Full Description
This volume deals with the female dynasty of the House of David and its influence on the Jewish Messianic Myth. It provides a missing link in the chain of research on the topic of messianism and contributes to the understanding of the connection between female transgression and redemption, from the Bible through Rabbinic literature until the Zohar. The discussion of the centrality of the mother image in Judeo-Christian culture and the parallels between the appearance of Mary in the Gospels and the Davidic Mothers in the Hebrew Bible, stresses mutual representations of ""the mother of the messiah"" in Christian and Jewish imaginaire. Through the prism of gender studies and by stressing questions of femininity, motherhood and sexuality, the subject appears in a new light. This research highlights the importance of intertwining Jewish literary study with comparative religion and gender theories, enabling the process of filling in the 'mythic gaps' in classical Jewish sources. The book won the Pines, Lakritz and Warburg awards.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Translator's Note
Introduction
Part One - Messianic Mothers in the Bible
Chapter One: Feminine Genealogy and the Lineage of the House of David
Chapter Two: The Type-Scene of "The Birth of the Messianic Hero"
Part Two - The Messianic Mother in Rabbinic Literature - Sororal Love and ""Ethics of Redemption""
Chapter Three: David's Mother(s) in Yalkut ha-Makhiri
Chapter Four: Gedolah Aveirah Lishmah - From Rabbinic Literature to the Messianic Teachings of R. Moses Ḥayyim Luzzatto
Part Three - The Messianic Mother in the Zoharic Literature
Chapter Five: Lot's Daughters and the Zoharic "Ṭiqla"
Chapter Six: The Burning Face of the Shekhinah - Tamar in Zohar Aḥrei Mot
Chapter Seven: The Shekhinah's Exile and Redemption in Ruth and Naomi's Journey
Conclusion - Gender Reversal and Redemption Poetics
Epilogue - The Messianic Mother in Judaism and Christianity
