Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
CAMBRIDGE
DICTIONARY
OF
JUDAISM
AND
JEWISH CULTURE
The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture is an authoritative and accessible reference work for a twenty-first-century audience. Its entries, written by eminent scholars,
define the spiritual and intellectual concepts and the religious movements that distinguish Judaism and the Jewish experience. They cover central personalities and places,
formative events, and enduring literary and cultural contributions, and they illuminate
the lives of ordinary Jewish women and men. Essays explore Jewish history from ancient
times to the present and consider all aspects of Judaism, including religious practices and
rituals, legal teachings, legendary traditions, rationalism, mysticism, and messianism. This
reference work differs from many others in its broad exploration of the Jewish experience
beyond Judaism. Entries discuss secular and political movements and achievements and
delineate Jewish endeavors in literature, art, music, theater, dance, film, broadcasting,
sports, science, medicine, and ecology, among many other topics from the ancient Near
East to the Internet.
Judith R. Baskin is Philip H. Knight Professor of Humanities and Associate Dean for
Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon. Her books
include Pharaohs Counsellors: Job, Jethro, and Balaam in Rabbinic and Patristic Tradition
(1982) and Midrashic Women: Formations of the Feminine in Rabbinic Literature (2002). She
is the editor of Jewish Women in Historical Perspective (1991; 2nd edition, 1998) and Women
of the Word: Jewish Women and Jewish Writing (1994) and is coeditor of The Cambridge Guide
to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture (with Kenneth Seeskin, 2010), which received the
2010 National Jewish Book Award for anthologies and collections.
THE
CAMBRIDGE
DICTIONARY
OF
JUDAISM
AND
JEWISH CULTURE
Edited by
JUDITH R. BASKIN
University of Oregon
CONTENTS
page ix
Contributors
xiii
Preface
xxvii
xxix
A Note on Transliteration
xxxi
Abbreviations
xxxiii
Entries
Index of Names
677
vii
Plates
ASTARTE FIGURINES. Judah, Israelite period, 8th centuryearly 6th century BCE. The
Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Accession numbers: 68.32.4, 64.67/3, 64.67/4 IAA 60725,
C The Israel Museum Jerusalem by Nahum Slapak. See ARCHEOLOGY, LAND
802. Photo
OF ISRAEL: ANCIENT TIMES TO PERSIAN PERIOD; CANAAN, CANAANITES;
ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY; ISRAELITES: RELIGION; JUDAH, KINGDOM OF;
and WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS.
DEAD SEA SCROLL: The Community Rule (detail). Qumran, 1st century BCE1st century
CE. Parchment. The Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Accession
C The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. See ARCHEOLOGY, LAND
number: 96.83/208A. Photo
OF ISRAEL: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD; DEAD SEA SCROLLS; and QUMRAN.
SYNAGOGUE MOSAIC FLOOR (detail): The central shrine (possibly a Torah ark) and the
menorahs, shofars, and incense shovels symbolize the Jerusalem Temple and expectation of
messianic redemption. Beth Shean, Byzantine period, 6th century CE. The Israel Museum,
C The Israel Museum Jerusalem. See ART: LATE ANTIQUITY;
Jerusalem. IAA Photo
BYZANTINE EMPIRE; DECAPOLIS CITIES; MENORAH; MESSIANISM: BIBLICAL AND
SECOND TEMPLE ERAS; SHOFAR; and SYNAGOGUES, ANCIENT.
THE REGENSBURG PENTATEUCH: This depiction of Aaron the High Priest lighting the
Tabernacle menorah, with Tabernacle implements, invokes a rebuilt Temple and future
redemption. Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany, ca. 1300 CE. Pen and ink, tempera and gold
leaf on vellum. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Accession number: B05.0009; 180/05.
C The Israel Museum Jerusalem by David Harris. See AARON; ART: MEDIEVAL
Photo
MANUSCRIPT ILLUSTRATION; MENORAH; TABERNACLE; TEMPLE AND TEMPLE CULT;
and TEMPLE, SECOND.
PASSOVER PLATE. Spain, ca. 1480. Earthenware. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gift of
Jakob Michael, New York, in memory of his wife, Erna Sondheimer-Michael. Accession
C The Israel Museum Jerusalem by Nahum Slapak.
number: B65.12.0483; 134/057. Photo
See CEREMONIAL OBJECTS; PASSOVER; and SPAIN, CHRISTIAN.
BRIDAL CASKET (cofanetto) represents from right to left the three duties incumbent on
Jewish women: h.allah (putting aside a portion of the Sabbath dough); niddah; and hadlakat
ha-ner (kindling Sabbath lights). North Italy, late 15th century. Cast and engraved silver,
niello, partly gilt. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gift of Astorre Mayer, Milan. Accession
C The Israel Museum Jerusalem. See ITALY;
number: B51.04.0207; 131/030. Photo
NIDDAH; SABBATH; IMMERSION, RITUAL: WOMEN; MIKVEH; and WOMEN, ANCIENT:
RABBINIC JUDAISM.
MAH
. ZOR CORFU: Elijah sounding a shofar while leading the Messiah into Jerusalem. Corfu,
Greece, 1709. Courtesy of The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary. See ELIJAH:
ix
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
TORAH FINIALS (rimonim). Cochin, India, 18th century19th century. Gold: repousse,
cutout and engraved; tin backing. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Photo credit: The
Jewish Museum, NY/Art Resource, NY ART64627. See CEREMONIAL OBJECTS; COCHIN
JEWS; INDIA; and TORAH.
Israel Dov Rosenbaum, MIZRAH
. (an ornamental plaque on the wall of a synagogue or
home indicating east [mizrah.], the direction of prayer). Podkamen, Ukraine, 1877. Paint,
ink, and pencil on cutout paper. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Gift of Helen W.
Finkel in memory of Israel Dov Rosenbaum and Bessie Rosenbaum Finkel. Photo credit:
The Jewish Museum, NY/Art Resource, NYART312632. See SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH
CENTURY; SYNAGOGUES, WOODEN; and WORSHIP.
H.ANUKKAH LAMP. Central Anti-Atlas Mountains (?), Morocco, 19th centuryearly 20th
century. Copper alloy: cast and enameled. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Gift of Dr.
Harry G. Friedman. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY/Art Resource, NY ART392475.
See CEREMONIAL OBJECTS; CEREMONIAL OBJECTS: ISLAMIC LANDS; H
. ANUKKAH;
and NORTH AFRICA.
Zeev Raban (18901970), H.ANUKKAH LAMP. Bezalel School, Jerusalem, early 1920s.
Copper alloy: die-stamped. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Gift of Dr. Harry G.
Friedman, F 5455. Location: NY, U.S.A. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY/Art
Resource, NY ART392476. See ART, ISRAELI; CEREMONIAL OBJECTS; and H
. ANUKKAH.
Isidor Kaufmann (18531921), FRIDAY EVENING, ca. 1920. Oil on canvas. The Jewish
Museum, New York City. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. M. R. Schweitzer, JM 463. Photo: John
Parnell. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY/Art Resource, NY ART58316. See ART,
EUROPE: NINETEENTH CENTURY; SABBATH; and WOMEN, MODERN: EASTERN
EUROPE.
El (Eleazar) Lissitzky (18901941), H
. AD GADYA SUITE (Tale of a Goat): Depiction of
Father bought a kid for two zuzim, 1919. Lithograph on paper. The Jewish Museum, New
C
York City. Gift of Leonard E. and Phyllis S. Greenberg, 1986121c. Location: NY, U.S.A.
Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY/Art Resource, NY ART154902. See ART, EUROPE:
TWENTIETH CENTURY; ART: ILLUSTRATED YIDDISH BOOKS: Modern Era; and
PASSOVER.
Marc Chagall (18871985), WHITE CRUCIFIXION, 1938. Oil on canvas. The Art Institute of
C The Art Institute of Chicago.
Chicago. Gift of Alfred S. Alschuler, 1946.925. Photography
See ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY; POGROM; RUSSIA and HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: ART.
Jacques Lipchitz (18911973), THE SACRIFICE, 194957. Bronze. The Jewish Museum,
New York City. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. List, JM 1665. Photo: Richard Goodbody,
Inc. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY/Art Resource, NY ART312382. See ART,
EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY; and HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART.
Max Weber (18811961), STILL LIFE WITH CHALLAH, ca. 1930. Oil on canvas. The Jewish
Museum, New York City. Gift of Joy S. Weber, 199459. Photo Credit: The Jewish Museum,
NY/Art Resource, NY ART392477. See ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; and SABBATH.
Lee Krasner (19081984), SELF-PORTRAIT, ca. 1930. Oil on linen. The Jewish Museum,
New York City. Purchase: Esther Leah Ritz Bequest; B. Gerald Cantor, Lady Kathleen
Epstein, and Louis E. and Rosalyn M. Schecter Gifts. Location: NY, U.S.A. Photo credit: The
Jewish Museum, NY/Art Resource, NY ART379662. See ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940.
Ben Shahn (18981969), NEW YORK, 1947. Tempera on paper mounted on panel. The
Jewish Museum, New York City. Purchase: Oscar and Regina Gruss Charitable and
Educational Foundation Fund, 199623. Photo: John Parnell. Photo credit: The Jewish
x
19
20
21
22
23
24
Museum, NY/Art Resource, NY ART132848. See ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; and
ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; and NEW YORK CITY.
Leonard Baskin (19222000), THE ALTAR, 1977. Lindenwood: carved and laminated.
C Estate of the artist. See
Location: The Jewish Museum, New York City. Photo credit:
ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; and HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART.
Deborah Kass (b. 1952), SIX BLUE BARBRAS (THE JEWISH JACKIE SERIES), 1992.
Screen print and acrylic on canvas. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Gift of Seth
Cohen, 200410. Photo: Richard Goodbody, Inc. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY/Art
Resource, NY ART334071. See ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; and CELEBRITIES.
Ephraim Moses Lilien (18741925), SKETCH FOR A CARPET (triptych; dedicated to Mr.
and Mrs. David Wolffson): right: GALUT [exile], center: ALLEGORICAL WEDDING, left:
C The
LIBERATION, 1906. Oil and pencil on canvas. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Photo
Israel Museum Jerusalem. Accession number: B88.0279. See ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH
CENTURY; and ART, ISRAELI.
Reuven Rubin (18931974), FIRST FRUITS (triptych): right: SERENITY (THE BEDOUINE);
center: FRUIT OF THE LAND; left: THE SHEPHERD, 1923. Oil on canvas. Rubin Museum
Collection, Tel Aviv. See ART, ISRAELI.
Itzhak Danziger (19161977), NIMROD, 1939. Nubian sandstone. The Israel Museum,
C Estate of the artist.
Jerusalem. Gift of Dr. H. David Orgler, Zurich and Jerusalem.
C The Israel Museum Jerusalem by Nahum Slapak.
Accession number: B81.0600. Photo
See ART, ISRAELI.
Mordecai Ardon (18961992), AT THE GATES OF JERUSALEM (triptych): right: SIGN;
center: LADDERS; left: ROCK, 1967. Oil on canvas. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gift of
C
the artist in honor of Israels twentieth anniversary and the reunification of Jerusalem.
C The Israel Museum Jerusalem.
Estate of the artist. Accession number: B67.0546. Photo
See ART, ISRAELI.
Maps
1 Ancient Near East
2 Divided Monarchy (ca. 920730 BCE)
3 Hasmonean Dynasty under Alexander Jannaeus (ca. 176103 BCE)
4 The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity (ca. 200 CE)
5 Jewish Centers in the Geonic Period (7501040 CE)
6 Jewish Centers in Medieval Spain (ca. 1200)
7 Jewish Centers in Medieval Europe
8 Jewish Centers in Early Modern Europe (17th century)
9 Jewish Centers in the Ottoman Empire (ca. 1600)
10 Emancipation of European Jews
11 Pale of Settlement (17911917)
12 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine
13 State of Israel: Armistice Lines, 1949
14 State of Israel and Occupied Territories, 1967
Color plates follow page 336.
xi
page xxxv
xxxvi
xxxvii
xxxviii
xxxviii
xxxix
xl
xli
xlii
xliii
xliv
xlv
xlvi
xlvii
CONTRIBUTORS
Development; Education, Girls: Medieval and Early Modern; Eve; Exilarch; Gluckel
of
Hameln; Hagar; H
anukkah
and
Women;
H
asidism,
Europe:
Women;
Head
Covering:
.
.
Women; H
ha-Yishuv Immersion, Ritual: Women; Infertility; Isaac the Blind; Israel,
. erem ha-Yishuv;
xiii
CONTRIBUTORS
Land of; Israel, State of: Immigration before 1948; Jacob ben Asher; Jethro; JEWISH
STUDIES; Job: Rabbinic Traditions; Jonas, Regina; Judaism; Kallah Months; Ketubbah;
Ketubbah
Leeser, Isaac; Lilith; Marriage, Levirate; Palestine; Purity and Impurity; Rebbetzin;
Rebbetzin Rossi,
Azariah dei; Samuel ibn Naghrela ha-Nagid; Sanhedrin; Simh.at Bat; Tikkun Olam:
Olam
Contemporary Understandings; Torah; Verbermacher, Hannah Rachel; Wengeroff, Pauline
Epstein; Women: Early Modern Europe; Women: Middle Ages; Women, Modern: Britain
and North America; Women: Pre- and Post-State Israel; Zephaniah
Samantha Baskind, Cleveland State University: Art, American: Before 1940; Art, American: Since
1940
CONTRIBUTORS
Robert Brody, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Gaon, Geonim, Geonic Academies; Hai ben
Sherira; Pumbedita; Saboraim
Daniel M. Bronstein, Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn, New York: Comedy and Comedians;
United States: Military Chaplaincy
Judith Bronstein, University of Haifa: Middle Ages: Crusades
Emily Budick, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Literature: United States (since 1900)
Stephen G. Burnett, University of Nebraska, Lincoln: Christian Hebraism; Reformation
Sean Burt, University of Arizona: Chronicles, Books of; Ezra and Nehemiah, Books of; Jacob;
Jonah, Book of; Moses; Phoenicia, Phoenicians; Solomon
Lisa Rubenstein Calevi, Independent Scholar: Luzzatto, Samuel David; Mortara Affair
Eric Caplan, McGill University: Prayer Books: United States
Nina Caputo, University of Florida: Nah.manides (Moses ben Nah.man)
Michael Carasik, Independent Scholar: Bible: Wisdom Literature; Ecclesiastes, Book of; Job,
Book of; Proverbs, Book of
Shalom Carmy, Yeshiva University: Berkovits, Eliezer; Soloveitchik, Joseph B.: Religious
Thought
Jerome A. Chanes, Brandeis University: Organizations: North America
Yael Chaver, University of California at Berkeley: Literature, Yiddish: The Yishuv
Robert Chazan, New York University: Middle Ages: Demography
Carmel U. Chiswick, University of Illinois at Chicago, Emerita: United States: Economic Life
Adina Cimet, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research: Mexico
Amos Cohen, Independent Scholar: Film: Europe (PostWorld War II)
Beth B. Cohen, California State University, Northridge: Holocaust Survivors: United States
Judah M. Cohen, Indiana University: Music, Popular
Lisa Cohen, Abraham Joshua Heschel High School, New York: Shtetl;
Shtetl Women, Modern: Eastern
Europe
Michael R. Cohen, Tulane University: Boston; Marshall, Louis; Straus Family; United States:
Fraternal Societies; United States: Sephardim
John J. Collins, Yale University: Bel and the Dragon; Eschatology: Second Temple Period;
Sibylline Oracles
Sandra Collins, Byzantine Catholic Seminary: Esther, Book of; Lamentations, Book of
Olivia Remie Constable, Notre Dame University: Benjamin of Tudela
David M. Crowe, Elon University: Auschwitz; Bezec; Chemno; Holocaust; Holocaust: Camps
and Killing Centers; Holocaust Rescuers; Holocaust: Roma; Kristallnacht;
Kristallnacht Majdanek;
Theresienstadt; Treblinka; Wannsee Conference
Schindler, Oskar; Sobibor;
Joseph Dan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Abulafia, Abraham; Adam Kadmon; Baal Shem;
Bahir, Sefer ha-; Breaking of the Vessels; Cordovero, Moses; Devekut;
Devekut Dov Ber of
Miedzyrzecz; Dybbuk; Ein Sof; Golem;
Golem Kabbalah; Kabbalah, Lurianic; Luria, Isaac; Luzzatto,
Moses H
. ayyim; Metatron; Moses de Leon; Mysticism: Ancient; Mysticism: Hekhalot and
Merkavah Literature; Nah.man of Bratslav; Numerology (Gematria
Gematria); Safed; Samael; Scholem,
Gershom Gerhard; Sefer Yetzirah; Sefirot; Tikkun Olam; Tzimtzum; Zalman, Schneur ben
Baruch, of Liady; Zohar
Robert Daum, Vancouver School of Theology: Tosefta
Marni Davis, Georgia State University: Banking and Banking Houses; Baron de Hirsch Fund
xv
CONTRIBUTORS
Sergio DellaPergola, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute:
Demography
David deSilva, Ashland Theological Seminary: Apocrypha
Elliot N. Dorff, American Jewish University: Capital Punishment; Courts; Ethics, Medical; Ethics,
Sexual; Halakhah
Jean Duhaime, University of Montreal: Dualism: In Ancient Judaism
James D. G. Dunn, Durham University: New Testament
Aminadav Dykman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Hebrew, Translation into
Glenn Dynner, Sarah Lawrence College: Family and Marriage: Early Modern Period; Frank,
Jacob, and Frankism; H
. asidism: Europe
Marsha Bryan Edelman, Gratz College: Cantor, Cantorate: Contemporary; Music: Synagogue
Martin Edelman, University at Albany, SUNY, Emeritus: Israel, State of: Political Institutions;
Israel, State of: Political Parties
Carl S. Ehrlich, York University: Archeology, Land of Israel: Ancient Times to Persian Period;
Philistines
Susan Einbinder, Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati: Poetry, Medieval:
Christian Europe
Ellen Eisenberg, Willamette University: United States: Agricultural Settlements
David Engel, New York University: Antisemitism
Marc Michael Epstein, Vassar College: Art: Medieval Manuscript Illustration
Harley Erdman, University of Massachusetts, Amherst: Theater: United States
Ruth Eshel, University of Haifa: Dance: Pre- and Post-State Israel
Anat Feinberg, College of Jewish Studies, Heidelberg: Theater: Europe
Shmuel Feiner, Bar-Ilan University: Haskalah
Marjorie N. Feld, Babson College: Social Work: United States; Wald, Lillian D.
Michael Feldberg, The History Consultancy, LC: Center for Jewish History
Jackie Feldman, Ben-Gurion University: Tourism
Steven Fine, Yeshiva University: Art: Late Antiquity; Synagogues, Ancient
Sylvia Barack Fishman, Brandeis University: Film: United States
K. E. Fleming, New York University: Balkans; Greece
Jerold C. Frakes, University at Buffalo, SUNY: Literature, Yiddish: Beginnings to 1700
Barry Freundel, Baltimore Hebrew Institute, Towson University: Beit Din;
Din Confession of Sin; Eruv;
Eruv
Head Covering: Men; Omer; Omer,
Omer Counting of the; Shaving
Ken Frieden, Syracuse University: Literature, Yiddish: 1800 to Twenty-First Century
Harriet Pass Friedenreich, Temple University: Women, Modern: Central Europe
Kate Friedman, Editorial Assistant: Ahab; Almohads; Almoravids; Ark of the Covenant; Asher
ben Jeh.iel; Ashkenaz, Ashkenazim; Bah.ia ben Joseph ibn Pakuda; Bathsheba; Cain and
Abel; Damascus Affair; Deborah; Eldad ha-Dani; Flood; Frankel, Zacharias; Hammurabi;
Hezekiah; Hittites; Host, Desecration of; Jericho; Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi; Josiah;
Judah ben Asher; Levinsohn, Isaac Baer; Lilienthal, Max; Nazirite; Newport, Rhode Island;
Queen of Sheba; Radhanites; Red Heifer; Rehoboam; Ruth, Book of
Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Beth Tzedec Congregation, Toronto: Arama, Isaac; Dina de-Malkhuta Dina;
Dina
Gersonides (Levi ben Gershon); Halevi, Judah; Thought, Medieval
Kirsten A. Fudeman, University of Pittsburgh: France: Middle Ages
Michael Galchinsky, Georgia State University: Human Rights
xvi
CONTRIBUTORS
CONTRIBUTORS
Adam Gregerman, Institute for Jewish and Christian Studies, Baltimore: Hellenism; Jerusalem:
Biblical and Rabbinic Sources; Pharisees; Sadducees
Grace Cohen Grossman, Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles: Museums
Samuel D. Gruber, Jewish Heritage Research Center, Syracuse, New York: Synagogues, Europe:
Medieval to Eighteenth Century; Synagogues: Twentieth Century
Naomi Grunhaus, Yeshiva University: Kimh.i Family
Jeffrey S. Gurock, Yeshiva University: Sports and Americanization
Aviva Halamish, The Open University of Israel: Israel, State of: Youth Movements
Chaya T. Halberstam, Indiana University: Bible: Prophets and Prophecy; Law: Ancient Near East
and Hebrew Bible
David J. Halperin, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Emeritus: Shabbatai Zevi
Mark W. Hamilton, Abilene Christian University: Israelites: Kingship; Kings, Books of
Rachel S. Harris, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Holocaust Literature: Poetry;
Literature, Hebrew: The Yishuv,
Yishuv 18801948; Poetry, Modern Hebrew
Steven Harvey, Bar-Ilan University: Science and Mathematics: Middle Ages and Early Modern
Period
Rachel Havrelock, University of Illinois at Chicago: Israelites: Tribes; Joshua, Book of; Judges,
Book of; Samuel, Books of
Kenneth Helphand, University of Oregon: Gardens; Israel, State of: Landscape Architecture
Marc Hirshman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Epikoros
Leah Hochman, Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles: Krochmal, Nachman;
Maimon, Salomon; Mendelssohn, Moses
Brian Horowitz, Tulane University: Society for the Promotion of Enlightenment among the Jews
of Russia (OPE)
Sara R. Horowitz, York University: Holocaust Literature; Holocaust Literature: Fiction; Wiesel,
Elie
Thomas C. Hubka, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee: Synagogues, Wooden
Tal Ilan, Freie Universitat,
Berlin: Talmud Study: Feminist Approaches; Women, Ancient:
Rabbinic Judaism; Women, Ancient: Second Temple Period
Stanley Isser, University at Albany, SUNY: David
Andrew S. Jacobs, Scripps College: Church Fathers: Attitudes toward Jews and Judaism
Benjamin M. Jacobs, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities: Education, North America: Day Schools
Martin Jacobs, Washington University: Travel Writing: Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
Jenna Weissman Joselit, George Washington University: Menorah Association
Ava Fran Kahn, California Studies Center, Berkeley: Los Angeles; San Francisco; United States,
Western
Ephraim Kanarfogel, Yeshiva University: Education, Boys: Medieval and Early Modern; Meir
Ashkenaz Tosafists
ben Barukh (Maharam) of Rothenburg; Middle Ages: H
. asidei Ashkenaz;
Dana Evan Kaplan, Temple Bnai Israel, Albany, Georgia: Judaism, Reform: North America
Edward K. Kaplan, Brandeis University: Heschel, Abraham Joshua
Gregory Kaplan, Rice University: Secularism
Jonathan Karp, Binghamton University, SUNY: Commerce: Modern Europe (17001900);
Emancipation
Claire Katz, Texas A&M University: Levinas, Emmanuel
Martin Kavka, Florida State University: Messianism: Modern Approaches
xviii
CONTRIBUTORS
CONTRIBUTORS
CONTRIBUTORS
CONTRIBUTORS
Angel Saenz-Badillos,
Universidad Complutense, Madrid, and Real Colego Complutense, Harvard
University: Grammarians and Lexicographers
Jeffrey K. Salkin, The Temple, Atlanta, Georgia: Judaism: Jewish Renewal Movement
Rivanne Sandler, University of Toronto, Emerita: Iran; Iraq; Judeo-Persian Language and
Literature
Marianne Sanua, Florida Atlantic University: Fraternities and Sororities: North America
Marc Saperstein, Leo Baeck College, London: Ethical Wills; Sermons
Jonathan D. Sarna, Brandeis University: Columbus, Christopher; Jewish Publication Society;
United States: Civil War
Lawrence H. Schiffman, Yeshiva University: Dead Sea Scrolls
Jonathan Wyn Schofer, Harvard University: Avot De Rabbi Natan;
Natan Ethics, Rabbinic
Laura S. Schor, Hunter College: British Mandate over Palestine; Rothschild, Baroness Betty de;
Rothschild Family
Daniel J. Schroeter, University of Minnesota: North Africa
Yechiel Y. Schur, University of Pennsylvania: Communal Organization: Medieval and Early
Modern Eras; Councils and Synods: Medieval and Early Modern
Diane Tickton Schuster, Claremont Graduate University: Education, North America: Adult
Daniel R. Schwartz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Maccabees, Books of
Dov Schwartz, Bar-Ilan University: Thought, Early Modern
Marcus Mordechai Schwartz, Jewish Theological Seminary: Mitzvah;
Mitzvah Rabbinic Ordination
Jan Schwarz, University of Chicago: Memoir and Life Writing: Yiddish
Ora Rodrigue Schwarzwald, Bar-Ilan University: Ladino; Literature, Ladino
Kenneth Seeskin, Northwestern University: Autonomy and Heteronomy; Maimonides, Moses
(Moses ben Maimon); Reason
Alan F. Segal, zl: Afterlife: Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Period; Messianism: Biblical
and Second Temple Eras; Resurrection
Zohar Segev, University of Haifa: Silver, Abba Hillel
Jonathan Seidel, University of Oregon: Magic
Shlomo Sela, Bar-Ilan University: Abraham bar H
. iyya; Astrology
Robert M. Seltzer, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY: Kaplan, Mordecai M.; Thought,
Modern
Bulent
Senay, Uludag University, Turkey: Turkey
Arvi Sepp, University of Antwerp: Kafka, Franz
Jeffrey Shandler, Rutgers University: Celebrities
Joshua M. Shanes, College of Charleston: Bund; Galicia
David Shatz, Yeshiva University: Soloveitchik, Joseph B.
Shmuel Shepkaru, University of Oklahoma: Martyrdom
Rona Sheramy, Association for Jewish Studies: Holocaust Education: North America
Ira M. Sheskin, University of Miami: United States: South Florida
Avigdor Shinan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: David: Post-Biblical Traditions; Elijah: Biblical
and Post-Biblical Traditions; Targum;
Targum Torah Reading
Ephraim Shoham-Steiner, Ben-Gurion University: Pilgrimage
Marci Shore, Yale University: Bolshevism: Russian Empire and Soviet Union; Communism:
Eastern Europe
xxii
CONTRIBUTORS
Gunter
Stemberger, University of Vienna, Emeritus: Rome, Roman Empire; Tannaim
Christopher M. Sterba, San Francisco State University: World War I: Impact on American Jews
Gregg Stern, University of Massachusetts, Amherst: France, Southern: Middle Ages
Michael Stern, University of Oregon: Literature: Scandinavia
Sacha Stern, University College London: Calendar
Kenneth Stow, University of Haifa: Ghetto; Italy
xxiii
CONTRIBUTORS
Marvin A. Sweeney, Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University: Ezekiel, Book
of; Leviticus, Book of; Numbers, Book of
Susan L. Tananbaum, Bowdoin College: Britain: Early Modern and Modern
Magda Teter, Wesleyan University: Ritual Murder Accusation
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Arizona State University: Ecology; Ethics, Environmental; Israel, State
of: Ecology
Michael Toch, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Commerce: Medieval and Early Modern Europe;
Money Lending: Medieval and Early Modern Europe
William Toll, University of Oregon: United States: Immigration
Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Septuagint
Amram Tropper, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Avot
Gerald Tulchinsky, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario: Canada
Ellen M. Umansky, Fairfield University: Jewish Science; Judaism, Feminist
Christine Schmidt van der Zanden, University of Maryland: Holocaust Denial; Holocaust
Documentation; Holocaust Resistance; Holocaust Trials
Sharon Vance, Northern Kentucky University: Judeo-Arabic Language and Literature
os,
University of Chicago: Habsburg Empire; Hungary
Kati Vor
Saul Wachs, Gratz College: Blessings; Blessings Before and After Meals
David A. Wacks, University of Oregon: Literature, Hebrew: Medieval Spain
Felicia Waldman, University of Bucharest: Romania
Barry Dov Walfish, University of Toronto: Biblical Commentary: Middle Ages to 1800;
Encyclopedias; Rashi
Harold S. Wechsler, New York University: United States: Higher Education
Judith Romney Wegner, Connecticut College: Islam and Judaism
Shalva Weil, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Bene Israel;
Israel Cochin Jews; Ethiopia; India; Tribes,
Ten Lost
David Weinberg, Wayne State University: Urban Life
Robert Weinberg, Swarthmore College: Birobidjan
Dvora E. Weisberg, Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles: Aggadah;
Aggadah
Amoraim; Rabbinic Hermeneutics
Kalman Weiser, York University: Journalism, Yiddish: Eastern Europe; Yiddish Dictionaries
Andrea L. Weiss, Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion, New York: Bible: Poetry
Anton Weiss-Wendt, Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities, Oslo, Norway:
Baltic States
Steven H. Werlin, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Jewish War, First; Masada; Qumran
Libby K. White, Baltimore Hebrew Institute, Towson University: Bulgaria; Periodicals: Canada
(English Language); Periodicals: United States (English Language); Vilna
Stephen J. Whitfield, Brandeis University: Journalism: United States (English Language)
Shohama Wiener, Academy for Jewish Religion: Academy for Jewish Religion
Barry Wimpfheimer, Northwestern University: Rabbinic Literature: Mishnah and Talmuds;
Talmud, Babylonian
Ora Wiskind-Elper, Lander Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem: Folktales
Diane Wolfthal, Rice University: Art: Illustrated Yiddish Books
Yaakov Yadgar, Bar-Ilan University: Judaism, Israeli Forms of
xxiv
CONTRIBUTORS
xxv
PREFACE
The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture is an authoritative reference work for a
twenty-first-century audience. Its entries, written by eminent scholars, define the spiritual and
intellectual concepts and the various religious movements that distinguish Judaism and the Jewish
experience. Their subjects include central personalities, formative events, and enduring literary
and cultural contributions. Essays outline Jewish history from ancient times to the present, and
they also illuminate the daily lives of Jewish women and men in many eras and locations. Contributions discuss legal teachings and legendary traditions, and they explain the roles of rationalism,
mysticism, and messianism within Jewish thought. The religious rituals and customs of Judaism
and the texts and contexts that explain, expand, and animate them are a major focus as well.
Many entries focus on geographic regions, countries, and cities, documenting the distinctive characteristics of Jewish life and cultural production in these specific places. Yet what makes this
reference different from many others is that it also explores Jewish acitivities and contributions
outside the religious boundaries of Judaism.
Articles in this dictionary explore Jewish secular and political movements, Jewish achievements
beyond the confines of the traditional Jewish world, and the often disregarded lives of Jewish
women. Discussions of numerous events of the modern era, including the Holocaust, Zionism, and
the founding of the State of Israel, and Jewish involvement in numerous aspects of mainstream
culture, demonstrate the inadequacy of defining Jews only from a religious viewpoint. Entries in
this book consider manifestations of religious disaffection and secularism, as well as the impact
of intellectual, social, and political tendencies in the larger societies of which Jews have been a
part. Authoritative essays delineate Jewish expressions and achievements in a variety of languages
and literatures and in the visual and lively arts. Readers of this compendium will find new and
compelling approaches both to Judaism and to the intellectual and cultural development of the
Jewish people.
The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture reviews Jewish participation in a wide
variety of areas, including journalism, literature, art, music, theater, dance, film, sports, travel,
and other forms of popular culture from periodicals, radio, and television to the graphic novel and
the Internet. Topics of interest include the involvement of Jews in medicine, politics, science
and mathematics, ecology and the environmental movement, and the academic world of higher
education. Authors of articles in this volume employ the insights of art history, cinema studies,
musicology, social sciences, cultural studies, womens studies, and gender studies, in addition to
more traditional approaches centered on historical, philosophical, literary, religious, and textual
scholarship and analysis.
A one-volume dictionary of Judaism and the Jewish experience could never claim to be fully
comprehensive, and this work is no exception. However, the sixteen subeditors have endeavored to provide coverage of topics ranging from the ancient Near East to Jewish demography in
the twenty-first century. Most important, The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture is
designed for ease of use. Its articles are succinct, clearly written, and accessible to general readers.
xxvii
PREFACE
In many cases, authors have suggested further reading from reliable and readily available primary
and secondary sources in English for those who would like to explore a topic in more depth.
This volume would not have been possible without the contributions of the subeditors, who
chose the subjects to be covered in their areas of expertise and who recommended colleagues
as potential authors. I am grateful for their efforts in helping make this dictionary a reality.
Most essential to this projects success, of course, are the hundreds of contributors whose entries
reflect both cutting-edge scholarship and perceptive analysis. I am in their debt, as are all who
make use of this book. Special thanks are due to my assistants over the years: Peter Calley,
Noah Mullin, Moshe Rachmuth, Brianna Bridegum, Kate Friedman, Elizabeth Shulman, and Sara
Waltemire. Without their much appreciated help, this volume would never have been completed.
I am most grateful for a very generous gift from the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Care Foundation of Portland, Oregon, which made possible the inclusion of color plates. These images significantly enhance a number of the articles on art and ceremonial objects. Harold Schnitzer died on
April 27, 2011, just a few months before the publication of this volume. His vision in establishing
the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies at the University of Oregon was typical of
his many extraordinary acts of philanthropy. Certainly it transformed my life and I will always be
grateful to Harold and his family for bringing me to Oregon in 2000 to head this exciting academic
program and for their ongoing support of my academic endeavors. I know that Harolds memory
will be a blessing for many generations to come. A research leave in 2007 and a sabbatical in 2009
allowed me to do essential work on this project. I am grateful to the University of Oregon and
particularly the College of Arts and Sciences for providing me with these gifts of time. As always, I
am deeply appreciative of the sustaining love and patience of my husband and children, Warren,
Sam, and Shira Ginsberg; they help make the impossible possible.
xxviii
Entries in this volume are arranged alphabetically. Within each entry, asterisks ( ) identify people,
places, literary works, and concepts and movements for which separate articles exist. Often, in
the course of an essay or at its conclusion, references to other relevant entries are indicated in
UPPERCASE letters. Articles often refer to interesting and important individuals for whom there
are no designated entries. A comprehensive Index of Names at the end of the volume directs
readers to all the entries in which a particular person is mentioned. The Contributors listing at
the beginning of the book identifies each author and the entry or entries she or he has written.
Some articles have been grouped by topic for the readers convenience. For example, substantive entries about Jewish writers and writings in various times and places appear alphabetically
under Literature. Similar groupings are found under Art, Bible, Film, Holocaust, Israel, State of,
Journalism, Middle Ages, Music, Poetry, Sports, Theater, United States, and Women, among others. Articles related to one or more of these topics also stand alone, but cross-references direct
readers to them.
The entries in this volume are relatively brief; none is longer than 3,000 words and most are
far shorter. They are also highly focused, exploring specific subjects in some detail. In many ways,
this book complements The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture (ed. Judith R.
