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Dr. Lennart Lehmhaus

Ph.D. candidate (Scholarship holder 10/2007 - 09/2010)
Defense: 21.03.2013
Predicate: Summa cum laude

Seder Eliyahu Zuta – a guide in ethics for religious laymen?

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Veltri

Seder Eliyahu Zuta (SEZ: the minor order of Elijah), as well as its fellow-text called Seder Eliyahu Rabba (SER: the major order of Elijah), is a fascinating rabbinic work from late Antiquity or early medieval times. It is mainly concerned with questions of ethical lifestyle and righteous conduct. The text displays a unique, though hybrid, character between a moral guidebook and learned exposition of Scripture which questions its general classification as Midrash (Jewish exegetical-homiletical literature). Past scholarship was exclusively focussed on a clarification of date and place of the work’s redaction. Moreover, most research concentrated on Seder Eliyahu Rabba or did not differentiate between the two traditions.

For the first time, the dissertation provides an annotated German translation of the Hebrew text of SEZ, based on the edition of Meir Friedmann (1902). Furthermore, this translation considers additional material, textual variants and comparative readings from newly available manuscripts.

The project aims at a thorough analysis of literary, theological and ethical features of SEZ which was nearly missing in the scholarly discussion until now.  With literary skilfulness this work combines different genres and sub-structures which make the text function for different audiences. The high degree of intertextuality and the integration of older material inform us about SEZ’s perception, transmission and transformation of Jewish-rabbinic traditions for its own purposes.

The thematic analysis examines theological (e.g. nature of the Divine/ revelation/ creation) and ethical (e.g. sin, theodicy, freedom of will) aspects of the work. Especially the didactic agenda of a practical ethic through a god-fearing lifestyle, grounded in good deeds and Torah-study, deserves special attention.

SEZ integrates complex discourses on its own Jewish culture as well as various cultural-religious influences and disputes connected to a possible Karaite, Christian, Middle Eastern or Islamic background. Recent scholarship broadened the perspective on ancient Jewish history which previously focused on a normative rabbinic mainstream. Consequently, emerges a picture of continued inner-Jewish competition with a variety of external influences. Against this backdrop, the dissertation studies possible connection to marginalized groups or to the tendency of popularization of rabbinic teachings among a wider audience.

The dissertation combines historical and cultural studies with fundamental questions from the study of literature. It examines the literary and didactic imparting of Jewish moral and theological concepts in a context of rabbinic tradition as well as of a greater pluralism within Judaism and its surrounding cultures.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Conference papers presented

Conferences amd Workshops organized

2009: ANT im Kontext - Vom Export, Re-import zum Austausch von Gesellschaftskonzepten und Kulturbegriffen in der ANT (organized with Sung-Joon Park and Matias Dewey), Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung, Halle (Saale), July 5th – 6th, 2009.

Fellowships, Scholarships, Grants and Awards

Publications

Were not understanding and knowledge given to you from Heaven (SEZ 14) - Instructive Dialogue with the unlearned `other´ in Seder Eliyahu Zuta. In: Rabbis in conversation with `the other´, Proceedings of a workshop held at Princeton  University, May 4^th-5^th 2009. (Forthcoming)

2009: As it is written: a bibliographical review of recent studies in midrash. European Journal for Jewish Studies 2,2 (2009), 291-303.

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