Tag Archives: body

(Mishnah) Corpse Defilement (Happy Halloween)

Posted on October 31, 2022 by zjb

The rabbis’ task in their reconstruction of the biblical laws of corpse impurity is to determine at which point a dead body in its fragmented and ruined state is still a “corpse” that can convey impurity, and at which point … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

(Modular Body) Mishnah Hands Tumah

Posted on September 21, 2022 by zjb

“This perceived modularity of the human body is what enables, I suggest, one of the most perplexing rabbinic (or protorabbinic) innovations, namely, the ruling that one’s hands are constantly impure (in a low degree) regardless of the impurity status of … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Anthropomorphism (Arthur Marmorstein & The Old Rabbinic Doctrine of God)

Posted on August 6, 2021 by zjb

Reading up about God and rabbinic theology, I found this reference by Yair Lorberbaum in to the Hungarian born and forgotten Arthur Marmorstein (1882–1946), author of the two volume The Old Rabbinic Doctrine of God. I: The Names and Attributes … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

(Haredi) Simulation (Shtisel)

Posted on May 4, 2021 by zjb

Late to Shtissel, and just now completed watching seasons 1-3 in the span of one extended binge, I should have known better. But I was surprised to find, after poking around online late in the middle of season 2, that … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

(Un/Civil Religion) The U.S. Capitol Is An Animal Being

Posted on February 5, 2021 by zjb

I’m probably imagining it, but since the January 6 insurrection when I look at still photos of the building, the material object that is the Capitol looks to me like a living creature, like some kind of animated object, an … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

(Trump) How Not To Hold A Bible (Habitus & Hexis)

Posted on June 2, 2020 by zjb

(h/t Jim Watts and Iconic Books and to @drnelk at Twitter) Arguably, in these United States, a good president needs to know how to handle a Bible. President Trump is not a good president. With him, the Bible has no … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

(Foucault) The Birth of The Clinic (Reading Notes)

Posted on April 21, 2020 by zjb

In the spirit of the day I’m including text on epidemic consciousness, medical fields, the medical gaze, death and the human. Below are more or less chapter by chapter reading-notes cribbing directly from the primary text, Foucault’s The Birth of … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

(Maimonides Says) Cultivate the Middle Way (Hilkhot Deot) (Coronavirus)

Posted on March 29, 2020 by zjb

At the time of a global health pandemic, where better to turn than to the Great Eagle? Hilkhot Deot is a moral-medical compendium, famous for its elaboration upon the Aristotelean mean. But that’s not the half of it. The larger … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

(Rashi) God’s Great Hand (Man Ray)

Posted on January 19, 2019 by zjb

[Man Ray, Hand on Lips, 1926] Most translations in English elide the anthropomorphism. “And Israel saw the great hand…”  (Ex. 14:31). According to Rashi, “hand” refers to the great power done by the hand of the Holy one Blessed be … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Votive Objects & Material Religion

Posted on January 16, 2019 by zjb

Went to see “Agents of Faith: Votive Objects in Time and Place” at Bard Graduate Center Gallery. I understood that I was off to look at objects, but what are votive objects? Something loosely to do with “religion.” What I … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment