Introduction: A Comment on Methodology

Abstract

Abstract Any attempt to outline precisely and systematically the governing principles of rabbinic theology must confront the reality of rabbinic texts which lend themselves neither to theological precision nor systematization. Though the rabbis of the Talmudic era did engage in theological speculation about such classical religious issues as the nature of God and the dynamic of revelation, and about such eminently Jewish concerns as the chosenness of the Jewish people and the essence of Torah, such speculation seems to be haphazardly sprinkled throughout rabbinic literature.