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The Place Of Storytelling In Legal Reasoning: Abraham Joshua Heschel's Torah Min Hashamayim, Stefan H. Krieger

Stefan H Krieger

This article reads the teachings of two rabbis from the Second Century through the lenses of cognitive science on legal thinking and shows the relationship between their narratives and legal opinions. Cognitive scientists posit that both logical and narrative thinking are essential modes of cognitive functioning. The stories and legal decisions of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael, as described by Abraham Joshua Heschel in his masterpiece, Torah Min Hashamayim support these insights. Heschel was one of the preeminent Jewish theologians of the twentieth century, and this book was recently translated into English under the title Heavenly Torah. Both rabbis lived …