Between Belonging and Identity in Ancient Judaism: The Role of Emotion in the Production of Identity - Reviewed: Kinship, Law and Politics: An Anatomy of Belonging. By Joseph E. David. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Pp. 156. $ 88.00 (digital). ISBN: 9781108499682

This essay considers the vexed relationship between belonging and identity. Belonging is not an objective or unreflective association but rather an emotional assertion of attachment. That emotional connection is an indispensable component of identity, which, as Joseph David argues in Kinship, Law an...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Nebentitel:"Book Review Symposium on Kinship, Law, and Politics"
1. VerfasserIn: Mermelstein, Ari 1971- (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Review
Sprache:Englisch
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
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Veröffentlicht: Cambridge Univ. Press 2022
In: Journal of law and religion
Jahr: 2022, Band: 37, Heft: 2, Seiten: 363-372
weitere Schlagwörter:B Philo of Alexandria
B Rezension
B Dead Sea Scrolls
B Belonging
B Emotion
B Identity
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Zusammenfassung:This essay considers the vexed relationship between belonging and identity. Belonging is not an objective or unreflective association but rather an emotional assertion of attachment. That emotional connection is an indispensable component of identity, which, as Joseph David argues in Kinship, Law and Politics: An Anatomy of Belonging, is a relationship charged with meaning. Accordingly, the distinction between belonging as a privately held sentiment and the politics of belonging overlooks the fact that the emotions associated with belonging define group membership. Belonging is not a private matter but an emotional relationship that shapes social life, reinforces a group's identity politics, and finds expression in a group's practices. Analysis of two case studies from ancient Judaism - the writings of Philo of Alexandria and the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrates the emotional, social, and discursive dimensions of belonging and the role it plays in producing identity. Belonging is not a stable concept but is rather one that assumes different forms depending on the emotional orientation of the group and the particulars of identity politics. For Philo, belonging reflects a universalistic love for all humanity that helps shape an identity embracing Jewish practice and Greek virtue. By contrast, the Dead Sea sect's antipathy toward all other Jews requires that a sense of belonging express not only love for fellow sectarians but also hate for all outsiders.
ISSN:2163-3088
Enthält:Enthalten in: Journal of law and religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/jlr.2022.4