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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Judaism
The Routledge Handbook of Muslim-Jewish Relations invites readers
to deepen their understanding of the historical, social, cultural,
and political themes that impact modern-day perceptions of
interfaith dialogue. The volume is designed to illuminate positive
encounters between Muslims and Jews, as well as points of conflict,
within a historical framework. Among other goals, the volume seeks
to correct common misperceptions about the history of Muslim-Jewish
relations by complicating familiar political narratives to include
dynamics such as the cross-influence of literary and intellectual
traditions. Reflecting unique and original collaborations between
internationally-renowned contributors, the book is intended to
spark further collaborative and constructive conversation and
scholarship in the academy and beyond.
This book focuses on the national conceptualization of Judaism and
Jews by German neo-Pietists from the early Restoration (1815) until
the New Era (neue AEra, 1858-1861), at which point Prussia and
other German states embarked on a liberal course. The book
demonstrates how a certain understanding of nationalism by Awakened
Christians, who were associated with political conservatism, was
applied to themselves as belonging to a German nation, and
correspondingly to Jews as members of a distinct Jewish nation. It
argues that this kind of nationalization by neo-Pietists-among them
theologians, intellectuals, and members of the agrarian
aristocracy-was interwoven with their religion of the heart, and
drew on a tradition of a community of kinship established by the
earlier German Pietism since the late seventeenth century. The book
sheds new light on the accommodation of nationalism by German
Pietist conservatives, who so far were considered as opponents of
the national idea. At the same time, it shows that their posture
towards Jews was not merely anti-Semitic. It emerged from a
specific religious-national synthesis, and aimed at an alternative
solution to the Jewish Question, other than emancipation, in the
form of Jewish national political independence.
'The Abrahamic Archetype' is a major scholarly achievement that
sheds light on what is similar and what is distinctive in the three
Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It
examines the interplay between outward historical forces in
religious and esoteric domains and the inward worlds of
transcendent values and ideas. Intellectual archetypes, or
constellations of religious and esoteric ideas, are the principles
which determine the organic integration of outward historical
influences which the various religions encounter and share. Zinner
emphasizes the unity and diversity of faith which characterize
esoteric traditions of Jewish Kabbalah, Sunni Sufism, Shi'i Gnosis,
and Christian theology, especially accentuating the dogmas of the
Trinity, Christology, and crucifixion on the one hand, and on the
other, esoteric ideas regarding unio mystica (mystical union) in
the three Abrahamic faiths. The book contains a detailed
reconstruction of the esoteric traditions, theology, and history of
Jewish Christianity beginning in the era of Jesus' 'brother' and
successor James the Just and elucidates to what extent this
Jamesian Christianity might parallel Islamic history and ideas.
Volume 20 of The Jewish Law Annual features six detailed studies.
The first three articles consider questions which fall under the
rubric of halakhic methodology. The final three articles address
substantive questions regarding privacy, cohabitation and medical
triage. All three 'methodological' articles discuss creative
interpretation of legal sources. Two (Cohen and Gilat) consider the
positive and forward-thinking aspects of such halakhic creativity.
The third (Radzyner) examines tendentious invocation of new
halakhic arguments to advance an extraneous interest. Cohen
explores positive creativity and surveys the innovative midrashic
exegeses of R. Meir Simha Hakohen of Dvinsk, demonstrating his
willingness to base rulings intended for implementation on such
exegesis. Gilat examines exegetical creativity as to the laws of
capital offenses. Midrashic argumentation enables the rabbinical
authorities to set aside the literal sense of the harsh biblical
laws, and implement more suitable penological policies. On the
other hand, Radzyner's article on tendentious innovation focuses on
a situation where novel arguments were advanced in the context of a
power struggle, namely, Israeli rabbinical court efforts to
preserve jurisdiction. Two articles discuss contemporary dilemmas.
Spira & Wainberg consider the hypothetical scenario of triage
of an HIV vaccine, analyzing both the talmudic sources for
resolving issues related to allocating scarce resources, and recent
responsa. Warburg discusses the status of civil marriage and
cohabitation vis-a-vis payment of spousal maintenance: can
rabbinical courts order such payment? Schreiber's article addresses
the question of whether privacy is a core value in talmudic law:
does it indeed uphold a 'right to privacy,' as recent scholars have
claimed? The volume concludes with a review of Yuval Sinai's
Application of Jewish Law in the Israeli Courts (Hebrew).
