Rev. version of the author's thesis (D. Phil.)--Jews' College.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 260-266) and index.

Preliminary Material / Sacha Stern -- ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS ASSUMPTIONS, IMAGES AND REPRESENTATIONS / Sacha Stern -- IDENTITY, THE COMMANDMENTS, AND BODILY EXPERIENCE / Sacha Stern -- ISRAEL IN SYMBOLIC IMAGERY / Sacha Stern -- THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL CENTRE AND PERIPHERY / Sacha Stern -- THE PROTECTION OF JEWISH IDENTITY DISSOCIATION AND DISSIMILATION / Sacha Stern -- BEING ISRAEL: SOLIPSISM, INTROVERSION AND TRANSCENDENCE / Sacha Stern -- BIBLIOGRAPHY / Sacha Stern -- INDEX / Sacha Stern -- ARBEITEN ZUR GESCHICHTE DES ANTIKEN JUDENTUMS UNO DES URCHRISTENTUMS / Sacha Stern.

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Jewish Identity in Early Rabbinic Writings is more than a question of legal status: it is the experience of being Jewish or of 'Jewishness' in all its social and cultural dimensions. This work describes this experience as it emerges in Talmudic and Midrashic sources. Besides the question of “who is a Jew?”, topics include the contrast between Israel and the non-Jews, the physical embodiment of Jewish identity, the 'boundaries' of Israel and resistance to assimilation. Jewish identity, it is argued, hinges essentially on the Divine commandments ( mitzvot ) and on Israel's perceived proximity with the Divine. Drawing on a variety of disciplines, including the theories of William James and Merleau-Ponty, this study raises important issues in anthropology, as well as accounting for central aspects of early rabbinic Judaism.