Bøger udgivet af Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in Association with Liverpool University Press

In this highly original study, David Gillis demonstrates that the Mishneh torah, Maimonides' code of Jewish law, has the structure of a microcosm. Through this symbolic form, Maimonides presents the law as designed to perfect the individual and society by shaping them in the image of the divinely created cosmic order. The commandments of the law thereby bring human beings closer to fulfilling their ultimate purpose, knowledge of God. This symbolism turns the Mishneh torah into an object of contemplation that itself communicates such knowledge. In short, it is a work of art. Gillis unpacks the metaphysical and cosmological underpinnings of Maimonides' scheme of organization with consummate skill, allowing the reader to understand the Mishneh torah's artistic dimension and to appreciate its power. Moreover, as he makes clear, uncovering this dimension casts new light on one of the great cruxes of Maimonides studies: the relationship of the Mishneh torah to his philosophical treatise The Guide of the Perplexed. A fundamental unity is revealed between Maimonides the codifier and Maimonides the philosopher that has not been fully appreciated hitherto. Maimonides' artistry in composition is repeatedly shown to serve his aims in persuading us of the coherence and wisdom of the halakhic system. Gillis's fine exegesis sets in high relief the humane and transcendental purposes and methods of halakhah as Maimonides conceived of it, in an argument that is sure-footed and convincing.

The historical consciousness of medieval Jewry has engendered lively debate in the scholarly world. The focus in this book is on the historical consciousness of the Jews of Spain and southern France in the late Middle Ages, and specifically on their perceptions of Christianity and Christian history and culture. Ram Ben-Shalom offers a detailed analysis of the extent of Jews' exposure to the history of those with whom they lived, and of how they expressed their historical consciousness in encountering them in different contexts. He shows that the Jews in these southern European lands experienced a relatively open society that was sensitive to and knowledgeable about voices from other cultures, and that this had significant consequences for shaping Jewish historical consciousness. Five historical subjects receive special attention. What did Jews know of the significance of Rome; of Jesus and the early days of Christianity; of Church history; and of the history of the Iberian monarchies? By reviewing Jewish knowledge in each of these areas, Ben-Shalom demonstrates that despite the negative stereotypes of Jews and Jewry prevalent in Christian literature and despite increasing Jewish familiarity with that literature, Jews were less influenced by Christian thought and theology than by their interactions with Christian society at the local level, and there was no single stereotype that dominated Jewish thought. In numerous instances, in fact, the strict division between the cultures as separate and independent systems seems to have dissolved. Ram Ben-Shalom contributes to medieval Jewish intellectual history on several levels. First, he demonstrates that in Spain and Southern France, Jews of the later Middle Ages evinced a genuine interest in history, including the history of non-Jews, and that in some cases they were deeply familiar with Christian and sometimes classical historiography. He provides a comprehensive survey of the multiple contexts in which historiographical material was embedded and the many uses to which it was put. In sum, his work enriches our understanding of medieval historiography, polemic, Jewish-Christian relations writ large, the breadth of interests characterizing Provencal and Spanish Jewish communities, and more. This fascinating and learned study will appeal not only to scholars of Jewish studies and of medieval history and literature, but also to those interested in Christian history and historiography and in the long saga of Jewish-Christian relations.

Louis Jacobs's quest for a meaningful theology can still provide a powerful model for contemporary religious seekers, especially those for whom the certainty of unquestionable religious truth claims is an issue. For those seeking alternative models, a reconsideration of Jacobs's theology offers valuable tools.

This is the first comprehensive academic study of the Jewish liturgy in over a century. It integrates material from biblical literature, Second Temple literature, rabbinic literature, early Christian literature, the Cairo Genizah, classical piyut, and medieval manuscripts and commentary, and combines them with modern philological, literary, and historical research.

Leon Kellner, a lower-middle-class Orthodox Jew from the province of Galicia, rose to become part of the intellectual and cultural elite of imperial Austria. His is a thoroughly Habsburg Jewish story, spanning east and west and shaped by the empire's history, politics, and culture. That world has long been destroyed, but this biography recovers at least part of what was lost.

Contemporary colour photographs are sensitively and perceptively contextualized to show Galicia's centuries-old Jewish heritage, how it was destroyed, and how it is being memorialized.

This book investigates the idea of a distinct 'Jewish contribution to civilization' as it has been understood from the seventeenth century to the present. Offering a broad spectrum of academic opinion, it explores the role that the concept has played in Jewish self-definition and how it has influenced the history of the Jews and of others. It also considers the centrality of the concept in modern Jewish culture and for modern Jewish studies.