Baskin and Kenneth Seeskin, 2010), whose far longer historical and thematic essays provide comprehensive overviews of particular eras and subjects. The entries in The Dictionary address in detail
topics that essays in The Guide could only mention in passing. Together the two volumes provide
in general and specific ways a sense of the immense richness and diversity of Judaism and the
bountiful expressions of Jewish culture and creativity through the ages.
xxix
A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION
Generally, the Hebrew letter h.et is represented in this volume by h., the Hebrew letter khaf by
kh, and tzadei by tz. However, an effort has been made to balance the demands of consistency
with those of familiarity. Thus, biblical names and places are spelled here as they are in The Jewish
Bible: Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures. The New Jewish Publication Society Translation according to the Hebrew
Text (1985). Similarly, the names of individuals from the eighteenth century on are spelled as
they most commonly appear in English. The name H.ayyim, for instance, may be spelled Chaim,
Chayim, Haim, or Haym depending on the individual involved. Names of individuals have been
standardized as much as possible across entries, although this occasionally leads to inconsistencies
in transliteration within entries. Names of places in the State of Israel generally follow conventional English spellings. Transliterations of other languages, such as Arabic, Ladino, Russian, and
Yiddish, usually respect the choices of the authors of specific entries.
xxxi
ABBREVIATIONS
b.
BCE
CE
ca.
d.
fl.
r.
Born
Before the Common Era
Common Era
Latin circa (approximately)
Died
Latin floruit (was active)
Reigned
BIBLICAL BOOKS (in the order in which they appear in the Hebrew Bible)
Gen
Exod
Lev
Num
Deut
Josh
Judg
Sam
Kgs
Isa
Jer
Ezek
Hos
Hab
Hag
Zech
Ps
Prov
Song
Lam
Eccl
Dan
Neh
Chron
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Samuel
Kings
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Hosea
Habbakuk
Haggai
Zechariah
Psalms
Proverbs
Song of Songs
Lamentations
Ecclesiastes
Daniel
Nehemiah
Chronicles
APOCRYPHAL BOOKS
Macc
Sira
Maccabees
Wisdom of Ben Sira
xxxiii
ABBREVIATIONS
NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS
Matt
Cor
Rev
Matthew
Corinthians
Revelations
RABBINIC LITERATURE (these abbreviations precede the names of specific tractates of the Mishnah
and Talmuds; a chart of these tractates appears in the entry MISHNAH: ORDERS AND TRACTATES)
b.
BT
JT
M.
R.
T.
xxxiv
TA U
Eu
phr
g
Ti
r is
AIN
R US MO UNT
Tarsus
te
CASPIAN SEA
Haran
Nineveh
Ebla
Ugarit
Assur
Z
Mari
Eu
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
ER
Babylon
Beersheba
S YR I A
Avaris
Nippur
N D
ES
Shechem
Jaffa
Jerusalem
Gaza
Hebron
Damascus
Tyre
EG Y PT
ph
ra
te
s
UN
TA
IN
Susa
Uruk
Ur
SINAI
PE
RS
IA
RE
D
SE
400
200
600
Thebes
200
xxxv
400 miles
800 km
LF
NS
HAMATH
Damascus
NI
CI A
Sidon
OE
ARAM
PH
Tyre
MEDITERRANEAN
Dan
Hazor
SEA
SEA OF GALILEE
Galilee
P la i n
Dor
Megiddo
Beth El
Gibeon
DE AD SEA
Ashkelon
Hebron
Lachish
ES
IN
ST
PH
AMMON
Jericho
Jerusalem
Ashdod
IL
G i
l e
ISRAEL
Jaffa
Jordan
ron
Sha
Samaria
Shechem
Gaza
Ramoth Gilead
Beth Shean
JUDAH
MOAB
Beersheba
NEGEV
Kadesh Barnea
EDOM
EGYPT
Ezion-Geber
0
0
25
50
25
75
xxxvi
100 km
50 miles
Ptolemais
(Acre)
Golan
Migdal
SEA OF
GALILEE
Gamala
Zippori
Gadara
Dor
Stratons
Tower
Scythopolis
(Beth Shean)
Pella
Gerasa
Apollonia
Jaffa
Modiin
Yavneh
Ashdod
Jerusalem
Bethlehem
Medba
Ashkelon
Hebron
Gaza
DEAD
SEA
Raphia
Beersheba
IDUMEA
0
0
10
20
10
30
20
40
50
30
60 km
40 miles
xxxvii
A
S
L
Y
A
PI
B L A C K
Rome
LY
CORSICA
DACIA
IL
S E A
SARDINIA
Thessaloniki
P O N T U S
CI
Brindisi
SEA
Sinope
PA RT H
D
SICILY
Carthage
G A L AT I A
Athens
Syracuse
Ephesus
Corinth
NUMIDIA
PP
CA
D I
T E
R
Dura-Europos
CRETE
R A N
E A N
Nehardea
S E A
Jaffa
Yavneh
Alexandria
Ctesiphon
Susa
Babylon
Damascus
Tyre
CYRENE
Jerusalem
A R A B I A
E G Y P T
500
250
0
0
750 km
250
500 miles
Leon
Genoa
SP
Narbonne
IA
N
Lucca
BLACK SEA
Sinope
Constantinople
Granada
Tangiers
Sala-Rabat
Tabriz
Algiers
Palermo
Fez
Trebizond
Salonika
Oran
Rome
SE
Barcelona
Seville Cordova
Tunis
Athens
Syracuse
Kairouan
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
Dura
Antioch
RHODES
Tripoli
Pumbedita
CYPRUS
Damascus Sura
Baghdad
Tiberias
Alexandria
RS
IA
Cairo
ARABIA
E G Y P T
R
Thebes
E
D
Aswan
S
E
Sana
500
250
1500
1000
500
750
1000
2000
1250
2500
1500
3000 km
1750 miles
xxxviii
K
Shiraz
PE
Jerusalem
Fustat
RE
Palmyra
Cyrene
Toledo
PI
MESOPOTAMIA
RHODES
EM
Tarsus
Antioch
M
IAN
YEMEN
N G
ULF
FRANCE
Lunel
Narbonne
Oviedo
Santiago de
Compostela
Perpignan
N AVA R R E
Leon
Tudela
LEON
Gerona
Saragossa
Barcelona
Oporto
PORTUGAL
Tortosa
ARAGON
Guadalajara
CASTILE
Palma
Toledo
Ibiza
Lisbon
Cordova
Seville
Cartagena
Lucena
Malaga
Granada
G R A N A D A Almeria
Cadiz
Tangiers
Oran
100
200
100
xxxix
300
200
400
500 km
300 miles
SAXONY
Rh
ine
London
FRANCE
Reims
Trier
NORMANDY Paris
Cologne
Erfurt
A U S T
R A
S
Mainz
IA
BOHEMIA
Worms
Speyer
Metz
A
R I
NE U S T
Tours
Prague
Regensburg
Da
Strasbourg
Troyes
Augsburg
B AVA R I A
C A
R I NT H I A
Poitiers
RGUN DY
BU
AQUIT
AI
N
Bordeaux
LO
MB
ARDY
Venice
Po
Genoa
STATES
PAL
PA
Toulouse
KINGDOM
OF
ASTURIAS
NAVARRE
Narbonne
SPANISH
MARCH
Ancona
Rome
Saragossa
Barcelona
Tortosa
E M I R AT E
Naples
OF
SARDINIA
CORDOVA
to Seville
and Morocco
400
200
600
SICILY
Cordova
0
200
400 miles
xl
n u be
SWEDEN
Riga
NORTH SEA
L
BA
IC
Vilna
EN G LA N D
LIT
HU
Grodno
Hamburg
Amsterdam
London
Poznan
GERMAN
Cologne
EMPIRE
SI
SI
Paris
Worms
Metz
Bamberg
Mainz
Wuerzburg
Speyer
Prague
F R A N C E
BOURG
OG
M
LO
AVI A
Lww
EN
H U N G A R Y
BARDY
Venice
V
PRO
OR
L A
N D
SWITZERLAND
Avignon
Augsburg
NE
SA
Lublin
Krakw
BOHEMIA
Regensburg
Strasbourg
Brest
Kalisz
LE
CE
SPAIN
I TA LY
Barcelona
Rome
Salonika
M E D I T E R R A N E A N
S E A
100
200
100
300
200
400
500
300
600
700 km
400 miles
xli
IA
Zagreb
B L A C K
S E A
Belgrade
Sarajevo
I A
Sofia
I C
S
SPANISH
TERRITORIES
Istanbul
A
Bari
Salonika
Naples
AE
Ioannina
GE
CORFU
CHIOS
Smyrna
A
SE
Athens
Messina
(Izmir)
Thebes
KOS
Syracuse
CYPRUS
RHODES
M
Major community
0
0
300
150
150
450
Safed
CRETE
Tiberias
600 km
300 miles
xlii
Jaffa
Jerusalem
1851
SWEDEN
500
250
NORWAY
750
250
1000 km
500 miles
1865
Frontiers of 1900
DENMARK
1848
PRUSSIA
1850
GREAT BRITAIN
18581890
HOLLAND
BRUNSWICK
1796
1830
BELGIUM
RUSSIA
1917
1834
GERMANY
HESSE 1871 SAXONY
1868
CASSEL
1833
Frankfurt
Mainz
1811
1798
ALSACE
1791
BADEN
1862
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
1867
SWITZERLAND
1874
Bordeaux
1790
1848
ITALY
18481870
Rome
SPAIN
1910
1810
ROME
1870
xliii
SERBIA
10
1918
1797
TH
Avignon
1790
PORTU
G
1 9 AL
ROMANIA
Venice
PIEDMONT
TT
BULGARIA
OM
19 A N
08
EM P I
RE
E D
E N
VIN
ic
t
B
Novgorod
CES
St. Petersburg
B ALT I C PR
VI
TE
B
LK I
KOVNO
Moscow
WA
VILNA
Smolensk
SU
GERMANY
Tula
PLOCK
KALISZ
GRODNO
WARSAW
KO
W
PIOT
R
MOGILEV
LOMZA
MINSK
SEDLITS
Pripet
Marshes
RADOM
Kursk
CHERNIGOV
LUBLIN
KIELCE
Voronezh
VOLHYNIA
Krakw
Kiev
AUSTRIAH U N G A RY
PO
DO
Kharkov
POLTAVA
KIEV
IA
EKATERINOSLAV
BE
SS
AR
AB
AN
IA
Sea of
Azov
T A U
IA
KHERSON
Nikolaev
Odessa
Sebastopol
KUBAN
Yalta
B l a c k
0
0
150
300
150
450
S e a
600 km
300 miles
T U R K E Y
xliv
0
0
10
20
30
40
20
10
60
50
70
40
30
80
90 km
LEBANON
50 miles
Kiryat Shemona
SYRIA
Haifa
Mediterranean
Sea of Galilee
Nazareth
Afula
Netanya
Nablus
Jordan R.
Sea
Tel Aviv
Jaffa
Jericho
Ramallah
Ashdod
Amman
Bethlehem
Hebron
Gaza
Rafah
Beersheba
Dead Sea
Jerusalem
Arad
TRANSJORDAN
NEGEV
EGYPT
Jewish state
Arab state
International boundaries
District boundaries
Eilat
Aqaba
Gulf
of
Aqaba
SAUDI
ARABIA
xlv
0
0
10
20
40
30
10
20
50
60
70
80
90 km
LEBANON
50 miles
40
30
Kiryat Shemona
GOLAN
HEIGHTS
SYRIA
Sea of Galilee
Haifa
Mediterranean
Nazareth
Netanya
Nablus
Tel Aviv
Jaffa
Jordan R.
Sea
West Bank
Ramallah
Jericho
Ashdod
Bethlehem
Hebron
Gaza
Rafah
Dead Sea
Jerusalem
Ashkelon
Gaza Strip
Amman
Beersheba
J O R D A N
Nitzana
NEGEV
Israel
Area under Jordanian control
Area under Egyptian control
EGYPT
Demilitarized zone
International border
Armistice line
Eilat
SAUDI
ARABIA
Gulf
of
Aqaba
xlvi
LEBANON
Israel
Occupied territory
International boundaries
Armistice line
75
Haifa
100 km
Nazareth
50 miles
25
Netanya
Tel Aviv
Jaffa
Mediterranean
Sea
Gaza
Amman
Jericho
Bethlehem
Gaza Strip
WEST BANK
Ramallah
Jerusalem
Ashkelon
1967 Cease
Fire Line
Nablus
Jordan R.
50
25
GOLAN
HEIGHTS
Sea of
Galilee
Hebron
Port Said
Dead Sea
SYRIA
Kiryat Shemona
S ue z Ca nal
1949 Armistice
Rafah
Line
Beersheba
Nitzana
1949 Armistice
Line
NEGEV
JORDAN
EGYPT
Suez
S I N A I
Eilat
f of
Aqab
Aqaba
u
l f
Gul
S A U D I
A R A B I A
z
Sharm-el-Sheikh
R e d
S e a
xlvii
health, debate focused on permissible conditions and situations. Rabbi Jacob Emden (16971776), among others, permitted abortion as long as the fetus has not emerged from
the womb, even if not to save the mothers life, but only
to save her from the harassment and great pain which the
fetus causes her, ruling that abortion was permitted when
a pregnancy resulted from adultery or another prohibited
sexual union (Sheelat Yavez 1:43).
There is no monolithic attitude toward abortion in modern Judaism, and contemporary Jews hold diverse opinions.
However, various movements have formulated denominational positions. All streams of Orthodox Judaism endorse
the rabbinic position (based on Exod 21:2225) that abortion is permitted when there is a high probability that the
mothers life is at risk, whether for physical or psychological reasons (see JUDAISM, ORTHODOX: MODERN ORTHODOX; JUDAISM: ORTHODOX: ULTRA-ORTHODOX). However, most Orthodox legal authorities prohibit abortion
when the fetus has a significant abnormality or a fatal
genetic condition. One recent exception is Rabbi Eliezer
Waldenberg (19152006), who allowed the first-trimester
abortion of a fetus with a deformity that would cause it to
suffer and permitted abortion up to the end of the second
trimester of pregnancy of a fetus with a lethal defect such as
Tay-Sachs disease (Tzitz Eliezer 9:51:3).
The position of Conservative Judaism, expressed in 1983,
is that an abortion is justifiable if a continuation of pregnancy might cause the mother severe physical or psychological harm, or when the fetus is judged by competent medical
authorities to be severely defective. Conservative authorities, as well as some Orthodox rabbinic decision makers,
would permit abortion when pregnancy resulted from rape
or from illicit sexual relations such as adultery or incest (See
JUDAISM, CONSERVATIVE).
Reform Judaism allows the option of abortion in all of the
instances mentioned above, as well as for additional reasons in individual cases. In a 1967 statement approved at
the 49th General Assembly, a lay policymaking body, the
movement declared abortion permissible under such circumstances as threatened disease or deformity of the embryo
or fetus, threats to the physical and mental health of the
mother, rape and incest and the social, economic and psychological factors that might warrant therapeutic termination of pregnancy. In a 1975 statement, passed at the 53rd
General Assembly, Reform Judaism expressed confidence
in the right and ability of a woman to exercise her ethical and religious judgment in making her own decision (See
JUDAISM, REFORM: NORTH AMERICA).
In Israel, the 1977 penal code permits legal abortions
by appropriately trained physicians in medical facilities that
are specifically and publicly recognized as providers of
abortions. A termination committee must approve abortion requests. Acceptable grounds include the following: a
pregnant woman younger than seventeen, the legal age for
marriage; physical, emotional, or psychological damage to
Abortion. Judaism respects the sanctity of life and of potential life and has generally prohibited abortion. When a pregnant womans life was endangered, however, rabbinic and
medieval authorities permitted abortion on the basis of Exodus 21:2225. This text was understood to make a distinction between the actual human status of the pregnant
woman and the potential human status of her fetus, which
was not considered an independent entity before its birth
(BT Yevamot 69b; BT H
. ullin 58a). Because the fetus is not an
autonomous being, abortion is not regarded as murder. Once
most of the child has emerged from the mothers body, M.
Ohalot 7:6 rules that it is not to be touched, for one [life] is
not [to] be put aside for another. Moses Maimonides wrote
that when the mothers life was at risk the fetus should be
regarded as a pursuer (rodef) attempting to kill her and be
dealt with accordingly ( Mishneh Torah, Rotzeah. 1:9).
Although most legal authorities permitted abortion when
it was judged essential for a womans physical or mental
1
Abortion
the mother; a pregnancy resulting from irregular circumstances (rape, incest, pregnancy outside of marriage); and
the probability that the fetus is severely disabled or otherwise unlikely to live a normal life. The committee approves
almost all requests. Liberal political parties in Israel favor
legalized abortions on the basis of a womans right to choose;
Orthodox political parties and other traditionally oriented
and right-wing groups argue that, except for rare cases, abortion should not be permitted in a Jewish state.
For further reading, see ETHICS: MEDICAL; and R. Biale,
Women and Jewish Law (1984); A. L. Mackler, Life and
Death Responsibilities in Jewish Biomedical Ethics (2000); and D.
Schiff, Abortion in Judaism (2002).
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Abraham bar H
. iyya (ca. 1065ca. 1140), mathematician,
philosopher, and astrologer, was born in Barcelona and died
in Provence. In an epistle he reports that he was held in high
esteem by grandees and kings and that he was engrossed
from youth in learning, dealing with, and teaching the socalled science of the stars. Bar H.iyyas reference to grandees
and kings is borne out by his appellation, Savasorda, a corruption of sahib al-shurta (chief of the guard). Abraham Bar
H
. iyyas work has a scientific and encyclopedic character; it is
written entirely in Hebrew, an indication that he developed
his career principally among Jews.
His Yesodei ha-Tevuna u-Migdal ha-Emuna (Foundations of
Understanding and Tower of Faith) is the first medieval
Hebrew encyclopaedia of science (it was edited by J. M.
M. Vallicrosa in 1952). H
. ibbur ha-Meshih.ah veha-Tishboret
(Treatise on Mensuration and Calculation) is a mathematical
work intended for the use of landholders and judges (ed. M.
Guttman [1913]). Bar H.iyya described Surat ha-Aretz (The
Shape of the Earth) as presenting the shape of the configuration of the heavens and the earth, and the order of
the motion visible in the skies and in the stars (ed. Munster [1546]). He drew up a set of planetary tables called
Luh.ot ha-Nasi (Tables of the Prince), the canons of which
appear in H
. eshbon Mahalakhot ha-Kokhavim (Computation of
the Motions of Stars; ed. J. M. M. Vallicrosa [1959]). As
for the Jewish calendar, Bar H
. iyya wrote Sefer ha-Ibbur
(Book of Intercalation), which was in all likelihood the first
Hebrew work of this type. This treatise also includes vigorous
polemics and rich astronomical materials (ed. T. Philipowsky
[1851]).
Megillat ha-Megalleh (Scroll of the Revealer) is devoted to
foretelling the exact date of the coming of the messiah,
mainly by means of scriptural data (ed. J. Guttmann [1924]).
Its fifth chapter, the largest in the entire work, includes
a voluminous and impressive Jewish and universal astrological history. He also wrote a long, apologetic epistle to
Rabbi Judah Barzilai of Barcelona, justifying the study and
use of a specific astrological approach (ed. Z. Schwarz in
Festschrift Adolf Schwarz, ed. S. Kraus [1917]), and see S. Sela,
Abraham Bar Hiyyas Astrological Work and Thought, Jewish Studies Quarterly 12 (2005): 131. Abraham Bar H.iyya
expounded his Neoplatonic philosophy in Hegyon ha-Nefesh
ha-Atzuvah (Meditation of the Sad Soul; ed. E. Freimann
[1860]).
See also ASTROLOGY; SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS:
MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD.
S HLOMO S ELA
through Isaac, his son with his wife Sarah, and of the Arabs
through Ishmael, his son with the Egyptian maidservant,
Abulafia, Abraham
`
to establish and direct an important school in Posquieres.
A number of his students, including his son Isaac the
Blind, went on to become major scholars. Rabads commentaries on rabbinic texts and his responsa were particularly influential. So, too, were his annotations (hassagot)
to Maimonides Mishneh Torah; they were frequently published together, beginning in 1509. In his hassagot, Rabad
expands and reconstructs many of Maimonides halakhic
arguments; he is critical of Maimonides both for excluding
the references and explanations from earlier sources that
informed his legal decisions and for some of his philosophical views. Rabad left no mystical writings, but is known
to have transmitted kabbalistic teachings to his sons (see
KABBALAH). See also FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE
AGES; ISAAC THE BLIND; MONEYLENDING: MEDIEVAL
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
AND EARLY MODERN EUROPE.
Isaac Abravanels political thought included strong opposition to monarchy. His three lengthy messianic works contain much anti-Christian argumentation. Isaac Abravanel
employed Renaissance methods and ideas in both his Iberian
and Italian works, attracting the attention of a wide range of
Jewish scholars and many Christians, some of whom translated excerpts into Latin.
JUDAH ABRAVANEL, Isaacs son, better known as Leone
Ebreo, wrote the Dialoghi damore (Dialogues of Love), a
Renaissance Neoplatonic tract whose original language is a
matter of dispute. After its posthumous publication in Italian in 1535, it was translated into other languages, including French and Latin. The work comprises three dialogues
on love between the characters Philo and Sophia. Its style
and contents bear strong affinities to literary and intellectual currents associated with contemporaneous Florentine
Neoplatonist trends. Its later readership included Giordano
Bruno, Spinoza, and Friedrich Schiller. Judahs wrenching
Hebrew lament to a son living in Portugal as a forced convert
to Christianity also survives.
Various Abravanels continued to hold eminent positions
in Sephardic Diaspora communities during the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. BENVENIDA (ca. 1473after
1560) of Naples and later Ferarra, daughter of Jacob Abravanel (d. 1528), one of Isaacs two brothers, and wife of
Isaacs son Samuel (d. 1547), was one of the most influential and wealthy Jewish women in early modern Italy.
A supporter of the messianic pretender David Reuveni (d.
1538), Benvenida had close ties with Eleanor of Toledo, who
became the wife of Cosimo the Great of the Medici family.
The Abravanel familys contemporary descendants live on
several continents and many proudly identify with the family motto: Basta mi nombre que es Abravanel (It is enough
that my name is Abravanel).
For further reading, see E. Lawee, Isaac Abarbanels
Stance toward Tradition (2001); and B. Netanyahu, Don Isaac
Abravanel (5th ed., 1998).
E RIC L AWEE
est mystics among medieval Jewish kabbalists. He developed an intensely individual type of mystical contemplation based on a mystical attitude toward language. Born
in Spain, Abulafia wandered in several countries, reaching Acre in 1260; he lived and taught in Sicily, Greece,
and Italy. Gershom Scholem characterized his work as
ecstatic or prophetic kabbalah; indeed, Abulafia sometimes described himself as a prophet, and the aim of his
mystical contemplation was the achievement of prophecy.
Abulafia rejected the prevalent kabbalistic set of symbols
describing the ten divine attributes, the sefirot, as personalized elements of the divine pleroma. To assist in achieving perception of the divine, he developed mystical methodologies, including some physical exercises, a rare element
among Jewish mystics.
Abulafia was versed in rationalistic philosophy, but in
Sitrei Torah (The Secrets of the Torah), a commentary he
wrote on Maimonides Guide of the Perplexed, he attributes
kabbalistic ideas to Maimonides. He wrote more than a
score of treatises, among them a commentary on the divine
name of seventy-two letters, Sefer ha-Shem (The Book of the
Name); commentaries on the ancient Sefer Yetzirah (Book of
Creation); and polemical works against his opponents (who
Italy. Abravanel was one of late medieval and early modern Judaisms most prolific and versatile Hebrew scholars.
His premier work is his commentary on the Torah; he interpreted prophetic literature and the book of Daniel as well.
Abravanels other writings are theological tomes, although
they also often took the form of commentaries. His commentary on the Passover haggadah is the best known example.
3
Abulafia, Abraham
Adoption
included Solomon ben Adret). In 1280 Abulafia was sentenced to death in Rome after he attempted to meet the
Pope, Nicholas III, to convince him to be more tolerant
toward the Jews; he was saved by the Popes death. Messianic elements became dominant in his activities in his last
years, and he was accused of pretending to be the Messiah.
Abulafias writings influenced some of the Christian kabbalists of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries,
especially Pico della Mirandola and Johannes Reuchlin.
Some of the Safed kabbalists of the sixteenth century made
use of his works, and several later Jewish mystics derived
ideas from his writings.
For further reading, see G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1954); M. Idel, Mystical Experiences of Abraham
Abulafia (1988); and idem, Language, Torah and Hermeneutics
in Abraham Abulafia (1989).
J OSEPH D AN
which it is described as the first emanation from the eternal divine light. Adam Kadmon often designates the highest stages in the divine hierarchy of powers and appears
mostly in cosmogonic contexts. This concept expresses the
kabbalistic perception of the different divine powers as limbs
of an enormous, mystical anthropomorphic entity. For further reading, see G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism
(1954); and idem, Kabbalah (1974).
J OSEPH D AN
Adler, Cyrus (18631940) was an academic administrator and communal leader. The first American-trained PhD
in Semitics (1887), Adler was librarian of the Smithsonian
Institution (1892) and its assistant secretary (1905). Adler
helped found the Jewish Publication Society of America
(1888), the American Jewish Historical Society (1892), and
the American Jewish Committee (1906). In 1908 Adler
became president of Dropsie College, an institution devoted
to advanced Judaic and Semitic scholarship; in 1915, he succeeded Solomon Schechter as president of the Jewish Theological Seminary while retaining his presidency of Dropsie.
He remained president of both institutions until his death.
Adler helped found both the Jewish Welfare Board and the
Adoption. Historically, there has been no process of adoption in Jewish law because identity in the traditional Jewish community is determined by lineage and bloodlines. A
male whose birth father is of priestly descent is also a priest,
regardless of the status of the adoptive father; an adopted
son cannot become a priest even if his adoptive father is of
priestly descent. The status of the birth mother is also crucial: A child born of a Jewish mother is a Jew. However, a
child born from an illicit sexual relationship such as incest
or adultery (i.e., the mothers husband is not the father of
her child) is a mamzer (illegitimate) and is permanently
limited in his or her standing and marital options in the traditional Jewish community.
An individual may be appointed a guardian (apotropos)
who assumes permanent responsibility for a childs wellbeing, undertaking all obligations that natural parents have
toward their offspring. Jewish tradition teaches that a person
who raises an orphan is equivalent to a natural parent (BT
Sanhedrin 19b and BT Megillah 13a). Legal sources addressing
Adoption
Aesthetics
the guardian include BT Ketubbot 101b; Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Ishut 23:1718; and Karo, Shulh.an Arukh, Even
Ha-Ezer 114 and H
. oshen Mishpat 60:25; 207:2021.
In contemporary Jewish life, adoption of children according to the laws of the country of residence occurs frequently;
perhaps 3% of contemporary Jewish families are formed by
adoption. Halakhic concerns focus on the childs Jewish status, because any uncertainty may affect the childs ability
to marry into the traditional Jewish community. Adoptive
parents are often advised to obtain documentation on the
natural parents backgrounds and marital status. Proof of
the birth mothers Jewish status is also necessary should the
child move to Israel and/or wish to be married there; it is also
important to know if a Jewish father was of priestly descent.
To avoid many of these complexities, potential adoptive parents may choose to adopt a Gentile infant who can then
be formally converted to Judaism, although conversions of
adopted children may also raise halakhic questions.
Until 1998, all adoptions in Israel were handled by the
Adoption Service of Israels Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs and had to be approved by both secular and rabbinical courts. Court-sanctioned adoptions remove all family ties with the natural parents and create family ties with
the adoptive parents equivalent to those between natural
parents and their child. In recognition of halakhah, however, adoption does not affect the consequences of the blood
relationship between the adoptee and his or her birth parents: Prohibitions and permissions regarding marriage and
divorce based on the childs bloodlines continue to apply.
Only Israeli citizens may adopt Israeli infants and the process is difficult. Few healthy Jewish infants are available and
adoption requirements are stringent. Israeli legislation as of
1998 allows adoptions from other countries if arranged by
private, licensed, nonprofit agencies. Foreign adoptees need
not have Jewish parentage or be converted to Judaism after
adoption. For further reading, see M. Gold, And Hannah
Wept: Infertility, Adoption, and the Jewish Couple (1988); and
S. K. Rosenberg, Adoption and the Jewish Family (1998).
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Mendelssohn. Once the arbiters of Jewish law lost the political power to coerce communal conformity in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, the expression of Jewish life and
thought (its conception of God, law, ethics, and community) turned into a type of applied art. Understood broadly,
aesthetics refers not just to the disinterested, autonomous
5
Aesthetics
Jewish thought. Straining against the second commandment, Martin Buber (I and Thou) and Franz Rosenzweig
(The Star of Redemption) evoked the visual character of religious experience with words. The key word is Gestalt. For
Buber, God is the Eternal You, eluding all the limited and
limiting categories of language and instrumental reason.
And yet, Buber made clear that the revelation of an evanescent, shapeless presence creates its own form in time and
space: The living forms of God known through the history of
religions are an index to a divine reality that transcends their
own historical nature. These forms are the product of the
human image-making power in response to revelation and
are subject to generation, decay, and regeneration in concrete human situations. For Rosenzweig, Jewish and Christian ritual practice constellate into a meta-cosmos, in which
six figures (God, world, man, creation, revelation, and
redemption) assemble into an integrated star-shaped figure. At the end of Rosenzweigs system, a now visible manifestation of Gods face, a palpable image of absolute truth,
confronts the soul at deaths border and ushers it back into
life. In short, despite the divine resistance to representation,
some simulacral appearance (or discourse about such an
appearance) is present in twentieth-century Jewish thought.
EMBODIMENT: Physical sensation and the physical body,
and the images and ideas that shape them, are the heart
and soul of aesthetics. In classical Jewish thought, Gods
presence is inseparable from covenant and human community. Philosophically, modern Jewish thoughts emphasis
on peoplehood and bodies results from the decline of idealism and metaphysics in twentieth-century western philosophy. The body of Israel is a central figure from the work
of Buber, Rosenzweig, and Leo Baeck to post-Holocaust
thinkers (Richard Rubenstein, Eliezer Berkovits, Emil
Aggadah
prophecy. The first indubitable reference to physical resurrection in biblical literature comes from the visions in the
book of Daniel, which date to the period of the Maccabean
revolt. Daniel 12:23 states, And many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life,
and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those
who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the
stars forever and ever. These verses do not articulate any
general theory of immortality, only the resurrection of the
many, which satisfies the Israelite concept of justice. Those
who suffered and died while remaining true to Gods Torah
will be vindicated. The reference to the saved as those who
sleep in the dust may be a reinterpretation of Isaiah 26:19.
Those who persecuted the righteous of God will also be resurrected so that they can be punished.
Second Temple Judaism evidently developed this doctrine
of resurrection in response to the problem of righteous suffering and martyrdom. Resurrection of this type, the most
frequent type in Jewish thought, focuses on rebirth in this
world at a time when present injustices have been righted
and removed. Another aspect of the tradition of resurrection
is the theme of ascension to the eternal, deathless heaven
where the most deserving and righteous go. The story of
the seven martyred sons in 2 Maccabees 7 clarifies the
Aggadah
Agudat Israel
especially communal collapse, and redemption. Agnon cultivated a distinct prose style, closer to rabbinic language than
to modern spoken Hebrew. Notable for its musicality and
allusive richness, his writing is also suffused with ironies.
The author rebelled against Orthodoxy in his youth but later
returned to it, along the way fashioning a sophisticated literary wit that slyly plays religious and secular perspectives
against one another. As a young man Agnon also published
in Yiddish.
In his lifetime Agnon became an iconic figure. After his
death, his house in Jerusalem became a museum; an Agnon
archive was established at Israels National Library, his picture appeared on Israeli currency, and streets are named
after him throughout Israel. He himself promoted his image
as the master storyteller of modern Jewish upheaval and
continuity. The name he invented for himself, Agnon, testifies to that self-construction. It is based on the title of an
early story, Agunot, which describes Jews who are both
anchored in community and alienated from it.
N AOMI S OKOLOFF
Agricultural Settlements:
Agudat Israel (also AGUDAS ISRAEL; AGUDAH) is a worldwide movement of Orthodox Jewry founded in 1912.
Branches were established in most countries of Europe, as
well as in the United States and British Mandate Palestine.
Agudat Israel reached its apogee of political achievement
and institutional development in interwar Eastern Europe,
electing representatives to national parliaments in Poland,
Latvia, and Romania; to city councils and Jewish communal boards and boards administering educational systems;
and to youth and workers movements. The initiative for
the founding of Agudat Israel (and several of its important
ideologues) came from the separatist Orthodox community of Germany, which tried to enlist Eastern European
Orthodoxy and its leaders in the fight against Zionism and
Israel and the United States became the main centers for
the movement. In Israel, Agudat Israel continues to function
as a political party, offering a joint list of parliamentary candidates with another religious party, Degel ha-Torah, under
the rubric United Torah Judaism. In the eighteenth Knesset (elected 2009), United Torah Judaism won five seats.
In the United States, Agudah serves as an effective lobbying
Agudat Israel
ISAAC
Tanna and one of the most influential rabbinic sages. Rabbinic tradition holds that he spent his early life as a shepherd and remained uneducated until the age of forty; subsequently he devoted himself to study with the support
of his wife Rachel. Akiva developed a method of biblical
hermeneutics in which every word, sign, orthographic variation, and grammatical peculiarity had a significance that
could be used to make halakhic decisions (see RABBINIC
HERMENEUTICS). He defended the holiness of the biblical book Song of Songs, which he interpreted as an allegory of the relationship between God and the people of
Israel, and he supported its canonization. Akiva appears to
have originated the organization of rabbinic legal teachings
by subject matter, a method later used in the Mishnah.
Among his students were many of the leading fourthgeneration Tannaim. An avid Jewish nationalist, Akiva traveled to Rome in an attempt to reverse Domitians legislation
against Jews, and he is said to have been an enthusiastic supporter of Bar Kokhbas revolt and of his messianic claims.
Akiva was arrested for defying the Emperor Hadrians
decree against the study of Torah and was one of the
ten Rabbis martyred by the Romans at Caesarea. See also
AVOT DE RABBI NATAN; CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; FOLKTALES ; JEWISH WAR, SECOND; MYSTICISM: HEKHALOT
AND MERKAVAH LITERATURE; LOVE; MARTYRDOM;
REDEMPTION; TRIBES , TEN LOST.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Zionism; he believed that Jews must carve out for themselves a national state where, because of Jewish values more
Almoravids
Talmud (Yoma 69a) describe Jews and Samaritans contending with one another for Alexanders patronage. Josephus longer account has Alexander visit Jerusalem, where
he offered sacrifices to the Jewish God and conferred economic privileges on the Jews after learning that their scripture (attributed anachronistically to Daniel) prophesied his
victory over the Persians. Still other talmudic sources (BT
Tamid 32ab) contain legendary stories about the king, a
phenomenon that reflects late antiquitys interest in romanticizing Alexanders life. See also HELLENISM; NEAR EAST,
ANCIENT; PERSIA, ANCIENT; PTOLEMIES; SELEUCIDS .
D AVID M . R EIS
the city in 117. Jews returned to live in the city in the fourth
century CE, but only under tense conditions. In 415, violence against the Jews instigated by the Christian Patriarch
of the city, Cyril of Alexandria, once more essentially ended
the Jewish presence there. See PTOLEMIES: IMPACT ON
JEWISH CULTURE AND THOUGHT; SEPTUAGINT. Map 4
R OBERT K UGLER
Amora, Amoraim
periods of the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds (the
Yerushalmi and Bavli, respectively). The amoraic period
begins with the completion of the Mishnah and its introduction as the focus of rabbinic study and teaching (early
third century CE). Scholars place the last of the Amoraim
in the first half of the fifth century, with the period ending
slightly earlier in Palestine than in Babylonia. Palestinian
Amoraim are usually counted in five generations, whereas
Babylonian Amoraim are assigned to six generations.
