Language:
Hebrew
Year of publication:
2017
Titel der Quelle:
מכלול; עיונים ביהדות, בחינוך ובמדע
Angaben zur Quelle:
לב (תשעז) 65-102
Keywords:
Copperman, Yehudah
;
Sforno, Obadiah ben Jacob,
;
Bible Commentaries
Abstract:
The interpretive concept of peshuto shel mikra – the ‘plain sense’ of biblical verses – that R. Yehuda Copperman developed deeply informed his approach to R. Ovadiah Seforno’s Torah commentary. He was perhaps the first to distinguish its underlying ideological principles. This paper presents R. Copperman’s conception that the series of events and their concomitant mitzvot can be summed up in the formula: “failing, despair, repair” (kilkul, ye’ush, tikun). The Creator made a world that was wholly good; humankind was created in G-d’s image – invested, as Seforno contended, with free choice. Adam’s sin cast humankind into despair at the loss of their lofty status. This, however, enables the opportunity of repair, guided by G-d. The sins of humankind affect both the cosmos and natural order; restoration thus takes place through adaptation to a new reality. In the human realm, the effect of sins on the Jewish people is manifest above all in the appearance of new commandments – particularly after the sin of the Gold Calf and the sin of the spies. This ongoing dynamic eventually resulted in the 613 commandments embodied in the five books of the Torah. R. Copperman articulated this conception, gleaned from the Seforno’s commentary, in his teaching and writings. The second part of this paper considers some of the ways that R. Copperman applied this method to other parts of the Bible (Prophets) and used it in analyzing a range of topics that have received little attention to date.
URL:
אתר את הפרסום בקטלוג המאוחד של ספריות ישראל
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