Vanquished Nation, Broken Spirit: The Virtues of the Heart in Formative Judaism [Hardcover]

Neusner's book explores how attitudes in Jewish canonical writings relate to the politics of the Jews as a vanquished people.Attitudes in Jewish canonical writings are explored in depth to analyze how their doctrines of virtue strengthened the Jews as a people spiritually despite repeated conquest and exile.Attitudes in Jewish canonical writings are explored in depth to analyze how their doctrines of virtue strengthened the Jews as a people spiritually despite repeated conquest and exile.From the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Jews were a conquered nation. Yet Jewish sages and holy works preached a doctrine of both interior and exterior virtue that allowed the Jewish people to feel and believe in the dignity and nobility of their earthly condition. Neusner's book explores the attitudes in Jewish canonical writings and asks how these virtues relate to the politics of the Jews as a vanquished people. Jacob Neusner, the author of over 166 books on Judaism and Jewish history, is a frequent lecturer both in America and throughout the world. He has been a Fulbright Fellow at the Hebrew University, and twice has been a Guggenheim Fellow.Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Emotion, the individual, and society: the affective aspect; 2. Vanquished nation, broken spirit; 3. The starting point; 4. Virtue for sages; 5. Virtue in the extension of the exegetical tradition of the law: the Tosefta and the Fathers according to Rabbi Nathan; 6. The virtues of the heart in the articulation of the exegetical tradition of the law: the Yerushalmi; 7. The conclusion of the exegetical tradition of the law: the Bavli; 8. The other Torah: affections in the exegetical tradition; 9. Constant affections, inconstant heart; Bibliographical essay and source list; General index; Index to Biblical and Talmudic references.