Although sages are generally associated either with Babylonia or Palestine, rabbis and students traveled between the
two communities. The first of the Babylonian Amoraim,
Rav, studied for many years in Palestine. R. Joh.anan, the
first of the Palestinian Amoraim, was said to have studied with the prominent Babylonian sages, Rav and Samuel,
and had many students from Babylonia. A small number of
rabbis frequented both of the two centers, transmitting the
teachings from one community to the other; the best known
of these rabbis, known as nah.utei (those who go down
[from the Land of Israel to Babylonia], from the Aramaic
nah.at, to go down), were R. Zeira, Ulla, and Rabbah bar
bar H
. ana.
The central figure among first-generation Palestinian
Amoraim was R. Joh.anan b. Napah.a. Joh.anan was one
of the last students of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi. Joh.anan had
many associates and students; the most prominent among
them included Simon b. Lakish, who was also Joh.anans
brother-in-law; Eleazar b. Pedat; R. Ammi; and R. Assi.
Another important figure in the early amoraic movement
in Palestine was R. Joshua b. Levi, who studied with one
of the last of the Tannaim, Bar Kappara. R. Joshua b. Levi
was particularly interested in aggadah. Important figures in
subsequent generations included R. Jeremiah and R. Zeira.
During this period, Palestinian Rabbis were increasingly
associated with larger towns and cities, especially Tiberias,
Sepphoris, Caesarea, and Lod. Students studied with Rabbis
in small groups, often meeting in their homes. There appear
to have been strong ties between Rabbis and the Patriarch,
who at times appointed Rabbis to communal positions.
The major Amoraim in the first generation in Babylonia
were Rav and Samuel. Rav was the nephew of R. H
. iyya, one
of the last of the Tannaim; he studied with his uncle and
R. Judah ha-Nasi in Palestine before returning to Babylonia. The Babylonian Talmud traces Ravs lineage back to a
brother of King David or to David himself. It places Rav on
the level of the Tannaim; he alone among the Amoraim is
permitted to contradict a Tanna. Ravs school was in Sura,
whereas Samuels was in Nehardea. The house of study in
Sura was subsequently headed in the second and third generations by R. Huna, R. H
. isda, and Rabbah. R. Judah, a student of Samuel, founded a school in Pumbedita that was
later headed by R. Joseph, Abbaye, and R. Zevid. In the
fourth generation, Abbaye, a contemporary of Rava, taught
in Mehoza. R. Pappa, a fifth-generation Amora, taught in
Naresh. The major figures of the sixth and final generation
of Babylonian Amoraim were Ravina and R. Ashi. These two
Amoraim are traditionally associated with the completion
of the Babylonian Talmud, although modern scholars now
believe that the Bavli was in fact completed after the amoraic
period by the Saboraim or Stammaim. As in Palestine, rabbinic schools in Babylonia in the amoraic period were small,
often meeting in the home of the teacher. Structure within
ORGANIZATIONS:
NORTH AMERICA
See ORGANIZATIONS:
NORTH AMERICA
Amora, Amoraim
Amsterdam
Amos, Book of. This biblical book, the third of the Twelve
Prophets, records prophecies attributed to Amos, a sheep
breeder (Amos 1:1) and tender of sycamore trees (7:14),
who came from the Judean village of Tekoa. Amos, whose
prophetic career is dated around 750 BCE, was the first
classical or literary prophet; that is, he is the first prophet
whose words were collected and preserved in a book that
carries his name (see BIBLE: PROPHETS AND PROPHECY;
PROPHETS [NEVIIM]; and PROPHETIC BOOKS). Although
he was a native of the southern kingdom of Judah, his
active prophecy, probably of short duration, took place in
Amsterdam is the capital and largest city in the Netherlands. The pioneers of documented Jewish settlement in
Amsterdam were New Christians ( conversos), descendants
of baptized Jews from Portugal and Spain, who migrated
to Amsterdam in the 1590s. Amsterdam was then the commercial center of the Dutch Republic, recently formed in
the wake of the Netherlanders revolt against Spanish domination. New Christian merchants and their families were
attracted by commercial opportunities and by Amsterdams
12
Amsterdam
Anthropology
who
Germany to conduct worship and instruct the emigr
es,
had been isolated from Jewish life for generations.
After a 1609 truce between the Netherlands and Spain,
many more emigrants arrived. In 1639, when Spanish
and Portuguese Jews numbered about one thousand, they
united into a single and highly organized community. Rabbinic leadership was provided by Sephardi rabbis from
the Mediterranean area who made special efforts to bring
the re-judaizing community into conformity with rabbinic
law. Not everyone complied: Among those banned by the
communal leadership for nonconformist views were Uriel da
Costa and Baruch Spinoza. Ashkenazim fleeing Central
Europe came to Amsterdam during the Thirty Years War
(16181648). Dependent at first on the Sephardim, they
formed their own community in 1635; the two communities, which had deep cultural and socioeconomic differences,
maintained strict separation up to modern times.
Given Amsterdams commercial wealth and religious freedoms, the Amsterdam Sephardim emerged as one of the
most powerful Jewish communities in seventeenth-century
Europe. They provided leadership for the entire western
Sephardi Diaspora, and the Amsterdam Sephardi community became a center of printing, polemical writing, and
intercommunal activity. However, by the eighteenth century, the Sephardim entered an irreversible process of economic decline and demographic stagnation; their population peaked at about 3,000 in the mid-eighteenth century.
The Ashkenazim, initially a community of impoverished
refugees, gained ascendancy; their numbers grew to about
10,000 in 1750 and continued to increase into the early
twentieth century.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
Anthropology, literally an account of man, is the comparative study of human societies and cultures. Jews played
a significant role in the founding and development of cultural anthropology (defined as the study of contemporary
cultures and societies and the study of human behavior that
is learned rather than genetically transmitted) in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Among these early figures was Marcel Mauss (18721950), nephew of influential
sociologist Emile Durkheim. His most influential work, The
Gift (1925), explored religious, legal, economic, mythological, and other aspects of giving, receiving, and repaying in
Anthropology
Antinomianism
Claude Levi-Strauss
(19082009) born in Brussels, was
the most distinguished social anthropologist in twentiethcentury France. His most original and significant contribution is his theory of structural anthropology. Heavily influenced by linguistics, it assumes that the most effective way to
understand human societies is to investigate the structures,
rather than the content, of their organization. His book, The
Elementary Structures of Kinship (1949), is regarded as one of
the most important works on this topic.
Contemporary Jewish anthropologists in the United States
include a number of influential women who have examined
issues related to Jews and Jewish identity. Barbara Myerhoff
(19351985), a renowned scholar, writer, and filmmaker,
helped popularize anthropology with her works Peyote Hunt
(1974), Number Our Days (1978), and the autobiographical
film, In Her Own Time (1985). In the book and film, Number Our Days, Myerhoff explores the lives of poor, aged Jews
in Venice, CA. Karen Brodkins How Jews Became White Folks
and What That Says About Race in America (1999) analyzes
the interrelationships among Jewishness, gender, and class.
Riv-Ellen Prells Fighting to Become Americans: Jews, Gender
and the Anxiety of Assimilation (1999) examines challenges to
identity faced by Jewish women. Ruth Behar, writer, poet,
and filmmaker, has written about the relationship between
her Jewish identity and her anthropological work. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimbletts Destination Culture (1998) lays
the foundation for studies of Jewish museums, exhibits,
and material culture. Other significant American anthropologists who addressed issues of Jewish interest include
Melford Spiro (b. 1920), who has written extensively about
the Israeli kibbutz; Jack Kugelmass, who has written on
various topics dealing with American Jews; and Jonathan
Boyarin, whose collection Thinking in Jewish (1996) broke
Antinomianism
Antisemitism
devekut (experiential cleaving to God) as the goal of the religious life and its encouragement of joyous worship instead
of austere and uncompromising devotion to the law have led
some to see Sabbatean strands in some early H
. asidic communities. Alternatively, one could say that Reform Judaism (see
JUDAISM, REFORM) and most non-Orthodox Judaisms
that followed also contain some dimensions of antinomianism in that they posit that fulfilling the divine will requires
activity that does not conform to the law and, in fact, may
require abrogation of the law in certain circumstances. Support of gender equality, positive attitudes toward a range
of sexual orientations and preferences, and an accepting
stance toward non-Jews (including intermarriage) can all
be framed as antinomian in some form. These behaviors
are quite different from the Frankist idea of sin as mitzvah
( commandment) but may be closer to a more moderate
Sabbatean notion that changing times require a reformulation, sometimes radical, of the nomos of the tradition. This is
not to suggest any direct historical link between Reform and
Sabbateanism since such a link is tenuous at best. Rather, it
is to say that Judaism, construed as a religion of nomos, at
least from the rabbinic period on, always contained within
it forces that questioned the exclusivity and even primacy
of law and sought to provide alternative avenues of worship
and practice beyond its bounds.
Recent scholarship includes S. Magid, Hasidism on
the Margin: Reconciliation, Antinomianism, and Messianism in
Antisemitism is a word that came into common usage during the 1880s in German-speaking Europe to signify activities aimed at ending what proponents believed was undue
influence exercised by Jews over European cultural, social,
economic, and political life. Although it is often asserted that
German writer Wilhelm Marr (18191904) coined the term,
no persuasive evidence has been adduced to this effect. The
stem antisemit- was used in Germany since 1860 as a characterization for statements asserting the inferiority of cultures belonging to the Semitic language family, as compared to those employing an Indo-European language. That
usage appears to have been current when a group called
the Antisemiten-Liga (League of Antisemites) came into being
under the leadership of Marr and Hector de Grousillier in
September 1879. This small society was one of several such
organizations, all founded more or less around the same
time, that expressed dissatisfaction with the consequences
of the provision of Germanys 1871 imperial constitution
that had abolished all legal restrictions on Jews and Jewish
communities. In November 1879, Heinrich von Treitschke,
a leading German historian of his day, labeled these groups
collectively as Antisemitenvereine (antisemitic associations),
and the name caught on quickly.
People joined the Antisemitenvereine for many reasons:
some because of religiously inspired notions about the
proper role of Jews in Christian society, some because
they identified Jews with capitalism, and others because
they thought that attacking Jews might bring them political advantage. In other words, no single set of ideas about
Jews united them. Antisemitism thus originally meant little more than acting like an antisemite that is, engaging in activities that the so-called antisemitic associations
espoused. The widespread belief that the word conveyed
opposition to alleged Jewish influence in society because of
Jews purported racial characteristics instead of their religious beliefs has no basis in fact.
The first antisemitic associations arose in Germany. Their
earliest intervention in German politics was the presentation
of the so-called Antisemites Petition to Chancellor Bismarck
in April 1881. The petition made four demands: restriction
of Jewish immigration from other countries, a ban on the
appointment of Jews to positions of authority, preservation
of the Christian character of schools, and separate registration of Jews in official statistics. Although the document garnered more than 250,000 signatures, none of its demands
was implemented. During the following decade several political parties were formed to ensure that the petitions goals
were implemented through legislation. By any measure
these parties were a failure: Their parliamentary representation never exceeded 4%, and in almost three decades
of activity they managed to bring only seven bills to the
Reichstag floor and none was enacted. Nevertheless, they
attracted considerable public attention, both in Germany
and beyond. In the early 1880s, groups espousing similar
political platforms appeared in Hungary, Habsburg Austria, and France. These groups, too, were soon labeled antisemitic. In 1882, German, Austrian, and Hungarian activists
convened an International Anti-Jewish Congress, which
15
Antisemitism
Antisemitism
Antisemitism
this kind, including one by the European Union Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia (later renamed
the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights) in January 2005.
The Working Definition of Antisemitism produced by this
body notes that contemporary examples of antisemitism . . .
could include . . . calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing
or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or
extremist view of religion; making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews
as such or the power of Jews as a collective . . . ; accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or
group . . . ; denying the fact, scope, mechanisms . . . , or intentionality of . . . the Holocaust; accusing Jews as a people,
or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust; [and] accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to
Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than
to the interests of their own nations. The document also
identifies certain attitudes and behaviors toward the State
of Israel as ways in which antisemitism manifests itself,
including denying the Jewish people their right to selfdetermination . . . ; claiming that the existence of a state of
Israel is a racist endeavor; applying double standards by
requiring of it behavior not expected or demanded of any
other democratic nation; using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism . . . to characterize Israel or
Israelis; drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy
to that of the Nazis; [and] holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel. In contrast, it also
notes that criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against
any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.
(The document can be viewed at http://eumc.europa.eu
/eumc/material/pub/AS/AS-WorkingDefinition-draft.pdf.)
This definition is a prescriptive statement about behaviors
that might be regarded as socially unacceptable. According
to the EU body it was prepared to provide a practical guide
for identifying incidents, collecting data, and supporting the
implementation and enforcement of legislation dealing with
antisemitism. Indeed, most of those using the term antisemitism since its introduction in the late nineteenth century have done so because they found it a useful vehicle
for analyzing the relations between Jews and non-Jews in
their day. As the character of those relations has changed,
so have the meanings attached to the word. No single definition can be regarded as correct or incorrect; the test of the
various definitions can be only the extent to which they aid
or inhibit understanding of how Jews and non-Jews have
interacted and continue to interact with one another.
D AVID E NGEL
Antisemitism:
17
Deputies, Leon
Blum was the recipient of an antisemitic
insult; in his public response Blum asserted his pride in
belonging to the Jewish race.
18
Apocrypha
Yiddish press, theater, and film, Jules Meyer titled his article, They are talking too much about us. He called for a
lower profile, warning that the currently hospitable atmosphere toward Jews could quickly disappear. Although it is
doubtful that Jewish cultural production caused the eventual tragedies that befell a large part of the Jews in France, it
is conceivable that the very nature of Jewish self-portrayal of
the 1920s may have contributed to the sense of Jews as outsiders. Jewish characters in fiction by Jewish authors were
frequently presented as semitic or oriental, were often
portrayed as torn between embracing and rejecting their
Jewish heritage, and were sometimes involved in doomed
mixed marriages.
Events around the world contributed in multiple ways to
the evolution of a reinvigorated French antisemitism. The
Paris Peace Conference of 1919 took up the issue of national
minorities, and some French Jews, defending the notion,
introduced a philosophy of multiculturalism into a France
that was not prepared to accept such a premise or believe
in an ethnic or national form of Judaism. Zionism began
also to attract adherents, thereby providing additional fodder for the suspicion of a lack of Jewish loyalty. As the
world fell into a major economic crisis, Eastern European
antisemitism and the imposition of immigration restrictions
by the United States stimulated the arrival of refugees,
including Jews. The Jewish population of France doubled,
from 150,000 to 300,000, in the twenty years that preceded
World War II. Immigration, in turn, brought foreign antisemitism into France, stimulating public discussion and reaction. One example was the very public and dramatic trial in
1927 of Sholom Schwartzbard, a Ukrainian-born French citizen, for the 1926 murder of Ukrainian exile Simon Petlura.
Schwartzbard was acquitted by the jury, which accepted the
argument that he was rightfully avenging family members
killed by Ukrainian nationalists under Petluras command.
France and the world were divided on the relative guilt
of each man and there were repercussions. A Ligue Internationale Contre lAntisemitism (LICA) was created in 1926,
influenced by the model and teachings of Schwartzbard and
extolling the creation of a new Jew, one who would not
allow himself to be victimized or enslaved but would fight in
his own defense and break the cycle of anti-Jewish hatred
and violence.
The 1930s marked the return of political antisemitism,
which went well beyond any prior manifestations. The
responsible factors included the 1933 accession of Hitler
to power in Germany; economic depression; the 1936
emergence of a government by the Popular Front, a coalition of socialists and communists under the leadership of
Leon
Blum; and the growing fear of war. It did not help the
Jewish cause that Alexandre Stavinsky, a Jewish swindler
with ties to several members of the government, was discovered to have been the embezzler whose schemes caused
huge financial losses for many people. A riot in February
1934 portrayed Jews as stateless invaders, eternally inassimilable, who were corrupting the economic and political order,
sapping Frances economic strength, and leading the country
into war.
Apocrypha
Apocrypha
Apocrypha
JUDEO- ARABIC
BUBER, MARTIN;
ISRAEL, STATE OF : PEACE MOVEMENT; MAGNES, JUDAH
L.; SZOLD, HENRIETTA
21
Zionism, and their works express a sense of loss and disillusionment, featuring protagonists conflicted by moral dilemmas. For example, in Benjamin Tammuzs The Swimming
Race (1951) the anguished narrator recalls his childhood
visit to a hospitable Arab village near Jaffa where he has
now returned as a conquering soldier helpless to prevent the
murder of the Arab who had been his friend. S. Yizhar (pen
name of Yizhar Smilansky [19162006)]) fought in Israels
War of Independence as an officer. Although Yizhar served
as a member of the Knesset for seventeen years, his most
lasting impact on Israeli society may well be that of witness
to the displacement of Palestines native Arab population.
Even before the war was over, he wrote his famous controversial novella, Khirbet Khizeh, which has had a powerful impact on Israelis ever since (it was only translated into
English in 2008). The soldier-narrator (often identified as
a surrogate for the author) recounts how he and his comrades receive orders to capture the Arab village of Khirbet Khizeh. Although the village appears peaceful, intelligence reports indicate that it has been infiltrated by enemy
combatants. After some hesitation and debate, the soldiers
assault the village, load its Arab residents onto trucks, and
blow up their homes. At the time of its publication in 1949,
there were calls for the work to be censored; however, over
the years, Khirbet Khizeh has enjoyed tremendous popularity even among soldiers of Yizhars generation for its honest
portrayal of the moral complexities of Israels War of Independence. Yizhars The Days of Ziklag (1958) also portrays the
brutality of war and, although sympathetic in its presentation of Israeli soldiers heroically defending a hilltop position
against an Egyptian armored attack, is unsparing in depicting destruction of Arab villages (ISRAEL, STATE OF: WARS
[1948]).
The early careers of both A. B. Yehoshua (b. 1936) and
Amos Oz (b. 1939), two of Israels most internationally
acclaimed authors, include milestones in the historical representation of Israels Arab minorities. Yehoshuas Facing
the Forest (1963) is highly regarded not only for its representation of the figure of the Arab but also for its provocative
portrayal of the troubled history of the landscape itself and
the erasure of the past. In this story, a rootless and disaffected student accepts an appointment as a fire-watcher in
a remote forest south of Jerusalem. There he encounters an
aging Arab and a young girl who cares for him. The Arab
is mute, his tongue having apparently been cut out during
Aramaic
Aramaic is an ancient Semitic language, cognate to Biblical Hebrew. Approximately ten chapters of the Hebrew
Bible are in Aramaic. Although Hebrew was the main
language spoken by the Judeans and Israelites throughout
the biblical period, it was slowly replaced during and after
the Babylonian Exile by Aramaic, the dominant language
of western Asia at that time. By the end of the biblical period
(second century BCE), Aramaic had become the main Jewish spoken language and Hebrew was used in formal, liturgical, and written contexts rather than in everyday speech.
This is reflected in the fact that most late biblical and early
23
Aramaic
Shechem was located below the sacred Samaritan Temple site on Mt. Gerizim. Excavations of its walled, sacred
precinct revealed considerable building activities during the
early second century BCE. Further north, in the regions of
northern Samaria and Galilee, subsistence farmers lived on
small farms and in villages. This northern area continued to
have strong ties to Phoenicia in the north until the period
of the Hasmonean revolt.
In the Hellenistic period, Jerusalem continued as a small,
relatively poor city, devoted primarily to the work of the
Temple. The city occupied only the Temple Mount and the
area known as the City of David. Only later did the city
grow and begin to add new neighborhoods to the southwest. Culturally, Jerusalem was insular, although the growing amount of imported pottery from the third to the second centuries BCE demonstrates increasing contact with
wider Mediterranean trade networks. Excavations have also
revealed signs of the local system of taxation in the form of
more than one hundred stamped storage jars that bear the
stamp YHD or YRSLM (for Yehud or Jerusalem). These jars
were likely used for wine, wheat, or oil, paid as a tax to the
Temple or the local administrator.
As this era progressed, the local population in the
Land of Israel had to decide between maintaining their
traditions or adopting Greek customs. Becoming an ally
of the Greek administration could mean prosperity and
luxurious lifestyles. For example, excavations at the site of
Iraq el-Emir in Trans-Jordan have revealed the elaborate
palace of the Tobiads, a Jewish family that benefited from
the decision to embrace Hellenism. Many wealthy Judeans,
including residents of Jerusalem, made similar decisions.
Argentina
In the interior cities, Sephardim created their own communal institutions wherever they settled, usually separate
from the Ashkenazim but not from other Sephardim. By
contrast, each Sephardic group in Buenos Aires settled in
a different part of the city, built its own synagogues, and
founded philanthropic societies and cemeteries. During the
first half of the twentieth century, these separate Sephardic
communities seldom mixed with other Sephardic groups or
with Ashkenazic Jews.
A whole host of Jewish institutions were created in
Buenos Aires during the years of massive immigration. Among others, they included Bikur Jolim, a Jewish soup kitchen; SOPROTIMIS (Society for the Protection
of Immigrants); the Jewish Anti-Tuberculosis League (the
Sephardim organized their own); Jewish orphanages for
girls and boys; a home for the elderly; a Jewish hospital; and the Argentine Zionist Federation. These organizations were financially supported by the various Jewish communities in Buenos Aires and in the rest of the country.
As stated earlier, Sephardic Jews tended to use their own
societies.
Jewish education was provided since the early years. For
Universelle sent
the JCA colonies, the Alliance Israelite
graduates from their schools in Morocco and the Ottoman
Empire who taught both Jewish topics and the Argentine
curriculum. The Argentine government, however, later took
on the responsibility of teaching secular education, and Jewish education became optional after Argentine schools were
done for the day. These Talmudei Torah were linked to religious congregations and were under the supervision of rabbis. After 1917, a debate emerged around what constituted
Jewish education, and secular Jewish schools (led by leftist
Zionists) were created. In the first decade of the twentyfirst century, there are about seventy educational institutions under a Central Committee of Jewish education (Vaad
Hajinuj).
Jewish cultural life in Buenos Aires and in the cities in
the interior of the country was varied. Certain neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, like Once, Barracas, Flores, Villa Crespo,
had a high concentration of Jews. Yiddish theater was very
popular, and Argentina boasted various local theater companies and enjoyed visits from international troupes. Jewish
writers (in Yiddish or Spanish) enjoyed a very active publishing scene and avid readers. Elie Wiesels original Yiddish version of his famous memoir Night (originally titled
And the World Kept Silent), for example, was first published in
1956 in Buenos Aires as part of a collection of Polish Yiddish works edited by Mark Turkow, a renowned local editor
and writer. Many Jewish newspapers and monthly/biweekly
papers were available as well, both in Yiddish (Yiddishe
Tzaitung, Di Presse, among several others) and in Spanish
(Mundo Israelita, Israel, La Luz).
Various Jewish sports clubs, imbued with Zionist ideology, sprang up in Buenos Aires and in some cities in the interior. Sociedad Hebraica Argentina, Macabi, and Nautico Hacoaj
are some of the institutions that still provide sports, recreation, and cultural options for Jewish families.
Although Argentine Jewry did not split into Reform, Conservative, or Orthodox denominations, at the beginning of
the twenty-first century Argentina has both Conservative
synagogues (usually led by graduates from the Seminario
Rabnico Latinoamericano founded by American Conservative
it achieved independence from Spain in the early nineteenth century, organized Jewish life dates to 1862, when
a group of French and German Jews (later joined by a handful of Moroccan Jews) founded the Congregacion Israelita de la
Republica
Argentina in Buenos Aires. By the end of the nine
teenth century there was a significant Jewish presence, both
in Buenos Aires and in the rest of the country (mostly in
the center and north). An 1881 decree by Argentine president Julio A. Roca opened the door to Israelite immigration, and the arrival of the Wesser in 1889, a ship carrying 816 Eastern European Jews, marked the beginning of
a steady flow of Ashkenazic immigrants. Heading mostly
to the interior of the country, Jewish families settled in
Argentina
Aron
Art, American: Before 1940. The term Jewish American art, like the more generalized term Jewish art, is
fraught with complications and variously understood. Critics debate whether Jewish American art need only be art
made by a Jewish American, independent of content, or if
both the artists and the artworks identity must be Jewish. Indeed, working in myriad styles and adopting both
figuration and abstraction, some artists of Jewish origins
address Jewishness and the more specific Jewish American
experience, whereas others make art that is indistinguishable in theme and content from their Gentile counterparts.
Whether a Jewish American artist should be defined sociologically or by subject matter remains an open question;
in the discussion that follows Jewish American artists are
accepted according to either criterion.
Jews did not participate in American visual art in a meaningful way until the nineteenth century. They were certainly
free to do so, but religious constraints, as well as uneasiness
about the respectability of a career in art, disappeared slowly.
This hesitancy was sometimes the result of the prohibition
against graven images in the second commandment of the
biblical Decalogue; for centuries, some Jews understood it
as prohibiting the creation of visual art of any kind. However, close reading of the text shows that the commandment
was directed against figuration used for idol worship and not
other types of artistic expression.
In the nineteenth century, some Jewish American artists
designed ceremonial objects, which was considered religiously acceptable. For example, Myer Myers (17231795),
an eighteenth-century silversmith, made both secular and
religious objects for colonial merchants. He created rimonim
(literally pomegranates; these were ornaments for the
tops of the wooden rollers of Torah scrolls) for several
synagogues, including New Yorks Congregation Shearith
Israel and the Jeshuat Israel Congregation in Newport,
Rhode Island. In the nineteenth century, a handful of Jews
were painters. Wealthy patrons commissioned the brothers Joshua and John Canter (or Canterson) to paint their
portraits. Theodore Sidney Mose (18081885), Frederick E.
Cohen (18181858), and Jacob Hart Lazarus (18221891)
are other nineteenth-century Jewish portraitists of note.
Solomon Nunes Carvalho (18151897) is the best known
artist from this period. In addition to making portraits of
members of the Jewish community, he also painted allegorical portraits, including one of Abraham Lincoln (1865).
Carvalho created a few biblical paintings and landscapes as
well, but his fame rests on his work as a daguerreotypist
Diaspora.
R OBERT K UGLER
Nathaniel Loewenberg as exemplars of the mode. To illustrate Hapgoods evocation of the cultural and religious
nature of the Jewish people, Epstein made fifty-two drawings and a cover design for the book. Epstein later became
an expatriate, settling in London and gaining fame as a Modernist sculptor.
The photographer Alfred Stieglitz (18641946) championed Modernism in the 1910s. Although most of the
artists whom Stieglitz supported were not Jewish, his coreligionists Max Weber (18811961) (Plate 16), an avantgarde painter and sculptor, and the Modernist Walkowitz,
enjoyed his patronage. An underlying tone of antisemitism,
or at least an intense nativism, pervaded some discussions of
Modernism at this time; the conservative critic Royal Cortissoz described Modernism as Ellis Island art. Certainly,
Modernism was frequently associated with Jews, especially
in Europe; Adolf Hitler later adopted this position.
In addition to taking many innovative pictures, Stieglitz
nearly single-handedly legitimized photography as a rightful counterpart to painting and sculpture. Moreover,
Stieglitz mentored several important photographers in their
own right, including Arnold Newman (19182006) and Paul
Strand (18901976). In the 1930s, artist Ben Shahn (1898
1969) took documentary photographs for the Farm Security
Administration, a government program enacted to chronicle
the poverty and desperation in Dust Bowl America for urban
Americans.
Often called the father of modern photojournalism,
Alfred Eisenstaedt (18981995) was one of the four original
staff photographers at Life magazine. Working for Life for
forty years starting in 1936, the prolific and self-taught
Eisenstaedt took photos for approximately 2,500 assignments, and his work appeared on more than ninety covers.
Eisenstaedt is especially known for his ability to capture the
salient moment in rich detail, whether the character of an
important figure or a slice of everyday life, such as the reactions of women purchasing undergarments in a department
store. Also a photojournalist, Weegee (born Usher Fellig,
18991968) achieved fame chronicling crime and disaster;
he specialized in capturing the effects of these tragedies on
the people of New York, subsequently selling his images to
newspapers and tabloids. Weegees sensationalized, lurid,
nocturnal pictures of bloody corpses, distraught tenement
dwellers watching as their meager homes were engulfed in
flames, car accidents, and additional agonies as well as
his other photographic subjects number in the thousands;
5,000 negatives and around 15,000 prints were counted
after his death, and more have been discovered since. In
the latter half of the twentieth century, Jews continued to
play a large role in photography, especially in the fashion
industry.
Many artists addressed political, social, and economic
issues, especially during the Great Depression. It has been
argued that traditions of social justice impelled Jewish
artists to create imagery of the underdog. Although secular in theme, these works, influenced by the Jewish experience, would be recognized as Jewish American art even
by critics who define the term in its strictest sense. Working as Social Realists in the thirties, the Soyer brothers (Raphael, 18991987; Moses, 18991974; and Isaac,
19021981) represented mundane details of life, including waiting in an unemployment line, with gentleness and
31
Art, American: Since 1940. As painters, sculptors, printmakers, and photographers, as well as artists who engage in
newer forms of visual expression such as video, conceptual,
and performance art, Jewish American artists, considering
their small numbers in the general population, have had an
exceptionally large presence in the art world from the midtwentieth century onward.
Several of the leading Abstract Expressionists were Jewish. Adolf Gottlieb (19031974), Philip Guston (19131980),
Lee Krasner (19081984; Plate 17), Barnett Newman
(19051970), and Mark Rothko (19031970) are among
several Jewish artists who eschewed representation in the
late 1940s and 1950s. The styles in which the artists worked
are difficult to generalize, but they typically painted on
large canvases and were interested in spontaneous expression. Although abstract, Newmans painting has been understood as shaped by his Jewish sensibilities, in part because
of titles like Covenant and The Name, and also because, it
has been argued, his knowledge of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) influenced his zip paintings, which can be read
as symbolic of God and Creation. The only photographer
aligned with the Abstract Expressionists was Aaron Siskind
(19031991). Some second-generation Abstract Expressionists were Jewish. Helen Frankenthaler (b. 1928) and Morris
Louis (19121962) stained unprimed canvases with thinned
color that seems to float on and through the canvas, and
over many years Jules Olitski (19222007) experimented
with abstraction in several media. Currently, Tobi Kahn
(b. 1952) paints abstract canvases that convey landscape
through color. Clement Greenberg (19091994) and Harold
Rosenberg (19061978), two of the major art critics who
promulgated Abstract Expressionism in its beginnings, were
Jewish.
Some artists who worked as Social Realists during the thirties turned their sensibilities toward the civil rights movement of the sixties. Raphael Soyer (18991987) made a
lithograph titled Amos on Racial Equality (1960s), which
quotes the biblical prophet Amos in Hebrew and English
and depicts a white woman carrying a black infant. Ben
Shahns (18981969) lithograph Thou Shalt Not Stand Idly By
(1965) portrays an oversized interracial handshake; the title
comes from Leviticus 19:16 and is printed in Hebrew and in
English at the top of the image. Artists of the next generation also engaged social issues. After the fact, R. B. Kitaj
(19322007) who made a large body of richly allegorical imagery representing Jewish concerns commented on
the integration of blacks into professional baseball with his
painting Amerika (Baseball) (19834). JewishBlack relations
have become strained since the civil rights movement, a situation cartoonist Art Spiegelman (b. 1948) tackled with his
cover design of a black woman kissing a H
. asidic man for a
February 1993 issue of the New Yorker.
Two Jewish artists initiated the feminist art movement.
At the height of the womens liberation movement in 1971,
Judy Chicago (b. 1939) and Miriam Schapiro (b. 1923)
jointly founded the Feminist Art Program at the California Institute of the Arts. Chicago is especially known for
her enormous multimedia installation, The Dinner Party: A
Symbol of Our Heritage (19749). Made with more than 400
32
collaborators, The Dinner Party was created to raise awareness of forgotten womens history in a world that privileges
men. Eleanor Antin (b. 1935), Audrey Flack (b. 1931), Barbara Kruger (b. 1945), and Nancy Spero (19262009) are
other important feminist artists; Flacks photorealist paintings comment on stereotypes of femininity, and Kruger
deconstructs power relations, often related to gender, in her
photomontage images. Recent scholarship has argued that
many of the early feminist artists were Jewish because as
perennial outsiders and as the children or grandchildren of
radical immigrants, fighting for justice and equality was their
natural heritage.
In the sixties, seventies, and eighties, Jewish artists
worked in diverse manners. Jim Dine (b. 1935) and Roy
Lichtenstein (19231997) first adopted a Pop idiom during the sixties. Emerging into the public eye in the seventies, Philip Pearlstein (b. 1924) paints figures in a flat,
unemotional style that treats the human form with the
same objectivity as the inanimate objects surrounding the
model. Also painting figuratively, Alex Katz (b. 1927) typically fills his large canvases with the flattened, simplified
heads and shoulders of his sitters rendered in crisp color.
Sol LeWitt (19282007) explored and wrote about Conceptual Art in addition to making Minimalist sculpture, and
Jonathan Borofsky (b. 1942) continues to make multimedia
site-specific installations using his own life as source material. In contrast, sculptor and Process artist Richard Serra
(b. 1939) asserts that his focus on the physical qualities
of materials and the act of creation leaves little room for
expressions of the artists personality. At the same time that
LeWitt, Borofsky, and Serra experimented with avant-garde
modes of artistic expression, they made works investigating
or memorializing the Holocaust.
Some artists who mostly worked within the mainstream
for the majority of their careers became interested in Jewish
matters late in life. Raphael Soyer illustrated two volumes
of Isaac Bashevis Singers memoirs (1978, 1981) and two
short stories by Singer for the Limited Editions Club (1979).
Larry Rivers (19232002) also illustrated a Singer story for
the Limited Editions Club (1984) and painted an enormous
three-paneled painting, History of Matzah (The Story of the Jews)
(19824), tackling the nearly four millennia of Jewish experience. In his eighties, Harry Sternberg (19042001) worked
on a series of prints, drawings, and paintings delineating
Jewish prayer and study as part of his Tallit Series (1980s),
named after the prayer shawl worn by observant Jews
when they pray. Husband and wife William Meyerowitz
(18871981) and Theresa Bernstein (1890?-2002) traveled
to Israel thirteen times after 1948 and painted many images
of the land after having previously pursued a more traditional American art trajectory. Chaim Gross began sculpting
Jewish subjects in the 1960s. Although Shahn and Leonard
Baskin (19222000) explored some Jewish topics early on,
they more consistently embraced Jewish identity in the
visual arts as they aged, notably with Passover haggadah
illustrations done in 1965 and 1974, respectively. Baskins
subject matter, both in his sculpture and his graphic images,
frequently addressed biblical figures and Holocaust themes
(Plate 19). Earlier in the century Saul Raskin (18781966)
illustrated a haggadah with woodcuts (1941).
Several Jews worked as photojournalists, including
Richard Avedon (19232004) and Irving Penn (19172009).
Avedons career spanned sixty years, beginning as a fashion photographer for Harpers Bazaar in the 1940s when
he was barely twenty years old. His pioneering pictures set
standards for the fashion industry, and his subsequent portraits, most not taken on commission but as part of the
artists own project, chronicle the faces of major twentiethcentury celebrities and public figures. Avedon shoots his
portraits against a plain white background and without
accoutrements in an effort to convey his sitters personalities in an unidealized manner. Considered one of the most
versatile photographers of the twentieth century, Penn produced more than one hundred covers for Vogue magazine,
myriad fashion and advertising spreads for various magazines, and many other photographs in genres such as still
life and portraiture.
