Yochanan Muffs
Encyclopedia
Yochanan Muffs was an American-Jewish professor of the Bible
and religion at the Jewish Theological Seminary
in New York
.
in Flushing
, Queens
. His parents were Barney and Mary Muffs. Muffs had one sister, Civia, an artist. He did his undergraduate degree in Humanities at Queens College and studied for the rabbinate at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he began teaching in 1954. He pursued his Ph.D. in Near Eastern studies at the University of Pennsylvania
.
Muffs married Yocheved Herschlag in 1970. He succumbed to Parkinson's disease
, from which he suffered for many decades.
ian, Jewish and other legal sources to further understanding of life in those days. David Hartman
, founder of the Shalom Hartman Institute
in Jerusalem, described Muffs as a "master of midrashic analysis whose rich theological imagination reveals the gripping realism of the biblical God and the intensity of God’s relationship to human history." In Love and Joy: Law, Language and Religion in Ancient Israel, Muffs writes about the core task of the prophet in the Israelite
tradition: The Israelite prophet
is given explicit directions from God, but is also "an independent advocate...attempting to mitigate the severity of the decree." In his review of The Personhood of God, Bishop Krister Stendahl
of Harvard Divinity School
says the book "embraces unashamedly the ways the Bible pictures God as a person with all the traits of human psychology and even anatomy...and shows convincingly how it enriches both faith and theology, not least by liberating the readers from the stultifying literal readings of the sacred texts."
Muffs was a fellow of the American Academy of Jewish Research.
, Moses
confronts God. When Samuel is ordered to divest Saul
of his kingship, he appeals to God all night. According to Muffs, intimacy with God means standing up to God.
In the Personhood of God, Muffs studies the anthropomorphic evolution of God, from creator of the cosmos to God the father, God the husband, God the king, God the “chess-player," and God the ultimate master. The book further examines how expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love in the Bible have impacted on the contemporary human condition.
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and religion at the Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Biography
Muffs grew up in a Conservative Jewish homeConservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
in Flushing
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. His parents were Barney and Mary Muffs. Muffs had one sister, Civia, an artist. He did his undergraduate degree in Humanities at Queens College and studied for the rabbinate at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he began teaching in 1954. He pursued his Ph.D. in Near Eastern studies at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
.
Muffs married Yocheved Herschlag in 1970. He succumbed to Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, from which he suffered for many decades.
Academic career
Muffs made major contributions in biblical studies, Semitic languages, the history of the ancient Near East, and Jewish religion and thought. He strove to reach an understanding of biblical text through comparative philological study. His first book, Studies in the Aramaic Legal Papyri from Elephantine, published in 1969, has been described as a "watershed work." Muffs analyzed legal documents from a colony of Jewish families in fifth century BCE, using comparative evidence from Mesopotamian, EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian, Jewish and other legal sources to further understanding of life in those days. David Hartman
David Hartman (rabbi)
David Hartman is an American and Israeli rabbi and philosopher of contemporary Judaism, founder of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Israel, and a Jewish author.- Early life :...
, founder of the Shalom Hartman Institute
Shalom Hartman Institute
Shalom Hartman Institute is a Jewish research and education institute based in Jerusalem, Israel, that offers pluralistic Jewish thought and education to scholars, rabbis, educators, and Jewish community leaders in Israel and North America...
in Jerusalem, described Muffs as a "master of midrashic analysis whose rich theological imagination reveals the gripping realism of the biblical God and the intensity of God’s relationship to human history." In Love and Joy: Law, Language and Religion in Ancient Israel, Muffs writes about the core task of the prophet in the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
tradition: The Israelite prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
is given explicit directions from God, but is also "an independent advocate...attempting to mitigate the severity of the decree." In his review of The Personhood of God, Bishop Krister Stendahl
Krister Stendahl
Krister Stendahl was a Swedish theologian and New Testament scholar, and Church of Sweden Bishop of Stockholm. He also served as professor and professor emeritus at Harvard Divinity School.-Life:...
of Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
says the book "embraces unashamedly the ways the Bible pictures God as a person with all the traits of human psychology and even anatomy...and shows convincingly how it enriches both faith and theology, not least by liberating the readers from the stultifying literal readings of the sacred texts."
Muffs was a fellow of the American Academy of Jewish Research.
Ideas
In his essay “Who Will Stand in the Breach?” Muffs explores the role of the biblical prophet, whom he describes as a scolder but also a defender of the people. When God wants to destroy Israel for creating the golden calfGolden calf
According to the Hebrew Bible, the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai...
, Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
confronts God. When Samuel is ordered to divest Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
of his kingship, he appeals to God all night. According to Muffs, intimacy with God means standing up to God.
In the Personhood of God, Muffs studies the anthropomorphic evolution of God, from creator of the cosmos to God the father, God the husband, God the king, God the “chess-player," and God the ultimate master. The book further examines how expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love in the Bible have impacted on the contemporary human condition.
Published works
- Studies in the Aramaic Legal Papyri from Elephantine
- Love and Joy: Law, Language, and Religion in Ancient Israel
- The Personhood of God: Biblical Theology, Human Faith And the Divine Image ISBN 9781580233385
External links
- Book review of Studies in the Aramaic Legal Papyri from Elephantine, Journal of Near Eastern Studies
- Book review of Love and Joy: Law, Language, and Religion in Ancient Israel, Journal of Near Eastern Studies
- Hebrew translation of The Personhood of God: Biblical Theology, Human Faith And the Divine Image
- Moshe Halbertal speaks about Personhood with God, Hebrew video with English subtitles