Holy men and hunger artists
Subtitle: fasting and asceticism in rabbinic culture
By: Eliezer Diamond
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 228
Subjects: Asceticism in rabbinical literature; Fasting -- Religious aspects -- Judaism; Rabbinical literature -- History and criticism
Description: The existence of ascetic elements within rabbinic Judaism has generally been either overlooked or actually denied. Diamond shows that rabbinic asceticism does indeed exist. This asceticism is mainly secondary, rather than primary, in that the rabbis place no value on self-denial in and of itself.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [209]-222) and indexes