This study presents the first comprehensive survey of the abundant
early Islamic sources that recognize the historical Jewish bond to
the Temple Mount (Masjid al-Aqsa) and Jerusalem. Analyzing these
sources in light of the views of contemporary Muslim religious
scholars, thinkers and writers, who - in the context of the
Arab-Israeli conflict - deny any Jewish ties to the Temple Mount
and promote the argument that no Jewish Temple ever stood on the
Temple Mount. The book describes how this process of denying Jewish
ties to the site has become the cultural rationale for UNESCO
decisions in recent years regarding holy sites in Jerusalem,
Bethlehem and Hebron, which use Muslim Arabic terminology and
overlook the Jewish (and Christian) history and sanctification of
these sites. Denying the Jewish ties to the Temple Mount for
political purposes inadvertently undermines the legitimacy of
Islam's sanctification of Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock as well
as the credibility of the most important sources in Arabic, which
constitute the classics of Islam and provide the foundation for its
culture and identity. Identifying and presenting the Jewish sources
in the Bible, Babylonian Talmud and exegesis on which these Islamic
traditions are based, this volume is a key resource for readers
interested in Islam, Judaism, religion and political science and
history in the Middle East.
E. P. Sanders is Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion Emeritus
at Duke University and has taught at McMaster University and
Queen's College, Oxford.
A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax introduces and abridges the
syntactical features of the original language of the Hebrew
Bible/Old Testament. An intermediate-level reference grammar for
Biblical Hebrew, it assumes an understanding of elementary
phonology and morphology, and it defines and illustrates the
fundamental syntactical features of Biblical Hebrew that most
intermediate-level readers struggle to master. The volume divides
Biblical Hebrew syntax and morphology into four parts. The first
three cover the individual words (nouns, verbs, and particles) with
the goal of helping the reader move from morphological and
syntactical observations to meaning and significance. The fourth
section moves beyond phrase-level phenomena and considers the
larger relationships of clauses and sentences. Since publication of
the first edition, research on Biblical Hebrew syntax has
substantially evolved. This new edition incorporates these
developments through detailed descriptions of grammatical phenomena
from a linguistics approach. It retains the labels and terminology
used in the first edition to maintain continuity with the majority
of entry-level and more advanced grammars.
Arguing about Judaism differs from other introductions to Judaism.
It is unique, not solely in its engaging dialogues between a Reform
rabbi and a humanist, atheist philosopher, but also in its
presentation of and challenges to the fundamental religious beliefs
of the Jewish heritage and their relevance to today's Jewish
community. The dialogues contain both Jewish narratives and
philosophical responses, with topics ranging from the nature of God
to controversies over sexual relations, animal welfare and the
environment - from antisemitism to the state of Israel and Zionism.
Although the rabbi and philosopher argue strongly, clearly enjoying
the cut and thrust of debate, they do so with sensitivity, charm
and respect, revealing the rich intricacies of the Jewish religion
and contemporary Jewish life. While essential reading for those
studying Judaism and Jewish history, the book aims to stimulate
debate more generally amongst Jews and non-Jews, the religious and
the atheist - all those with a general interest in religion and
philosophy.
Imperialism and Biblical Prophecy is a radically new interpretation
of prophetic poetry. Using more than thirty new translations from
the Hebrew Bible, it shows that this poetry is inseparable from
imperialism, that each of the three major waves of biblical
prophecy which have survived in the Old Testament occurred in
response to simultaneous waves of imperialist conquest.
The term Ethical Monotheism is an important marker in Judaism's
tumultuous transition into the modern era. The term emerged in the
context of culture-wars concerning the question of whether or not
Jews could or should become emancipated citizens of modern European
states. It appeared in arguments whether or not Judaism could be
considered a Religion of Reason-a symbolic, motivational
representation of a universal morality, and in debates about
whether or not Judaism could or should reform itself into a
Religion of Reason. This book is both a decisive departure from
such discussions and an attempt to add a further, post-modern,
statement to their ongoing development. As departure, it refuses to
take for granted a philosophical conception of Religion of Reason
as the standard for Ethical Monotheism according to which Judaism
was to be evaluated or reformed. As continuation, the book
undertakes a phenomenology of Jewish modes of ethical religiosity
that allows it to inquire what kind of ethical monotheism Judaism
might be. Through sophisticated analysis of select "snapshots," or
"fragments of a hologram," guided by a robust theory of religion,
the author discloses Judaic ethical monotheism as an ongoing
wrestling with the meaning of justice. By closely examining five
main "snapshots" of this long process-the Bible, rabbinic Judaism,
Maimonides, The Zohar, and the modern philosophers, Buber and
Levinas-the author offers his own constructive philosophy of
Judaism and his own distinctive philosophy of religion. Ethical
Monotheism offers a new way to think about Judaism as a religion
and as a coherent philosophical debate, and demonstrates the need
to integrate philosophy, history, cognitive psychology,
anthropology, theology, and history of science in the study of
"religion."
In recent years, there has been an upsurge of interest in religion
and religious issues. Some have linked this to a neo-liberal form
of individualism, while others noted that secularism has left
people bereft of a humanly necessary link with the transcendent.
