The En Yaaqov: Jacob ibn Habib’s Search for Faith in the Talmudic Corpus

Contents

Contents v Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 1. From Spain to the Ottoman Empire: The Life and Contexts of Jacob ibn H . abib 17 2. The En Yaaqov: A Response to the Problems and Challenges of Aggadah 51 3. Rethinking the Image of the Talmud 83 4. From Talmudic Text to Theology: The Search for God, the Search for Home 117 5. The Success and the Failure of ibn H . abib’s En Yaaqov 175 Appendix: Pages from Editions of the En Yaaqov/En Yisrael, 1516–1923 189 Notes 205 Bibliography 291 Index 313 00 Lehman FM.indd 5 10/19/11 10:12 AM viii A C k N OW L E D G M E N T S Today there is little left of the Salonikan Jewish community that ibn H . abib worked to build in those early years of the sixteenth century. Few Greek Jews survived Hitler’s Holocaust. But the Talmudic texts ibn H . abib studied and the work that he compiled in Salonika, the En Yaaqov, have outlived him. He understood that it was these familiar texts of the Talmudic corpus and the spiritual messages that could emerge from one’s study of them that would have a better chance of survival than the physical place of Salonika, where he began life anew. In a similar act of bestowal, I leave this book as a legacy to my children, Jonah and Gabriel klapholz. It is a testament to the values that I, along with my husband, Ari klapholz, hold dear. While we want our children to look back on their rich Jewish history as they walk forward into the world, we also want them to understand that the ancient texts of the Talmud can, as they once did for ibn H . abib and his generation, continue to speak to them, inspire them, even lead them to faith. Over the past several years I worked independently to write this book, but I gratefully acknowledge that it took a small village of people to complete it. A seminar on popular culture at Columbia University, given by Michael Stanislawski, sparked my interest in the En Yaaqov, and the support, encouragement, and scholarship of my mentor in the Religion Department at Columbia University, David Weiss Halivni, enabled me to make it the subject of my dissertation. Most fortunate to be trained as a Talmudist by Dr. Halivni, I committed myself wholly to this discipline, delaying considerably my return to the sixteenth century and the En Yaaqov. I am indebted to my colleague Burton Visotzky for insisting that seminars on the En Yaaqov be taught as part of our program in Talmud and Rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary. And so it was that I began to teach what had always fascinated me. But it was the graduate and rabbinical school students in these seminars who convinced me that I had much to say about the En Yaaqov. Through them, I was able to hone my views and mold my thoughts. Each one of them inspired me with their contagious interest in the En Yaaqov. Without them I would never have completed this book. Thanks are therefore due to each and every one of them. I began work on this book under the guidance of two supportive provosts at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Jack Wertheimer, recognizing the value of writing a book on the En Yaaqov, secured sabbatical time for me so that I could progress uninterrupted. Our more recent provost, Alan Cooper, continues to encourage my scholarly interests and guides me in his profound respect and understanding for the tension that my scholarship generates in the wake of my deep commitment to and love for teaching. 00 Lehman FM.indd 8 10/19/11 10:12 AM 00 Lehman FM.indd 6 10/19/11 10:12 AM ...