Later in the century, photographers used the medium to
varying ends. Popularly described as a photographer of misfits and freaks, Diane Arbus (19231971) is recognized for
a body of black-and-white photographs that explore and
question the fine line between normalcy and difference.
In opposition to the suggested objectivity of documentary
photography, Arbuss work is clearly subjective. Moreover,
the America she depicts is disturbing and unsentimental,
much like the vision presented earlier in the century by
Weegee (Arnold Felig, 18991968) and Robert Frank (b.
1924). Indeed, Frank is best known for his book The Americans (1959), a Guggenheim-funded project that exposes the
divisions and alienation of his era, as opposed to the sentimental and celebratory photographs of America more popular at that time. Franks innovative style, the snapshot
aesthetic a then-unconventional style deliberately
employing odd angles, occasional blurriness, and seemingly
spontaneous scenes influenced several important photographers in addition to Arbus; these include Lee Friedlander
(b. 1934) and Garry Winogrand (19281984), two of the
original street photographers.
The Holocaust has been a major preoccupation of later
twentieth-century Jewish artists. One of Seymour Liptons
(19031986) last representational sculptures responded to
news of Nazi persecution of the Jews. Titled Let My People
Go (1942), based on a divine command in Exodus, Liptons
sculpture portrays a bust of a pious Jewish male wearing a
prayer shawl. Ben-Zion (18971987) was a poet who turned
to painting because he felt that words could not adequately
express the horrors of fascism and later the Shoah. Exhibited
as a whole in 1946, the series De Profundis (Out of the Depths):
In Memory of the Massacred Jews of Nazi Europe comprises
seventeen Expressionistic works conveying the artists distress at the events of the Holocaust; it pays homage to those
who perished by Nazi hands. Leon Golubs (19222004)
lithograph Charnel House (1946) and his Burnt Man series
of the early 1950s describe murdered victims, also in an
Expressionist fashion.
Interest in the Holocaust as a subject for art has only
increased in the years since. Audrey Flacks photorealist canvas World War II (Vanitas) (197677) presents a still life in collage format, including a Jewish star from her key chain and a
photograph of the 1945 liberation of Buchenwald taken by
Life magazine photographer Margaret Bourke-White. Alice
Lok Cahana (b. 1929), a survivor of concentration and
labor camps, uses visual art to work through her memories of the Holocaust in semi-abstract mixed media collages.
33
shtetl life that was newly threatened by modernity. Kaufman also painted landscapes, portraits, and genre images
with non-Jewish content.
34
Pogrom (1905; Tel Aviv Museum of Art), a painting depicting the alienation and dislocation of a silent family gathering of sufferers. More overtly political and socially active,
Samuel Hirszenberg (18651908), a native of Lodz, followed
and Munich. However,
Gottliebs path by training in Krakow
Hirszenberg used his art in response to tsarist Russias persecution of Jews with such works as Wandering Jew (1899;
Israel Museum, Jerusalem) and Exile (1904; lost). The latter,
a representation of refugees in the snow, quickly became
a Zionist icon. Hirszenbergs own Zionist sympathies were
fulfilled when he immigrated to Palestine in 1907, assuming
a teaching position at the new Bezalel Academy of Arts and
Design in Jerusalem.
In contrast to this politicized radicalism and Jewish identity, the major painter Camille Pissarro (18301903), born to
a French Sephardic family in the Caribbean, in the Danish
Virgin Islands, would not be recognizable as a Jewish painter
from his themes. Pissarro, who would eventually marry a
Catholic, professed to be a secular Modernist and a political radical even an anarchist who had no religion whatsoever. Nevertheless, he was identified by many contemporaries, especially Renoir, as a Jew. Pissarro, of course, is most
closely associated with the Impressionist painting circle, with
whom he exhibited in the 1870s and 1880s in Paris, but he
expressly chose to live in the countryside around such villages as Pontoise and Eragny and to paint images of peasant life as well as rural landscapes. In his final decade he
moved to the capital and painted street scenes of modern
Paris. He is also remembered for his mentoring of younger
artists, notably van Gogh and Gauguin.
One of the most famous and successful late-nineteenth (1824
century Jewish artists, the Dutchman Josef Israels
1911), also drew on the precedent of Rembrandt for his
somber interiors. However, Jewish subjects make up a relatively small portion of his sentimental domestic genre
Art, Europe: Twentieth Century. Although nineteenthcentury Jewish artists were relatively few in number and
often beset by difficulties because of their religio-cultural
heritage, the early twentieth century saw a considerable
increase in opportunities in Jewish art across Europe. These
possibilities were curtailed traumatically by the horrors of
the Holocaust. The story of Jewish artists in twentiethcentury Europe involves discussion more of urban cultural
centers and communities of artists than of isolated individuals. Their aesthetic innovations, particularly in Paris
and Saint Petersburg, often overlapped with new political
movements, ranging from Zionism to the Russian Revolution, as Jewish artists formed a cosmopolitan avant-garde in
major centers.
Pre World War I Berlin, where Jews were part of an
emerging Modernism in all the arts, also percolated with
a variety of political movements, including Zionism. Many
Jewish artists joined the clarion call of Martin Buber and
others to foster a new cultural assertion of Jewish identity and advocacy for a Jewish state in Palestine. Boris
Schatz (18671932) would soon emigrate to found the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem (1906). Some
other leading Zionist artists used printmaking and publishing (especially the journal East and West) as their media of
outreach. Ephraim Moses Lilien (18741925) designed Zionist graphic images with lettering in Jugendstil, the organic
and flowing linear contemporary style, with an orientalist
cast (Plate 21). Lesser Ury (18611931) emphasized muscular, dark isolated figures Jeremiah, Moses as heroic
cultural leaders in his Zionist pastels, but (like Pissarro in
35
with the new State Jewish Theater in Moscow (1920), Chagall founded a short-lived Vitebsk art academy, where Lissitzky taught. There Chagall made celebrated murals, and
Altman designed costumes and sets for the staging of The
Dybbuk.
Around the time of the revolution, Russian artists offered
a powerful response, Suprematism, to the abstraction pioneered in Paris and Munich to serve as a radical break with
representational art of the past. Altman and Lissitzky, who
were particularly sympathetic to the secular goals of the
Russian Revolution and to Lenin as its leader, adapted the
new artistic forms to the new political era. Altman, who
served as Director of Fine Arts of the Peoples Commissariat
(1921), designed public spectacles of agit-prop (agitation
and propaganda) to celebrate the new state in Palace Square,
Saint Petersburg; he also made portraits of Lenin. Lissitzky,
strongly influenced by the radical abstraction of Kasimir
Malevich, developed formal designs, sometimes in three
dimensions, that he called Prouns (acronym for Project
for the Affirmation of the New) and also created an abstract
propaganda poster, Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge
(1919). By 1922, however, most of these Jewish artists had
emigrated to Berlin and largely abandoned their works with
expressly Jewish content. Although Lissitzky and Altman
returned to Russia, Ryback and Chagall remained in France.
Two avant-garde abstract sculptors, the brothers Naum Gabo
(18901977) and Antoine Pevsner (18861962), exemplify
Russias increasing cosmopolitanism as well as the migrations of Jewish artists in the wake of the revolution. Pevsner,
who was also a painter, studied in Kiev; he then traveled to
Paris in the teens, where he was exposed to Cubism as well
as the growing community of Jewish artists in the city. Both
brothers left an innovative sculptural legacy of dynamic constructions in plastic, wood, and metal wires, often created for
public projects. Pevsners successful career was made in Paris
after 1923, whereas Gabo settled in London after 1936.
suggest loneliness, fear, and the anxiety of exiles or fugitives. Indeed, Nussbaum was interned early in the war and
escaped, only to be recaptured and killed in Auschwitz.
Nussbaum painted one self-portrait in which he displays
his own Jewish identity card (1943; Kulturgeschichtliches
Museum, Osnabruck).
This haunting bust image presents
Rosh Ha-Shanah, not separated by a divider. Each individual holds an open prayer book, suggesting general literacy.
Because the artist was the Jewish scribe and not a trained
illuminator, his remarkable images are strikingly unconventional. Independent and original, they suggest the multilayered richness of Jewish rituals.
PRINTED BOOKS: The production of profusely illustrated
printed Yiddish texts began in 1546, when the Christian humanist Christoph Froschauer published an edition of
37
Art, Israeli
who built the Tabernacle in the desert (Exod 31). Under
Schatzs directorship and the influence of teachers such as
Ephraim Moses Lilien (18741925) (Plate 21) and Zeev
Raban (18901970) (Plate 11), the school developed a style
that combined eastern and western imagery and patterns,
Hebrew script, and biblical and Zionist themes. Its artists
were mainly influenced by the popular Central European
Jugendstil movement (the equivalent of French Art Nouveau). The objects made at Bezalel were mostly handicraft
products and included Judaica artifacts, carpets, and souvenirs depicting biblical stories, the landscape of Palestine,
the holy sites, and portraits of Zionist leaders and Jewish
pioneers.
The fusion of techniques and elements originating in
Art, Israeli
Art, Israeli
his back and with a falcon perched on his shoulder is literally of the land, connected to the soil by his very substance and to the fruit of the land by the shape of his eyes,
which are modeled on wheat seeds. He generates a powerful impression of primal force, very much the opposite of the
figure of the old European Jew (as depicted, for example, in
Chagalls works). This powerful idol, a pre-Jewish hunter
(who in the Jewish tradition was an enemy of Abraham,
the forefather of the Israelites), was created on the eve of the
greatest tragedy in Jewish history, the Holocaust. Nimrod
became a symbol of the ideally formed Israeli youth the
Sabra.
In the 1950s, the formative years of Israels statehood, the
country faced complex issues and a growing military threat.
In addition, it was only beginning to come to terms with
the Holocaust. Although overshadowed by the dominant
abstract idiom of the New Horizons school, Social Realist
artists such as Avraham Ofek (19351990), Ruth Schloss (b.
1922), and Naftali Bezem (b. 1924) engaged thematically
with the ArabIsraeli conflict, the hardships encountered
by new immigrants, and the memory of the Holocaust. These
artists worked in a realistic style, influenced by 1950s Italian
Social Realists and by Mexican artists such as Diego Rivera,
who sought to advance their social and political agendas
through art. They were opposed to the idea of art for arts
sake, especially in the wake of World War II.
Other artists, such as Mordecai Ardon (18961992), Jakob
Steinhardt (18871968), and Yosl Bergner (b. 1920), incorporated Jewish narratives and symbols in their art (Bezems
later work is very much of this kind). The most important
artist in this context was Ardon, who had studied at the
Bauhaus school in Weimar in the 1920s where he was a
pupil of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky. In his works,
Ardon combined Modernist abstract ideas with Jewish
themes, Hebrew script, and kabbalistic symbols (Plate 24)
(and see KABBALAH).
Thus, in the 1950s and into the 1960s, two major opposing forces were active in the Israeli art world. On one side
were artists inclined toward abstract trends, who thought art
should not concern itself with national or symbolic issues or
with the immediate political and social reality. On the other
hand were artists who aimed to incorporate Jewish-identity
themes in their work or who engaged with local, social, and
political issues as a means of defining their artistic stance.
A number of artists found themselves between these
major conflicting groups. They included the Russian-born
Arie Aroch (19091974); a member of the New Horizons
group, he was also influenced by other trends of modern
art such as the child-like works of Paul Klee. In the 1960s he
became influenced by Neo-Dada art and especially by Robert
Rauschenberg, a major predecessor of Pop art who combined
everyday objects in his works. Arochs work throughout the
1960s and 1970s includes ready-made objects, texts, childlike scribbles, and elements related to his early childhood
experiences in Kharkov, Russia (now Ukraine). Some of his
works incorporate Jewish elements such as the use of Yiddish text and Jewish iconography. This combination of Poporiented art style, themes from his personal memories, and
Jewish motifs differentiated Aroch from the other artists in
the New Horizons group and made him an important influence on a generation of young artists beginning to be active
in the 1960s.
39
Art, Israeli
Art, Israeli
Art, Israeli
idolatrous, and the use of unique Jewish imagery. Jewish imagery includes Torah shrines (by the third century
called an ark) and the symbolic representation of Torah
shrines in synagogue mosaics, on carved architectural synagogue elements (e.g., Chorazin, Capernaum, Sardis), as catacomb decoration (Rome, Beth Shearim), and, in Rome, on
oil lamps. In Rome and Sardis the Torah shrine is shown
with its doors open so that scrolls may be seen within. In
Palestine the doors are closed, with a hanging textile before
the shrine (e.g., Hammath Tiberias B, Beth Alpha). By far
the most widespread Jewish symbol was the seven-branched
Art, Late Antiquity: In the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. The surviving Jewish art that was created in the
Roman and Persian worlds during late antiquity (ca. 200
700 CE) is preserved mainly in burial contexts and monumental synagogue remains. The most important remains
are the Jewish catacombs in Rome and Beth Shearim in
the Galilee; more than 150 synagogues in the Land of
Israel (including, for example, Capernaum, Kefar Baram,
Hammath Tiberias B, Sepphoris, and Beth Alpha); and the
41
Ascarelli, Devor`a
redemption yet to come, while also reflecting on the continuing persecution of Jews in an as-yet unredeemed world.
A subtheme of eschatological imagination is that of fantasies
of vindication. Just as the redemption would bring salvation
for Jews, it would represent the downfall of their enemies.
Such subversive and revolutionary ideas, which would not
have gone over well with the majority culture, were veiled
in symbolic images or indicated by the use of a politically
pointed narrative iconography meant primarily for an internal Jewish audience. For instance, by commissioning images
that represent Pharaoh and his courtiers in the garb of a
contemporary monarch and his entourage, the patrons of
one fourteenth-century Sephardic haggadah may have been
expressing a rather explicit dream of subversion. By depicting the plagues afflicting some figures in contemporary dress
and some in more archaic clothing, the patrons of an
eighteenth-century Ashkenazic haggadah made the message
somewhat more ambiguous. And by generalizing the figures
so thoroughly that the landscape completely dominates, the
patrons of yet another haggadah, a Moravian example of the
eighteenth century, softened any explicit subversive message, while maintaining the implicit message of the plagues
that strike enemies and spare Gods chosen ones.
The embodiment of sacred narrative in manuscript art was
one of the ways in which medieval Jews testified to the continuity of the revelation at Sinai. Alongside their traditional
modes of text commentary, medieval Jews could employ
iconography as exegesis, using images as another mirror of
revelation in history.
Recent research on Hebrew manuscript illustration
includes M. M. Epstein, Dreams of Subversion in Medieval Jewish Art and Literature (1997); idem, The Medieval Haggadah:
Art, Narrative, and Religious Imagination (2011); E. Frojmovic,
ed., Imagining the Self, Imagining the Other: Visual Representation
and Jewish-Christian Dynamics in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period (2002); and K. Kogman-Appel, Illuminated Haggadot from Medieval Spain (2006).
M ARC M ICHAEL E PSTEIN
Ascarelli, Devor`a
Astrology
Sephardic practices and customs. He was opposed to philosophical studies and was a leader of those who opposed the
writings of Maimonides. His published works include Piskei
ha-Rosh, commentaries on large parts of the Mishnah and
Asherah:
CANAANITE
Ashkenaz is a biblical place name mentioned in Genesis 10:3, Jeremiah 51:27, and 1 Chronicles 1:6. In the
tenth century CE, Jews identified their settlements in
Astrology
Auschwitz
The ethical-legal potential of the liturgical drama of atonement was first recognized by Hermann Cohen (1842
1918), who saw the restoration of innocence and purity
as a religious contribution to an ethical conception of the
human being. The Jewish conception of atonement models what jurisprudence merely demands; namely, the transformation of the transgressor to a restored moral self.
For Cohen, confession of wrong, repentance, and atonement can rehabilitate the individual who, by accepting guilt
and punishment, begins a process of return to innocence
and moral value. Mindful of the social and psychological
dimensions of crime, modern legal scholars have also highlighted other elements of atonement, such as remorse and
apology.
For further reading see S. Agnon, Days of Awe (1938; rep.
1995); and S. Bibas and R. A. Bierschbach, Integrating
Remorse and Apology into Criminal Procedure, Yale Law
Journal 114/1 (2004): 85148.
M ICHAEL Z ANK
Astronomy: See
Auschwitz
HABSBURG
Autobiography
MEMOIR
AND
LIFEWRITING
Autonomy and Heteronomy. The etymology of autonomy (auto + nomos) suggests the imposition of law on oneself; its opposite, heteronomy (heteros + nomos), is the imposition of law on (or from) another. In the history of philosophy, the distinction between the two is associated with
Immanuel Kant (17241804). His basic insight is that the
individual alone bears responsibility for her or his actions.
To be responsible for oneself is in some sense to be master
of oneself or, as Kant characterizes it, autonomous. Taking
this idea to its logical extreme, Kant concludes that every
moral agent is both an end in itself and a being capable of
legislating morality for itself.
Suppose God commands me to do something. Why I
should obey? A reason often given is that my life will be
46
communities around the globe, enhanced the public profile of the work and led to its inclusion and mass circulation
in the prayer book. Over the centuries, Avot has inspired
numerous commentaries and has been translated into many
languages.
The first four of the tractates five chapters are an anthology of wisdom sayings attributed to rabbinic (and protorabbinic) sages; the fifth is comprised of similarly nonlegal
though mostly anonymous materials. The sayings in Avot
highlight ethical precepts and establish study of Torah and
observance of its precepts as fundamental Jewish values.
Typical is the saying, attributed to Simon the Righteous in
1:2, that the three pillars on which the world stands are
Torah, worship, and deeds of lovingkindness.
The central structuring principle of chapters one through
four is the chain of transmission that begins the tractate:
Moses received the Torah from Sinai and passed it on to
Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the
prophets, and the prophets passed it on to the Men of the
Great Assembly (Avot 1:1). This opening statement constructs the earliest stages of the transmission of the Torah in
its fullest sense that is, the Hebrew Bible and extrabiblical
oral traditions, from its initial reception on Mount Sinai until
the early Second Temple period. This chain of transmission
explicitly structures the first two chapters of Avot, tracing
the history of the Torahs transmission via a teacherdisciple
schema from biblical times until the early tannaitic period.
Chapters three and four continue the chronological theme
until the end of the tannaitic period, but are structured along
generational lines rather than by a teacherdisciple pattern.
Avots chain is not a straightforward reflection of historical
reality but rather a rhetorical construct designed to establish
the continuity of the rabbinic enterprise and thereby ground
rabbinic teachings in the ancient past.
Avot was produced by rabbinic sages in third-century
Roman Palestine, and the Greco-Roman setting provides an
illuminating backdrop for the tractate. For instance, Avots
chain of transmission is a fine example of a Hellenistic
scholastic succession list; collections of sayings were also
quite popular in Greco-Roman antiquity. In fact, the interspersing of attributed sayings (chreiai in Greek) within a
succession list was apparently an ancient Greek practice.
Avot thus reflects a rabbinic community that was embedded
within the overarching cultural environment of the GrecoRoman Near East.
A MRAM T ROPPER
Avot de Rabbi Natan. (AdRN), The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan, is one of the minor tractates of the
Babylonian Talmud. The core of AdRN is made up of wisdom teachings found in Mishnah Avot. Sometimes AdRN
comments directly on the passages of Avot (like gemara),
and at other times we find additions and supplements (like
the Tosefta). AdRN may preserve the earlier phrasing of
key passages. For example, in M. Avot the first saying is
attributed to the men of the Great Assembly: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a
fence for the Torah. In AdRN the order of items is different: The phrase make a fence for the Torah comes before
raise up many disciples. Judah Goldin suggested that such
alternate versions may enable reconstruction of the original
meaning.
47
Ayn Sof
The commentary can be extensive. In AdRN, the instruction to make a fence inspires an elaborate discussion
of fences contributed to by eight figures or documents:
Writings, and the Sages. The images of distance and boundary conveyed by a fence are also developed in several ways.
The most basic fence establishes a standard for practice
stricter than a given biblical commandment in order to guard
against transgression. AdRN describes men distancing themselves from transgression or reining in their own desires.
Long digressions are common; discussion of Adams fence
includes midrashic traditions concerning the events in Eden.
AdRN raises several technical difficulties because it is
not one text but a family of texts that includes several
manuscripts and Cairo Genizah fragments; their relationships are difficult to specify. Scholars have labeled the
printed edition and similar manuscripts as Version A, and
another group as Version B, but this division is contested.
Similarly, the dating is hotly debated. AdRN initially appears
to be a tannaitic work, but scholars have long been aware
that it was compiled over a much longer period. Menahem
Kisters recent analysis makes clear that post-talmudic editing of the material is also extensive.
48
Baal: See
Persia in 539 BCE, a large and important Jewish community remained in Diaspora in Babylon for centuries to come.
See also MESOPOTAMIA AND ANCIENT ISRAEL; NEAR
EAST, ANCIENT; IRAN; IRAQ; TALMUD, BABYLONIAN.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
OGY
Babylonia. The twelfth-century Judah the Pious of Regensburg, a major figure in the pietist H
. asidei Ashkenaz, described
a certain Rabbi Joseph as a master of holy names who used
his powers to move miraculously from place to place.
Several scholars, poets, and halakhists were described by
this title in the Middle Ages, but beginning in the sixteenth
century it was most commonly applied to mystics, healers,
and magicians in Central and Eastern Europe. Among them
was R. Joel Baal Shem of Zamoscs, who is credited with
treatises dealing with magic and popular medicine. The
eighteenth-century Shmuel Jacob H
. ayyim Falk was known
as the Baal Shem of London. R. Adam Baal Shem of Bingen,
a seventeenth-century figure, was later described as the
mysterious teacher of the founder of the H
. asidic movement,
R. Israel Baal Shem Tov (the Besht). There is no real difference in meaning between the terms baal shem and baal shem
tov (Master of the Good Name). See also DOV BER OF
MIEDZYRZECZ; ETHICAL WILLS; FOLKTALES; H
. ASIDISM,
EUROPE; HESCHEL, ABRAHAM JOSHUA; KABBALAH;
NAH
. MAN BEN SIMH
. A OF BRATZLAV; SCHNEUR ZALMAN
J OSEPH D AN
BEN BARUCH OF LIADY; UKRAINE.
uchadnezzar completed their destruction of Judah by capturing Jerusalem in 586 BCE and taking many captives and
deporting them to Mesopotamia. This period of removal
from the land is known as the exilic period, and the captivity in Mesopotamia as the Babylonian Exile. Among
the most important captives and deportees were the elites
of the Jerusalem establishment: the priests and the ruling
class. Among those who were exiled were deposed King
Jehoiachin and his family in 597 BCE, along with military
personnel and craftsmen (2 Kgs 24: 1516), as well as other
survivors including deserters (2 Kgs 25:11) in 586, and still
others in 582 (Jer 52:30). The tragic impact of these events
on the nation is reflected in Psalm 137 and Lamentations;
it is not known how many remained in the land. The exilic
experience produced surprising results in a very short time,
partly because the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom was replaced
by the Persian Empire in 539 when Cyrus defeated King
Nabonidus of Babylonia.
Among the accomplishments of the exilic era were the
editing of the Pentateuch and of the Former Prophets,
learning to worship in small groups without a Temple, and
integrating successfully into a new society far away from the
homeland while maintaining a distinctive identity. When
Cyrus the Great of Persia announced in 538 that it would
be possible for the dispersed to return to the Land of Israel
under the governor Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:8; 5:14), not many
of the exiles responded. A more significant return began
under the leadership of the Persian-appointed governor
Babylonian Exile
Balaam
Bah.ia ben Joseph ibn Pakuda was a rabbinic judge
in eleventh-century Saragossa, in what was then Muslim
BABYLONIAN
50
Balaam
Balkans
In rabbinic literature, Balaam came to represent the personification of the malice that the nations of the world
directed toward Israel. Throughout rabbinic literature, the
wicked Balaam advises the kings of the nations on how to
destroy Israel. The Rabbis affirm that Balaam had prophetic
powers and the facility to bless and curse effectively, but he
used these gifts for evil and sorcery. According to Numbers
Rabbah 14:20, God bestowed these special abilities on Balaam so that the nations of the world should not say, Had we
possessed a prophet like Moses we [too] would have worshiped the Holy One, blessed be He.
The 1967 discovery at Deir Alla in Jordan of fragmentary
inscriptions on plaster in a Canaanite dialect (published in
1976 by J. Hoftsijizer and G. van der Kooij as Aramaic Texts
from Deir Alla) has directed new attention to Balaam. These
inscriptions, dated to approximately 800 BCE, record The
chastisements of the book of Balaam, the son of Beor, the
man who sees the gods. The inscriptions include a number
of striking parallels to the narrative in Numbers and indicate
that Balaam was a well-known seer in the larger Canaanite
cultural context.
For further reading, see J. R. Baskin, Pharaohs Counsellors: Job, Jethro and Balaam in Rabbinic and Patristic Tradition
(1983); and G. H. van Kooten and J. van Ruiten, eds., The
Prestige of the Pagan Prophet: Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity and Islam (2008).
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
51
Balkans
Baltic States
and Liepaja.
In late 1941 and 1942, the Germans deported
22,000 German and Czech Jews to ghettos in Latvia and
Estonia. The ghetto population was gradually reduced, and
the ghettos themselves were liquidated on Himmlers order
of June 21, 1943. About 10,000 Jews from the Vilnius and
Kaunas ghettos were deported to Estonia where they were
imprisoned in nineteen forced labor camps, working in synthetic oil production and building defenses. Some 45% of
camp inmates survived, having been shipped to Stutthof
concentration camp in Poland in the summer of 1944. The
last mass execution on Baltic soil, of 1,634 Jews, took place
at Klooga camp near Tallinn on September 19, 1944. The
death toll of Jews in Estonia in 194144 is estimated at
8,500, with a survival rate of 37%. In Latvia, at the same
time, 65% of the pre-war Jewish population or 61,000 Jews
perished. The death rate among Lithuanian Jews was the
highest anywhere in Nazi-occupied Europe, reaching 95%
or 195,000. The Righteous Among the Nations database
Baltic States
J. Steimanis,
History of Latvian Jews (2002); A. Ezergailis, The
Holocaust in Latvia (1996); A. Nikzentaitis et al., eds., The Vanished World of Lithuanian Jews (2004); and A. Weiss-Wendt,
Murder without Hatred (2009). Maps 8, 11
A NTON W EISS-W ENDT
Rothschild family is generally credited with having established the first modern Jewish banking house. Founded in
the 1780s by Mayer Amschel Rothschild, a Frankfurt-based
coin dealer, the company was tapped by the British government to fund its anti-Napoleonic efforts. The House of
Rothschild opened branches in London, Naples, Vienna,
and Paris; each office was run by one of Mayers five sons.
They were at the forefront of the creation of the international bond market, which enabled capitalists to subsidize
government loans. The bond market made new capital available for national projects and proved fantastically profitable
for the Rothschilds.
Although Jews did not hold a monopoly on European
banking in the nineteenth century, many of the eras most
53
Bar Mitzvah
commandments with modifications or in secret; others contravened the legislation in public and were ready to be killed.
Some also left Judaism altogether. See also ELISHA BEN
ABUYA; JEWISH WAR, SECOND; MARTYDOM.
A HARON O PPENHEIMER
Samaritan chronicles. Exceptional archaeological discoveries from this period include Bar Kokhbas letters, discovered
in caves in the Judean desert. These caves, including tunnels and underground hideouts, were used throughout the
revolt and served as a refuge for the rebels in the wars final
days. Also important are numismatic finds, inscriptions on
milestones and tombs, as well as research into Roman roads,
the fortifications of Beitar, the last stronghold of the rebels,
and the Roman camps around it.
According to the Roman historian Cassius Dio (d. ca. 230),
in his book on the history of Rome, the direct cause of the
rebellion was Emperor Hadrians decision, when he passed
through Judea in 130 on his way to Egypt, to reconstruct
Bar Mitzvah
Bat Mitzvah
Baron de Hirsch Fund, one of several philanthropic entities to facilitate the emigration of Eastern European Jews,
was created by German financier and railroad magnate
Baron Maurice de Hirsch (18311896). Founded in 1891,
the organization focused on Jewish immigrants in New
York City, funding a range of Americanizing efforts, including English-language classes for children and adults, classes
in hygiene for mothers, and technical and industrial training opportunities. The Fund is best remembered for its
Bat Mitzvah
Beit Din
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the negotiations, although the Likud party was critical of his willingness to cede territory. In 1981, he ordered the destruction
of Osirak, Iraqs nuclear reactor. He authorized the Israel
Defense Forces to invade Lebanon in 1982, hoping for a
short involvement that would force the Palestine Liberation
Organization out of southern Lebanon. However, there was
no quick victory, and support for the war waned, particularly after the Sabra and Shatila Massacre in 1982. Begin
retired from politics in 1983 and was succeeded as prime
minister by Yitzhak Shamir. See also ISRAEL, STATE OF:
FOUNDING OF THE MODERN STATE; ISRAEL, STATE OF:
MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY BODIES ; ISRAEL , STATE
OF: POLITICAL PARTIES .
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
BABYLONIAN
Beit Din
Belorussia
emancipation, and the Jewish community flourished, particularly in Antwerp and Brussels. The Jewish population
in Belgium numbered between 65,000 and 75,000 in 1940
when the country was invaded by Nazi Germany. Most
were Jews from other European countries who had found
refuge in Belgium after World War I. Non-Jews made
unusual efforts to hide Jews during the German occupation; perhaps as many as 25,000 Jews were hidden in Belgian homes. At the same time, some Belgian officials actively
cooperated with Nazi directives to register, round up, and
deport Jews. By the time Belgium was liberated from the
Nazis in September 1944, about 44% of its Jewish population had been deported to concentration camps, primarily Auschwitz, and approximately 25,000 perished. After
World War II, the Jewish community in Belgium slowly
rebuilt, and the government remained supportive. At the
end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, about
40,000 Jews live in Belgium; the largest communities are
in Antwerp and Brussels.
For further reading, see D. Michman, Belgium and the Holocaust: Jews, Belgians, Germans (1998).
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Jews as Raysn (in Yiddish), Belorussia was part of PolandLithuania from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century
and was annexed to the Russian Empire between 1772
and 1795. In 1920, eastern parts of Belorussia were brought
under Soviet rule and became the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The Republic of Belarus was established
in 1991 after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR).
Jews first settled in the towns of Belorussia during the
fourteenth century. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Vitautas
granted charters to the Jews of Brest (Brisk) and Grodno
as early as 1388 and 1389, respectively. The Jewish communities of Pinsk (1506) and Nowogrodek (1539) were
among the first to be founded. In the eighteenth century,
40% of Lithuanian Jewry lived in the territory of Belorussia; the largest and most important communities were those
of Minsk, Pinsk, and Shklov. During the nineteenth century
Jews formed the majority of the population in the main cities
of the region (52.3% in Minsk, 52.4% in Vitebsk, 74.2%
in Pinsk, and 54.8% in Gomel). They engaged primarily in
commerce, handicrafts, tax collection, lease-holding, small
trade, and peddling; the vast majority were relatively impoverished.
book of Daniel, found in the Greek Bible and other versions; it consists of two stories. In the first, Daniel proves
that the offerings given to the statue of Bel are consumed
by the priests, not by the god, and he causes the sacred
snake to burst by feeding it a lethal mixture. In the second
story, Daniel is cast into the lions den, as in Daniel 6, but
God of Daniel.
These stories were composed in either Hebrew or
Aramaic. There is a medieval Aramaic text, but its authenticity is disputed. The apocryphal work is not necessarily
dependent on canonical Daniel, although it shares the motif
of the lions den. For further reading, see J. J. Collins, Daniel:
A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (1993), 405439.
J OHN J. C OLLINS
Belorussia
Ben-Gurion, David
Belorussia became an important center for Jewish religious scholarship. The first yeshivot were founded in Brest
and Grodno at the end of the sixteenth century, and the
distinguished talmudist I. Heilperin (16601746) taught in
late-seventeenth-century Minsk. Two of the most celebrated
yeshivot in Eastern Europe were located in Volozhin and
Mir. At the end of the 1800s, Jeroham Judah Leib Perelman (18351896), known as the great scholar of Minsk,
taught in the Blumkes kloyz, one of the largest yeshivot in
Minsk. Although the litvish (Lithuanian) tradition, which
took a rational approach, was dominant, one of the fathers
of H
. asidism, Schneur Zalman of Liady, founded H
. abad
H
asidism
in
Belorussia.
.
Jewish Enlightenment, the Haskalah, penetrated the
larger urban centers of Belorussia in the mid-nineteenth
century; by the end of the 1800s, modern Jewish political
movements (in particular, the socialist Bund and Zionism)
had emerged in Minsk, Bobruisk, Gomel, and Vitebsk. In
1902, the Second Conference of Russian Zionists was held in
Minsk. Bundists and Labor Zionists established self-defense
organizations in every town of the region to protect Jews
during the wave of pogroms, especially after the 1903
Gomel pogrom.
Under Soviet rule, the Jews of Belorussia were granted
unprecedented political freedoms, civil rights, and opportunities for upward mobility. At the same time Jewish
communities were disbanded and all Jewish political parties dismantled. The Jewish sections of the Communist
Party (Evsektsiia) systematically persecuted Jewish religious
and Zionist groups, closing down synagogues and pursuing religious leaders. They also supported the establishment of communist institutions with a Soviet orientation
that functioned in the Yiddish language; these included
schools, newspapers, clubs, theaters, and courts. Belorussia
was the only republic in the USSR whose constitution guaranteed an official status to Yiddish as one of the state languages. However, Yiddish institutions were gradually closed
down in the late 1930s and by the late 1940s had been
liquidated.
In the eastern part of Belorussia, which was under Soviet
rule, Jewish social and economic life remained unchanged,
as Jews continued to engage in commerce and crafts. Unlike
the Jews of Soviet Belorussia, the Jews of western Belorussia (under Polish rule) experienced social discrimination
but enjoyed more cultural freedoms. They established the
Tarbut network of Hebrew-language schools, as well as several Zionist youth movements (Betar, Ha-Shomer ha-Tzair,
etc.). Jewish religious life continued to flourish here. In
1931, 9.7% of the total population of western Belorussia was
Jewish. In September 1939, western Belorussia was annexed
to the USSR. Religious activities and Zionist groups were liquidated, and the Hebrew-language schools were turned into
Soviet Yiddish schools.
After the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941,
the Einsatzgruppen B, under the command of General A.
Nebe, and in collaboration with Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and
Belorussian nationalists, identified, concentrated, and killed
the great majority of the Jews of Belorussia, as well as
the thousands of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews who
had been deported there. About 10,000 Jews succeeded in
escaping from the Minsk ghetto (established on July 20,
1941), a proportion without parallel in the history of the
Holocaust (H. Smolar, The Minsk Ghetto: Soviet-Jewish Partisans against the Nazis [1989]).
According to the 1959 census, there were 150,000 Jews
living in the BSSR (1.9% of the total population); in 1970,
the Jewish population was 148,011. With the emergence of
the Soviet Union Jewish revival movement in the 1970s
and 1980s, many Jews became active in the struggle for the
right to repatriate to Israel, and thousands emigrated to
Israel, North America, and Germany. In 1999, there were
10,141 Jews living in the Republic of Belarus. Map 11
E LISSA B EMPORAD
Ben-Gurion, David
Berkovits, Eliezer
Jewish economy in British Mandate Palestine and represented the Histadrut in the World Zionist Organization and
the Jewish Agency (both of which he chaired in 1935).
