Chouchani's methods? In our studies below, we will take Levinas at his
word that many guiding principles of his method, which I have
adopted as axioms in my own method, derive originally from Mr.
Chouchani and through him to some unrecoverable past. We will, of
course, review these principles in detail when we turn specifically to
Emmanuel Levinas's approach to the Talmud.

The import of Emmanuel Levinas's thought is just now being felt in
American-Jewish intellectual circles. Certainly among the most exciting
aspects of Levinas's thinking is his bringing to bear on the Talmud his
unique philosophical approach. The publication of Nine Talmudic Read-
ings ( Indiana University Press, 1990), translated by Annette Aronowicz,
and of Beyond the Verse, translated by Gary D. Mole ( Indiana University
Press, 1994) and In the Time of Nations, translated by Michael B. Smith
( Indiana University Press, 1994), acquaints students and teachers of Tal-
mud with Levinas's challenging attempt to bring the study of Talmud
into the world of contemporary discourse.

I propose to introduce in the first section of this book Levinas's gen-
eral and Jewish philosophy, albeit briefly, identifying some of his major
themes and relating those themes specifically to his talmudic
hermeneutic.

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