Abstract
Among the legends scattered throughout the Talmud, are collections of legends revolving around a single figure or dealing with a common theme. One of the groups of legends that has received a prominent and special reference throughout the generations, are the ‘Stories Rabba Bar Bar Hana’, fifteen stories, which appear in the Babylonian Talmud. Extending from tales seafarers told RBBH, continuing in miraculous visions that he saw of the various animals and natural elements, and their end in what was revealed to him in his travels at sea and in the desert. Talmudic commentators have been trying to offer an interpretation of these stories. The spectrum of interpretations stretches from deliberate exaggerations intended to provoke and sharpen the students’ listening, through sophisticated allegories, riddles and even personal dreams and prophecies. This paper briefly presents the series of stories dealing with the sea voyages of RBBH and the range of interpretations offered to them - and examines new possibilities for interpreting this sequence of stories. Assuming the stories have a message that can be deciphered both in their literary reading, and out of attention to the context in which they were told, of an independent Jewish community within a semi-sympathetic space. We dwell on the central dichotomies around which these stories are woven, on the manner in which they require the biblical verses, on their central symbols and on the religious and cosmological claims hidden within them.
Presenters
Tzachi Cohen OACHead of the Jewish Studies Master's Program, Humanistics, Ono Academic College, Israel
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Rabbinic Literature, Interpretation, Talmud, Fantasy, Dreams, Allegories
