Ritual objects for the feast of sukkot: Theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the Balkans
Can we think of the artifact as an integral part of an anthropology of life as it has developed in the wake of the anthropology of nature founded by Philippe Descola? Judaism clearly fits within this perspective since a vast body of normative texts, notably the Babylonian Talmud, defines an...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Institute for Balkan Studies SASA
2024-01-01
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Series: | Balcanica |
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Online Access: | https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2024/0350-76532455211V.pdf |
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author | Vartejanu-Joubert Madalina |
author_facet | Vartejanu-Joubert Madalina |
author_sort | Vartejanu-Joubert Madalina |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Can we think of the artifact as an integral part of an anthropology of life
as it has developed in the wake of the anthropology of nature founded by
Philippe Descola? Judaism clearly fits within this perspective since a vast
body of normative texts, notably the Babylonian Talmud, defines and
discusses the jewishness of artifacts - whether ritual or everyday - by
endeavoring to determine their correct position on a graduated scale ranging
from nature to artifice, understood here as emic categories. This article
aims to support this reflection by studying two ritual objects related to
the festival of Sukkot: the skhakh, the roof of the sukka hut, and the
lulav, the bouquet of the four species. As we shall see, the making of the
ritual object according to specific rules shows us its place in the
encounter with the supernatural, the goal towards which any ritual device
aspires. After a theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions, we will
look at some of the practical ways in which the Sukkot hut can be documented
photographically in the Balkans, in the broadest sense of the term. We will
present examples from Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. |
format | Article |
id | doaj-art-0a781bfd42e942c8ab3b711f8efb8b4a |
institution | Kabale University |
issn | 0350-7653 2406-0801 |
language | English |
publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
publisher | Institute for Balkan Studies SASA |
record_format | Article |
series | Balcanica |
spelling | doaj-art-0a781bfd42e942c8ab3b711f8efb8b4a2025-01-30T06:44:47ZengInstitute for Balkan Studies SASABalcanica0350-76532406-08012024-01-0120245521124010.2298/BALC2455211V0350-76532455211VRitual objects for the feast of sukkot: Theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the BalkansVartejanu-Joubert Madalina0Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, Pluralité des Langues et des Identités : Didactique - Acquisition - Médiations, Paris, FranceCan we think of the artifact as an integral part of an anthropology of life as it has developed in the wake of the anthropology of nature founded by Philippe Descola? Judaism clearly fits within this perspective since a vast body of normative texts, notably the Babylonian Talmud, defines and discusses the jewishness of artifacts - whether ritual or everyday - by endeavoring to determine their correct position on a graduated scale ranging from nature to artifice, understood here as emic categories. This article aims to support this reflection by studying two ritual objects related to the festival of Sukkot: the skhakh, the roof of the sukka hut, and the lulav, the bouquet of the four species. As we shall see, the making of the ritual object according to specific rules shows us its place in the encounter with the supernatural, the goal towards which any ritual device aspires. After a theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions, we will look at some of the practical ways in which the Sukkot hut can be documented photographically in the Balkans, in the broadest sense of the term. We will present examples from Greece, Romania and Bulgaria.https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2024/0350-76532455211V.pdfrabbinic judaismritual objectanthropologynatureartificesukkotlulavskhakhdescola |
spellingShingle | Vartejanu-Joubert Madalina Ritual objects for the feast of sukkot: Theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the Balkans Balcanica rabbinic judaism ritual object anthropology nature artifice sukkot lulav skhakh descola |
title | Ritual objects for the feast of sukkot: Theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the Balkans |
title_full | Ritual objects for the feast of sukkot: Theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the Balkans |
title_fullStr | Ritual objects for the feast of sukkot: Theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the Balkans |
title_full_unstemmed | Ritual objects for the feast of sukkot: Theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the Balkans |
title_short | Ritual objects for the feast of sukkot: Theoretical analysis of the Talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the Balkans |
title_sort | ritual objects for the feast of sukkot theoretical analysis of the talmudic prescriptions and some of their ethnographical achievements in the balkans |
topic | rabbinic judaism ritual object anthropology nature artifice sukkot lulav skhakh descola |
url | https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2024/0350-76532455211V.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv | AT vartejanujoubertmadalina ritualobjectsforthefeastofsukkottheoreticalanalysisofthetalmudicprescriptionsandsomeoftheirethnographicalachievementsinthebalkans |