The origins of organized charity in rabbinic Judaism /
Saved in:
| Author / Creator: | Gardner, Gregg, 1976- author. |
|---|---|
| Imprint: | New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2015. |
| Description: | 1 online resource (xvi, 235 pages) |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | |
| Format: | E-Resource Book |
| URL for this record: | http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/12481965 |
| Summary: | This book examines the origins of communal and institutional almsgiving in rabbinic Judaism. It undertakes a close reading of foundational rabbinic texts (Mishnah, Tosefta, Tannaitic Midrashim) and places their discourses on organized giving in their second to third century CE contexts. Gregg E. Gardner finds that Tannaim promoted giving through the soup kitchen (tamhui) and charity fund (quppa), which enabled anonymous and collective support for the poor. This protected the dignity of the poor and provided an alternative to begging, which benefited the community as a whole - poor and non-poor alike. By contrast, later Jewish and Christian writings (from the fourth to fifth centuries) would see organized charity as a means to promote their own religious authority. This book contributes to the study of Jews and Judaism, history of religions, biblical studies, and ethics. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xvi, 235 pages) |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-218) and indexes. |
| ISBN: | 9781316155110 1316155110 9781316320525 1316320529 9781107095434 9781107479289 1316323889 9781316323885 1107479282 1316330567 9781316330562 1316333906 9781316333907 1316327221 9781316327227 |