Associated with Ben-Gurion in the Yishuv leadership and
in his tumultuous years as Israels leader, beginning in
1948, were other prominent figures such as Levi Eshkol
(18951969), Golda Meir (18981978), and Yitzhak BenZvi (18841963). With these colleagues and others, BenGurion built the institutions necessary for the new state,
oversaw the settlement of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Europe and the Middle East, and set the tone
for Israels relations with other countries. Revered as the
Father of the State of Israel, Ben-Gurion spent his retirement years at Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev, where he
died in 1973. For a recent appraisal of Ben-Gurion and his
larger context, see S. Aronson, David Ben-Gurion and the Jewish Renaissance (2010).
Benjamin, Walter (18921940), a highly influential literary and cultural critic, was born into a prosperous and acculturated Jewish family in Berlin. Benjamin was unsuccessful in gaining a Habilitation (post-PhD degree) in German
literature at the University of Frankfurt with his study on
The Origin of German Tragic Drama. His essay on Goethes
Elective Affinities, published in 1924, brought him his first
public recognition, followed by speculative essays on such
diverse topics as Proust, Baudelaire, and the theory of translation. Although early friendships with Theodor W. Adorno
and Siegfried Kracauer eventually earned him a membership
and modest salary from the Institute for Social Research, he
remained by temperament a peripatetic and largely independent intellectual, publishing most of his essays in newspapers and literary journals. Benjamin maintained close personal ties with Gershom Scholem, and some of his writings
reveal an interest in the messianic elements of the Jewish
Bene Israel (Children of Israel), Indias largest Jewish community, numbered 28,000 before Indian independence in 1947. They claim that their ancestors were shipwrecked off the Konkan coast as early as 175 BCE. The
survivors took up the occupation of oil pressing, but, as shanwar telis (Saturday oilmen), refrained from work on the Sabbath. When discovered by David Rahabi (possibly in the
eighteenth century), the Bene Israel only remembered the
shema prayer, which proclaims divine unity. They observed
Berkovits, Eliezer
Beruriah
Buber, Kaplan, and Heschel for failing to appreciate sufficiently the transcendence of God. His own positive doctrine
is found in God, Man and History: A Jewish Interpretation
(1959), Prayer (1962), and Man and God: Studies in Biblical
Theology (1969). He also wrote a book-length response to
Toynbees characterization of Judaism (Judaism, Fossil or Ferment? [1956]).
Berkovits philosophical Faith after the Holocaust (1973) and
the narrative With God in Hell: Judaism in the Ghettos and Death
Camps (1979) comprise his major contribution to Holocaust
theology. One distinctive thesis is his claim that any theological justification or theodicy in response to evils like the
elite. After Prussian Jews were given most of the rights of citizens in 1812, the city was one of the centers of the fledgling
Reform movement until the government closed the Reform
Temple in 1823 (see JUDAISM, REFORM: GERMANY).
The Jewish population of Berlin, which hovered between
three and four thousand until the 1820s, grew at an accelerated pace to 9,604 in 1849, 36,015 in 1871, and 90,013
in 1910. By that year there were also another 40,000 Jews
in the wealthy western Berlin suburbs that were incorporated into Greater Berlin in 1920. In 1925 the Jewish population reached its highest point of 172,674 (more than 4%
of the total Berlin population and nearly one-third of all
the Jews of Germany). In the early twentieth century, the
Jews of central Berlin, consisting to a considerable extent of
recent Eastern European immigrants, differed greatly from
the wealthy and more acculturated Jews of the citys western sections near the Kurfurstendamm,
a broad boulevard
synagogues. Some were Orthodox, but most were Liberal (moderately Reform), including the Fasanenstrasse
and Oranienburgerstrasse synagogues with several thousand
seats each. Most of Germanys Jewish organizations had
their headquarters in Berlin. However, a large percentage
of the citys Jews rarely took part in religious activities; by
the late 1920s the rate of intermarriage in Berlin was just
above one-quarter of all Jews marrying. In addition to their
important contributions to the citys economy (especially in
the clothing industry, department stores, the press, retail
and wholesale commerce, and the legal and medical professions), Jews played a major role in Berlins thriving cultural life during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Among numerous leading Jewish names in Berlin public
life were the scientists Fritz Haber and Albert Einstein, the
painters Lesser Ury and Max Liebermann, the theater director Max Reinhardt, the statesman Walther Rathenau, the
publishers Mosse and Ullstein, and the musicians Kurt Weill,
Bruno Walter, and Otto Klemperer.
The situation of Berlin Jews deteriorated rapidly after
the Nazis gained power in 1933. The anonymity of the
big city and the rich network of Jewish institutions helped
cushion the blow, but more than half of Berlins Jews
departed by 1939. Between late 1941 and early 1943, most
remaining Jews were deported to ghettos and extermination
camps in Poland from which few returned. A few thousand Jews were able to survive in hiding (see HOLOCAUST
entries).
After World War II the community was reestablished by
camp survivors and returnees from abroad, but the Jewish population numbered only a few thousand and was
concentrated in West Berlin. Beginning in the mid-1990s,
migration from the former Soviet Union led to rapid
growth; Berlins Jewish population in 2008 numbered more
than 12,000. The new Jewish museum, the memorial to the
victims of the Holocaust (see HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS),
and the Centrum Judaicum in the restored Oranienburgerstrasse synagogue building are among the signs of a revived
Jewish presence in Berlin.
S TEVEN M . LOWENSTEIN
Beruriah
have been unusually learned. Certainly, a number of rabbinic passages portray a woman named Beruriah as demonstrating a profound knowledge of rabbinic biblical exegesis,
a sophisticated ability to manipulate traditional texts, and a
quick wit. Examples of her astuteness appear in BT Pesah.im
62b, BT Berakhot 10a, and BT Eruvin 53b-54a. Yet aggadic
praises of Beruriahs supposed halakhic skills have something of an illusory quality because, except for one ruling
in Tosefta Kelim Bava Metzia 1:6, no actual legal traditions
attributed to her appear in rabbinic literature. This single ruling reappears in Mishnah Kelim 11:4, but this time with no
reference to Beruriah. It seems that, over time, Beruriahs
reputed scholarly expertise became a problem for rabbinic
Judaism. In a medieval reference she is shown to reap
the tragic consequences of the lightmindedness inherent
in women: The eleventh-century commentator Solomon
ben Isaac ( Rashi) relates a tradition in his commentary
on BT Avodah Zarah 18b that Beruriah was seduced by
one of her husbands students and subsequently committed
suicide.
Recent scholarship has shown that the Beruriah who
appears in the Babylonian Talmud is a literary construct
with little historical reality. Nor can any credence be given to
Rashis account of her ignominious downfall. However, Tal
Ilan has convincingly argued that the early tannaitic Tosefta
ruling attributed to someone named Beruriah must be taken
as historical and that in many ways the Rabbis of the amoraic
period were as amazed by this citation as modern readers. She suggests that the composition and preservation of
the later Babylonian Talmud traditions about Beruriah, built
around the faint historical memory of an actual woman
capable of making subtle legal distinctions, reflect the Rabbis
astonishment at such a wonder-woman. Others have suggested that the Beruriah narratives express rabbinic dubiousness over the possibility of a woman fitting into a male scholarly world in which her gender was bound to be a source of
havoc. Rabbinic society insisted on sharply defined and controlled categories of being in which each gender had a particular set of roles and obligations; this is why later teachings
downgraded and denigrated the contributions and character of the anomalous Beruriah. For further reading, see J. R.
Baskin, Midrashic Women (2002); T. Ilan, Integrating Women
into Second Temple History (1999); and WOMEN, ANCIENT:
RABBINIC JUDAISM.
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Bible
62
Bible
covenantal promises, that all of the rivalries and movements are part of Gods scheme to establish a people, Israel,
in its own land.
Although the narratives have long been believed to
be authentic historical accounts of the precursors of the
Bible: Languages
all considered Northwest Semitic languages, whereas Akkadian, the earliest attested Semitic language, is classified as an
Eastern Semitic language; after the Muslim conquests in the
beginning of the seventh century CE, Arabic, categorized as
a West Semitic language, largely replaced Aramaic dialects.
The Bible contains several dialects, which are typically
defined chronologically. Most biblical texts are written in
Standard Biblical Hebrew, which is close to the Hebrew spoken in Judah at the time of the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE). A small number of earlier texts such as the
Song of the Sea (Exod 15) and the Song of Deborah (Judg
5) are in Archaic Biblical Hebrew these have certain old
forms rarely found in other texts and show some similarity
to Ugaritic, a language spoken in Syria in the pre-biblical
period. A sizable section of the Bible, including Chronicles,
Ezra- Nehemiah, Daniel, Esther, and Ecclesiastes, is written in Late Biblical Hebrew, which shows similarities to both
Aramaic and Rabbinic Hebrew. There are other ways of
defining dialects as well; we know especially from inscriptions that the Hebrew of Israel, the northern kingdom, differed slightly from that of Judah. The extent of northern
Hebrew now found in the Bible is debated; it appears that
much of it was normalized to Judean Hebrew. As in other
languages, poetry is different from prose: The former has
many more rare and difficult words and has slightly different grammatical rules.
Both Aramaic and Hebrew are consonantal languages,
having borrowed the alphabet developed in Phoenicia in the
late second millennium BCE; they differ from Akkadian and
Egyptian, which had much more complex writing systems
cuneiform in the case of Akkadian and hieroglyphics in the
case of Egyptian. The fit between Hebrew and Phoenician
consonantal sounds was not perfect, which explains why
there are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, but
one of these letters is pronounced in two different ways.
The Hebrew and Aramaic systems developed differently over
time. The current script for the Bible is an Aramaic script that
was borrowed during the Babylonian Exile and displaced the
earlier Hebrew script, sometimes called Paleo-Hebrew. Both
Hebrew and Aramaic eventually incorporated vowel letters;
these were certain consonants that can indicate vowels. In
the second half of the first millennium CE, various vowel
systems written above or below the line were developed; the
one ultimately adopted is called the Tiberian system, after
the city Tiberias in the Galilee in northern Israel. We have
several transliterations of Hebrew into Akkadian or Greek
from the biblical or early post-biblical period; these indicate
that the vowel system now used for chanting the Bible is
relatively accurate, but it does not date to the biblical period.
The following passages appear in Aramaic in the Bible:
two words in Genesis 31:48, one verse in Jeremiah 10:11,
four chapters in Ezra (4:86:18; 7:1226), and six in Daniel
(2:47:28). The material in Daniel reflects a late author
more comfortable in Aramaic. Some of the Ezra material
purports to contain official documents of the Persian chancellery, which would have been in Aramaic, and this may
have influenced the surrounding material, which is also in
Aramaic. The verse in Jeremiah is aimed at a non-Jewish
audience, and the words in Genesis are spoken by Laban, an
Aramean (explaining why they are in Aramaic).
Our present solid understanding of the structure of
Hebrew began with medieval Jewish commentators and
64
Bible: Languages
grammarians; they understood Hebrew in relation to Arabic and Aramaic and tried to show in polemical contexts that
the Bible rather than the Quran was written in the most
beautiful pristine language. The discovery of how to decipher other Semitic languages in the last century and a half
has also helped significantly to clarify many obscure words
and grammatical structures of Biblical Hebrew.
M ARC B RETTLER
Daniel, which belong to a recognizably post-classical literary culture. Narrative elements are also occasionally found
in biblical poetry (e.g., Exod 15 and Judg 5), but here
other linguistic and poetic factors predominate. The following mostly literary observations restrict themselves to classical prose narrative.
Biblical narrative developed out of the narrative poetry
of surrounding West Semitic ancient Near Eastern cultures,
traditions attested to in particular by Ugaritic myths and
epics, which date roughly to the latter half of the second
millennium BCE. Thus, Abraham stands in a long line of
Since the mid-eighteenth century, scholars have highlighted parallelism as a key characteristic of biblical poetry.
In his influential work, Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of
the Hebrews (originally published in 1778), Robert Lowth
defined poetic parallelism as a certain equality, resemblance, or parallelism, between the members of each
period, and he distinguished between synonymous, antithetic, and synthetic parallelism. Although Lowths understanding of parallelism dominated the field for many years,
more recent studies have called attention to the nuances and
complexities of biblical verse. Most notably, Adele Berlin has
characterized parallelism as a multifaceted phenomenon,
one that involves grammatical, lexical-semantic, and phonological aspects on the level of individual words, as well as
of clauses and larger expanses of a text. Instead of drawing
a stark contrast between synonymous and antithetical elements, Berlin asserts that parallelism achieves its effectiveness from the interplay of equivalence and contrast along
these various aspects and levels. Take, for example, Exodus
15:11: Who is like You, O YHWH, among the gods?/ Who
is like You, mighty in holiness, / awesome in accomplishments, worker of wonders? The opening words of the first
two lines are nearly identical, which gives them the impression of synonymy; however, the second halves of these two
lines differ both semantically and grammatically. The third
line adds two phrases, awesome in accomplishments and
worker of wonders, that resemble the expression in the
second line, mighty in holiness, in structure and meaning (although with some differences), thus creating a chain
of two-word divine descriptors that illustrate why God is
beyond compare. This combination of equivalence and contrast on multiple levels animates the verse.
Another distinguishing feature of biblical poetry is an
abundance of imagery and metaphor. One example is the
well-known YHWH is my shepherd (Psalm 23:1); another
is the depiction of wisdom as a tree of life (Proverbs 3:18).
Biblical poetry also contains various forms of repetition and
patterning, with many passages displaying an artful, clever
recurrence of key words, sounds, and other elements. These
features are evident in Genesis 2:23, discussed earlier. Scholars have long debated whether biblical poetry exhibits some
sort of metrical system. Of late, many have concluded that,
although biblical poetry does not contain conclusive evidence of meter, it does display a certain degree of rhythm or
sound repetition and regularity. All of these literary devices
also appear in biblical prose but they occur in poetry with
greater frequency and intensity.
In addition, biblical poetry is marked by terseness. The
parallel lines in each two- or three-part poetic unit tend
to be short and concise. Because the language is dense and
poetic elements are woven together, reading biblical poetry
requires effort and skill. Yet precisely because of these features, deciphering the artistic, elevated discourse of biblical
poetry yields rich rewards.
For further reading, see A. Berlin, The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism (1985); and R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry
(1985).
A NDREA L. W EISS
Bible, this verse is set apart from the surrounding prose narrative and laid out in poetic verse. But what distinguishing
features mark this utterance as poetry?
In this example, distinguishing characteristics include the
repetition of the phrase, this one (zot), at the beginning of
two consecutive lines, a poetic device called anaphora. The
word zot recurs a third time, in the Hebrew at the very end
of the verse, which makes it an inclusio, a word or phrase that
appears at the beginning and end of a passage, framing the
poetic unit. The word pairs, bone of my bone and flesh of
my flesh, parallel one another semantically and grammatically; the words woman and man, which are etymologically distinct in Hebrew but share a similar sound, create
a word play. Thus, with this finely crafted verse, human
speech is initiated in the elevated style that characterizes
poetry.
Poetry constitutes approximately one-third of the Bible.
The Torah includes several lengthy poetic texts, including
Genesis 49:227, Exodus 15:118, and Deuteronomy 32
and 33, as well as shorter poetic compositions such as Exodus 15:21, Numbers 10:3536, and isolated poetic verses
(e.g., Gen 4:67, 24:60). In the books of Joshua through
Lamentations.
A survey of these poetic texts reveals a considerable diversity in poetic form, including celebratory songs to God (e.g.,
Exod 15:118), mournful dirges (e.g., 2 Sam 1:1927), aphorisms (Proverbs), and love songs (Song of Songs). Within
the Psalms alone are hymns of praise (e.g., Ps 145), psalms
of thanksgiving (e.g., Ps 30), laments (e.g., Ps 6), and pedagogical teachings (e.g., Ps 1). The poetry of the prophets
is equally varied, with prophecies of condemnation found
alongside prophecies of comfort (e.g., Hosea 2).
The Bible itself lacks any definition of poetry or discussion
of poetics. Although certain poetic passages are labeled as
a song (shirah, Deut 31:30), dirge (kinah, 2 Sam 1:17),
psalm (mizmor, Ps 68:1), or song of praise (tehillah, Ps
145:1), such classifications are not used consistently or comprehensively. Furthermore, the convention of visually distinguishing poetic passages through stichography (special
spacing) evolved over time; the visual layout of poetic verse
cannot be relied on as a decisive indicator of poetry in the
Hebrew Bible. Nonetheless, certain central indicators have
enabled scholars to gain a consensus as to what qualifies as
biblical poetry.
prayer book in the biblical period, although there were certain typical forms in which prayers were recited. For example, petitionary prayers, whether in poetry or prose, typically
began with an invocation of God and contained a request
and a reason or reasons why God should heed the request.
Such prose prayers were spontaneous in nature and were
typically recited out loud (see Hannahs prayer in 1 Sam
1:11). On special occasions, especially when commemorating a special event or offering significant petitions, the person might recite a ready-made poetic prayer in a religious
setting in the belief that these special words would be especially efficacious. Upraised hands was the typical position of
prayer in the biblical period.
We do not know exactly when people prayed. There is
little indication of regular statutory prayer in the Bible, and
the First Temple has been called the Sanctuary of Silence,
although this is surely an exaggeration. There are no indications that the amidah, the central prayer of rabbinic
Judaism, was recited in the biblical period. Although the
Palestine and Babylonia, several Aramaic versions of biblical texts have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Bible: Translations and Translators. The Tanakh or Jewish Bible is written primarily in Hebrew (with substantial
portions of the books of Ezra and Daniel, plus phrases in
Buber and Franz Rosenzweig collaborated on a Germanlanguage translation in the 1920s that privileged the Hebrew
to such an extent that the result was very difficult to understand without recourse to the original. Their purpose, which
has been shared by other translators, was to emphasize the
essential foreignness of the biblical text in modern society.
By the time Buber had completed this mammoth task, many
potential readers had been lost in the Holocaust. This loss of
readership was even more true for the Yiddish version that
Yehoash (pen name of Solomon Bloomgarden [18791927])
labored over for decades.
For Jews in Britain, the King James Version (KJV) of
1611 seemed to suffice as a translation until the end of the
eighteenth century. Along with the introduction of Englishand Spanish-language sermons and prayer books, the earliest English versions of the Bible for Jewish readers appeared
in the late 1700s. At first, they consisted of little more than
a page of the KJV facing a page of Hebrew, with a sprinkling of notes from Jewish exegetes, especially Rashi. Over
the next century, the Anglo-Jewish community produced
lists of passages that needed to be modified, new renderings
of specific books, and a few complete translations. Rarely
parting company with KJV style, these versions are mostly
APOCRYPHA). Jeremiah 18:18 identifies the three categories of knowledge in the biblical era as priestly tradition,
72
and commented on the entire biblical corpus, wrote voluminous commentaries in the peshat tradition. These commentaries were influential among both Karaites and Rabbanites of succeeding generations, the latter gaining access
to Japheths work mainly through the mediation of Abraham ibn Ezra.
In the tenth and eleventh centuries the intellectual and
spiritual center of medieval Jewry shifted to Muslim Spain
where grammarians such as Menah.em ben Saruk, Dunash
ben Labrat, and especially Judah H
. ayyuj and Jonah ibn
Janah refined the study of biblical Hebrew grammar and
philology. By the time of Abraham ibn Ezra (10891164)
this golden age was drawing to a close. Ibn Ezra, a prominent grammarian, biblical commentator, philosopher, and
poet, left his homeland in 1140 for points east, bringing the sophisticated grammatical, exegetical, and philosophical learning of Muslim Spain to the European Jewish communities through which he passed (including Italy,
Five Scrolls and possibly Job) in which he shows himself to be a radical adherent of peshat interpretation, favoring it over rabbinic tradition when the two clashed. He distinguished between halakhic commentary, used to establish
Jewish practice, and peshat commentary, used to determine
the meaning of the text, claiming a legitimate role for both.
Interested in grammar and style, Rashbam was remarkably
sensitive to literary aspects of the text. Eliezer of Beaugency (mid-twelfth century), the third major exponent of
the peshat school, commented on many books, although only
his commentaries on the Latter Prophets have survived.
His style is paraphrastic, and he pays a great deal of attention to matters of redaction. Joseph Bekhor Shor (1130
1200), the last member of the school, was a transitional figure between the peshat school and the Tosafists. His Torah
commentary included midrashic material and gematria, the
latter a feature it shared with those of the German pietists
( H
. asidei Ashkenaz) of the thirteenth century. Later generations mostly neglected the peshat school; its work was only
rediscovered in the nineteenth century. In recent years it has
been the subject of renewed interest and study.
The thirteenth century witnessed the maturation of the
mystical trend in Judaism called the Kabbalah (tradition),
culminating in the production of the Zohar, which is generally attributed to Moses de Leon and his circle. It is in
the Zohar and other writings of Moses de Leon that one first
encounters the acronym pardes (pardes is also word meaning
orchard in Hebrew), referring to four levels of interpretation of the biblical text: peshat, remez, derash, and sod, or
historical, philosophical, homiletical, and mystical. The kabbalists seem to have introduced the fourth level to validate
the work of their predecessors and to claim pride of place for
their innovative mode of interpretation. The mystic, Bah.ia
ben Asher (d. 1340), was one of the few medieval exegetes
to use all four levels of interpretation in one commentary,
although he was not yet familiar with the term pardes.
Blessings
75
Blessings
Birkat ha-Mazon (grace after meals) consists of a collection of berakhot and other texts. The mandate to recite
Birkat ha-Mazon is considered to be biblical, which makes
it unique among all liturgical benedictions. The proof-text
is Deuteronomy 8:10: When you have eaten your fill, you
shall give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land
which He has given you. It is striking that there is a mandate to give thanks after eating. The context in Deuteronomy 8:1118 makes clear the danger that, in a state of satiation, one might be tempted to forget God and celebrate
only human achievements. A shared sense of dependence
on God is more likely to express itself in acts of generosity
and responsibility.
Although shared meals and religious fellowship are very
old, it is generally accepted that the first three berakhot of
Birkat ha-Mazon stem from the period of the Second Temple. Talmudic tradition, however, ascribes them to biblical
figures ( Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon) and connects the texts with major events in their lives (Moses gave
thanks for the food as the manna fell from heaven, etc.). It
seems likely that the text in its current form developed in
stages, with spontaneous formulations gradually incorporating fixed topics and then fixed phrases. The first berakhah,
cast in universal language, thanks God for providing sustenance for all. The second berakhah speaks to the experience
of the Jew and expresses thanks for the Land of Israel, for
freedom from bondage in Egypt, for the berit ( covenant)
between God and Israel, the Torah, life, and food. The
third blessing, petitionary in nature, asks Gods compassion
for the Jewish people, Jerusalem, and the Temple and
requests that no one go hungry or be dependent on the
gifts of others. The fourth and final berakhah, understood
to have been added after the destruction of the Temple in
70 CE, recapitulates some of the earlier themes, expressing the goodness of life and Gods beneficence to all living
creatures.
According to the Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 48b), this
final blessing was added to the original three in gratitude for
the burial of those who died at Beitar, the site of the final
battle in the Second Jewish War against Rome (132135
CE) (see also BAR KOKHBA). It is an expansion of a short
berakhah to be recited when one hears good news. Its status
as an addition to the original three blessings is reflected in
the fact that it starts with a petih.ah or opening formula, an
indication of a new beginning. A series of petitions follow
that vary in different rites (that is, liturgies associated with
specific Jewish communities). Each begins by calling God
ha-Rah.aman (the merciful one). They reiterate themes of
sustenance, freedom, and redemption.
It is customary for a guest to lead Birkat ha-Mazon and to
invoke Gods blessings on the host and hostess. As in other
major Jewish prayers, the final theme is shalom (peace).
When three or more people eat together, Birkat ha-Mazon
is introduced by a formula stating that all that is enjoyed
belongs to God and therefore it is appropriate to express
thanks for these gifts. This section is more fluid than most
parts of Jewish worship, and some people have added petitions that invoke Gods blessings on the host country, the
State of Israel, the governments that protect us, and on all
who work for peace. At the end of the grace are a series
of biblical verses that reiterate the Jewish belief that God
cares for everyone. Thus, Birkat ha-Mazon concludes as it
Boston
SATION
Bolshevism: Russian Empire and Soviet Union. Bolshevism, the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary movement that
took power in the Russian Empire, was frequently seen,
especially by its opponents, as Jewish. This connection
contained elements of both truth and falsehood. Jews who
became Bolsheviks frequently Russified their names and
rejected any identification with either Judaism or Jewishness. Such a rejection was in harmony with the Bolshevik
project. That is, Bolshevism, which promised racial blindness
and equality for all, was receptive to Jews as individuals;
the Bolshevik Revolution abolished the Pale of Settlement,
together with all residency and professional restrictions
on Jews. However, Bolshevism was not, either in theory
or in practice, receptive to Judaism, which it condemned
together with all religions as an opiate of the masses.
Moreover, Bolshevik ideology demanded that national identities be abandoned in favor of Marxist internationalism (see
MARX, KARL).
Jews in the Russian Empire who became communists
comprised a small minority of the overall Jewish population; likewise, communists of Jewish origin were never the
majority of Bolshevik Party members, either before or after
the Bolshevik Revolution. Yet Jews were overrepresented in
the Bolshevik Party: In 1927, when Jews comprised 1.8%
of the total Soviet population, communists of Jewish origin represented 4.3% of the membership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Only 5% of Jewish Communist Party members in 1922 had been Bolsheviks before the
1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Before that event, most Jews
active in the Russian left had been Mensheviks or Bundists.
After 1917, the Bolsheviks monopolized the Russian left,
and options such as Menshevism and Bundism were effectively foreclosed.
More striking was Jewish overrepresentation in the upper
ranks of the party leadership, especially during the early
decades of the Soviet regime when Jews played a prominent role. Of twenty-one Central Committee members in
August 1917, six Lev Kamenev, Grigory Sokolnikov,
Yakov Sverdlov, Leon Trotsky, Moisei Uritskii, and Grigory Zinoviev were of Jewish origin. In January 1937,
the 111 highest ranking officers in the Soviet secret police,
the NKVD, included 42 Jews, 35 Russians, 8 Latvians,
and 26 individuals of other nationalities. During the Stalinist purges, known as the Terror, the ethnic balance
shifted quickly. By July 1939, ethnic Russians filled 67%
of the highest ranking positions in the Soviet NKVD, ethnic
Ukrainians 12%, and Jews 4%. Soviet Ukraine followed a
not dissimilar model: In 1936, sixty of ninety ranking officers in the Ukrainian branch of the NKVD were Jews. By
1939 this number had fallen dramatically.
In 1918, Jewish sections, or Evsektsii, were established
within the Bolshevik Party, together with an administrative leadership, the Jewish Commissariat, or Evkom. The
Evsektsii, which remained in existence until 1930, were
Boston, a port city founded in 1630, is the capital of Massachusetts and the largest metropolitan area (approximately
4.5 million) in New England. Bostons Jewish community
emerged much later than those in other major Eastern
Seaboard cities; as a result, its character was quite different. Few Jews passed through Boston during the colonial
77
Boston
Brazil
Eastern Europe after 1920. Between 1924 and 1934, Eastern European immigration to Brazil increased almost tenfold, and by the end of the 1930s the Jewish population of
Brazil approached 60,000.
Eastern European Jews settled primarily in the states of
Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Rio de Janeiro; they
Sao
achieved a level of economic success matched only by immigrants from the Middle East and Japan. This combination of
economic success and cultural difference made Jews particular targets of Brazilian nativists during the Great Depression.
By 1934 immigration quotas had been established, and criticism of Jewish immigration became a regular component of
political discourse. Beginning in 1935, Brazil began to deny
visas to Jews, an indication that antisemitism was common
among Brazilian intellectuals and policymakers in the 1930s.
However, Jewish immigration continued according to established patterns, largely because Jewish leaders in and out
of Brazil were able to convince important politicians that
refugees from German-speaking Europe could bring skills
and capital. In 1938 more Jews entered Brazil than in any
of the ten previous years.
Jewish settlement expanded in the 1950s when significant
numbers of Middle Eastern Jews, notably from Egypt and
Syria, arrived after the Suez Crisis. According to the 2000
census, Brazils Jewish population is 86,825; virtually all live
in urban areas. Some Jewish organizations in Brazil place the
number between 100,000 and 140,000.
Brazil
Paulo, Brazils
The largest Jewish community is in Sao
largest city, with 60,000 members in a population of 10.4
million. The second largest Jewish community is in Rio de
Janeiro (25,00030,000 Jews in a population of 5.85 million); the third is in Porto Alegre (in the southern state of Rio
Grande do Sul) with about 10,00012,000 Jews in a population of about 1.36 million. There are also communities
in Belo Horizonte (5,000), Curitiba (3,000), Santos (1,500),
Salvador (1,000), and Recife (1,000).
For further reading, see J. Lesser, Welcoming the Undesirables: Brazil and the Jewish Question (1995).
J EFFREY L ESSER
the female beloved (4:612, 5:1). Traditionally Jews understood this biblical book as an allegory referring to the loving intimacy between God and Israel. Some Jewish traditions connected with the festival of Shavuot, which is
linked with the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai, celebrate the metaphorical marriage between God and Israel.
In Sephardic communities, the Sabbath before Shavuot is
called Shabbat Kallah (Sabbath of the Bride).
The theme of the Torah as bride and Israel as bridegroom, with God serving as divine matchmaker, is also
found in traditional rituals connected with the autumn festival of Simh.at Torah: The reader of the final section of
the Torah is called h.atan Torah (bridegroom of the Torah),
and the reader of the first section of Genesis is known as
h.atan bereshit (bridegroom of the beginning). In other traditions the Sabbath is personified as Israels bride. According to the midrash collection Genesis Rabbah 11:8, the Sabbath is the bridal partner of the Jewish people. The ceremony of Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming the Sabbath) began
in the sixteenth-century community of mystics in Safed.
There, Solomon ha-Levi Alkabetz (ca. 15001580) wrote the
famous invocation to the Sabbath bride, Lekhah dodi likrat
kallah, penei Shabbat nekabbelah (Go, my beloved, to meet
the bride, let us receive the presence of the Sabbath), that is
still a part of the Sabbath eve liturgy.
For further reading, see E. Ginsburg, The Sabbath in the
Classical Kabbalah (1989); M. Idel, Sexual Metaphors and
Praxis in the Kabbalah, in The Jewish Family, ed. D. Kraemer (1989), 197224; and B. A. Holdrege, Bride of Israel,
in Rethinking Scripture, ed. M. Levering (1989), 180261.
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Britain: Early Modern and Modern. The modern history of Jews in the United Kingdom of Great Britain
[ England, Scotland, and Wales] and Northern Ireland (UK)
begins in the mid-seventeenth century when a number of
Converso merchants, among them some crypto-Jews, settled in England (see also ENGLAND: MIDDLE AGES). In
1655, rabbi and scholar Menasseh ben Israel traveled to
England from Amsterdam to promote the official recognition of Jews. In his Hope of Israel, he argued that Jews
had to reside in England for the messiah to come. Britains
ruler at that time, Oliver Cromwell, a devout Puritan influenced by both theological and mercantile considerations,
was open to Jewish readmission and called the Whitehall Conference in December 1655 to consider whether
and under what conditions it was lawful to admit Jews.
Although millennarians supported readmission, merchants
feared commercial competition; antisemitic literature probably influenced public opinion as well. Rather than have
a negative decision on record, Cromwell dismissed the
gathering.
Despite the failure of formal readmission, the Jewish community grew. Sephardic Jews established a synagogue in
Creechurch Lane in 1657 and a cemetery shortly thereafter.
In 1701, when the old synagogue proved too small, the community opened Bevis Marks Synagogue; its interior strongly
reflects the influence of the 1677 Amsterdam synagogue.
British Jews elected a governing body after Cromwells death
(1658) and the restoration of the Stuarts to the throne
(1660) and accompanied William of Orange to England in
1688, during the Glorious Revolution.
emancipation occurred in 1753 with debates over the Naturalization Bill, known as the Jew Bill. Most of Englands
8,000 Jews were foreign born; they suffered from special
taxes and could not hold land, vote for Parliament, hold
public office, be Freemen of the City, or attend university. The bill enabled Parliament to naturalize professing
Jews. Although Tories and London merchants campaigned
against it, the bill passed in May 1753. In November, Parliament reassembled and in December 1754 it repealed the bill.
Tories feared an influx of Jews but used the unpopular legislation in their political battle against the Whigs. Despite a
tradition of asylum, England also harbored an opposition to
foreigners; some believed it inappropriate to legitimize Jews
and Judaism in England, a Christian country. While acceptance of Jews increased, efforts at conversion also continued. The London Society for the Promotion of Christianity
among Jews (established 1809), the first missionary society
devoted exclusively to converting Jews, was well funded,
although largely unsuccessful.
Initially, most Jews lived in the City of London; after
1820 some began moving north and west, and important
centers developed in provincial towns and cities. During
the eighteenth century, small clusters of Jews settled especially in the south and east and, in the nineteenth century, in Manchester and Leeds. Several leading families,
collectively dubbed The Cousinhood, played key roles in
business, religious, and charitable institutions. Their actions
reflected the Jewish tradition of philanthropy and the
English ideal of personal service. Levi Barent Cohen (1747
1808) came to London from Amsterdam before 1778. Prominent in the Jewish community, Cohen served in all the
offices of the Great Synagogue. Rothschild family connections in England also date to the end of the eighteenth
century. Lionel Louis Cohen (18321887) was a founder
of the Jewish Board of Guardians (1859), which sought
to systematize philanthropy, and of the United Synagogue
(1870).
Despite setbacks, on the eve of the French Revolution, Jews in England had the most favorable status in
Europe. Between the 1780s and 1810, when Prussian and
French Jews were actively seeking civil rights, Britains Jews
remained relatively inactive. Jews began a more conscious
campaign for the franchise after Catholic emancipation in
1829. Offices began opening to Jews in the 1830s, and bills
to emancipate Jews passed in the Commons from 1833
on, but failed in the House of Lords. The Jewish Board
of Deputies (founded 1760), an organization claiming to
represent Jews in all political matters and led by Moses
80
Rothschild family, and it soon garnered support from American Jews led by Justice Louis Brandeis. The feelings of
the Arab population of Palestine, who made up 90% of its
inhabitants, were only briefly considered. Zionists, Jews and
Christians alike, generally assumed that Arabs would benefit
economically and culturally from new investment in Palestine.
Six weeks after the publication of the Declaration, General Allenby established British rule in Palestine. Within a
few months the Ottoman forces that had patrolled the area
for four hundred years were routed. A provisional military
government, the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration
(OETA), remained in place through the summer of 1920
when Sir Herbert Samuel, the first British High Commis82
immigrants should not be a burden on the people of Palestine as a whole and that they should not deprive any section of the present population of employment. The White
Paper of 1930 set forth more stringent controls on immigration and land transfer. Finally, the White Paper of 1939 limited Jewish immigration to 75,000 people within a five-year
period, after which time future immigration would require
Arab consent.
In April 1942, at a Zionist conference in New York City,
David Ben-Gurion and his supporters overrode the proBritish gradualist policy of Chaim Weizmann and promulgated the Biltmore Programme, an explicit call for a Jewish commonwealth in Palestine that would be open to all
Jews. After the end of World War II, the Jewish leadership of Palestine expected a change in British policy that
would admit the hundreds of thousands of European Jews
who had survived the Holocaust. Yet the British adhered
to their White Paper policies. A Jewish resistance movement was created to facilitate illegal immigration. An AngloAmerican Commission was sent to Palestine and Europe to
look into the problem of Jewish displaced persons. Tension
mounted as British troops continued to resist immigration
and Jewish forces continued to encourage hunger strikes by
refugees. The sympathies of British troops stationed in Palestine were frequently with the Arabs. Hundreds of Palestinian
Jews were interned on suspicion of illegal activities. In retaliation, British offices in the King David Hotel were blown
up in July 1946. A year later the Exodus, a ship carrying
4,500 refugees, arrived in Haifa and was forced to return to
Europe. Publicity about the ship caused an international outcry against Britain. Eager to relieve themselves of the burden
of the Mandate, the British brought the Palestine problem to
the United Nations in May 1947.
