This volume contains the proceedings of the conference entitled "Halakhah in Light of Epigraphy" held on 29 May, 2008 under the auspices of the David and Jemima Jeselsohn Center for Epigraphy at Bar-Ilan University. Epigraphic finds, here interpreted broadly to include papyri, scrolls, and the like, have immeasurably enriched our knowledge of the ancient Jewish past while at the same time posing a challenge to modern scholarship: how does one integrate old knowledge, based on previously known sources, with new information? We now recognize that Rabbinic texts are normative: they tell us how their authors believed life should be lived, rather than the details of ordinary, everyday, experience. What weight, then, should be given to traditional halakhic texts in evaluating the contents of newly discovered written remains? And what light can be shed by these new finds, especially those inscriptions and documents that record small moments of ancient Jewish life, upon the long-familiar normative texts? The conference on Halakhah in Light of Epigraphy was intended to generate discussion on these broad issues, as well as to provide a forum for exploration of specific matters of Halakhah reflected in the epigraphic sources. The papers in this volume tend to emphasize the centrality of Halakhah in ancient Judaism. The first section of the volume is devoted to Halakhah in the Dead Sea Scrolls, with contributions by Moshe Benovitz, Vered Noam, Eyal Regev, Lawrence Schiffman, and Aharon Shemesh. These papers examine diversity in halakhic positions, in terms of both exegesis and practice (e.g., festival rituals, dietary laws, and sexual relationships), exploring evidence of halakhic development over the course of the Second Temple period, and halakhic variety among different groups. The second section relates to quotidian documents, and contains Hanan Eshel's survey of the legal documents found in the refuge caves; Steven Fraade's examination of the parnas; Shamma Friedman's analysis of the Jewish bill of divorce; and David Goodblatt's discussion of dating formulae. The final section of the volume examines a variety of epigraphic sources, and includes the following articles: Yonatan Adler on tefillin; Chaim Ben David on synagogue inscriptions; Tal Ilan on burial practices; Ze'ev Safrai and Hannah Safrai on an early Christian text; and Guy Stiebel on food at Masada.

In the tradition of The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs and Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler comes Abigail Pogrebin's My Jewish Year, a lively chronicle of the author's journey into the spiritual heart of Judaism. Although she grew up following some holiday rituals, Pogrebin realized how little she knew about their foundational purpose and contemporary relevance; she wanted to understand what had kept these holidays alive and vibrant, some for thousands of years. Her curiosity led her to embark on an entire year of intensive research, observation, and writing about the milestones on the religious calendar. Whether in search of a roadmap for Jewish life or a challenging probe into the architecture of Jewish tradition, readers will be captivated, educated and inspired by Abigail Pogrebin's My Jewish Year.

'To read Ka is to experience a giddy invasion of stories - brilliant, enigmatic, troubling, outrageous, erotic, beautiful' The New York Times 'Who?' - or 'ka' - is the question that runs through Roberto Calasso's retelling of the stories of the minds and gods of India; the primordial question that continues to haunt human existence. From the Rigveda to the Upanishads, the Mahabharata to the life of Buddha, this book delves into the corpus of classical Sanskrit literature to re-imagine the ancient Indian myths and how they resonate through space and time. 'The very best book about Hindu mythology that anyone has ever written' Wendy Doniger 'Dazzling, complex, utterly original ... Ka is his masterpiece' Sunday Times

Auf der Grundlage neu entdeckter Dokumente wird die Biographie des aus einer Converso-Familie stammenden Kabbalisten Abraham Cohen de Herrera alias Alonso Nunez de Herrera (gest. 1635 in Amsterdam) im Kontext seiner spanisch verfassten Neuinterpretation der lurianischen Kabbala rekonstruiert. Im Mittelpunkt stehen seine wichtigsten Lebensstationen und die Adaption italienischer Renaissance-Philosophie, die Herrera in ein eigenes Konzept humanistischer Bildung integriert, zu der auch die judische Tradition mit lurianischen Vorstellungen aus der Schule von Israel Saruq gehoert. Insbesondere wird Herreras Einfuhrung in Logik bzw. Dialektik berucksichtigt und die These aufgestellt, dass er nicht nur als Begrunder der metaphorischen Interpretation lurianischer Symbole gelten, sondern sein spezifischer Zugang auf dem Hintergrund seiner Lebenserfahrung und Ausbildung als "humanistische Kabbala" auf den Begriff gebracht werden kann. In der Geschichte der judischen Mystik ist diese Verhaltnisbestimmung von Philosophie und Kabbala mit humanistisch-padagogischer Intention singular. Erstmals wird auch Herreras Einfluss auf die christliche Geistesgeschichte durch Christian Knorr von Rosenroths Kabbala denudata in vollem Umfang gewurdigt.

