation abroad and yearning for an ancestral home. But as Daniel Boyarin writes; diaspora may be more constructively construed as a form of cultural hybridity or a mode of analysis. In A Traveling Homeland; he makes the case that a shared homeland or past and traumatic dissociation are not necessary conditions for diaspora and that Jews carry their homeland with them in diaspora; in the form of textual; interpretive communities built around talmudic study.For Boyarin; the Babylonian Talmud is a diasporist manifesto; a text that produces and defines the practices that constitute Jewish diasporic identity. Boyarin examines the ways the Babylonian Talmud imagines its own community and sense of homeland; and he shows how talmudic commentaries from the medieval and early modern periods also produce a doubled cultural identity. He links the ongoing productivity of this bifocal cultural vision to the nature of the book: as the physical text moved between different times and places; the methods of its study developed through contact with surrounding cultures. Ultimately; A Traveling Homeland envisions talmudic study as the center of a shared Jewish identity and a distinctive feature of the Jewish diaspora that defines it as a thing apart from other cultural migrations.
#1228997 in Books J H Chajes 2011-08-31Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .65 x 5.98l; 1.00 #File Name: 0812221702288 pagesBetween Worlds Dybbuks Exorcists and Early Modern Judaism
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Warning: Scholarly work ahead. Keep a dictionary and the internet handy. Proceed with caution.By Warlock5555Between Worlds is dense with knowledge on the history of exorcisms and demon possession especially as it pertains to Judaism and kabbalah. It is one of the only books I am aware of that attempts to put in historical perspective the phenomenon. The vast array of source texts he has consulted is impressive and it is admirable the way he compares differing theory of thought and draws parallels to the Christian phenomenon of demonic possession. There is much knowledge and insight here.That being said; Chajes does not write for the average reader. His sentence structure and word choice is convoluted with a heavy leaning to the academic that does not serve well disseminating this information. I encourage anyone who plans to tackle this book to do so with a dictionary in one hand and keep Google prepped and ready to search on concepts/people/ideas with which you may not be familiar. One reviewer here has admitted throwing in the towel because of the writing style of the author.There may be some major decoding that you have to do to get to the meat of this book; but the knowledge you will gain is worth it if you truly want the lowdown on the what and whys of dybbukim.Four stars for the vast information. Minus one for writing style.10 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Jewish exorcisms revealedBy Zahara SolomonAn amazingly informative read; Between Worlds offers a rare glance into the writings of Early Modern Jews dealing with spirit possession; excorcism; and prevailing attitudes of the times; both Jewish and non-Jewish. It was fascinating to read about Luria and his contemporaries dealings with dyybuks; possessed women; and to have the comparision with Christian and Islamic practises and writings of the period. The possession accounts are captivating; and Chajes is excellent at breaking the information down to guide the reader through all the twists and turns that an excorcist would follow. I especially enjoyed the chapters on women and their use of possession to call for change; and heavily influence powerful men at times. While academic in style; it is none the less a great read for anyone remotely interested in Jewish spirit possession; exorcism; women's religiosity; and Medieval/Early Modern Kabbalistic attitudes of these issues.9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Scholarly and informative.By A concerned scholar of religionThis is the most scholarly work on the subject of Jewish exorcisms in English. I recommend it to the student and religious practitioner alike. If nothing else; the appendix and bibliography are invaluable to anyone interested in the subject.I feel that not enough attention was paid to non-dybbuk forms of possession. Demonic possession; though not as prevalent in Talmudic Judaism; does appear throughout Jewish history. Also; more information on 'good' forms of spirit possession would have been helpful; specifically those forms which exhibit themselves in Chasidism.My only real negative criticism on the text itself is that the translations leave the average reader quite sated but only whet the appetite of a serious scholar. Chajes should consider providing the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts in an additional appendix.
