Sep 4, 2024 11:15 AM
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Torah with the way of the land: Lotman’s semiosphere as an integrative model of diverse conceptions of Judaism

Torah with the way of the land: Lotman’s semiosphere as an integrative model of diverse conceptions of Judaism

Panel:
[PA] Semiotics of Religion (Jenny Ponzo, Massimo Leone)
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Speaker:
Jason Van Boom
University of Tartu
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This paper builds on the suggestion in Boom and Olteanu (2023) that we analyze the functioning of religious texts in terms of religion modeled as semiosphere. Whereas that study dealt with Orthodox Christianity, this paper applies semiospheric analysis to three differing accounts of Judaism. Saadia Gaon (882-942 CE, a prominent jurist, exegete and philosopher, claimed that "our nation of the children of Israel is a nation only by virtue of its laws," i.e. that Torah constitutes Jewish life. Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), a founding theoretician of Orthodox Judaism, argued that Judaism exists through Torah im derech eretz, "the interaction of Torah with the way of the land," with the latter, in our days, referring to secular modernity. In contrast, Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983), the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, held that Judaism is a civilization encompassing all spheres of life, with religion being an important but not sole element. Influenced by classical American pragmatism, he emphasized the historically dynamic nature of Judaism. We can see all three accounts as describing aspects of Judaism as a semiosphere. The Torah (Bible and Talmud) occupies the center. Torah im derech eretz designates interactions between center and periphery, given the latter's function of translating between Jewish and non-Jewish systems. The full extent of the Jewish semiosphere, covering meaning making in all areas of life, correlates with Kaplan's idea of Judaism as a civilization. Furthermore, the periphery's creative functions and the relations between linear and explosive motion provide a semiotic model of Kaplan's understanding of religious dynamism.

Location:
0.410 room, WLS (Dobra 55 street)

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Location:
Australia Hall, WLS (Dobra 55 street)
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September 2, 2024
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Australia Hall, WLS (Dobra 55 street)
Jason Van Boom