Rabbinic Bio-looping: Mind, Body, and Meaning-Making in Late Antique Rabbinic Conceptions of Embodiment

Religious healing has long been a subject of interest in both the sciences and humanities disciplines. How do rituals, prayers, and ceremonies—meaning-making experiences without an obvious western biomedical intervention—lead to real therapeutic results including pain relief, remission, and recovery from illness? This paper draws on the "bio-looping"model of embodiment to examine the connection between meaning-making activities and health in late antique Palestinian rabbinic literature. Situation these texts within the context of late antique Greco-Roman medicine, this paper will explore the rabbinic conception of embodiment developed in these texts.