BRITISH ADMINISTRATION OF THE MANDATE: From
the outset, British rule in Palestine faced significant challenges in meeting the basic needs of a civilian population
that had suffered greatly from famine and disease during
World War I. The British brought years of experience in
colonial administration, and they were aided by growing
financial support for the Yishuv from the world Jewish community. Thus, although Palestine was poor in every respect
a small population, little industry or commerce, and no
natural resources the British were able to make significant
progress in many critical areas during their thirty-year rule.
The British administration addressed lawlessness, disease,
lack of communications, and the paucity of education or
social services. It created a new police force to establish
basic public security, with British officers commanding both
Arab and Jewish members. The British also established
a new system of justice, eliminating the ubiquitous baksheesh (general bribery and corruption) prevalent under
the Ottomans.
The British speedily established civilian telephone, telegraph, and postal services and began to provide jobs for
unemployed Palestinians, both Jews and Arabs. Likewise,
the British expanded the railroad system and built roads
passable by civilian cars. This work also provided employment for the local population. Public health was a serious
problem all over the region. In Palestine there were few public hospitals, although there were several private hospitals
funded by missionary societies and by Jewish philanthropic
societies. The government set up a Department of Health to
respond to widespread malaria and trachoma and to educate expectant mothers. The average death rate of 23.8 per
thousand in 1922 fell to 12.3 in 1946; life expectancy rose
about 16.5 years among Arabs and Jews. These efforts virtually eradicated plague and smallpox and reduced malaria
considerably. A new water supply was inaugurated in 1936,
making proper sanitation possible and reducing disease.
The British created a Department of Education and substantially increased the number of primary schools in towns
and villages. Schools for Jewish children taught in Hebrew
were primarily run by a Jewish Board of Education, funded
by the Jewish Agency. Missionary schools continued to
teach primarily Arab children. Government funding for public schools was also directed at Arab children, accommodating about half of those eligible. There were fewer schools for
girls than boys and more schools in towns than in villages.
While making progress in each of these areas, the Mandatory government failed in one of its important objectives:
to place the country under such political, administrative
and economic conditions as will secure . . . the development
of self-governing institutions. The Jewish Agency worked
with the Mandatory government to establish structures that
would result in the creation of a Jewish national home,
but the leadership of the Arab population resisted this idea.
Although they appeared to collaborate with the British, they
made it clear that the development of self-governing institutions must depend on majority rule. The British repeatedly rejected the principle of majority rule because that
would have given the Arabs control over the government of
Palestine.
In an effort to meet some of the demands of Arab notables,
the British created new Islamic institutions. The Supreme
Muslim Council (SMC) was given control over vast revenues
that traditionally were distributed to religious and judicial
institutions and schools and orphanages. The position of
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was created; the Grand Mufti was
appointed by the High Commissioner to head the SMC. This
led to opportunities for patronage appointments on a large
scale. In addition, educated Arabs were given employment
opportunities in the Mandatory government. Nevertheless,
the peaceable demands by Arab leaders soon gave way to
more aggressive expressions by people who resisted changes
to their traditional way of life. These grievances included the
purchase of land farmed by Arabs by Jewish farming cooperatives, the literacy requirement for obtaining employment
in towns, rising prices for housing and essential needs, and
increasing challenges to Arab men as their wives received
public health education.
In May 1921 Orthodox Easter Sunday fell on May Day. A
minor conflict in Tel Aviv ignited serious riots and looting in
Jaffa that spread to other parts of the country. Arabs attacked
Jews at random and looted shops. It took a week to quell the
riots and required the intervention of the Royal Air Force. A
second major confrontation occurred in late August 1929 on
the occasion of a religious fast by Jews commemorating the
destruction of the Jerusalem Temple ( Tisha BAv). A procession of Jews marched to the Wailing Wall and demanded
their rights to ownership of this holy site. A rumor spread
that the Jews planned to seize the Dome of the Rock and
Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif),
and the ensuing violence spread to Hebron, Jaffa, Haifa, and
Safed. In the end, 133 Jews were murdered and 116 Arabs
83
that had barred ethnic minorities from executive leadership positions in radio companies. As commercial broadcasting emerged as a part of American show business in the
1920s, doors were opened to the talents and creativity of
immigrants and their children. Jewish Americans benefiting
from these opportunities included David Sarnoff, William
S. Paley, and Leonard Goldenson, the eventual leaders of
companies that defined commercial broadcasting during the
radio era and oversaw the diffusion of television as a technology, industry, and art.
David Sarnoff (18911971) was born near Russian Minsk
(now part of Belarus) and immigrated to America at the
age of nine. He left school at fifteen and ultimately found
employment at the American subsidiary of the British Marconi Company, which became the Radio Corporation of
America (RCA) in 1914. Sarnoffs rise to power at RCA was
furthered by his support of mass broadcasting and his proposal for a network of stations that would transmit a shared
signal capable of reaching every radio in the United States.
RCA formally launched the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) on New Years Day, 1927, with two network services:
NBC-Red, directed at the higher end of the cultural spectrum, and the Blue Network, which had no such pretension.
Their overwhelming success led to Sarnoffs election to the
RCA board of directors in 1928. In 1930, he became company president, a position he held until his retirement in
1968.
Under Sarnoffs leadership, RCA was arguably the most
powerful commercial communications company in the
world dominant in research, development, and manufacture of communications technologies for industrial, military, and consumer use. RCA also shaped production,
promotion, and distribution of American electronic entertainment media for much of the twentieth century through
its subsidiaries and partnerships, including NBC (television
and radio), RCA Victor (recorded music), and RKO Pictures
(cinema).
Sarnoff internalized the patrician values of the radio
industrys founders. He formed the NBC Symphony Orchestra and lured Arturo Toscanini from Italy to lead it, and
he facilitated radio adaptations of classical dramas on NBC.
Denied a naval commission during World War I, most likely
because of antisemitism, Sarnoff was commissioned as a
U.S. Army officer in 1942; his work in coordinating Allied
communications efforts in Europe won him promotion to
the rank of brigadier general.
William S. Paley (19011990) was Sarnoffs chief rival in
commercial broadcasting. The Chicago-born son of Samuel
Paley, a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant who had founded the
Congress Cigar Company, Paley studied the latest mass marketing techniques and theories at the Wharton School of
Business and persuaded his father to use radio advertising,
doubling Congress Cigars retail sales during the mid-1920s.
Paley entered the radio business in 1927 when the Columbia
Phonograph Broadcasting System, a would-be competitor to
NBC, came close to failing just months after its launch. Convincing his father to buy the operation, Paley assumed the
presidency in 1928 and changed the networks name to the
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). With an infusion of
cash from Congress Cigar, he began to expand the fledgling
network from its base in the Northeast, organizing a coastto-coast string of affiliated stations.
Buber, Martin
Paley made CBS the equal of NBC, despite overwhelming competitive disadvantages. NBC operated two networks,
each larger than CBS, and its parent, RCA, held so many
radio patents that CBS had to buy much of its equipment
from its main competitor. Paley established a Columbia
Workshop for radio writers and launched a weekly series to
produce their scripts on the air. The Columbia Artists Bureau
gave representation to new performers and functioned as
a casting resource for CBS programs. Paley recruited academics to develop methods of audience measurement that
would reassure CBS advertisers about how effectively they
were spending their money.
Paleys most daring long-term strategy was establishment
of a radio news gathering organization at CBS. Sarnoff
had chosen to ignore news programming at NBC, believing editorial decisions would inevitably lead to conflicts
with advertisers, audience segments, and, worst of all, the
federal government, which licensed broadcasting. In contrast, Paley understood broadcastings capabilities, especially
instantaneous speed and mass distribution, for journalism.
During the 1930s, Paley built the worlds first international commercial broadcast journalism enterprise, hiring
proven newspaper reporters as on-air personalities, including Edward R. Murrow, William Shirer, and Eric Severeid.
When World War II began, CBS was ready to report events
from around the world before newspapers could go to press.
By the late 1940s, as the introduction of television began,
war reporting had created a public image for CBS that was
second to none.
Paley raided some of the most popular comedy stars on
NBC radio, such as George Burns and Gracie Allen, Jack
Benny, and Red Skelton, offering them innovative deals at
CBS, including ownership of their programs. While popular NBC television stars, such as Milton Berle and Sid Caesar, were saddled with impossible work schedules, Paley
made every effort to accommodate CBS talent and paid
market prices to performers appearing on The Ed Sullivan
Show. This policy helped make the series and CBS a portal
into American show business for international acts ranging
from Moscow State Circus performers to the Beatles and the
Rolling Stones. CBS leaped past NBC in the ratings during
the television era, beating its old rival season after season for
some thirty years. As CBS achieved dominance in television
with its entertainment offerings, Paley turned away from the
news division. Paley was a founder of the Museum of Television and Radio, which was renamed the William S. Paley
Center for Media Arts in 2007.
The least known Jewish broadcasting mogul is Leonard
H. Goldenson (19051999), the son of Russian immigrant
shopkeepers in Scottdale, Pennsylvania. Goldenson attended
Harvard and Harvard Law School in the early 1920s and did
legal work for Paramount Pictures bankruptcy proceedings.
Impressed with his work, Paramount officials offered him
a full-time job with the studios theater division, where he
rose through the ranks to a leadership position. In 1948, a
federal antitrust suit forced film studios to divest their theater holdings, and Goldenson became the head of the newly
independent United Paramount Theaters (UPT).
While the Hollywood studio old guard was fighting the
looming threat of television with air conditioning, drivein theaters, and 3-D movies, Goldenson had already concluded that television would inevitably dominate American
Hebrew Bible, H
. asidism, Jewish thought, and Zionism.
He played a formative role in the German Jewish cultural renaissance between 1900 and 1938, in the development of cultural Zionism, and in JewishArab relations.
His early writings, especially Daniel: Dialogues on Realization
(1913), influenced German literary expressionism. Forced
to emigrate in 1938, Buber and his family settled in
(Lvov).
He returned to Vienna in 1896 to study philosophy and art history. After extended visits at the universities of Leipzig (189799), Zurich (1899), and Berlin (1899
1901), Buber graduated from the University of Vienna in
1904 with a doctoral dissertation on Nicholas of Cusa and
Jakob Bohme
(unpublished). An avid reader of Schopenhauer, Plato, Kant, Feuerbach, and, most importantly, Nietzsche, the young Buber was also influenced by his Berlin
teachers Georg Simmel (18581918) and Wilhelm Dilthey
(18331911). His lifelong friendships with Hugo von Hofmannsthal (18741929), Fritz Mauthner (18491923), and
Gustav Landauer (18701919) attuned Buber to the fin-de`
siecle
crisis of language and the significance of the spoken
word.
85
Buber, Martin
Bund
86
Bund
Byzantine Empire
as the decurionate) in public life. Palestina ( Palestine/the
Land of Israel) was Christianized by huge building projects
(churches, monasteries, pilgrim hostels, etc.), and Christian
claims were extended to all biblical sites. Palestina was further divided into three provinces, and Jews, their centers of
population already relocated to the Galilee, were restricted
from living in the environs of Jerusalem. Finally, the office
of the Patriarch of the Jews, since the second century CE the
political representative of Jews in the Roman Empire and
the religious center for the development of post-mishnaic
Judaism, was abolished in 439. This act completed the fragmentation and isolation of Jews subsequent to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. Some later emperors,
from Justinian in the sixth century to Romanos Lekapenos
in the tenth, and briefly John Vatatzes in the thirteenth century, forcibly baptized Jews.
Notwithstanding legal limitations and persecutions of
Jews in the Byzantine Empire, Judaism remained a permitted religion in all official Roman law codes. The Orthodox
Church, although subject to the emperor (who, as Pontifex
Maximus was officially the head of the church), followed
New Testament sources and refused to accept forcibly baptized Jews. During periods of persecution in the ninth and
tenth centuries, Byzantine Jews fled to the Khazar Empire.
After the mid-tenth-century Byzantine Crusades, Jewish
communities, which had been depleted in numbers by conversion and emigration, began to flourish, attracting Arabicspeaking Rabbanite and Karaite immigrants. From the
eleventh to fifteenth centuries, Jews, who were primarily
urban, were fully integrated into the economy of the empire;
they specialized in cloth manufacture, dyeing, and trade.
After the fragmentation of the empire in the wake of the
conquest of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade of 1204,
Palestine.
Bundist fortunes in interwar Europe varied greatly. In
post-revolutionary Russia, Bundists who refused to join the
Communist Party were quickly suppressed or murdered. In
newly independent Poland, in contrast, the Bund enjoyed
spectacular growth, developing a secular Yiddish school system (Tsisho), youth groups, sports clubs, libraries, cultural
centers, vibrant Yiddish (and Polish) journalism, and more.
It rose to political prominence in the late 1930s, as violent Polish antisemitism, economic ruin, and looming war
pushed Polish Jews to support the radical party. Bundists
were active in armed resistance to the Nazis during the
Holocaust, but most ultimately suffered the same destruction as their Polish brethren, as did their leaders caught in
the Soviet Union.
For further reading, see J. Jacobs, Jewish Politics in Eastern
Europe: The Bund at 100 (2001); and J. Frankel, Prophecy and
Politics: Socialism, Nationalism, and the Russian Jews, 18621917
(1981).
J OSHUA M . S HANES
87
Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve;
Torah (esp. Lev 23, Num 289, and Deut 16), these special
days include Passover (Pesah. or the Festival of Unleavened
Bread; it is always first in the list, because it takes place in the
first month of the year); the Festival of Weeks ( Shavuot);
the Day of Remembrance (later known as Rosh Ha-Shanah,
the New Year); the Day of Atonement ( Yom Kippur); and
Tabernacles ( Sukkot). Later additions include various fast
days, such as the 9th of Av ( Tisha BAv, the anniversary of
the destructions of the Jerusalem Temples) and minor festivals such as Purim (based on events recounted in the book
of Esther) and Hanukkah. These minor festivals usually
commemorate historical events of importance to all Jews or
to specific Jewish communities. Megillat Taanit (ca. first century CE) provided an early calendar of such minor festivals.
Many fast days and minor festivals have fallen into oblivion
over the centuries, but new ones continue to be instituted
by various Jewish communities (these include fast days to
commemorate the destruction of Polish Jewry in 1648 and
the Nazi Holocaust and festivals such as the Israeli Day of
Independence). Beginning in the Early Modern period, it has
become customary for Jewish communities to publish annually a local Jewish calendar of such observances (known as
a luah.).
The structure of the Jewish calendar and the way it is
reckoned are not explained in the Hebrew Bible; however,
it is likely that the ancient Israelite calendar was lunar, as
were all calendars of the ancient Near East. The months
probably began at the new moon, with an average length
of twenty-nine or thirty days. The year ordinarily consisted
of twelve such lunar months, but occasionally a thirteenth
month was added to maintain the ordained festivals in
88
Calendar
Canaan, Canaanites
Deuteronomy demands the extermination of the Canaanites (Deut 20:17) and other portions of the Torah command
their expulsion (Exod 23:27, 28; Num 33:53) they appear to
have remained a significant minority and some individuals
and clans certainly integrated into the people of Israel. While
89
Canaan, Canaanites
Canada
mythological texts use the title Bull for the chief god of the
city, El. The representation of a god as a bull seems to have
been a traditional component of Canaanite worship incorporated into Israelite religion in the northern kingdom of
used in combination with baal as a derisive term for prohibited gods (Judg 10:6, 1 Sam 7:4) but also as a term for
the young of the flock (Deut 7:13, 28:4, 18, 51). Asherah
at Ugarit was the wife of El and the mother of the gods.
She is the most interesting of the three because of archeological finds in the Negev and Sinai regions of Israel that
date to the eighth or seventh centuries BCE. At these two
sites, inscriptions mention Asherah (or Asherata) alongside
the God of Israel, leading some scholars to conjecture that
popular religion in Israel considered Asherah the consort or
wife of Yahweh (Hess, 28390, Zevit, 35080). Asherah
is mentioned in the Bible both as a goddess (1 Kgs 18:19;
2 Kgs 13:6) and as the term for a pole or tree that was
planted near altars and symbolized the goddess or a tree
of life in general (Deut 16:21; Judg 6:25, etc.). The hundreds of pillar-based female figures with prominent breasts
found at Israelite archeological sites are also associated by
some scholars with the worship of Asherah, although others
have connected them with concern for successful motherhood and lactation (Plate 1). Jeremiah castigates his fellow
Jerusalemites for the worship of the Queen of Heaven (Jer
7:18, 44:18), but her identity is unclear.
It is evident that Israelite religion incorporated aspects of
Canaanite religion in its description of Yahweh. At the same
time, the distinctiveness of Israels religion is obvious. The
God of Israel is nowhere depicted in the Bible as a sexual
creature, as are the gods of Ugarit; nor is Israels deity a god
who dies and comes back to life, as Baal does in a Ugaritic
mythological text. The gods of Ugarit are personified powers
of nature and are reliant on food and drink, in contrast to
Israels God who stands outside of nature and has no physical needs. Biblical Hebrew has no feminine word for goddess
corresponding to the term Elohim, as does Canaanite, with
its title elat for the goddess Asherah. This suggests that the
basic concept might be lacking. In addition to the relatively
modest female figurines mentioned earlier, the near absence
of male or other human representation in the archeological
remains from seventh and sixth century BCE Judah is striking. Further, scholars note the almost complete absence of
the names of other gods in the personal names of the period.
The Israelites unique religious culture, with its worship of
one God who tolerates no images, emerged in the centuries
before Jerusalems destruction in 586 BCE despite the enormous pressures exerted on this small nation not only by the
great civilizations of the ancient Near East, but also by the
indigenous peoples who lived among them.
For further reading, see M. D. Coogan, Stories from Ancient
Canaan (1978); W. G. Dever, What Did the Biblical Writers
Know and When Did They Know It? (2001); R. Hess, Israelite
Religions: An Archaeological and Biblical Survey (2007); and Z.
Zevit, Religions of Ancient Israel (2002), 25660; and ARCHEOLOGY: ANCIENT TIMES TO PERSIAN PERIOD; NEAR
EAST, ANCIENT. Maps 1, 2
E LAINE G OODFRIEND
Canada
Canada
North American territories remained British after the American Revolution and united as the Dominion of Canada
in 1867, immigrants slowly came to perceive these differences. Canada evolved as a binational state under the British
Crown, not an independent nation that imposed allegiance
to a distinctive identity. This reality created the special political and social contexts in which the Canadian Jewish community evolved.
The Montreal settlers, who were followed in the mid1800s by immigrants arriving in Toronto, Quebec City,
Hamilton (Ontario), and Victoria (British Columbia), were
mainly small merchants. Because Canada did not attract
significant numbers of German Jews, the Reform movement had little influence. Canadas first Reform synagogue was founded in Hamilton in 1873. By centurys end
Canadas established communities were confronted with
newly arrived East European immigrants. While some settled in existing communities, others were helped to move
on; some homesteaded in Canadas western territories.
These colonization projects, only a few of which lasted, as
well as urban social services, were strongly supported for
many years by the Baron de Hirsch Foundation, the Jewish
Universelle,
Colonization Association, the Alliance Israelite
and British philanthropies.
The clothing industry was the major focus of Jewish
industrialists, who usually started out as contractors for
manufacturers; it was also a significant employer for men,
women, and children immigrant workers. Piecework, low
wages, crowded garrets in back alley slums, sexual harassment, and other features of the hated sweating system
resulted in bitter and bloody strikes and lockouts in what
amounted to open intra-communal warfare. Militant trade
unions helped ameliorate some of these conditions, but
agreements often broke down, and some employers moved
production to rural areas to escape unionization.
Canada
jurisdictions; this promised well for the persistence of Jewish identity in Canada. Concerns also included the possibility
that renewed nationalist sentiment could result in Quebecs
separation from Canada as well as fears of reemerging antisemitism from some newer immigrants.
For further reading, see G. Tulchinsky, Canadas Jews: A
Peoples Journey (2008); I. Abella and H. Troper, None Is Too
Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 19331948 (1982); F. Bialystok, Delayed Impact: The Holocaust and the Canadian Jewish
Community (2001); and M. Weinfeld, Like Everyone Else . . . But
Different: The Paradoxical Success of Canadian Jews (2001); and
LITERATURE: CANADA and PERIODICALS: CANADA.
G ERALD T ULCHINSKY
for themselves among their many tasks. Those responsibilities might include arranging and exchanging prayer books,
Capital Punishment
individuals convicted of specific crimes. Capital punishment is mandated in the Torah not just for murder (Exod
21:12), but for many other offenses. These other offenses
include what most modern people would consider moral,
ritual, and theological violations. For example, immorality in the forms of adultery, incest, bestiality, and male
Romans deprived the Rabbis of the right to carry out capital punishment forty years before the destruction of the
Capital Punishment
Caribbean
Jamaica, Surinam, Panama, and Curacao still have remnants of Portuguese traditions. The organization, Jewish
Congregations in the Caribbean and Latin America, attempts
to keep Judaism alive in the region.
The community in Surinam is particularly interesting. In
the Jewish Savannah Jews owned sugar plantations and
slaves. In a letter to Governor Frederici on March 7, 1794,
Abraham Bueno de Mesquita, Moses Hoheb Brandon, and
Samuel Haim de la Parra wrote, Several among the Portuguese Jewish Nation, out of private affection, begot children with some of their slave females and mulattos. Out of
particular love for the Jewish Religion, the boys were properly circumcised and the girls instructed by a teacher, as
were their descendants. Some of these were manumitted at
the request of their Patrons, and others, having them born
out of wedlock, after manumission, were instructed by their
mothers of whom they were born and took the names of
Portuguese Jews (Arbell). Notwithstanding the conflicts in
Jewish status (the mothers were not Jewish) the haskamot
(communal decisions) of 1754 established rules by which
individuals of mixed race would be admitted to the synagogue as congreganten but not as yehidim (full-fledged members). In 1759, Darkhe Yesharim (Paths of the Righteous),
a siva (brotherhood) of Jewish mulattos was established.
Eventually (in 1794) they assimilated into the Jewish community.
In Curacao, Jews initially had small plantations, but later
moved to the city and established extensive trade connections. Their imports from Europe included instruments,
machinery, building materials, boat supplies, comestibles,
books, and sometimes arms and munitions. In exchange,
they imported tobacco, lemon juice, indigo, ginger, vanilla,
hides, cotton, coffee, cacao, sugar, silver, and gold from various colonies for export to Europe. The main markets for
Curacao Jewish merchants were the Spanish colonies in
Venezuela and Colombia (see LATIN AMERICA). Although
this trade was clandestine and considered illegal by the
Spanish, it was permitted because it filled a need for
goods.
Jewish activities in the Caribbean can be divided into
three general areas of endeavor: plantations (from the midseventeenth century); commercial enterprises (eighteenth to
mid-nineteenth centuries and subsequent settlements in liberated Spanish colonies); and, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, involvement in economic development on
a national scale, including construction, roads, transportation, shipping, aeronautics, refineries, and industry coupled
with international commerce and banking. These patterns
persist in Baranquilla, Santo Domingo, Panama City, and
Jamaica. Caribbean Jews remain active in sugar plantations,
Caribbean.
Caribbean
Celebrities
JOSEPH
Celebrities have been an important new aspect of Jewish culture since the beginning of the twentieth century,
in response to larger cultural innovations in mass media
and public relations. Although sages and heroic figures have
long been fixtures of Jewish folklore and popular religion, Jewish celebrities are a modern phenomenon, both
because of the fields in which they are recognized (including
the arts, sciences, sports and athletics, politics, commerce,
Celebrities
Ceremonial Objects
Begrabnis
und Trauer bei den Juden von der Zeit des Hellenismus
to a number of major American Jewish cultural and scholarly organizations opened to the public in January 2000.
Its founding partners include the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation (with
Sephardic House), the Leo Baeck Institute, the Yeshiva University Museum, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
Several smaller organizations are also located at the Center, including the American Society for Jewish Music, the
Primo Levi Foundation, the Association for Jewish Studies,
and Gomez Foundation for Mill House. Occupying 120,000
square feet on W. 16th Street in Manhattan, it is the largest
facility for the collection and preservation of original materials relating to modern Jewish history in the western hemisphere. Each institution or organization at the Center retains
its independence, maintains its own holdings, and mounts
its own programs. The partners also conduct joint programs
and exhibitions.
M ICHAEL F ELDBERG
Central Europe is a region of Europe whose boundaries are not clearly defined and are much disputed.
For the purposes of Jewish history and culture, Central
Europe encompasses German-speaking Europe (present-day
Ceremonial Objects
Ceremonial Objects
marriage include the h.uppah (canopy) under which the ceremony takes place, special cups (often interlocking), rings,
and ornamented ketubbot (marriage contracts). Water vessels, combs, and nail-cleaning implements for use in ritually
cleansing a corpse are often ornamented with inscriptions or
images related to death.
DOMESTIC RITUALS: Many decorated objects are associated with Sabbath meals, including kiddush cups and various objects related to the h.allah (Sabbath loaves), including
plates, knives, and covers. Special lamps or candlesticks are
used for kindling the Sabbath lights; the star-shaped hanging oil lamp known as a Judenstern was popular before the
modern period. Adorned plates, cups, candleholders, and
spice containers are used in the Havdalah ceremony, which
concludes the Sabbath. In Ashkenazi communities, towershaped spice containers, echoing Central European architecture, are very common, as are fruit- and flower-shaped containers. Decorative containers, frequently of silver, are used
to store the etrog on Sukkot.
H
. anukkah lamps (h.anukkiyah/h.anukkiyot) are essential to the celebration of the holiday. The two basic
types of H.anukkah lamps are (1) eight-branch candelabras
resembling the seven-branched menorah of the biblical
Israelite tribes. Many examples feature ornamentation typical of Islamic metalwork; lavish carved and gilded wood
examples from Italy and North Africa are also known.
Finials ornament the top or sides of the tik, and it is often
draped with scarves that are used to cover the open scroll
before it is read. The reader often uses a pointer (yad; literally
Ceremonial Objects
Bene Israel communities in India. The second kind is distinguished by an onion-shaped crown attached to the top of the
case. The crown is separated into two sides when the case
is opened, and two diagonal staves are driven through it,
on which two finials are placed. This subtype is common to
the communities that follow the Babylonian tradition: Iraq,
Kurdistan, western Iran, and the dispersions of these communities. One example of this subtype is the Torah scroll of
the Kurdish communities of western Iran, with four or six
staves emerging above its crown. The third subtype is characterized by a coronet around the edges of the cases top,
and the staves for rolling the scroll come out from its top.
It is used by the communities of the eastern Mediterranean
basin. All the Torah scroll cases are decorated or overlaid
in precious materials, in vegetal or geometric patterns; on
top of many cases a kerchief is placed or tied, a remnant
of the ancient custom of wrapping the Torah scroll in a
kerchief.
Another decorative object connected with the Torah scroll
is the finial. Finials are placed above the Torah scroll and
Chicago
kugel and gefilte fish, and learning, in turn, to fix fried chicken
and okra gumbo.
After World War II, an expansion of military facilities,
port development, and the growth of educational and medical institutions and tourism brought new prosperity to
Charleston. The Jewish population tripled from about 2,000
in 1948 to approximately 6,500 in 2008. At the end of
the first decade of the twenty-first century, Charleston supports three congregations: Brith Sholom Beth Israel (Orthodox), Emanu-El Synagogue (Conservative), and K. K. Beth
Elohim (Reform), as well as a Hebrew day school, Addlestone Hebrew Academy. The College of Charlestons Jewish
Studies Program has attracted the largest Jewish enrollment
in the state, and its Jewish Heritage Collection, initiated in
1995, serves researchers from around the world.
For further reading, see S. Breibart, Explorations in
Charlestons Jewish History (2005); J. W. Hagy, This Happy
Land: The Jews of Colonial and Antebellum Charleston (1993);
and T. Rosengarten and D. Rosengarten, eds., A Portion of the
People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life (2002).
D ALE R OSENGARTEN
Charleston, South Carolina, boasts one of the oldest Jewish communities in the United States. Attracted by economic opportunities and by a degree of religious tolerance
remarkable for the time, Sephardic Jews began settling in
the port town as early as the 1690s. In 1749, Charlestons
Jews chartered Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, one of the first
five Jewish congregations in America. By 1800 Charleston
was home to the largest, wealthiest, and most cultured Jewish community in North America, with a population of
upward of five hundred individuals, or one-fifth of all the
Jews in the United States at that time.
Charleston produced the first movement to modernize
minyan, or prayer group, began meeting under the leadership of Rabbi Hirsch Zvi Levine, himself recently arrived
from Poland. In 1855 the newcomers organized as Berith
Shalome (now Brith Sholom) or Covenant of Peace. This
was the first Ashkenazic congregation in South Carolina
and one of the first in the American South (see UNITED
STATES, SOUTHERN).
Between 1905 and 1912, Charlestons Jewish community,
which had maintained itself for decades at around seven
hundred people, doubled in size. At one time some forty
stores on upper King Street were closed on Saturday, in
observance of the Jewish Sabbath. The men held prayer
services above their stores. The women kept kosher homes,
training their African American employees to make potato
Chicago
China
CHILDHOOD
China. There has been a continuous, if small, Jewish presence in China for well over a thousand years, and five
distinct ripples of immigration can be identified. In the
medieval period, Jews journeyed to Kaifeng and other cities
via ancient trade routes. In the wake of the nineteenthcentury opening of Chinese ports to foreigners in response
to British coercion, Mizrah.i (Baghdadi) Jews from Iraq
made their way to Hong Kong and Shanghai; at the turn of
the twentieth century, Russian Jews traveled to Harbin and
other northeast Chinese cities. A fourth settlement occurred
during World War II when German, Austrian, and Polish
Jews fled to Shanghai. At the beginning of the twenty-first
century, there is a community of North American, European, and Israeli Jews who are employed in China. With
the exception of the Harbin and latter Shanghai experiences
when China provided a place of refuge, Jews have primarily
come to China for economic opportunities.
KAIFENG: Jews traveled from West Asia over the Silk
Road and by sea, probably in the Tang dynasty (618907
100
China
China
Iraq and India and were British subjects. The Ohel Leah
Synagogue was built by Jacob Sassoon in 190102. There
were 80 Jews in Hong Kong in 1900 and 250 in the 1960s,
split between those of Ashkenazi and Mizrah.i origins. In the
first decade of the twenty-first century, Hong Kongs Jewish
population stands at about 3,500, with several synagogues,
a Jewish day school, and an active community center.
HARBIN AND POINTS SOUTH: Russian Jews first came to
Harbin in 1898. They were seeking better economic opportunities in the Russian concession in connection with the
building of the Chinese Eastern Railroad. After the RussoJapanese War, decommissioned Jewish soldiers joined these
settlers; they were soon followed by refugees from the Russian pogroms of 190507. By 1908, some 8,000 Jews lived
in Harbin, and the central synagogue was built in 1909.
The deprivations and persecution that Jews suffered during
WW1, the Russian Revolution, and the White Russian counterrevolution led to further Jewish immigration to the Far
East. Harbins Jewish population, which grew to between
10,000 and 15,000, supported schools, newspapers, a library,
China
Chosenness
while their Tatar allies took prisoners to sell in the markets of Crimea and Istanbul. The bloodiest massacres took
place in Nemirov, Tulchin, and Bar in 1648, where Jewish
residents were completely annihilated. Recent research by
Shaul Stampfer (Jewish History 17) shows that approximately
20,000 Jews were killed by the Cossacks, whereas another
20,000 fled to cities that were not captured or abroad, as far
as Italy and Holland.
The Peace of Zborov, concluded in August 1649 between
Chmelnitzki and the Polish king, established a semiindependent hetmanate on both banks of the Dnieper,
in which Jews were forbidden to live. However, under
the treaty of Bila Tserkva in 1651, Jews were allowed
to return to the Cossack territories. After an attempt to
become an Ottoman vassal, Chmelnitzki turned to Moscow
and in 1654 concluded the Pereyaslav treaty, transferring
Ukrainian lands to Russian protection. This brought Russia
into a war with Poland that ended in 1667 with the establishment of the Dnieper as the border between the two
states. Until his death in 1657 Chmelnitzki remained the
hetman and directed the Cossacks military and diplomatic
activities.
In Jewish tradition the atrocities committed by Chmelnitzkis Cossacks were called the [evil] decrees of 1648
49, and they were remembered as among the most horrible events in Jewish history. The most influential of the
six chronicles about these atrocities was Nathan Hanovers
Even Metzulah (Abyss of Despair), which appeared in 1653.
The 20th of Sivan, the day of the massacre in Nemirov,
was established as a fast day, and special prayers in memory of the victims were written. In the Ukrainian community, the legacy and mythologizing of the anti-Jewish
violence of Chmelnitzkis Cossacks significantly influenced
further waves of anti-Jewish violence from the eighteenth
to the mid-twentieth century.
For further reading, see Jewish History 17 (May 2003),
which is devoted to the Chmelnitzki massacres. Also see
Abyss of Despair, trans. A. J. Mesch (1983); and J. Raba,
Between Remembrance and Denial (1995).
V LADIMIR L EVIN
Chosenness
Baruch Spinoza (16321677) presented the most thoroughgoing critique of the idea of chosenness. Excommunicated from his native Amsterdam Jewish community, he
was the first Jew to seriously challenge the concept of election. In the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, Spinoza reversed
the traditional hierarchy of election, suggesting that Israel,
through its desire for a properly ordered society, chose God.
In Spinozas understanding, the covenant between God and
Israel is of human design and made for distinctly human
purposes.
Later, Reform Judaism attempted to reinterpret chosenness as a universalist concept. Building on Isaiah 42:6, in
which Israel is commanded to be a light to the nations,
Reform leaders such as Abraham Geiger (18101874) in
significant events of the last century of the Second Temple period was the emergence of the Jesus movement. The
birth of Jesus can be dated around 64 BCE and his death
around 3033 CE. The earliest surviving writings by a follower of Jesus are the letters of Paul; they are dated to the
50s and 60s. The oldest written accounts of the life of Jesus
(Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John) and of the
deeds of the first generation of his followers (Acts) date from
after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. These
and other texts in the New Testament preserve evidence
that the Jesus movement originated as a movement within
messianic movements in Second Temple Judaism. Accordingly, they have read the New Testament literature as evidence both for the diversity of Second Temple Judaism and
for the origins of Christianity.
Much about the historical Jesus remains debated. Was
he a wisdom teacher, political revolutionary, or apocalyptic
prophet? Did he see himself as the Messiah (Greek: christos)?
Among the few points of consensus are that Jesus was a Jew,
he was born of a Jewish mother, and he lived and died as a
Jew in the Land of Israel. For instance, Josephus account
of Jewish history includes a passing reference to Jesus and
depicts him as a wise man and wonder worker (Antiquities 18.6364). Likewise, in the stories about his life in the
Gospels, we find no hint that Jesus saw himself as anything
other than a Jew. Even though the Gospels were written at
a later time when some of Jesus followers were developing
a self-definition in distinction from their Jewish contemporaries, these texts preserve traditions about Jesus preaching
in synagogues, celebrating Passover, interpreting Jewish
writings, and debating halakhic issues with Pharisees. Jesus
is described as teaching by means of parables that recall, in
form and content, the meshalim (proverbs or wise sayings)
of Jewish wisdom literature and rabbinic midrash. Many of
his parables concern the coming of the kingdom of God. In
this too, Jesus fits well with the Judaism of his time, an age
of uncertainty and upheaval when many charismatic leaders
warned of the impending end of days. There are also some
hints that Jesus understood his message as meant for Jews;
according to the Gospel of Matthew, for instance, he initially
instructed his followers to preach only to the lost sheep of
Israel (10:6).