The importance of identity issues has also been remarked upon. This
book examines how liberal forms of religion are allowing people to
engage with religion on their own terms, while also feeling part of
something more universal. Looking at liberal approaches to the
Abrahamic faiths - Judaism, Protestant and Roman Catholic
Christianity and Islam - this book teases out how postmodern
culture has shaped the way in which people engage with these
religions. It also compares and contrasts how liberal thinking and
theology have been expressed in each of the faiths examined, as
well as the reactionary responses to its emergence. By considering
how liberalism has influenced the narrative around the Abrahamic
faiths, this book demonstrates how malleable faith and spirituality
can be. As such, it will be of interest to scholars working in
Religious Studies, Theology, Sociology and Cultural Anthropology.
The term 'rabbi' predominantly denotes Jewish men qualified to
interpret the Torah and apply halacha, or those entrusted with the
religious leadership of a Jewish community. However, the role of
the rabbi has been understood differently across the Jewish world.
While in Israel they control legally powerful rabbinical courts and
major religious political parties, in the Jewish communities of the
Diaspora this role is often limited by legal regulations of
individual countries. However, the significance of past and present
rabbis and their religious and political influence endures across
the world. Rabbis of Our Time provides a comprehensive overview of
the most influential rabbinical authorities of Judaism in the 20th
and 21st Century. Through focussing on the most theologically
influential rabbis of the contemporary era and examining their
political impact, it opens a broader discussion of the relationship
between Judaism and politics. It looks at the various centres of
current Judaism and Jewish thinking, especially the State of Israel
and the USA, as well as locating rabbis in various time periods.
Through interviews and extracts from religious texts and books
authored by rabbis, readers will discover more about a range of
rabbis, from those before the formation of Israel to the most
famous Chief Rabbis of Israel, as well as those who did not reach
the highest state religious functions, but influenced the relation
between Judaism and Israel by other means. The rabbis selected
represent all major contemporary streams of Judaism, from
ultra-Orthodox/Haredi to Reform and Liberal currents, and together
create a broader picture of the scope of contemporary Jewish
thinking in a theological and political context. An extensive and
detailed source of information on the varieties of Jewish thinking
influencing contemporary Judaism and the modern State of Israel,
this book is of interest to students and scholars of Jewish
Studies, as well as Religi
In the aftermath of the conquest of the Holy Land by the Romans and
their destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, Jews were faced
with a world in existential chaos-both they and their God were
rendered homeless. In a religious tradition that had equated Divine
approval with peaceful dwelling on the Land, this situation was
intolerable. So the rabbis, aspirants for leadership of the
post-destruction Jewish community, appropriated inherited
traditions and used them as building blocks for a new religious
structure. Not unexpectedly, given the circumstances, this new
rabbinic formation devoted considerable attention to matters of
space and place. Rabbinic Judaism: Space and Place offers the first
comprehensive study of spatiality in Rabbinic Judaism of late
antiquity, exploring how the rabbis reoriented the Jewish
relationship with space and place following the destruction of the
Jerusalem temple. Drawing upon the insights of theorists such as
Tuan and LeFebvre, who define the crisis that "homelessness"
represents and argue for the deep relationship of human societies
to their places, the book examines the compositions of the rabbis
and discovers both a surprisingly aggressive rabbinic spatial
imagination as well as places, most notably the synagogue, where
rabbinic attention to space and place is suppressed or absent. It
concludes that these represent two different but simultaneous
rabbinic strategies for re-placing God and Israel-strategies that
at the same time allow God and Israel to find a place anywhere.
This study offers new insight into the centrality of space and
place to rabbinic religion after the destruction of the Temple, and
as such would be a key resource to students and scholars interested
in rabbinic and ancient Judaism, as well as providing a major new
case study for anthropologists interested in the study of space.
Natan Sznaider offers a highly original account of Jewish memory
and politics before and after the Holocaust. It seeks to recover an
aspect of Jewish identity that has been almost completely lost
today - namely, that throughout much of their history Jews were
both a nation and cosmopolitan, they lived in a constant tension
between particularism and universalism. And it is precisely this
tension, which Sznaider seeks to capture in his innovative
conception of rooted cosmopolitanism', that is increasingly the
destiny of all peoples today. The book pays special attention to
Jewish intellectuals who played an important role in advancing
universal ideas out of their particular identities. The central
figure in this respect is Hannah Arendt and her concern to build a
better world out of the ashes of the Jewish catastrophe. The book
demonstrates how particular Jewish affairs are connected to current
concerns about cosmopolitan politics like human rights, genocide,
international law and politics. Jewish identity and universalist
human rights were born together, developed together and are still
fundamentally connected. This book will appeal both to readers
interested in Jewish history and memory and to anyone concerned
with current debates about citizenship and cosmopolitanism in the
modern world.
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