| In Place of an Introduction: On Gender Issues and Their Possible Significance for Understanding the Spiritual World of the Rabbis | 9 |
|---|
| “Masculinity” and “Femininity” in the Psychosexual Theory of Freud and Nancy Chodorow | 9 |
| Lacan’s Interpretation of the Freudian Theory | 13 |
| The Drawbacks of the Freudian Approach | 15 |
| Sara Ruddick and the Care Experience | 18 |
| Between Freud and Buber: Between Psychoanalysis and Dialogue | 19 |
| A Note on the Relationship between “I-Thou” and Halakhah and “Law” | 26 |
| Phallicism, Humility, and the Tension between “Masculinity” and “Femininity” in the Aggadic Narratives | 28 |
| The Chapters of the Book | 33 |
| Chapter One. The Woman’s Spiritual Place in the Talmudic Story: A Reading of the Narrative of Mar Ukba and His Wife | 37 |
|---|
| An Introduction to the Discussion of the Narrative | 37 |
| The Text of the Narrative | 39 |
| The Reading of the Narrative | 42 |
| Why Was Mar Ukba Insulted? | 47 |
| The Leitmotiv of the Heel | 53 |
| On the Feminine and Masculine Associations in the Narrative | 55 |
| Chapter Two. Rabbi Akiva and the Daughter of Ben Kalba Savua: On the Conception of Love in the Spiritual World of the Talmudic Story | 64 |
|---|
| The Narrative of Akiva and His Mate, according to the Version of Ketubot 62b-63a | 64 |
| The Versions of the Narrative | 66 |
| The Love of Akiva and His Mate | 71 |
| Structure of the Narrative | 76 |
| The Waves of Opposition and Their Significance | 77 |
| Inner and Outer | 85 |
| Stability and Mobility | 89 |
| Is This a Romantic Love Story? | 91 |
| Against Boyarin’s Political Reading | 97 |
| Appendix A: On the Nature of Relationship between Akiva and His Mate in the Later Versions | 102 |
| Appendix B: On the Character of Ben Kalba Savua in the Later Versions | 110 |
| Appendix C: On the Character of “That Old Man” in the Later Versions | 114 |
| Appendix D: On the Conversation with the Women Neighbors in the Later Versions | 115 |
| Chapter 3. “Internal Homeland” and “External Homeland”: A Literary and Psychoanalytical Study of the Narrative of R. Assi and His Aged Mother | 117 |
|---|
| The Complex Relationship between Halakhah and Aggadah, as Background to a Reading of the Narrative | 117 |
| The Text of the Narrative | 119 |
| A Proposed Psychoanalytical Reading | 130 |
| On the Transformation of the Text from the Land of Israel to Babylonia | 134 |
| Chapter 4. The Female Breast and the Mouth Opened in Prayer | 141 |
|---|
| The Narrative of the Intervention by the Mother of R. Ahadboi in the Study Hall Quarrel | 141 |
| A Discussion of the Elements of the Narrative | 147 |
| Baring One’s Breasts as an Act of Protest | 151 |
| Baring One’s Breast as a Spiritual Expression | 154 |
| Baring One’s Breasts as an Act of Entreaty | 157 |
| Exposing One’s Breasts in the Midrashic Picture: A Gesture of Love and Giving | 158 |
| Chapter Five. A Reading of the Creation Narrative: Femininity and Masculinity in the Prism of the Bible and the Midrash | 162 |
|---|
| The Mythological Background and Gender Aspects | 163 |
| In the Beginning God Created | 173 |
| Creation Ex Nihilo or Ex Materia? | 179 |
| The Midrashic Sources, and Their Relation to the Proposed Dialogic Reading | 185 |
| On Building God’s Palace in the Garbage in Gen. Rabbah | 187 |
| On the End of the Creation Passage: The Elements of the Sabbath and Sanctity | 193 |
| Buber’s Comments on the Creation Passage | 200 |
| The Gender Significance of the Moderation in the Biblical Portrayal | 202 |
| The Dialogic Significance of the Creation Episode: Love as a Procreative and Creative Force | 213 |
| Afterword | 222 |
|---|
| Bibliography | 223 |
|---|