The Koran, literally meaning 'The Recitation' it is the central religious text for Muslims. Muslims believe the Koran was verbally revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic through the angel Gabriel over a period of approximately 23 years Muslims regard koranic revelations as the sacred word of God, intended to correct any errors in previous holy books such as the Old and New Testaments. The Koran is accepted as the foundation of Islamic law, religion, culture and politics. Some Koranic fragments have been dated as far back as the eighth, and possibly even the seventh, century. The oldest existing copy of the full text is from the ninth century. Although early variants of the Koran are known to have existed, Muslims believe that the text we have today was established shortly after the death of the Prophet by the Caliph Uthman. This superb translation by E.H.Palmer brings an appealing clarity to this ancient and revered text.

In World of Wonders, Alf Hiltebeitel addresses the Mahabharata and its supplement, the Harivamsa, as a single literary composition. Looking at the work through the critical lens of the Indian aesthetic theory of rasa, "juice, essence, or taste," he argues that the dominant rasa of these two texts is adbhutarasa, the "mood of wonder." While the Mahabharata signposts whole units of the text as "wondrous" in its table of contents, the Harivamsa foregrounds a stepped-up term for wonder (ascarya) that drives home the point that Vishnu and Krishna are one. Two scholars of the 9th and 10th centuries, Anandavardhana and Abhinavagupta, identified the Mahabharata's dominant rasa as santarasa, the "mood of peace." This has traditionally been received as the only serious contestant for a rasic interpretation of the epic. Hiltebeitel disputes both the positive claim that the santarasa interpretation is correct and the negative claim that adbhutarasa is a frivolous rasa that cannot sustain a major work. The heart of his argument is that the Mahabharata and Harivamsa both deploy the terms for "wonder" and "surprise" (vismaya) in significant numbers that extend into every facet of these heterogeneous texts, showing how adbhutarasa is at work in the rich and contrasting textual strategies which are integral to the structure of the two texts.

This history of Sufi conceptions of the hereafter often imagined as a place of corporeal reward (Paradise) or punishment (Hell) is built upon the study of five medieval Sufi Qur'an commentaries. Pieter Coppens shows that boundary crossing from this world to the otherworld, and vice versa, revolves around the idea of meeting with and the vision of God; a vision which for some Sufis is not limited to the hereafter. The Qur'anic texts selected for study all key verses on seeing God are placed in their broader religious and social context and are shown to provide a useful and varied source for the reconstruction of a history of Sufi eschatology and the vision of God.

More than fifty years ago the discovery of scrolls in eleven caves beside the Dead Sea ignited the imagination of the world--and launched a vast academic field. Expectations abounded that the scrolls would reveal actual contemporaneous accounts of the birth of Christianity, perhaps even of the life of Jesus. The research that followed--its inner logic, and what its impassioned and often highly controversial theories reveal about the framing of facts and the interpreting of texts--is what interests philosopher Edna Ullmann-Margalit in this thoroughly absorbing book.

Since the inception of Dead Sea Scrolls research, a central theory has emerged. Known as the Qumran-Essene Hypothesis, it asserts that the scrolls belonged to the Essenes, a sect whose center was at the nearby site of Qumran. In "Out of the Cave," Ullmann-Margalit focuses on this theory and the vicissitudes of its career. Looking at the Essene connection, the archaeology of Qumran, and the sectarian nature of the scrolls community, she explores the different arenas, and ways, in which contesting theories of the scrolls do battle. In this context she finds fascinating examples of issues that exercise philosophers of science as well as the general public--issues that only amplify the already intrinsic interest of the Dead Sea scrolls.

The great war of the Maha bharata is over. Or is it? This is a single extended family wracked in conflict. Both sides succumbed to treachery. Ashva tthaman, the young leader of the three survivors on the losing side, is incensed at his father's murder. He returns after dark to the now sleeping encampment. The sacrifice of the unsuspecting champions, the "Dead of Night," ensues. The five sons of Pandu have escaped. After a final confrontation, a missile crisis, Ashva tthaman concedes defeat but redirects his missile into the wombs of the victors' women. They miscarry, and cannot hope for more children. Now the survivors, victors and vanquished, must struggle to comprehend their loss. "The Women" of both sides are confronted by their men's mangled corpses in a masterpiece of horror and pathos. But their potent curses must be curbed to usher in a new era. Maha bharata Books Ten and Eleven give voice to the vanquished, to the psychology of loss and the conflicting desires for understanding and revenge.

The TAO-TE-CHING, the ancient Taoist text written by philospher Lao-Tzu in the sixth century B.C., has inspired millions of people from all different backgrounds. This beautiful edition contains Chinese characters alongside the English text and is illustrated with black and white drawings. Commentary from the translators helps to illuminate the ideas discussed in the text so that modern-day readers can fully appreciate the meaning.