Jesus Jewishness is also evident in the Sermon on the
Mount (Matthew 57), a set of teachings that later Christians understood as exemplifying Jesus break from Judaism.
However, the statements attributed to Jesus include exhortations to observe the whole of the Torah (5:1720). Such
statements shed an interesting perspective on his polemics
against Pharisees (e.g., Matthew 23), raising the possibility
that he and his followers were engaged in internal Jewish
controversies akin to the debates among other sects in Second Temple times.
According to the Gospels and Book of Acts, the Jesus
movement initially consisted of Jews who believed that
Jesus was the messiah foretold in the Jewish Scriptures. It
was centered in Jerusalem and led by Peter. Followers of
Jesus frequented the Temple and preached their message in
synagogues (e.g., Acts 3, 13; 1718). Like members of other
Jewish apocalyptic and messianic movements of the time,
they supported their claims with biblical proof-texts, drawing on the writings of the prophets (see BIBLE: PROPHETS
AND PROPHECY) in particular. Like other such groups, they
met with resistance from other Jews who did not share their
particular beliefs.
Those who believed in Jesus as messiah, however, faced
an additional challenge in persuading other Jews since Jesus
had been executed by the Romans. Jesus followers proclaimed that he had been resurrected (see RESURRECTION),
and they developed an understanding of his death as inaugurating a series of end-time events that included his future
return. Many of their fellow Jews seem to have met such
claims with skepticism (cf. Matthew 28:15).
CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM;
CHRISTIANITY AND SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM; CHURCH
FATHERS : ATTITUDES TOWARDS JEWS AND JUDAISM;
INQUISITION, SPANISH; INTERFAITH DIALOGUE: UNITED
STATES; NEW TESTAMENT; MIDDLE AGES : JEWISH CHRISTIAN POLEMICS; REFORMATION
Circumcision
Circumcision.
Male
circumcision
is
the
first
commandment specific to Jews mentioned in the Torah.
In Genesis 17 Abraham is commanded to circumcise
himself and his older son Ishmael and to circumcise
106
Circumcision
Cohen, Hermann
Codes: See
Begrundung
der Asthetik
[1889]). These works brought him to
the attention of the Marburg philosopher and socialist pedagogue Friedrich Albert Lange, who brought him to teach
in Marburg. Cohen succeeded to the chair in philosophy
after Langes death in 1876. Although Cohen established
an international reputation as a founder of the distinctive
Marburg school of neo-Kantianism, he never received a call
to another university and was subjected to other indignities
that increased as antisemitism among academics increased.
In 1903, Cohen became curator of the Berlin Lehranstalt fur
works on philosophy of religion include Der Begriff der Religion im System der Philosophie (1915) and Die Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums (1919). Only the latter
has been translated into English: Religion of Reason out of
the Sources of Judaism, transl. by S. Kaplan, with an introduction by Leo Strauss, (1972). For Cohens complete
works, see Werke, published by the Hermann-Cohen-Archiv
RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Cohen, Hermann
Zurich,
am Philosophischen Seminar der Universitat
ed. H.
Holzhey (1977ff).
A full appreciation of Hermann Cohen as a Jewish thinker
has been hampered by the fact that posthumous publications
of many of his writings, including the three volumes of Jewish writings (Judische
Schriften, 1924), two volumes of essays
on philosophical and political topics (Schriften zur Philosophie und Zeitgeschichte, 1928), and a 1935 edition of letters,
appeared in a climate of extreme hostility toward the Jews.
At that time, it seemed advisable to emphasize Cohens German patriotism; this one-sided image led many students of
Jewish thought to dismiss Cohen as navely assimilationist
and needlessly anti-Zionist.
Until recently, scholars have asked if Cohens philosophy of religion constituted a departure from his systematic philosophy or whether he continued to be committed to the method of critical idealism. Franz Rosenzweig
stated that, although Cohen believed he had maintained
his system, he objectively broke through the veil of idealism, driven by his living connection with the Jewish faith.
Alexander Altmann countered that the concept of correlation prominent in Religion of Reason tied the doctrine of
God, as developed in the course of the history of Jewish religious thought, to the doctrine of humankind and
that Cohen succeeded in maintaining the Kantian connection between ethics and religion. Steven Schwarzschild went
further, stating that Cohens entire philosophy of religion
was already contained in his systematic ethics. However,
Cohen himself expressly conceded that not all problems of
ethics can be worked out within the parameters of the law
and that religion was necessary to accomplish the transformation of the self that is postulated, but not delivered,
in the context of ethics. More recently, scholars such as
Robert Gibbs (Correlations in Rosenzweig and Levinas [1992])
and Reinier Munk (Alterity in Hermann Cohens Critical
Idealism, Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 9 [1999]:
25165) have drawn attention to the fact that Cohen was the
first modern Jewish thinker to shift from a Cartesian type of
self-constitution to an ethics of alterity when he grounded
ethical self-consciousness in the principles of contractual
law. Another recent debate concerns Cohens aesthetic theory of liturgical performance. As Steven Kepnes points out,
Cohen places liturgy at the crucial bridge points between
the self and the community, the self and God, and the self
and its growth to moral autonomy and thus generates what
Kepnes calls a liturgical self (Jewish Liturgical Reasoning
[2007], 45).
Recent comprehensive studies on Cohen in English are
A. Poma, The Critical Philosophy of Hermann Cohen, trans.
J. Denton (1997); and M. Zank, The Idea of Atonement in the
Philosophy of Hermann Cohen (2000).
M ICHAEL Z ANK
includes F. Fernandez-Armesto,
Columbus (1991) and J. D.
Sarna, The Mythical Jewish Columbus and the History
of Americas Jews, Studies in Jewish Civilization 5 (1996):
8195.
J ONATHAN D. S ARNA
Commandment,
Commandments:
See
weight and influence incommensurate with their slight population numbers and very limited spatial distribution across
Europe. Wide-ranging conclusions had been drawn from an
exceedingly thin documentary basis in Latin. Taking Hebrew
documents into account has resulted in a more convincing,
if less glamorous, interpretation.
In the Hebrew record from Ashkenaz, from the second
half of the tenth century onward, commerce is the evident mainstay of Jewish livelihood in central and northern France, as well as in western Germany. This was succinctly stated by Gershom ben Judah, Light of the Exile
of Mainz, the foremost religious authority of his time (ca.
9601028), who wrote, Because their (the Jews) livelihood depends on their commerce/merchandise. Merchants
moved often, but mostly along local circuits and well-known
itineraries between inland markets. At times Jews traveled
abroad, to and from Hungary, Poland, and possibly also
Russia. Even without intercontinental ventures, these merchants were hardy travelers; to be on the move was their
normal condition, as one of them explained in a legal argument, I wished to take to the road, like all other men. In
their inventories, one finds very little of the glittering treasures of intercontinental commerce and nothing at all of the
slave trade. A blend of staple goods and more costly merchandise salt, wine, dyes, medicine, salted fish, cattle, hides
and pelts, ready-made garments and textiles, including silk,
gilded and copper vessels, and some precious metals was
bought, transported, and sold. The customers were bishops
and priests, and in one case the treasurer of a bishop; affluent ladies, including a queen of Hungary (the only royalty
mentioned in the sources); and magnates and counts: in
short, the upper classes. In Italy, the few Jewish merchants
on the record definitely did not participate in the thriving
overseas trade of their cities of domicile; they seem to have
been engaged mostly in local ventures. The most important
mercantile centers, such as Venice and Genoa, did not allow
Jewish residence at all, whereas the handful of Jews admitted to the bustling port of Amalfi were all textile artisans. In
southern Europe, as in the north, Jewish trade appears more
as an ordinary local and regional matter than as an intricate
and far-flung system linking continents.
In this period, the rich sources of the Cairo Genizah do
reveal that a small but lively set of Jewish merchants from
Muslim Spain were actively involved in Middle Eastern
trade. These Arabic-speaking traders were part of a network
that was centered in Tunisia and Egypt and also took in
Muslim Spain and Sicily. However, it did not connect and
work in tandem with Jewish merchants from Christian lands
in northern Europe or in Italy.
By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, trade by Jews
appears to have declined in northern Europe in favor of an
ever increasing engagement in credit operations. In these
regions, there is no evidence that Jews were barred from
trade by the rising power of Christian merchant guilds,
as has been assumed for a long time. Rather, they were
pushed out of trade by a set of new circumstances that
combined strong demographic growth, rapid urbanization,
and the broad expansion of market ties. Under these
booming economic conditions, the task of entrepreneur
and merchant underwent a marked change, shifting from
provisioning the aristocracy with exotic merchandise to
organizing the production and handling of mass consumer
MITZVAH,
Commerce: Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Commerce, the buying and selling of goods for profit, is usually seen with money lending as the central occupation
of Jews in medieval and early modern Europe. Although
there is much truth in this view, there is also a good measure of exaggeration; moreover, the connection of Jews and
Judaism with commercial activities in both learned opinion
and the popular imagination has had a troubling history. In
fact, it is impossible to quantify the Jewish share in the commerce or economy of the pre-modern era. In all periods and
regions, sizable parts of the Jewish population made their
living as craftsmen and craftswomen and as providers of
menial and skilled services to the well-to-do and to community institutions These individuals were in the lower classes
of Jewish society, estimated in some places to have made up
as much as one third of the total population. Many people
practiced several occupations side by side; most conspicuous,
however, are commerce and credit.
Jews were involved in commerce throughout the
medieval era. However, the significance of commercial activities as the most important form of livelihood was especially pronounced during the early Middle Ages and again
in the Early Modern period. Between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, money lending eclipsed commerce. Like
money lending, commerce was not necessarily practiced by
the greatest number of Jews, but its profits, as those of
money lending, placed Jewish communities as a whole in
the higher income brackets. This facilitated the comfortable
standard of living characteristic of medieval European Jewry
and enabled Jews to purchase from rulers the wide-ranging
judicial and legal independence characteristic of Jewish status. However, because their livelihoods were so dependent
on exchanges with the majority society, Jews were especially
vulnerable to economic, political, and religious crises.
Until recently, Jews have been portrayed as long-distance
traders who connected Christian Europe with the Middle
East and Muslim Spain. In late antiquity they did so alongside other Middle Eastern merchants, but from the eighth to
the eleventh century, they were believed to have been on
their own. According to this picture of early medieval trade,
Jews were uniquely equipped to engage in long-distance
trade by talmudic law, communal organization, and family
ties, as well as by the Diaspora experience and their special
relationships with rulers. Many scholars have suggested that
Jews possessed a veritable monopoly over commerce, particularly in the slave trade, because they were seen as the only
ones capable, by virtue of their religious neutrality, to travel
between the two monolithic blocs of Christianity and Islam.
Such views, which reflected nineteenth- and twentiethcentury polemics and apologetics, are now discarded. They
assumed a system and purpose where none existed and disregarded the rich sources on non-Jewish merchants, conferring on the very few documented Jewish merchants a
110
Commerce: Modern Europe (17001900). The expulsions of Jews from Spain and Portugal in the 1490s established Sephardi and converso communities throughout the
Mediterranean and Atlantic worlds. At a time of growing
competition among northern Italian city-states for access to
Levantine and Asian goods, these new Jewish communities were able to barter their services both as overland and
seaborne traders.
In Ashkenaz, however, the preceding century and a half
of local expulsions had effectively depleted the financial
resources of Central European Jews. The core of Jewish
Hitlers defeat. This drew much Jewish support for communism, even as the postwar Hungarian and Romanian Communist Parties recruited (allegedly repentant) ex-fascists as
members.
After the communist takeovers, communists of Jewish
origin occupied high-profile positions in post-war Eastern
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (190152); Hilary Minc and Jakub Berman, two of
a triumvirate of Stalinist leaders in post-war Poland; Ana
Pauker, communist Romanias foreign minister and the
unofficial leader of the post-war Romanian Communist
Party; and four men at the top of the Hungarian Commu Mihaly
as
Rakosi,
Farkas, and
nist Party Maty
Erno Gero,
Jozef
Revai.
Most resented was the overrepresentation of
Jews in the upper echelons of the Stalinist security apparatus. A post-war joke alluded to the composition of the
Hungarian Communist Party leadership: Why is there one
Gentile in the Hungarian Politburo? They need someone
to sign decrees on Shabbat. The paradox was that even at
a moment when Jewish communists were so visible in the
party leadership, the Communist Party was itself not free
of antisemitism. Within a short time, the revolution began
to devour its young. Stalins anti-cosmopolitan campaign,
initiated in 1948, was directed against Jews. Eleven of the
fourteen defendants in the 1952 Czechoslovak communist
usually between age sixteen and eighteen. In earlytwentieth-century America most classical Reform congregations eliminated public celebration of Bar Mitzvah in
favor of confirmation. It was felt that thirteen was too early
an age to assume adult responsibilities in the modern
world and also that confirmation was preferable because it
included girls and boys. Always a group ceremony, confirmation generally takes place on Shavuot, the pilgrimage
festival marking the covenant between the Jewish people
and God at Mount Sinai. In the middle of the twentieth
century the Conservative movement instituted confirmation for girls. In recent decades, as individual Bnei Mitzvah have become the norm at Reform synagogues, confirmation has faded in importance. It has now become a way
to encourage boys and girls to extend their religious educations and is similar to a Hebrew High School graduation. See
JUDAISM: REFORM entries.
R ELA M INTZ G EFFEN
UNITED STATES:
Confession of Sin.
atonement, and to be given a second chance is always available. That process begins with confession, or viddui, of ones
sins. The confession must detail precisely what one did, and
it is preferable to make it while standing. The confession
is not made to any human being, but rather is offered to
CONSERVATIVE
Christianity or Islam. Others sought material or professional gain, since converts could pursue social and vocational opportunities that were closed to Jews; in some cases,
Jews were offered financial incentives for conversion. Some
apostates, however, were quickly disillusioned because they
continued to be seen as Jews by their new co-religionists.
In other cases, Jews were forcibly converted to Christianity,
as in Spain and Portugal between the late fourteenth and
early sixteenth centuries. Although some Jews successfully
returned to Judaism later, significant numbers remained
Christian. This situation led to complicated Jewish, Christian, and crypto-Jewish identities. In Spain, as elsewhere,
some apostates maintained close affiliation with the Jewish community. One of the main charges associated with
115
Cordovero, Moses
Germany, many apostates were second-rank religious functionaries who were accorded little respect within the Jewish
community.
Some apostates became well-known and vigorous opponents of Judaism and Jewish communities. These individuals wrote about alleged anti-Christian sentiment and actions
engaged in by Jews, and they were frequently instrumental
in censorship of Jewish writings, legal discrimination against
Jews, coerced religious disputations, and in some cases
expulsions of Jews or attacks against them. In early modern Germany, for example, Johannes Pfefferkorn (1429
1563) was involved in instigating proceedings against Jewish books, whereas the sixteenth-century convert Anthonius Margaritha, who wrote about allegedly anti-Christian
aspects of Judaism, was an influential source for many
Christian scholars, including Martin Luther. Some converts
taught Hebrew to Renaissance and Reformation Christians who had a growing interest in Hebrew and rabbinic
writings; some collaborated on scholarly works. Although
non-Jewish communities often encouraged Jewish apostasy,
they generally looked very unfavorably at co-religionists
who converted to Judaism. Such conversions could result
in legal prosecution and at times attacks against Jewish
communities.
For further reading, see E. Carlebach, Divided Souls: Converts from Judaism in Germany, 15001750 (2001); S. L.
Gilman, Jewish Self-Hatred (1986); and M. Teter, Jewish Conversions to Catholicism in the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Jewish History 17:3 (2003): 25783. See also
INTERMARRIAGE.
D EAN P HILLIP B ELL
integration into Christian society or to prevent their contact with Iberian Jewry. As a result, the fate of the Jews
became bound up with that of the conversos over the course
of the fifteenth century. Intense missionary activity was
aimed at those who remained Jewish, including the yearlong Disputation of Tortosa (141314), while restrictive
legislation and outbreaks of violence were directed against
those who had already converted. Suspicion that the New
Christians engaged in the clandestine practice of Jewish
rituals fueled debate over their integration into Christian
society. Some Old Christians argued that baptism could
not remove the impurity of Jewish blood, whereas others fought hard to allow conversos into guilds, universities, and governing institutions as the only reasonable
course of action. The dilemma provoked the establishment
of a new, royally controlled office of the Inquisition in
1478 that sought to distinguish believing Christians from
crypto-Jews.
Both Jews and conversos echoed this general ambivalence
toward the conversos religious identity. The dominant rabbinic stance was to view conversos as having been forcibly
converted and thus still Jews, but popular Jewish attitudes
toward them were often less positive. As for the conversos
themselves, some wrote treatises defending the unity of the
Christian faith and their right to be accepted as full members of Christian society. Others maintained close ties to the
Jewish community and sought to practice Judaism to the
extent that they were able. The activities of the Inquisition
severely inhibited their public religious expression, relegating most crypto-Jewish practices to the home. As a result,
conversa women assumed a prominent role in the preservation and transmission of Jewish rituals and beliefs. The
Spanish Inquisition championed the Christian conviction
that Jews actively encouraged heresy (judaizing) among the
New Christians, and this belief became the major motivation for Ferdinand and Isabellas decision to expel the Jews
of Spain in 1492.
In 1497, the Jews of Portugal were forcibly converted
by royal edict, greatly increasing the ranks of converso society. Many among this later wave of converts eventually
fled to the Ottoman Empire, Amsterdam, and various Italian cities in order to return to Judaism. For those who
remained in Iberia, contact with Jews and general knowledge of Judaism diminished sharply from the sixteenth century onward. Many conversos intermarried into Old Christian
families and assumed positions of political, intellectual, and
economic prominence. Although most eventually assimilated into Hispano-Christian society, some continued to emigrate and revert to Judaism in more hospitable lands. They
brought with them a sense of cultural distinctiveness, combining pride in their Jewish heritage with Spanish notions of
blood purity to form the basis of a new nation of former
Christians within the Jewish world.
For further reading see R. L. Melammed, Heretics or Daughters of Israel: The Crypto-Jewish Women of Castile (1999); H.
Beinart, Conversos on Trial: The Inquisition in Ciudad Real
(1981); and M. Bodian, Hebrews of the Portuguese Nation: Conversos and Community in Early Modern Amsterdam (1997).
J ONATHAN R AY
Cordovero, Moses
Council and Synod: Medieval and Early Modern. Councils and synods (kinus, kinusim or vaad, veadim) were two
forms of intercommunal assemblies of representatives from
different Jewish communities. Although no formal definition distinguished the two, the participants in councils were
often lay community leaders, while the participants in synods were rabbinic figures who convened to discuss issues
concerning religious ritual and practice. Both institutions
provided authoritative guidance and met the current needs
of Jews in medieval and early modern times.
117
Court Jews
of the tax (which was subdivided into equal units of payment called portions [Hebrew, skhumot; Polish, sympla]). At
times, Councils collected the tax directly and passed the revenues on to the royal treasury; other times the communities directly paid the treasury or the military units that were
funded by the poll tax.
Unofficially, the two Councils fulfilled a variety of functions in the religious, cultural, and economic life of the
Jewish population in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
that were of common concern. The Councils made supraregulations concerning morals and traditions, commerce
and financial activities, and philanthrophy, which were
supposed to be binding on every community. Their courts
of law were the highest legal authority, although acceptance of their decisions and judgments was contingent on
the agreement of the representatives of the main communities and the district councils. The Councils issued approbations to books and protected the rights of their authors,
actively opposed religious heresy (as in the case of the
Frankist movement in the middle of the eighteenth century) and supported immigrants from Eastern Europe who
settled in Palestine. Communities from abroad (such as
COUNTING OF THE
Court Jews (Hofjuden). Some Jews served in important economic and administrative capacities at various princely and
118
Court Jews
Courts
Court procedures were instituted in the Torah. To forestall collusion, at least two witnesses were required to
establish a fact in court (Deut 17:6, 19:15). To emphasize
its proscription of false testimony, the Torah includes this
prohibition in the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:13; see
also Exod 23:12; Deut 5:17). Moreover, a 20% fine is
levied against witnesses who knowingly lie in a civil case
(Lev 5:2026), and full retribution is required of those who
testify falsely in a criminal case (Deut 19:1521). A judges
acceptance of bribes is roundly condemned, for bribes blind
the clear-sighted and upset the pleas of those who are in
the right (Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19). Each person is to be
judged for his or her own actions exclusively (Deut 24:16),
despite widespread practices in ancient, medieval, and modern times that punish relatives for the crimes of family members. The Torah insists that neither rich nor poor may be
favored: You shall not be partial in judgment; hear out low
and high alike. Fear no man, for judgment is Gods (Deut
1:17; see also Exod 23:2, 6). The alien, too, is to be treated
fairly: Decide justly between any man and a fellow Israelite
or stranger (Deut 1:16).
The Rabbis of the Talmud and Middle Ages added many
more procedural rules to ensure impartial treatment in judicial proceedings. For example, one litigant may not be
required to stand while the other is sitting, both parties
to the case must wear clothing of similar quality, judges
must understand the languages spoken by the people before
them, and witnesses may not be related to each other or
to the litigants (M. Sanhedrin 34; BT Sanhedrin 17a; and
Mishnah Sanhedrin depicts a legal system that is competent to judge civil, criminal, and even capital cases and to
carry out their judgments. Whether such a system existed
under Roman rule is questionable. Under Muslim and
Christian rule, however, Jews were generally granted a
measure of autonomy according to which their courts had
imperial courts throughout medieval Europe. With growing mercantilism and centralization of political power in the
seventeenth century, the role of the Court Jew expanded,
particularly in the many independent political entities of
German-speaking Central Europe. Court Jews in the Early
Modern period worked to overhaul administrative and tax
systems, develop industry, secure and deliver provisions for
armies, and create uniform coinage. They also helped in a
wide range of political endeavors, at times serving as diplomats and helping rulers secure new crowns or lands. The
particular role of the Court Jew depended on the personality
and resources of the specific individual, as well as the needs
of the ruler and the conditions of the court and the region.
One particularly well-known Court Jew of the seventeenth century was Samuel Oppenheimer (16301703)
who, among other things, supplied the garrisons for the
Elector of the Palatinate and later helped organize the successful defense of Vienna against the Turks. Although most
Court Jews appear to have been men, we do have evidence of some women serving in this role. One example is
the famed late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century
Esther Schulhoff Liebmann (ca. 16451714), who worked
with her husband Jost (also known as Judah Berlin; ca.
16401701); she continued to serve in a variety of capacities at the Prussian court after his death.
Dispersed networks of contacts with other Jews and Jewish communities helped facilitate the work of Court Jews,
who also interacted vigorously with the non-Jewish world
around them. Court Jews were often granted special privileges to assist them in their work, including freedom of
travel or exemption from Jewish communal regulations.
Some scholars have seen the early modern Court Jew as a
prototype of the secularized Jew of the modern period. In
fact, most Court Jews appear to have continued traditional
Jewish observance, and many maintained important connections with their Jewish communities, serving frequently
as political defenders and economic supporters. Many Court
Jews were learned in Jewish law and were patrons of Jewish
scholarship.
Court Jews often formed family dynasties, marrying
among themselves and serving regional rulers for generations. The position was not without inherent risks.
Joseph Suss
Oppenheimer (16981738), Court Jew for Duke
Charles Alexander of Wurttemberg,
was tried and exe
cuted shortly after the death of his benefactor for his harsh
and unpopular policies; his tragic fate serves as a poignant
reminder of the challenges facing even the most affluent and
influential Court Jews in the pre-modern period.
A classic overview of the Court Jews is S. Stern, The Court
Jew: A Contribution to the History of the Period of Absolutism in
Central Europe (1950). Also valuable are J. Israel, European
Jewry in the Age of Mercantilism, 15501750 (3rd ed., 1998);
and the various essays in V. B. Mann and R. I. Cohen, eds.,
From Court Jews to the Rothschilds (1996).
D EAN P HILLIP B ELL
Courts (Hebrew beit din, batai din [pl.]; see also BEIT DIN).
Courts
Crescas, H
. asdai ben Abraham
This theological approach is central to most biblical writings, including the prophetic books. Biblical wisdom literature, however, especially the books of Job and Ecclesiastes,
as well as some later Jewish thought, calls divine justice
into question in cases of innocent suffering (see also
BIBLE: PROPHETS AND PROPHECY; BIBLE: WISDOM
LITERATURE; CIRCUMCISION).
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
COVERING, WOMEN
Crescas, H
. asdai ben Abraham (13401410), a native
of Spain, was one of the most important, and arguably
the most incisive of medieval Jewish philosophers (see
THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL). Educated in rabbinic, kabbalistic,
and philosophical literatures, Crescas served briefly as a
rabbi in Barcelona, and in 1389 he was appointed as rabbi
of Saragossa, the capital city of Aragon. Two years later,
in the fateful Iberian anti-Jewish riots of 1391, Crescas
only son was murdered. Crescas composed several books,
some of which do not survive. His two major extant works
are polemical in nature (see also MIDDLE AGES: JEWISHCHRISTIAN POLEMICS). In both, he applies sharp and rigorous argumentation to refute what he considered to be major
threats to the continuity of Jewish life and thought. His 1398
treatise, The Refutation of Christian Principles, written in Catalan, is a straightforward and pointed attack on the tenets
of Christian theology. Crescas seems to have been in contact with contemporary scholastic philosophers whose style
and ideas both exerted a crucial influence on his thought
and helped sharpen his understanding and criticism of
Christianity.
His major philosophical work, Or ha-Shem (The Light
of the Lord), was written in Hebrew (the most developed
extant manuscript is dated 1410, shortly before his death).
In this work, Crescas employs a series of nuanced and subtle
arguments against the foundations of Aristotelian physics
and metaphysics. His aim is to reaffirm the autonomy
of Jewish thought against the Maimonidean synthesis of
Aristotelian (and Arabic) philosophy with the precepts of
rabbinic Judaism. Crescas expresses sincere admiration for
commandments; these covenants sometimes included ritual performance, such as animal sacrifice (Gen 9, 15:911),
and are often accompanied by an external sign. Thus, the
covenant between God and Noah after the flood (Gen 9)
obligates Noah and his sons to populate the earth, gives
them stewardship over plants and animals, and forbids murder and the eating of meat that has not been drained of
blood. It further ordains punishment for murder. In return,
God promises never again to disrupt the natural order or
to destroy life on earth by flood; the rainbow is the sign of
this covenant. In Genesis 17, the covenant effects a change
in the names of the ancestral couple and requires an alteration to the male body: Abram becomes Abraham (17:5)
and Sarai becomes Sarah (17:15), and the commandment
of circumcision (berit milah) is henceforth ordained for all
males within the Israelite community (17:914).
The covenant at Mount Sinai includes all of the children of
Israel; in it, God promises to make the Israelites a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation (Exod 1924). National covenants,
associated with spiritual renewal or revival, can be found
throughout the Hebrew Bible (Exod 19:8; Deut 2930; Josh
24:24; 2 Sam 7; 2 Kgs 23:3; 2 Chron 15:815, 23:16, 34:31
32; Neh 10:29; Jer 50:5).
Biblical covenantal theology, which develops from this
treaty model, assumes that the divinehuman relationship
is predicated on human free will. Obedience to divine laws
is the prerequisite to fulfillment of Gods promises; failure to comply will lead to catastrophe on a national scale.
Thus, disaster is interpreted as deserved divine punishment.
120
Crescas, H
. asdai ben Abraham
Czechoslovakia
they helped establish the Society to Aid the Jewish Prisoner, the Hawthorne School to rehabilitate wayward Jewish youth, and the Kehilla, a communal organization that
united major segments of the Jewish community into a
loose confederation that functioned between 1908-1922 to
address shared concerns.
Organized Jewish crime reached its peak in the 1920s,
during the era of prohibition, but declined precipitously in
the 1930s and 1940s. As the children and grandchildren of
immigrants improved their economic standing and moved
to urban residential and suburban neighborhoods, the great
majority left the criminality of the ghettos behind. Jewish
gangsters and criminals are primarily remembered as a product of the urban social ills that afflicted the immigrant generation (also PROSTITUTES, PROSTITUTION: MODERN ERA).
For further reading, see A. Fried, The Rise and Fall of the
Jewish Gangster in America (1993); R. Rubin, Jewish Gangsters
of Modern Literature (1990); E. Bristow, Prostitution and Prejudice: The Jewish Fight Against White Slavery, 18701939 (1983);
and J. Joselit, Our Gang: Jewish Crime and the New York Jewish
Community, 19001940 (1983).
W ENDY H. B ERGOFFEN
Boston, among other cities, these conditions created a fertile environment for organized crime. Like other newcomers to America, some Jewish immigrants and their children
chose lives of crime as a way to escape poverty. They became
pickpockets, gamblers, bootleggers, drug runners, and extortionists, with names like Kid Twist, Longy Zwillman, and
Dopey Benny. Criminals were part of the fabric of Jewish immigrant communities, with thieves, prostitutes, and
murderers living side by side with garment workers, shop
owners, and future doctors, educators, and intellectuals.
Young Jewish gang members robbed pushcarts and
extorted money from successful shop owners in their neighborhoods. Hoodlums preyed on other Jews and later turned
their attention to weightier criminal endeavors, such as
extorting money from unions, bootlegging during Prohibition, and executing witnesses. Crime provided these ghetto
youth with a way to move up the economic ladder and
become American. A few graduated to the upper echelon
of organized crime. The gambler, Arnold Rothstein (1882
1928), was purportedly responsible for the Black Sox scandal of 1919 (fixing the outcome of the World Series [see
SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL]). Jewish women
were also members of the underworld. Organized Jewish
prostitution, what some sensational journalists and reformers called the white slave trade, spanned the Atlantic, connecting major cities in Europe with those in the Americas.
Prostitution offered Jewish women a means to assert independence from the restrictive customs of the older generation and Jewish tradition and to avoid sweatshop labor.
Some women willingly entered the business, while others were coerced by young Jewish men (cadets) who
promised marriage or better opportunities.
New York Police Commissioner Theodore A. Bingham
brought national attention to Jewish criminality on New
York Citys Lower East Side when he published an article
in the North American Review (September 1908) in which he
claimed that Jews were responsible for 50% of the citys
crime. This negative publicity prompted members of the German Jewish community in New York to challenge Binghams accusations, including the implication that Jews were
inherently drawn to crime. To address the problem of Jewish crime and to repair the damage inflicted by these black
sheep on American images of Jews and Jewish immigrants,
CRUSADES
Custom (minhag). Although Judaism is most often characterized as a religion of law, custom is a powerful factor both
in individual and communal life. A Yiddish folk maxim
states, A minhag brecht a din; literally, a custom breaks
a law. Minhag can refer to a traditional mode of practice
handed down within a family or to the communal liturgical customs of an entire community, region, or form of
Jewish practice (see COMMUNAL ORGANIZATION; COUNCIL AND SYNOD). Thus, one can find prayer books that
are clearly labeled as following the minhag of Rome or of
as H
. asidism. In the nineteenth century pioneering Reform
Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise tried to create a minhag America. There is great respect for the power of custom. In his
proposals for the reconstruction of Judaism in the first half
of the twentieth century, Mordecai Kaplan suggested that
the term minhag, which he translated as folkways, replace
mitzvah (commandment).
R ELA M INTZ G EFFEN
Czechoslovakia.
121
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Jews from the former Czechoslovak territories of southern Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia. By spring 1945,
263,000 (74%) of the Jews living in the former Czechoslovak territories were dead. Paradoxically, however, more
Jews had survived in Slovakia than in either the Protectorate or the territories occupied by Hungary. About 68% of
the Jews of independent Slovakia perished, while approximately 85% of the Jews of the Protectorate and in southern Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia died in camps and
on death marches. In all areas, however, the persecution
and deportation of Jews depended on the cooperation and
at times the initiative of local authorities who assisted the
Germans in their genocidal policies.
When fighting ended in May 1945, Czechoslovak Jewry
had been all but destroyed. In the former Protectorate, less
than five thousand Jews had been able to evade deportation; half of these were Jews married to non-Jews. In
Slovakia several thousand Jews survived the war in hiding. They were joined by returning refugees and by survivors making their way home from camps across Central
Europe. In the following years, almost 30,000 Jews emigrated from Czechoslovakia, leaving behind a community of
about 20,000. As in the interwar period, the largest community was in Prague; it had been diminished from its pre-war
Jewish population of 35,000 to a mere 3,000 Jews, many
of whom came from other parts of the country, including
Slovakia. Further east, Bratislava and Kosice became the
centers for Jews in Slovakia; many Subcarpathian Jews
moved to the western part of Czechoslovakia after the ceding of the countrys easternmost region to the Soviet Union
in 1945. In the wake of the war, the government was determined to reconstitute Czechoslovakia as a state for Czechs
and Slovaks, devoid of the unwanted pre-war minorities.
This policy resulted in the expulsion of Czechoslovakias ethnic German and Hungarian citizens. Although Jews were not
expelled, they were considered foreigners, much like the
despised Germans and Hungarians. This attitude was complicated not only by the restitution of Jewish property that
had been confiscated during the Nazi regime but also by
the reintegration of Jews into Czech and Slovak societies.
The fact that many ordinary Czechs and Slovaks had benefited materially from the dispossession and deportation of
Jews also fueled the hostility toward Jews in the post-war
years.
After the establishment of the communist regime in
Czechoslovakia in 1948, Jewish associational life was
severely circumscribed, and only the formal religious community was permitted to continue its activities (see COMMUNISM). As public displays of Jewish identity or religious
practice were stigmatized, Jews relocated their cultural
activities to the private sphere where Jewish cultural and
religious traditions could be cultivated among family and
friends. At the same time, secularization and social integration characterized Jewish life in all parts of Czechoslovakia, leading to a decline in religious practice and an
increase in marriages between Jews and non-Jews (see
INTERMARRIAGE). During this era, as well, the sociocultural differences between Jews in the eastern and western
parts of the country, which had been so prominent in the
interwar period, diminished; in many ways Czechoslovak
Jewry emerged as a relatively homogeneous community. As
the state idealized cultural and social homogeneity, Jewish
122
Czechoslovakia
Czerniakow, Adam
123
Universelle
the eventual creation of the Alliance Israelite
in France and a heightened Jewish recognition of the need
for international cooperation. A recent analysis is J. Frankel,
The Damascus Affair, Ritual Murder, Politics, and the Jews in
1840 (1997).
K ATE F RIEDMAN
Dance: Pre- and Post-State Israel. Between the first Jewish immigration waves in 1882 and 1920, there was no artistic dance company in the Yishuv, the Jewish settlement in
Yamposky and Hillel Markman; the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (1969), with artistic director Yehudit Arnon; and Koldmama (1978) by Moshe Efrati, originally employing both deaf and hearing dancers. Between
1964 and 1976, all professional dance activities in Israel
took place in these companies. Israeli dancers technical and
teaching standards improved, and their tours placed Israeli
dance on the global map. Batsheva and Bat-Dor, the leading companies, imported internationally known choreographers. Unfortunately, this practice limited opportunities for
Israeli choreographers and local creativity diminished.
