Reimagining the Bible: The Storytelling of the Rabbis (review)

Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 370 Reviews period, especially its later part, appears as a creative, innovative and vivacious period, absorbing many elements from the surrounding cultures, thus serving as a vital link between the talmudic and the medieval period. The reader might wish for more explication as to the ways in which Geonic literature shaped medieval Jewish culture as promised in the title of this book, but this in no way detracts from its overall importance. In the end, Brody presents a superb literary introduction. At least the last two parts could be considered in the genre of "introduction" literature, such as J. N. Epstein's Introduction to Tannaitic Literature and to Amoraic Literature, or Stemberger's Introduction to Talmud and Midrash. For students both of rabbinic literature and post-rabbinic Jewish culture this book will be indispensable. Charlotte Fonrobert University ofJudaism Los Angeles, CA 90077 cfonrobert@uj.edu REIMAGINING THE BmLE: THE STORYTELLING OF THE RABBIS. By Howard Schwartz. pp. xiv + 289. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1998. Paper, $19.95. The thesis of this very readable book is that Jewish literature of any period is based on the layer of literature that preceded it: that Hasidic stories retell kabalistic ones and kabalistic ones retell rabbinic ones and rabbinic ones retell Bible stories. Even so, each layer has its own, distinctive voice. The model Schwartz uses for retelling is ancient rabbinic midrash. The midrashists, he explains, sensitive to the slightest peculiarities in the biblical story line, spun tales of their own to explain away the difficulties and, in this manner, reimagined the Bible. For example, the opening verses of Genesis talk about primordial light but a later paragraph in the same chapter describes the creation, apparently ex nihilo, of the sun, moon, and stars. The question that arises is, Where did the primordial light go? One midrashic response is that the difficult word "tzohar," appearing later in the Noah story, suggests that the primordial light was captured in a gleaming stone, a tzohar, that Noah was given to hang in his windowless ark and thereby illuminate it from within. The various sections of this book span three millennia, from the Bible to the present time. The reader gains familiarity with very old tales as well as recent ones, as they have been collected and recorded by the Israel Folklore Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 371 Reviews Association. Along the way the author comments, in an engaging way, on the different genres and directs the reader's attention to common literary features and developmental aspects. This book, as the author himself notes, is a collection of previously published essays. He has set them down here in chronological order so that they will cohere as a book. Unfortunately, there is frequent, even tedious repetition of ideas and examples. Moreover, although the title leads one to believe that the focus of the book is Bible stories and rabbinic midrash or storytelling, that is not the case. This volume does not analyze how the rabbis retold the Bible, with what consequences and for what purpose, but rather restates, again and again, often without any evidence, that post-rabbinic stories seem to be woven of elements present in the narratives of earlier generations. That the Hasidic notion of ibbur, a second soul that benefits the person it inhabits, unlike a dybbuk that intends harm, may be based on the notion of the additional soul a Jew receives on Shabbat, the neshamah yeterah (first mentioned in Bavli, Be~a 16a). is an interesting idea. But all Schwartz does is infonn the reader of this possible connection. He does not then utilize this observation to deepen one's understanding either of the Talmud or of the Hasidic tales. It is clear that the author is a master storyteller and is very knowledgeable about Jewish stories of recent and also ancient provenance. His numerous other published volumes, which preserve so many stories that might otherwise have been lost, are excellent collections of Jewish tales of different genres. This volume, however, does not break new analytical ground. Even so, it does include interesting characterizations of material, identification of different narrative elements, and some attempt to bring psychological insight...