Rabbinic language from an integrationist perspective

Students of religion should learn about integrationism for at least two reasons. The first concerns the proper way to understand the relation between orality and literacy, between speaking and writing. The second concerns the proper way to approach religious language. Harris is challenging because his argument has both methodogical and theoretical consequences for how we understand religious language and history. I explore possible ways of understanding religion from an integrationist perspective, and Judaism in particular. Harris has argued that we must have a broader view of what constitutes language; for this reason the first part of the essay goes into some detail about the cultural and cognitive context of rabbinic language. I then describe some of the consequences of literacy, incorporating some insights from integrationism and its approach to written language. I conclude the essay with some sections on the consequences of integrationism for the study of religious language.

► Harris’s three stages mapped in terms of religious media.
► Consequences for the study of religion.
► Literacy in Jewish history.