Hindus, Jews, and the Politics of Comparison

Barbara A. Holdrege is professor of religious studies and chair of the South Asian Studies Committee at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“Barbara Holdrege is a pioneer of responsible cross-cultural comparison in the study of religion. Taking into account recent methodological approaches in the field, in this book she demonstrates how a thoughtful analysis of Jewish and Hindu traditions, with a particular focus on scripture and food, enriches the study of either religion. Most importantly, the book makes a larger theoretical argument. It shows that, while the similarities in how Jewish and Hindu texts conceptualize their traditions as embodied, locative communities set them apart from missionizing traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam, both Jewish and Hindu thinkers also developed hermeneutical techniques that allowed them to expand their traditions by discursively incorporating new concepts and practices. It is this dual comparative approach, which juxtaposes not only Judaism and Hinduism but also these two with other religious traditions, that makes the book so unique. Only thoughtful comparative research can produce these important insights.”

• PrefaceIntroduction1: The Politics of Comparison: Beyond the Tyranny of TaxonomiesSouth Asia and the Middle East: Beyond European HegemonyHinduisms and Judaisms: Beyond Protestant Christian Hegemony2: What Have Hindus to Do with Jews? Hindu-Jewish Encounters in the Academy and Beyond Historical Encounters: South Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures, Indic and Judaic WorldsCollaborative Scholarly Encounters: Comparative Studies of Hindu and Jewish TraditionsInterreligious Encounters: Hindu-Jewish Dialogue3: Veda and Torah: Textual Communities and the Word Beyond TextFrom Text to SymbolI. VedaII. TorahIII. Veda and TorahReimagining Scripture4: Models of Religious Tradition: Embodied Communities and Missionizing TraditionsEmbodying Ethnocultural IdentitiesMissionizing Traditions and Universalizing Projects5: The Gastrosemantics of Hindu and Jewish Foodways: Food Taxonomies, Dietary Regimes, and Socioreligious HierarchiesEmbodied Communities and FoodwaysFood Taxonomies and Animal ClassificationsDietary Regulations and Social ClassificationsFood Preparation and Food TransactionsAfterwordFrom the Locative/Utopian Dichotomy to the Dialectic of Local Histories/Global DesignsEmbodied Communities and Missionizing TraditionsNote on Translations and TransliterationNotesBibliographyAbout the Author