In his academic career, that by now spans six decades, Daniel J. Lasker distinguished himself by the wide range of his scholarly interests. In the field of Jewish theology and philosophy he contributed significantly to the study of Rabbinic as well as Karaite authors. In the field of Jewish polemics his studies explore Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew texts, analyzing them in the context of their Christian and Muslim backgrounds. His contributions refer to a wide variety of authors who lived from the 9th century to the 18th century and beyond, in the Muslim East, in Muslin and Christian parts of the Mediterranean Sea, and in west and east Europe. This Festschrift for Daniel J. Lasker consists of four parts. The first highlights his academic career and scholarly achievements. In the three other parts, colleagues and students of Daniel J. Lasker offer their own findings and insights in topics strongly connected to his studies, namely, intersections of Jewish theology and Biblical exegesis with the Islamic and Christian cultures, as well as Jewish-Muslim and Jewish-Christian relations. Thus, this wide-scoped and rich volume offers significant contributions to a variety of topics in 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. Contributors: Matthew Baigell, Rutgers University of New Jersey, Batya Brutin, Beit Berl Academic College, Zofit, Warren Zev Harvey, Department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Moshe Idel, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem; Department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Sara Offenberg, Department of Jewish Art, Bar-Ilan University, Nils Roemer, University of Texas at Dallas, Debra Higgs Strickland, School of Culture and Creative Arts, University of Glasgow, Annette Weber, Hochschule fur Judische Studien, Heidelberg Volumes of Ars Judaica are distributed by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization throughout the world, except Israel. Orders and enquiries from Israeli customers should be directed to: Ars Judaica Department of Jewish Art Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan 52900 telephone 03 5318413 fax 03 6359241 email [email protected]

Following current developments in contemporary art history, historians of Jewish art increasingly redefine themselves as studying Jewish visual culture and also distance themselves from any single definition of 'Jewish'. Focusing instead on the range and flexibility of both individual and collective Jewish self-identification, the trend today is to consider artistic creativity, messages, and reception in multiple intracultural settings. Reflecting this trend, the volume presents a round-table discussion and selected papers from Constructing and Deconstructing Jewish Art, an international symposium held at Bar-Ilan University in 2015. Accordingly, Steven Fine questions the role of ideologies and the limits of semantic analysis in contemporary readings of ancient Jewish art. Sergey Kravtsov traces the transmission of legends about the Jewish past through cultures and artistic practices. Larry Silver proposes that in modern societies, all artists of Jewish origin are marked by their Jewishness and develop a minority self-consciousness. Ben Schachter notes how criticism of religious art has neglected the material and artistic process and focused only on spirituality and theology. Kathrin Pieren discusses the role of public displays in negotiating the relationship between art and identities. The volume also includes two articles on the effects of displacement on the art of twentieth-century Jewish artists of Russian origin; description of a forgotten masterpiece by Hermann Struck; and book reviews. 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. Contributors: Ziva Amishai-Maisels, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Maya Balakirsky Katz, Touro College, New York, Samantha Baskind, Cleveland State University, Asher Biemann, University of Virginia, Monika Czekanowska-Gutman, University of Warsaw, Marina Dmitrieva, Leibniz-Institut fur Geschichte und Kultur des OEstlichen Europa, Leipzig, Steven Fine, Yeshiva University, New York, Eva Frojmovich, University of Leeds, Batsheva Goldman-Ida, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, William L. Gross, collector, Tel Aviv, Felicitas Heiman-Jelinek, independent scholar and curator, Vienna, Ahuva Klein, independent researcher, Tel Aviv, Rudolf Klein, Szent Istvan University, Budapest, Lola Kantor Kazovsky, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Katrin Kogman-Appel, Westfalische Wilhelms-Universitat, Munster, Sergey R. Kravtsov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Shulamit Laderman, Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, Irit Miller, University of Haifa, Kathrin Pieren, University of Southampton, Mirjam Rajner, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Ilia Rodov, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Ben Schachter, Saint Vincent College, Pennsylvania, Larry Silver, University of Pennsylvania, Daniel Sperber, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Annette Weber, Hochschule fur Judische Studien, Heidelberg, Gil Weissblei, National Library of Israel, Jerusalem, Bracha Yaniv, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan Volumes of Ars Judaica are distributed by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization throughout the world, except Israel. Orders and enquiries from Israeli customers should be directed to: Ars Judaica Department of Jewish Art Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan 52900 telephone 03 5318413 fax 03 6359241 email [email protected]

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. Contributors: Zsofia Buda, Andreina Contessa, Monika Czekanowska-Gutman, Basema Hamarneh, Moshe Idel, Sharman Kadish, Reuven Kiperwasser, Rudolf Klein, Susan Nashman Fraiman, Ido Noy, Larry Silver, Ronit Sorek, Sharon Weiser-Ferguson Volumes of Ars Judaica are distributed by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization throughout the world, except Israel. Orders and enquiries from Israeli customers should be directed to: Ars Judaica Department of Jewish Art Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan 52900 telephone 03 5318413 fax 03 6359241 email [email protected]