Web of Life

Galit Hasan-Rokem is Max and Margarethe Grunwald Professor of Folklore at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her most recent publication is Untying the Knot: On Riddles and Other Enigmatic Modes (co-editor).

"Web of Life is a brilliant study that makes an ancient text relevant to the modern reader . . . Hasan-Rokem demonstrates not only a thorough scholarly knowledge of folklore and Jewish studies, but also a familiarity with current theoretical trends in literary analysis and interpretation."—Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania "Hasan-Rokem provides a deeply suggestive analysis of the poignant midrashic text, Lamentations Rabbah, employing and blending folkloristic techniques, structural analysis of mythologies, feminist theory, cultural criticism and other theoretical trends in literary analysis and interpretive techniques . . . This is an engaging and enlightening book."—Religious Studies Review "By adding the folkloristic dimension to the scholarly discourse associated with amoraic stories, Hasan-Rokem's book addresses a long-felt need . . . [Hasan-Rokem] is the first to present a comprehensive discussion associating folklore with rabbinics."—Hebrew Studies "Lamentations Rabbah presents Jewish society in its daily, but not mundane, actions. It is a literature of disaster, of personal and collective tragedy that leaves the reader pondering the meaning of life. The breadth of folklore enables Hasan-Rokem to explore these tales in a multifaceted analysis that situates them in the their textual, historical and comparative contexts and that transcends them all by presenting narratives and riddles as a search for meaning."—Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania

• Preface 1. The study of folk narratives in Rabbini literature 2. The literary context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: interpreting narrative structure 3. The genre context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: riddles about the wise people of Jerusalem 4. The comparative context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: tales of dream interpretation 6. The social context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: the feminine power of laments, tales, and love 7. The religious context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: the rhetoric of intimacy as a rhetoric of the sacred 8. The historical context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: three tales on Messianism Epilogue: Rabbi Joshua's Odyssey Notes Bibliography Index.