Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Introduction 1
4. Part I. A Hermeneutic of Camouflage
5. Chapter 1. The Sifra as Midrash: Hermeneutic Markedness 9
6. Chapter 2. The Sifra as Midrash: Vacuity and Semantic Discontinuity 26
7. Chapter 3. Terminological Identity and the Hermeneutics of Camouflage 53
8. Chapter 4. “On the Basis of This, They Said” (Mikan ’Amru) and the Role of Scripture 73
9. Part II. The Curious Career of Rabbi Akiva
10. Chapter 5. Rabbi Akiva the Interpreter: From the Mishnah to the Talmud 103
11. Chapter 6: Rabbi Akiva, the Anonymous Sifra, and the Hermeneutics of Camouflage 119
12. Chapter 7. Rabbi Akiva’s Biographical Transformation 141
13. Part III . Midrash and Halakhot: A Reevaluation
14. Chapter 8. The Anomaly of Tannaitic Literature: Interpretation, Revelation, and Mysteries 161
15. Excursus. Oral Tradition as the Site of Esotericism 181
16. Chapter 9. Midrash and Extra-Scriptural Tradition: A Synchronic Model 183
17. Conclusion: Rabbi Akiva and the Ironic Triumph of Midrash 207
18. Appendix: Hebrew Sources 213
19. List of Abbreviations 230
20. Notes 231
21. Index of Classical Sources 299
22. General Index 305
23. Acknowledgments 307