amazing grace {evolution in a nutshell} pro kosch

Beginning with a startling endorsement of the patristic view of Judaism ~ that it was a "carnal" religion, in contrast to the spiritual vision of the Church ~ Danny Boyarin argues that rabbinic Judaism was based on a set of assumptions about the human body that were profoundly different from those of Christianity. Without ignoring the currents of sexual domination that course through the Talmudic texts, DB insists that the rabbinic account of human sexuality has something important and empowering to teach us today. Thus in January '67 his bed in Katamon was big enough to hold five people easily, mainly maybe because all of us were so very skinny in those years and were alive on our share of Holy Spirit all of the way in-between Athens & the Red Sea. His study of rabbinic constructions of the body, gender, and sexuality was one of the very few program-matically feminist readings of ancient rabbinic culture that, at the same time, is deeply learned in the sources and existentially committed to the traditions grounded in them. I find his stance appealing, his fusion of Talmudic scholarship with postmodern literary theory brilliant and his argu-ments convincing. Drawing from an astonishingly wide reading in recent literary theory, especially feminist theory, he performs an exercise of real frank recuperation and apology. His work should be read by all those interested in comparative religion, latebantiquity, Judaism, Christian origins, and contemporary theory. Carnal Israel has become a landmark study for it's intellectual merits, it's genuine heuristic accomplishments, and it's making available to the current discourse on the body and sexuality the neglected field of Judaism and Jewish texts. The second implication which was found in the verse, Many are Thy wonderful works and Thy thoughts which are towards us {Psalm 40:5}, was this: Many are all the wonderful works and thoughts which Thou, O G d, dost employ to have a man feel desire for his wife. Of this feeling it is written Adam knew his wife yet more! in Genesis 4:25. What is implied by Scripture's saying yet more? That his desire had been increased by so much more desire than formerly; formerly he had not felt desire when he did see his wife, but now he felt desire for her whether he saw her or did not see her or did not see her. It is such strong desire which compels traveling merchants and seafarers to be reminded of their wives and return to them. rabot asita atah yahweh elohai nifloteicha oemachshevoteicha eleinu ein aroch eleicha agirah waadaberah atsmo misapeer: weyedah adam od et-ishto watelad ben watikra et-shemo sheet kie shat-li elohim zera acheer hevel ki hargo kayin; [oftewel: veel wonderen heb jij verricht - veel goeds voor ons besloten mijn eeuwige g d! Niemand is met jou te vergelijken: wil ik erover spreken om er van te verhalen, het is teveel om op te sommen! En: opnieuw had de mens gemeenschap met zijn vrouw ~ verwondering, bewustwording, leven ... die drie ...