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Mishanic Aggada as Framing Device

Mon, December 17, 10:30am to 12:00pm, Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center, Federal 1 Complex

Abstract

The aggadic material in the Mishnah has a different status than the aggada in the classical midrashim and the Talmudim. In the latter works, halakhah and aggadah function as two distinct, and ultimately autonomous areas of rabbinic endeavor, though they are often juxtaposed and intertwined. In the Mishnah, aggadah plays a subservient role. The limited aggadic material in the Mishnah does not appear in separate sections but is almost always integrated into the halakhic discussion. It functions to support and expand the halakhic discourse rather than as autonomous discourse of its own. In this talk I argue for understanding the role of aggadah in the Mishnah using the theoretical concepts of "Frames" and "Paratexts". The aggadic passages help to construct the literary, political, moral and theological framework of Mishnaic halakhah. They invoke and construct the wider authority of the rabbis, remind the reader of the broader ethical responsibilities of Jews beyond the halakhah is founded and invoke the wider covenantal basis of the halakhah. I will demonstrate my thesis through readings of selected passages from the Mishnah.

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