Ars Judaica is an annual publication of the Department of Jewish Art at Bar-Ilan University. It showcases the Jewish contribution to the visual arts and architecture from antiquity to the present from a variety of perspectives, including history, iconography, semiotics, psychology, sociology, and folklore. As such it is a valuable resource for art historians, collectors, curators, and all those interested in the visual arts. _____________ The study of Jewish art frequently raises questions relating to Jewish survival and Jewish identity. These issues have always been of relevance throughout the Jewish diaspora, and as is evident from the articles in this volume they continue to concern Jewish artists to this day. The opening article, 'Illuminations of Kol Nidrei in Two Ashkenazi Mahzorim' by Sara Offenberg, deals with the hidden meanings expressed by groups of animals depicted in two medieval Ashkenazi prayer books for the Day of Atonement. By using allegorical animals in this way the Jews of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries could safely express their fear of the hostile Christian society in which they lived, as well as their trust in God and belief in redemption.

Moshe Rosman cogently and critically presents the considerations that must be brought to bear on the writing of Jewish history in the light of post-modernist thinking.

In this second volume of his essays on the history of halakhah, author Haym Soloveitchik grapples with much-disputed topics in medieval Jewish history and takes issue with a number of reigning views. His insistence that proper understanding requires substantive, in-depth analysis of the sources leads him to a searching analysis of oft-cited halakhic texts of Ashkenaz, frequently with conclusions that differ from the current consensus. Medieval Jewish historians cannot, he argues, avoid engaging in detailed textual criticism, and texts must always be interpreted in the context of the legal culture of their time. Historians who shirk these tasks risk reinforcing a version that supports their own preconceptions, and retrojecting later notions on to an earlier age. These basic methodological points underlie every topic discussed. In Part I of the book, devoted to the cultural origins of Ashkenaz and its lasting impact, Professor Soloveitchik questions the scholarly consensus that the roots of Ashkenaz lie deep in Palestinian soil. He challenges the widespread notion that it was immemorial custom (minhag kadmon) that primarily governed Early Ashkenaz, the culture that emerged in the Rhineland in the late 10th century and which was ended by the ravages of the First Crusade (1096). He similarly rejects the theory that it was only towards the middle of the 11th century that the Babylonian Talmud came to be regarded as fully authoritative. On the basis of an in-depth analysis of the literature of the time, he shows that the scholars of Early Ashkenaz displayed an astonishing command of the complex corpus of the Babylonian Talmud and viewed it at all times as the touchstone of the permissible and the forbidden. The section concludes with his own radical proposal as to the source of Ashkenazi culture and the stamp it left upon the Jews of northern Europe for close to a millennium. Part II treats the issue of martyrdom as perceived and practiced by Jews under Islam and Christianity. In one of the longer essays, Soloveitchik claims that Maimonides' problematic Iggeret ha-Shemad is a work of rhetoric, not halakhah - a conclusion that has generated much criticism from other scholars, to whom he replies one by one. This is followed by a comprehensive study of kiddush ha-shemn Ashkenaz, which draws him into an analysis of whether aggadic sources were used by the Tosafists in halakhic arguments, as some historians claim; whether there was any halakhic validation of the widespread phenomenon of voluntary martyrdom; and, indeed, whether halakhic considerations played any part in such tragic life-and-death issues. The book concludes with two essays on Mishneh Torah, which argue that the famed code must also be viewed as a work of art which sustains, as masterpieces do, multiple conflicting interpretations.

Yaron Harel has constructed a dramatic story of how eleven chief rabbis all became the subject of controversy and were subsequently dismissed. This took place against a background of crime and licentiousness rarely documented in the context of Jewish society. Set firmly in the social and political developments of the time, this colourful picture is very different from the commonly accepted image of Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire.

"A consideration of how segments of Orthodox society rewrite the past by eliminating that which does not fit in with their contemporary world-view. This wide-ranging and original review of how this policy is applied in practice adds a new perspective to Jewish intellectual history and to the understanding of the contemporary Jewish world"--

This book reproduces, with commentary, pictures from Victorian illustrated magazines such as "Punch", "The Illustrated London News", and "The Graphic", to show how Jewish subjects were presented to Victorian readers.

The years 950-1200 have often been called the Golden Age of the Jews in Spain. During this period, the Jews reached a peak of achievement in all aspects of their life--political, spiritual and cultural. They produced great works of literature and philosophy; their poetry represented a peak of literary achievement unparalleled in Hebrew until the 20th century.