Crisis and Creativity in the Sephardic World 1391-1648 (review)

168 SHOFAR Spring 1999 Vol. 17, No.3 readings of Jacques Derrida to make it clear that deconstruction is not as much a theory as it is a reading practice. Derridean deconstruction takes very seriously the linguistic and semantic structures of whatever text is being read. The goal is to expose both the text and its interpretive history (which is part of "the text") as a construction. Rutledge correctly emphasizes that for Derrida this kind of reading is both an ethical and a political act, primarily because it shows that both a text's structure and its readings could have been done "otherwise." For Rutledge, Derridean deconstructive reading practice is akin to Rabbinic midrash, particularly in its close reading ofthe text, in its penchant for fmding gaps and inconsistencies, and, most important, in showing the different possibilities ofexplaining a text. Rutledge is careful to say that the Rabbis were not proto-deconstructionists. However, as an hermeneutic that did not sanction monolithic interpretations of a text to the exclusion of other readings, Rabbinic midrash has much in common with both deconstruction and feminism in its potential to undermine patriarchy. Rutledge brings the three reading practices together in an exemplary reading of Genesis 2:4b-3:24. In this reviewer's opinion, Rutledge's reading of Genesis clearly shows that a feministdeconstructionist -midrashic reading practice could enhance political possibilities for marginalized voices in biblical studies. Rutledge's book is obviously an ambitious undertaking, perhaps overly so. He has five main chapters that broadly range over these topics: "Feminist, Religion and the Biblical Text"; "The Concept of 'Woman' in Interpretation"; "Deconstruction and Feminism"; "Displacement and Faithful Reading"; and "Genesis 2:4b-3:24: Yahweh and the Sexuality of Rhetoric." Rutledge correctly bills his book as an introductory one, but it is also richer and more nuanced than that. His awareness that he must generalize on several important points makes his footnotes a rich source for further reading. A short conclusion, full bibliography, and indices of names and biblical references round out this excellent book. Fred W. Burnett Religious Studies Anderson University Crisis and Creativity in the Sephardic World 1391-1648, edited by Benjamin R. Gampel. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997. 420 pp. $47.50. The essays in this volume, originally presented at a conference in New York in late 1992, are written by some of the leading authorities and most creative scholars in America, Israel, and Europe and constitute a very valuable contribution to the study of Sephardic history and culture. The volume is superbly edited and annotated and will General Book Reviews ." ... :" 169 particularly significant areas of research: reconsiderations of the Iberian convivencia, the symbiosis of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian cultures,and its effects on Sephardic culture; the actual expulsion and the subsequent responses and coping strategies of the Iberian Jews; and an assessment of the impact of the expulsion on later Diaspora community and culture. While one cannot do justice to the breadth ofscholarship in this volume, taken as a whole the essays do suggest several general conclusions. First, Jewish cultural and intellectual activity continued apace during the fifteenth century, even as Iberian Jewry was forced first into conversion and then into exile. Second, Sephardic Jews often attempted to recreate their former community and culture within their new Diaspora environments. Finally, the Sephardic experience cannot be easily generalized or compartmentalized. The volume is divided into six parts: "Historical Overview"; "Iberian Jewry: Culture and Society"; "Iberian Jewry: The Expulsions"; "Continuity and Change in the Sephardic Diaspora: Communal Life"; "Continuity and Change in the Sephardic Diaspora: Intellectual Pursuits"; and "Continuity and Change in the Sephardic Diaspora: Cultural Dimensions." In Part One, Yosef Yerushalmi explores the themes of exile and expulsion in Jewish history and suggests that exile and Diaspora are not synonymous. For Yerushalmi there is a dialectical tension between exile and domicile, that is the sentiment in exile of feeling at home. Yerushalmi argues that Jews, particularly in Spain, were able to create successful lives in dispersion and exile and that Jews were not of necessity always forced to see themselves as strangers-for Yerushalmi, Jewish community is never sealed offfrom its environment. Spanish Jews were able, in a sense, to...