Abstract
This article sheds light on the social nature of shame in rabbinic law in its analysis of the Babylonian Talmud’s discussions of legally actionable shame (boshet) and the emphasis therein on visual experience in defining both shame and legal obligation. The article highlights a connection within rabbinic thought between sightedness and what it means to be fully aware of and responsible for others. By exploring these interactions between sight, obligation, and emotion, this article reveals that the rabbinic understanding of vision is at the core of their conception of both the affective and legal dimensions of shame.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21220/s2-p1gq-ac40
Recommended Citation
Wolf, Sarah. "Shame, Blindness, and the Face of the Other: Emotions In and Out of Rabbinic Legal Texts." Journal of Textual Reasoning 14, no. 1 (2023): 8-26. https://doi.org/10.21220/s2-p1gq-ac40.