Talmud and Contemporary Thought: Theo-Politics of Exile

The workshop examines exile as a category in contemporary thought and politics. Exile signifies not just forced expulsion but metaphysical estrangement. The workshop asks if exile is purely negative, denoting only loss, or can have positive meaning as critical distance resisting identification with the status quo. It explores whether embracing exile is realistic or renounces politics. In Jewish thought, the Talmud regulates historical exile (galuth) and diaspora. The discussion will also ask about the relation of Talmudic exile to currents debates on the State of Israel’s relation to diaspora. It asks whether exile is apolitical nostalgia or a resource for contesting the concept of the state.