Advances in the History of Rhetoric Jul 2014

( <i>Shibutz</i> ) as a Conciliatory Rhetorical Style in Nachmanides’ “Letter to the French Rabbis”

Patricia Bizzell

Abstract

ABSTRACT Combining Zeno’s rhetorics of the open hand and closed fist, Nachmanides addressed the heirs of Rashi to defend Maimonides. Polemical letters were a vehicle for this controversy, and a major example is his “Letter to the French Rabbis.” Using cleverly organized arguments and a brilliantly learned style of allusion to Biblical and rabbinic texts, called “shibutz,” Nachmanides influenced his addressees to mitigate a herem (ban) against students of Maimonides. Nachmanides sought to unify the warring factions rather than to achieve victory for either side, and his densely packed allusions to texts all the combatants revered comprise common ground for reconciliation.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2014-07-03
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2014.938791
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Topics
voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (1)

  1. Bizzell (2006)
    Rationality as Rhetorical Strategy at the Barcelona Disputation, 1263: A Cautio…
    College Composition and Communication
Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓
  1. Ben-Shalom (1996)
    Communication and Propaganda Between Provence and Spain: The Controversy Over Extreme All…
     ↗
  2. Goldin (1996)
    ‘Companies of Disciples’ and ‘Companies of Colleagues’: Communication in Jewish Intellect…
     ↗
  3. Grabois (1996)
    The Use of Letters as a Communication Medium Among Medieval European Jewish Communities
     ↗
  4. Shaver (2012)
    Beyond the Pulpit: Women’s Rhetorical Roles in the Antebellum Religious Press
     ↗
  5. Silver (1965)
    Maimonidean Criticism and the Maimonidean Controversy 1180–1240
     ↗
  6. Stern (2003)
    Philosophy in Southern France: Controversy Over Philosophic Study and the Influence of Averroes
     ↗
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