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Rain and Resurrection Rain and Resurrection: How the Talmud and Science Read the World Landes Bioscience Copyright ©2010 Landes Bioscience All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the USA. Please address all inquiries to the publisher: Landes Bioscience, 1002 West Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701, USA Phone: 512/ 637 6050; Fax: 512/ 637 6079 www.landesbioscience.com ISBN: 978-1-58706-336-7 Artwork by Eleanor Rubin. Cover Art: “World Map by Moroccan Cartographer al-Idrisi 1154.” Snell, Melissa. Medieval History at About.com. Retrieved November 19, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://historymedren.about.com/library/atlas/ blatmapworld1154.htm. Used with permission. Ancient mezuzah: ©iStockphoto.com/~User5389864_110. Used with license. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cohen, Irun R. Rain and resurrection : how the Talmud and science read the world / Irun R. Cohen. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-58706-336-7 1. Judaism and science. 2. Talmud--Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Time--Religious aspects--Judaism. 4. Fasts and feasts--Judaism. 5. Science--Methodology. I. Title. BM538.S3C64 2010 296.3’75--dc22 2010000287 Rain and Resurrection How the Talmud and Science Read the World Irun R. Cohen Landes Bioscience Dedication The author dedicates this book to his parents Sara and Samuel T. Cohen, the creators of his life and his link to Jewishness. Contents Part I. Preamble This introduction tells you why I wrote the book and how the book is organized. We discuss the unspoken ideology of science: individuality (Person), intervention in nature (Place), and progress (Time). §1 Narrator ...................................................1 §2 Ideology of science...................................2 §3 Talmudic probe........................................3 §4 Book organization ...................................4 Part II. Talmudic Texts We begin with a few words about texts in general and proceed to an introduction to the Talmud, to the logical structure of the Hebrew language, to Jewish texts, and to translating such texts. We then interpret Talmudic texts related to three subjects that intersect with science: Person, Place and Time. §5 Text, signifier and signified ......................5 §6 The Talmud ..............................................6 §7 Cinematic Talmud ...................................8 §8 Translating the Talmud............................8 §9 The Hebrew roots of interpretation and reality.........................................9 §10 Levels of Jewish text .............................12 §11 The Yeshiva ..........................................13 §12 Disclaimer ............................................13 Subject One: Person Here are some Talmud texts that explore the concept of individuality. Every human is the center of a universe and a special creation. But every individual lives within a society, a collective of individuals. Both the individual and the collective have rights and responsibilities. §13 Rain and resurrection ..........................15 §14 Abel’s blood .........................................16 §15 Another’s blood ...................................19 §16 Life and water ......................................19 §17 Individual name ...................................20 §18 Weaving texts .......................................21 Subject Two: Place Place is a name of God. Place is a part of space defined by events. Place is the aspect of nature accessible to humans. We define the meaning of “holy” and discuss Talmudic texts that explore relationships b