In the mid-1970s, modern dance in Israel began to show
signs of weariness. The dramatic, thematic approach, as well
as the movement idiom and artistic concepts, had become
repetitive. At that time, several young female choreographers, who had studied abroad, brought American postmodern influences to Israel. Post-modern dance legitimized
a revolt against the canons of modern American dance as
performed by Israels major dance companies. In 1981, Pina
Bausch came to Israel with the Wuppertal Dance Theater
for the first time, and the local dance community became
familiar with the Tanztheater style. There was an immediate
creative upsurge after Bauschs visit to Israel. The following
year, Nava Zuckerman founded Tmu-Na Theater, and Oshra
Elkayam founded Movement Theater. Fringe dance in Israel
was enriched by more dancers and creators in the 1980s,
including Mirali Sharon (who was among the few choreographers who created for Batsheva and Bat-Dor), Amir Kolben (the Ramle Dance Company [Tamar], later the TamarJerusalem Company), and Barak Marshall Dance.
In recent decades, Israeli creators and dancers have
worked both in established companies and in marginal,
fringe frameworks. Among the most notable creators and
companies are Ohad Naharin, an enormous influence on
the young generation of Israeli choreographers, who created gaga a training system for professional dancers
and amateurs (Batsheva Dance Company). In 1998 Valery
Panov established the Ashdod Ballet; all of its dancers are
immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The Beta Dance
Troupe studies Ethiopian dance and creates contemporary
dance inspired by folklore. Flamenco is very popular, and
there are several prominent flamenco dancers such as Silvia
Doran, Neta Sheazaf, and Michal Natan. In 1989, the Susan
Dellal Center was founded in Neve Tzedek, directed by Yair
Vardi. This central home of Israeli dance is only a few blocks
from where Agadati gave his first recital in 1920.
Recent research includes R. Eshel, Dancing with the Dream
The Development of Artistic Dance in Eretz-Israel 19201964
(1991); G. Manor, Agadati The Pioneer of the Modern Dance
in Israel (1986); Y. Cohen, The Drum and the Dance (1963); G.
Manor, The Life and Dance of Gertrud Kraus (1978); R. Sharett,
A Queen without Palace: Mia Arbatova: Pioneer of Classical Ballet
in Israel (2005); G. Toledano, The Story of A Company: Sara Levi
Tanai and Inbal Dance Theatre (2005); and R. Gluck, Batsheva
Dance Company 19641980: My Story (2006).
R UTH E SHEL
David
David, the second king of biblical Israel, was the youngest
David
YOM KIPPUR
Moses. In clear contradiction to the biblical account, rabbinic texts praise David as a modest man, a pious person
who kept all the commandments and who devoted himself to learning Torah and composing psalms. Supplementing the biblical narratives, which detail Davids life only from
his young adulthood (1 Sam 16), the Rabbis describe him as
chosen by God in his mothers womb, as a young prophet,
and as a gracious shepherd. They also attribute to David the
composition of the entire book of Psalms, because his name
is mentioned in that book around ninety times.
However, rabbinic interpreters could not ignore the biblical record of Davids less positive actions, especially the
account about Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam 11
12). Therefore, they employed complicated exegetical techniques to justify Davids acts, or alternatively, they admitted his sins but placed much more emphasis on his remorse,
punishment, penitence, and Gods forgiveness. Rabbinic
treatment of David is marked by a general apologetic tendency to purge specific biblical protagonists of sin. This need
128
Prayer, liturgy, and poetry are represented in numerous compositions from Qumran. The Thanksgiving Scroll
expresses the theology of the sect; parts of it may have
been written by the teacher of righteousness, an early
leader of the sect. The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifices were
prayers meant to be recited weekly in a cycle specific to each
Demography
republics of the former Soviet Union [FSU] who entered
Israel under the framework of the Law of Return as spouses
or other relatives of Jewish immigrants); about 1.5 million
were Arabs, of whom 1.2 million were Muslims, 150,000
were Christians, and 120,000 were Druze; in addition there
were some other small minorities. These figures relate to
Israels territory before the June 1967 Six Day War, plus East
Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the West Bank (the Jewish population figures include the approximately 275,000
Jewish residents of localities within the West Bank).
With Jewish population growth in Israel, world Jewrys
distribution has become radically different from what it
was in 1948. Some eleven million Jews were left in the
world after World War II and the Shoah, in contrast to the
16.5 million before the war. The recovery of Jewish population size was quite slow. It took thirteen years for the
post-war Jewish population to grow by one million and
another forty-seven years to add a second million. Over
the last sixty years world Jewry grew overall by 15% percent, in contrast to a 173% increase in the global population. Consequently, despite their numerical increase, Jews
were only 2 per 1,000 of the worlds total population in
2008, whereas they constituted 4.5 per 1,000 in 1948. The
fifteen largest Jewish communities in 2008, ranked from
smallest to largest (all population figures approximate), were
Diaspora have increasingly blurred the frontiers of Jewish identification, while Jewish population definition and
the effort to estimate its size have become more complex
and less conclusive. The so-called core Jewish population
includes those who are ready to define themselves as such
in censuses and social surveys, with the addition of many
others who do not readily declare their Jewish identity but
have Jewish parents and do not hold an alternative religious
identity. Further population belts around the core include
persons of Jewish origin with a declared non-Jewish identity, all other non-Jewish members of nuclear households
that contain a person of Jewish origin, and the many others who are eligible for the Law of Return, namely thirdgeneration descendants and spouses. Today, these Jewishly
connected non-Jews include many millions of people (see
INTERMARRIAGE entries).
A second consequence is the significantly different patterns of Jewish population development in different regions
of the world. Jewish demography has actually evolved along
two different and contrasting tracks, one in Israel and the
other across the Jewish Diaspora. In 2008, as noted, some
5.5 million Jews lived in Israel. This figure stands against
the 650,000 Jews who lived in Israel on Independence Day
in May 1948. This means a growth in the Jewish Israeli
population by a factor of nearly 8.5, which is a unique
Demography. When the State of Israel celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its founding in 2008, its total population
was 7.3 million. Of these, 5.5 million were Jews (with an
additional 300,000 non-Jews, mostly immigrants from the
131
Demography
Deuteronomy
Rosh Ha-Shanah). A German diplomat made this information available to a Danish political leader, who in turn
alerted the Danish resistance and the Jewish community.
The result was that more than 7,000 Jews were able to
flee by boat to Sweden with the significant support of their
fellow Danes (see HOLOCAUST RESCUERS). Fewer than
five hundred Danish Jews were arrested and deported to
Theresienstadt; of these, fifty-two, mostly elderly individuals, perished. The numbers were so small (less than 1%
of Denmarks Jewish population and less than in any other
country in occupied Europe) because Danish authorities
were permitted to provide food and medicine to imprisoned Jews, as they did for all Danes in Nazi custody. Moreover, Danish political pressure and the regular presence of
the Danish Red Cross persuaded the Nazis not to deport
Danish Jews to extermination camps. After the war, Denmark remained sympathetic toward foreign Jews, allowing
refugees from Hungary and Czechoslovakia to settle during the 1960s, as well as several thousand Polish Jews
between 1969 and 1972. In the early twenty-first century,
there are approximately 7,000 Jews in Denmark; most live
in and around Copenhagen. See also LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA.
For further reading, see E. E. Werner, A Conspiracy of
Decency: The Rescue of the Danish Jews During World War II
(2004). Map 10
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Deuteronomy
Devekut
wisdom movement because several of its teachings resemble passages in Proverbs (e.g., 1:12, 19:14, 25:1316, and
23:22).
Deuteronomy has a distinctive, sermonic style that uses
many standardized words and phrases. Similar features are
found in other biblical books (most notably Jeremiah), suggesting that they were edited by followers of the deuteronomic school. Deuteronomic influence is especially pronounced in Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, which
are therefore called the Deuteronomistic History. Some
scholars believe that those books may once have constituted an independent corpus introduced by Deuteronomy.
According to this line of thought, Deuteronomy 14:40 and
3134 were added later, when Deuteronomy was detached
from this collection and joined to the other books of the Pentateuch. For further reading, see J. H. Tigay, The JPS Torah
Commentary: Deuteronomy (1996); and M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School (1972).
F REDERICK E. G REENSPAHN
Devekut
Dietary Laws
Diaspora, from the Greek word for dispersion or scattering, refers to the geographical diffusion of the Jewish people over the ages and more generally to Jewish communities living outside the Land of Israel. Since the destruction
of their First Temple and the exile of much of the population of the southern kingdom of Judah to Babylonia in
586 BCE, most Jews have lived in the Diaspora, as minority communities living among a range of cultures on every
continent. Although the Hebrew word galut (exile) has
historically been seen as equivalent to Diaspora, golah is
a neutral alternative. In recent decades the Hebrew word
tefutsot (scattered) has been increasingly accepted. Thus,
the Hebrew name for the Nahum Goldmann Museum of
the Jewish Diaspora in Tel Aviv is Beit Ha-Tefutsot (see also
DEMOGRAPHY).
halakhah is referred to as kosher (fit); unfit food is considered treif, a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew terefah (torn). The laws of kashrut are complex; they originate
in biblical sources and were further developed over time.
No overarching principle underlies the broad range of laws
related to eating in the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature. Certain foods are prohibited outright: These include
animals that do not have cloven hoofs or do not chew
their cud (Deut 14:78); a variety of birds (Lev 11:1319;
Deut 14:78, 1218); fish without fins and scales (Lev 11:9
12); and most insects (Lev 11:2023). Permitted species are
134
Dietary Laws
Displaced Persons
Displaced Persons or Sheerit Hapletah (surviving remnant), emerged from the catastrophe of the Holocaust to
form a vibrant, active, and fiercely independent community
that played a prominent role in diplomatic negotiations leading to the creation of the State of Israel.
Immediately following the liberation of Germany by the
victorious Allied forces on May 8, 1945, the roads were
filled with up to ten million forced laborers, prisoners of war
(POWs), and other displaced persons (DPs) who desired to
return home. According to statistics prepared by the United
Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA),
there were 1,488,007 DPs in Germany, Austria, and Italy
immediately after the war; of these, 53,322 or 3.6 percent
were Jews. Allied policy defined a displaced person as any
civilian who because of the war was living outside the borders of his or her country and who wanted to but could not
return home or find a new home without assistance. Displaced persons were initially divided into categories by place
of origin. At that time, Germany and Austria were divided
into American, British, and Soviet zones of occupation, with
a small area in the southwest of Germany as a French zone
Displaced Persons
Disraeli, Benjamin
of occupation. The majority of the Jewish population, perhaps some 35,000 out of 50,000, was in the American zone
of occupation in Germany, many of them around Munich.
Soon after liberation, Jewish survivors began to search
for family members, although most found that few had
survived. For those Jewish DPs who made the decision to
remain in Germany, the majority chose to live in a DP camp
(generally German military barracks, former POW and slave
labor camps, tent cities, industrial housing, and the like);
approximately 15,000 German Jewish survivors chose to
rebuild their pre-war communities in German cities. Those
survivors who remained in the camps faced deplorable conditions: poor accommodations, no plumbing, no clothing,
rampant disease, continuing malnourishment, and a lack
of any plan on the part of the American military. Of the
approximately 50,000 Jewish survivors at the time of liberation, many thousands perished within the first weeks after
liberation from complications arising from disease, starvation, and the poor camp conditions.
The Jewish survivors organized quickly among themselves
to advocate for their needs. In the summer of 1945, the
Central Committee of Liberated Jews formed in the American zone under the leadership of Samuel Gringauz and
Zalman Grinberg, and the Central Committee of Liberated
Jews was organized in the British zone, under the leadership of Josef Rosensaft. The reports of continuing deprivation and poor recovery support sent by the DPs and Jewish chaplains eventually prompted American officials to take
a greater interest in their problems. President Truman dispatched Earl Harrison to survey conditions; in his scathing
report to Truman, Harrison concluded that we are treating
the Jews as the Nazis treated them except that we do not
exterminate them. He proposed that Jews, who until then
had been forced to live with other national groups and former collaborators, be separated in their own camps. He also
proposed that 100,000 immigration certificates to Palestine
be granted immediately to the Jewish DPs to resolve their
refugee status. After Harrisons report, American authorities, under the leadership of General Eisenhower, worked to
ameliorate conditions for Jewish DPs, moving Jews to separate camps and agreeing to the appointment of an Advisor
for Jewish Affairs.
With the arrival of more than 100,000 Jews fleeing continued persecution and antisemitism in Eastern Europe,
the Jewish DP population had reached 250,000 in Germany,
Italy, and Austria by the beginning of 1947 (approximately
185,000 were in Germany, 45,000 in Austria, and 20,000
in Italy.) The surviving population had a highly youthful
demographic: Reports and surveys consistently estimated
that more than half the Jewish DPs, and sometimes as
many as 80%, were between the ages of fifteen and thirty.
In the absence of families, many survivors quickly created
new families, as evidenced by the many weddings and the
remarkable birthrate among the surviving population in the
first year after liberation.
While still living in a transitional situation and hoping
for the possibility of emigration, DPs succeeded in creating
a dynamic community in hundreds of DP camps and communities across Germany, Italy, and Austria. With the assistance of representatives from UNRRA, the American Jewish
Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Agency, and other
organizations, schools were established throughout the DP
and Fohrenwald
in the American zone of Germany, and
Zionist youth movements, athletic clubs, historical commissions, and yeshivot testifying to the rebirth of Orthodox Judaism. The DPs took an active role in representing
their own political interests: Political parties (mostly Zionist in nature, with the exception of the Orthodox Agudat
Israel) administered camp committees and met at annual
congresses of the Sheerit Hapletah. The Zionist youth movements, with the assistance of emissaries from Palestine, created a network of at least forty agricultural training farms
throughout Germany on the estates of former Nazis, demonstrating their ardent desire for immigration to Palestine.
The Harrison report linked the resolution of the Jewish
DP situation with the situation in Palestine, thereby elevating the diplomatic implications of the Jewish DP political stance. International observers from the Anglo-American
Committee of Inquiry and the United Nations deemed DP
Zionist enthusiasm central to the resolution of the political
conflict over Palestine. As their stay dragged on in Europe,
DPs staged mass protests condemning the British blockade of
Palestine and participated in the illegal immigration (aliyah
bet) movement to Palestine, most noticeably in the Exodus
Affair of 1947 (see BRITISH MANDATE OVER PALESTINE).
Eventually, the United Nations Special Committee on
Palestine (UNSCOP) recommended that the problem of the
250,000 Jewish DPs be dealt with through the partition
of Palestine. After the passage of the UN Partition Plan
(November 29, 1947) and the creation of the State of Israel
in May 1948 (see ISRAEL, STATE OF: FOUNDING OF THE
MODERN STATE), approximately two-thirds of the DP population immigrated to the new state, with a sizable percentage of the younger segment fighting in the 1948 war.
Most of the remainder went to the United States, which
had only become a realistic immigration option after passage of the Displaced Persons Act in 1948 and the amended
DP Act of 1950, which authorized 200,000 DPs (Jewish and
non-Jewish) to enter the United States. By 1952, more than
80,000 Jewish DPs had immigrated to the United States
under the terms of the DP Act and with the aid of Jewish agencies. Almost all of the DP camps were closed by
1952.
Studies of Jewish DPs in the American and British zones
include Z. Mankowitz, Life Between Memory and Hope: The
Survivors of the Holocaust in Occupied Germany (2002); and H.
Lavsky, New Beginnings: Holocaust Survivors in Bergen-Belsen
and the British Zone in Germany, 19451950 (2002). See also
A. J. Patt, Finding Home and Homeland: Jewish Youth and
Zionism after the Holocaust (2008); and A. Grossmann, Jews,
Germans, and Allies: Close Encounters in Occupied Germany
(2007). On post-war refugee diplomacy, see A. Kochavi,
Post-Holocaust Politics: Britain, the United States, and Jewish
Refugees, 19451948 (2000).
A VINOAM J. P ATT
Disputations: See
Disraeli, Benjamin
Gershom of Mainz (eleventh century) is credited with ruling that a man could not divorce his wife against her will,
an indication of the high status of women in this milieu.
A thirteenth-century innovation declared that divorce was
a public matter requiring approval by community representatives as well as by the couple involved; this development
protected women by making divorce more difficult to obtain.
emancipated Jewry. Although the case ended in the triumph of morality, it also revealed the fragility of reason
in modern democracies and suggested the need for a new
vigilance among assimilated Jews in modern nations. The
idea of the Jew that emerged during the Dreyfus Affair
an idea at once religious, ethnic, racial, and cultural created new socio-political relationships for Jews, their supporters, and their enemies. Bernard Lazare, the first Dreyfusard and one of very few outspoken Jews to support
Dreyfuss appeal, went on to battle Jewish poverty and
ARSHIP
Dybbuk
of human beings (their sons) and influence their behavior. At the time of Gods visitation, the followers of each
spirit will be either rewarded or punished, truth will rise up
forever, and deceit will be totally destroyed. Similar ideas are
found in the War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of
Darkness (1QM) and in several additional texts.
Dualistic thinking appears in other writings of the Second
Temple period. The Ethiopic Apocalypse of Enoch attributes
the origin of evil to fallen angels; it describes the present time
as a struggle between the cosmic powers, parallel to the one
opposing the righteous and the wicked, until the final judgment (1 Enoch 616; 91107). The Book of Jubilees (found
in the Pseudepigrapha) identifies the prince of the demons,
Mastema, as responsible for both the problem of evil and
the tension between Israel and the nations (Jubilees 17:15
18:13; 48:14, 919). The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (also found in the Pseudepigrapha) implies a sharp
division between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error:
The Patriarchs teach their descendants an elaborated doctrine of the two ways, one led by the Angel of the Lord,
the other by Belial, until the last days, when evil will
be definitely eradicated (Testament of Judah 20:15; Testament of Dan. 6:110; Testament of Asher 1:39; Testament of Joseph 20:2). In ancient Judaism, dualistic terminology was a tool through which various groups elaborated
worldviews to make sense of their own situation, legitimated their particular interpretation of the Torah and their
commitment to it, and nourished their hope to be finally
vindicated by God.
J EAN D UHAIME
with his autonomist political platform. Dubnow was ambivalent toward Zionism, which he saw as an appealing but
dangerous political adventure.
M ICHAEL B EIZER
Dura Europos, the site of a late antique city in presentday Syria, contains the most important single artifact of
ancient Jewish art. The walls of its synagogue (ca. 245 CE)
are covered with the earliest surviving biblically themed
paintings. See ART: LATE ANTIQUITY; and SYNAGOGUES,
ANCIENT.
by Micha Waszynski,
is considered a masterpiece of Yiddish
139
Germany).
covenant people. According to BT Shabbat 30b, the Rabbis wished to exclude Ecclesiastes from the Bible; indeed,
the midrash compilation Leviticus Rabbah points out that
Kohelets advice to follow ones own desires (11:9) directly
contradicts Numbers 15:39, repeated twice a day as part of
the third paragraph of the shema. Ultimately, the book was
saved by its attribution in 1:1 to the son of David, king in
Jerusalem and its conclusion, in 12:914, a later addition:
The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere
God and observe His commandments!
140
Ecology
Ecology
Ecology
Edom
Holocaust. Of course, it is possible to interpret the injunction to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth to mean
to reach the maximum population sustainable at an acceptable standard of living but do not exceed it.
The main challenges to Jewish environmentalism come
from within. In Israel and in the United States, the religious sources of Judaism do not inform the identity of most
Jews, and secular Jews do not appeal to them in their
attempt to address environmental concerns. Jews who come
to environmentalism from a Jewish religious commitment
face other challenges because contemporary environmental
philosophy and ethics are predominantly secular. Religiously
committed Jews must become familiar with a vast literature
whose worldview and philosophical assumptions not only
conflict with the beliefs of Judaism but are also in some
cases self-consciously neo-pagan. This is especially evident
in nature-based feminist spirituality that promotes goddess
worship to overcome the deterioration of nature allegedly
caused by the masculinist Judeo-Christian tradition. Likewise, the biocentrism of deep ecology conflicts with the
anthropocentric stance of Judaism, which is the basis of its
ethics of stewardship and responsibility toward nature. Jews
can develop a Jewish eco-theology for the twenty-first century, but doing so will require a significant reinterpretation
of Judaism in light of contemporary science, especially the
biological sciences, which are in the midst of a major transformation.
For further reading, see R. Aubrey, ed., Judaism and Ecology (1992); E. Bernstein, ed., Ecology and the Jewish Spirit:
Where Nature and the Sacred Meet (1998); idem, The Splendor
of Creation: A Biblical Ecology (2005); E. Eisenberg, The Ecology of Eden (1998); A. Elon, N. M. Hyman, and A. Waskow,
eds., Trees, Earth and Torah: A Tu BShevat Anthology (1999);
R. H. Isaacs, The Jewish Sourcebook on the Environment and
Ecology (1998); H. Tirosh-Samuelson, ed., Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed Word (2002); A. Waskow, ed.,
Torah of the Earth: Exploring 4000 Years of Ecology in Jewish
Thought (2000); and M. D. Yaffe, ed., Judaism and Environmental Ethics: A Reader (2001). See also ETHICS: ENVIRONMENTAL; ISRAEL, STATE OF: ECOLOGY.
H AVA T IROSH-S AMUELSON
Edom
Education, Boys: Medieval and Early Modern. Education in the medieval and Early Modern periods, as throughout Jewish history before the twentieth century, was gendered. This entry discusses education for males; female
education is discussed in the following entry. In medieval
general studies subjects within an environment purposefully directed toward the cultivation of Jewish identity.
Every Jewish educational institution that provides an allday program is ostensibly a Jewish day school but each
school is unique. Among contingent and highly variable factors with respect to the mission, curriculum, and organization of any particular Jewish day school are a number of
questions about how Jewish identity is defined (religious?
national? cultural? linguistic? secular?), how it is meant
to be developed (didactically? cooperatively? constructivistically?), with what type of curricular emphasis (Jewish
literacy? general academic competence?), which personnel
(composition of student body? background of teachers?),
what infrastructure (administrative arrangements? financial
supports? facilities and resources? relationships to the community?), and, above all, for what purposes (knowledge
acquisition? behavioral modification? values clarification?).
The range of Jewish day schools includes H
. asidic and
H
. aredi ( Ultra-Orthodox) yeshivot that focus on teaching
classical Jewish texts almost exclusively; Modern Orthodox schools that value a balance between Jewish and secular studies but maintain a distinctly religious tenor throughout the school program; Solomon Schechter ( Conservative)
and Reform movement schools that promote the dictates of
their denominational movements while also placing considerable emphasis on a rigorous general education; and transdenominational (or community) schools that attempt to
meet the needs of all members of the surrounding Jewish
community regardless of religious affiliation. Indeed, Jewish
day schools are as variegated as the Jewish community itself
and represent the entire spectrum of Jewish life.
Modern (i.e., non-H
. aredi) day schools typically offer a
bifurcated dual curriculum in which the school program
is divided proportionately between general (secular) studies
and Jewish studies. The general studies curriculum consists
of the subject areas commonly found in any public or private
school, including language arts, mathematics, sciences, social
studies, foreign languages, and fine arts. The Judaic studies
curriculum consists of some of the very same subjects that
have been taught in Jewish schools for centuries, such as the
Hebrew Bible, rabbinic literature, Hebrew language, Jewish law codes (see HALAKHAH), Jewish history, Judaism,
and prayer. Generally speaking, the aim of the dual curriculum is to provide students with an adequate knowledge
base both in traditional Jewish culture and modern western
culture. As parodied by the novelist Cynthia Ozick in The
Cannibal Galaxy (1983), the dual curriculum is a scheme of
learning luminous enough for a royal prince or princess,
providing lordly civilization enmeshed with lordly civilization, King Davids heel caught in Victor Hugos lyre, the
metaphysicians Maimonides and Pascal, Bialik and Keats,
Gemara hooked to the fires of algebra (57). More than
providing the basic instructional arrangement of the day
school, however, the dual curriculum fundamentally represents a particular vision of education. The ideal product of
the Jewish day school is someone who can comfortably navigate life within both the Jewish community and society at
large.
In this sense, the Jewish day school is an eminently modern construct, the product of eighteenth- and nineteenthcentury Haskalah thinking about the necessity of Jews to
adopt the social mores of the countries in which they live
while still maintaining their Jewish commitments. Including secular studies in the Jewish school program would
effectively demonstrate to the surrounding society that Jews
were willing, capable, and deserving of the rights and privileges of citizenship, while also affording Jewish children the
knowledge, skills, and dispositions they needed for full participation in modern Jewish life. What is more, it would
preclude Jewish children from having to receive their secular education in state-sponsored schools that were officially
nonsectarian but essentially Christian in character. The first
modern day schools offering a dual religious and secular
program began cropping up in the early to mid-nineteenth
century in Western and Eastern Europe and eventually in
North America. By the beginning of the twentieth century,
however, the burgeoning day school movement was already
in decline, particularly in the United States. Public schools
were becoming increasingly secularized and pluralistic, and
they were progressively more geared toward the integration of new arrivals, including masses of Jews, into American society. Furthermore, in contrast to tuition-based Jewish
schools, public schools were free of charge, which was no
small enticement to the financially strapped yet economically striving immigrant population. Although many Orthodox Jews continued to shy away from public schooling and
instead developed an extensive system of yeshivot, liberal and
secular Jews for the most part forsook the notion of day
schooling and preferred to supplement their childrens public school education with Jewish afternoon and/or weekend
schools.
Community priorities shifted once again in the midtwentieth century in the aftermath of the Holocaust and
the establishment of the State of Israel. Intensive Jewish
education came to be viewed as a crucial way to promote
Jewish identity, by inspiring an affinity toward Jewish customs and peoplehood, and to ensure Jewish continuity by
serving as a buttress against assimilation and intermarriage.
As a result, communities and philanthropists began investing heavily in the prospect of day schooling (by 2000, the
combined annual budget of North American day schools was
more than $2 billion). Other factors, such as the increasing affluence, prominence, and self-actualization of the Jewish community, along with the real or perceived decline of
public education and supplementary Jewish schooling, combined to propel a massive expansion of the day school enterprise. Between 1940 and 1965, the number of day schools
in North America grew from thirty-five to more than three
hundred, and enrollment rose from approximately 7,700
to more than 65,000 students (A. I. Schiff, The Jewish Day
School in America [1966]). By the turn of the twenty-first century, more than seven hundred North American day schools
were enrolling more than 200,000 students, and day schools
were operating in Israel, Britain, Mexico, South Africa,
Education, United States: Hebrew Colleges. These transdenominational institutions, founded by local Jewish communities, were established to train teachers for Jewish supplementary schools in the United States. Early examples
include Gratz College in Philadelphia (1887); Teachers
146
H
. abad movement.
The congregational school model that exists in the early
twenty-first century is an adaptation of the Talmud Torahs
founded in the early twentieth century by Jewish educator Samson Benderly and his disciples. They believed that
religious education should be structured much like education in public schools where a standardized curriculum with
textbooks was required. They envisioned a system supported
by local bureaus of Jewish education that would train professional Jewish teachers and determine a unified vision.
Although Benderly advocated for a communal, centralized
Talmud Torah system, it never developed; as Jews moved
to the suburbs they looked to synagogues to provide Jewish education in a less centralized context. Thus, the transmission of Jewish culture and knowledge to American Jewish children in an afterschool and weekend context has
remained primarily in the denominational domain.
Since the 1970s a great deal of discussion has centered
around the impact of the congregational school on the Jewish lives of adults. Two separate studies published by Geoffrey Bock (1976) and Harold Himmelfarb (1975) concluded
that supplemental Jewish learning, whether for 1,000 or
3,000 hours over a period of years, respectively, was ineffective in fostering Jewish identity or Jewish practice. The
results of these studies propelled communities to focus
on the Jewish day school to achieve these goals. Jewish
Federations throughout the country began to pour financial resources into both denominational and community
day schools, leading to significant growth in the last three
decades of the twentieth century. Despite this increase, however, a significant majority of children still participate in
supplementary schools. This reality has generated communal attention and funding for congregation-based Jewish
learning.
The field of Jewish supplementary education has experienced major shifts in the first decade of the twenty-first
century, with a different set of expectations and a renewed
sense of possibility. Educators realize that the acquisition of
affinity to the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope, a collection of wise sayings dating to the twelfth century BCE.
Both begin with exhortations to listen to the guidance that
follows, and both contain similar admonitions; for example, to avoid the company of angry men and to desist
from removing landmarks or robbing the poor. A connection between the two wisdom collections is also suggested
because the Egyptian instructions are divided into thirty
units and Proverbs 22:20, according to one reconstruction
of the difficult text, could be translated, Have I not written
for you thirty sayings? However, the similarities between
the two do not necessarily mean that the Israelite scribe
adapted the Instruction of Amenemope for his Hebrewspeaking audience, but rather that Israelite wisdom was part
of an international literary form. The Bible acknowledges
the standard of excellence set by Egypts wisdom tradition
(1 Kgs 5:10), so it would not be surprising if a scribe in
Freud, the father of modern psychoanalysis, famously portrays Moses as an Egyptian priest who, in an attempt to save
Akhenatens religious legacy, imposed the Pharaohs severe
monotheism on a mob of Semitic slaves, who then rebelled
and murdered their liberator. Although most modern scholars dismiss Freuds reconstruction, some think it plausible
that Moses beliefs were somehow related to Akhenatens
exclusive worship of the sun disc, the Aten. Akhenaten
introduced radical religious reform on taking the throne
of Egypt in 1353 BCE. He changed his name, originally
Amunhotep IV (the god Amun is satisfied), to Akhenaten
(effective for Aten). With his wife Nefertiti, he prohibited
the worship of gods other than the Aten or the sun disc,
whom the royal couple praised as the sole creator deity.
Names of other gods and even the word gods were chiseled out of existing inscriptions. However, the worship of
other deities seems to have continued throughout Egypt,
and Akhenatens religious revolution mostly ended with his
death. No reliable evidence exists that allows us to establish
when Moses was born and died; however, it is plausible that
his life-span coincided with that of Akhenaten or fell somewhat later, so a connection is possible. Although it is true
that the monotheism attributed to Moses in biblical texts
differs from that of the Pharaoh regarding the use of representational art (Aten was depicted as a sun with hands)
and the divine nature of Akhenaten himself (the king was
thought to be the incarnation of the sun god), monotheistic intolerance of other deities remains the defining factor of
their respective religions. A notable remnant of this relationship may be the strong resemblance between Psalm 104 and
Akhenatens Hymn to Aten. On this topic, see W. Propp,
Exodus 1924 (2006), 76293.
PROVERBS 22:1724:22 AND INSTRUCTION OF AMENEMOPE: Proverbs 22:1724:22 is noteworthy for its
148
names of Moses siblings, Aaron and Miriam, have Egyptian origins. Miriam is related to the Egyptian root mry,
and means love or beloved, just like the name of a son of
Levi, Merari, mentioned in Genesis 46:11 and Exodus 6:16.
Assir is mentioned as a son of the Levite Korah in Exodus
6:24, and it is likely that his name is connected to the Egyptian Osiris or the Egyptian word isr, the term for a tamarisk
tree. The name Hur, given to the leader who assisted Moses
and Aaron in the battle with Amalek (Exod 17:10, 12), is
probably related to the name of the Egyptian sky god, Horus.
Phineas, the zealous grandson of Aaron in Numbers 25, has a
name that in Egyptian means the Nubian, perhaps because
he had a dark complexion. The name of Israels greatest
prophet Moses is also thought to be derived from the Egyptian root msi, which means born of. Names with this element were popular during the New Kingdom (15701070
BCE) and include Thutmose, Ramose, and Amenmose.
THE TENT OF MEETING AND ITS ACCESSORIES: James
Hoffmeier has shown that Israels portable sanctuary or
Torah when doing so could strengthen their legal arguments. For example, in P. Polit. Iud. 7 a guardian seeking the
return of his ward under Greek common law cites his keeping of the levitical law concerning care for ones destitute kin
(Lev 25:3538) as evidence of his suitability as a guardian.
Likewise, in P. Polit. Iud. 4, a petitioner contesting the giv by her father to another man, courted the
ing of his fiancee
woman according to Egyptian norms and made a pre-marital
pact with her father typical of Greek practice. Yet the same
petitioner invoked Numbers 30:3 to remind the father of the
binding nature of his promise to give his daughter to him,
and he cited Deuteronomy 24:1 to argue that the father had
not issued the customary writ of separation necessary to
free a woman from betrothal to another man.
For further reading, see J. M. S. Cowey and K. Maresch,
eds. Urkunden des Politeuma der Juden von Herakleopolis (144/3
133/2 v. Chr.) (P. Polit. Iud.): Papyri aus Sammlungen von Heidelberg, Koln, Munchen
und Wien (2001); and R. Kugler Dis
pelling an Illusion of Otherness? A First Look at Juridical
Practice in the Heracleopolis Papyri, in D. C. Harlow, M.
Goff, K. M. Hogan, J. S. Kaminsky, eds, The Other in Second
Temple Judaism: Essays in Honor of John J. Collins (2011).
R OBERT K UGLER
Ptolemies. The papyri include citizen petitions to the officials (archons, politarchs, and elders) of a Jewish politeuma;
that is, a self-governing community of resident aliens. The
petitions address disputes regarding personal honor, marriage arrangements and dowries, the law of persons, and
business transactions.
The petitions definitively establish that the Jews of Ptolemaic Egypt had the right to form politeumata. The uses of
this term in association with Jews in documents known
before publication of the papyri in 2001 were ambiguous in
and lived in Egypt until he was twenty-three. The tenthcentury historian al-Masud
corroborates this in reporting
that the Abbasid governor of Egypt Ah.mad ibn T.ulun
(868
905) staged a religious disputation between a Copt and
his Jewish physician. A Jewish congregation also bought a
church in Fustat from the Coptic patriarch Michael III (895
909), most likely to found a Babylonian-rite synagogue to
house the numerous Iraqis who had begun to migrate westward in pursuit of economic stability.
The most important center of Jewish population was Fustat, which had been founded as an Arab military garrison in
64142. By the Fatimid period (9691171) it was the largest
population center in Egypt, and it continued to grow after
Einstein, Albert
outright grants of money and met exigencies such as the ransom of captives and books after the First Crusade of 1096.
The communitys reputation attracted the poet Judah
Einstein, Albert
matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official
function. I am the more distressed over these circumstances
because my relationship with the Jewish people became my
strongest human tie once I achieved complete clarity about
our precarious position among the nations of the world (W.
Isaacson, Einstein: His Life and Universe [2007], 522). Einstein
bequeathed his personal papers to the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem. Together with Hebrew University, Princeton University Press is engaged in publishing The Collected Papers of
Albert Einstein; it is anticipated that thirty volumes will ultimately appear.
Sabbath and ordinary days of the week. For further reading, see L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews (1956), index.
A VIGDOR S HINAN
Elisha was an Israelite prophet who became Elijahs attendant, disciple, and successor. In 1 Kings 19, God commanded
Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor. Elijah found Elisha
plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and threw his mantle over
him; Elisha slaughtered his oxen and followed Elijah. After
Elijah was elevated to heaven (2 Kgs 2:11), the prophets of
Jericho declared that his spirit rested on Elisha. Elisha settled in Samaria and held the office of prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel for sixty years. A cycle of legends has
been incorporated into 2 Kings describing his many miracles,
including multiplying oil and food (2 Kgs 4), healing barrenness and leprosy (2 Kgs 5), and resurrecting the dead (2
Kgs 4, 13:2021). Elisha continued Elijahs campaign against
the house of Ahab, ordering the anointing of Jehu, son of
Jehoshaphat, as king of Israel (2 Kgs 9) and charging him
with the destruction of Ahabs family.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
(JT H
. agigah 2,1), harlotry and desecration of the Sabbath
(BT H
. agigah 15a), theological denial of retribution (BT Kiddushin 39b), and holding dualistic beliefs (BT H
. agigah 15a).
These various reports have led to a number of historical
conjectures about Elisha ben Abuya being an apostate, as
well as efforts to identify his alternate religious identity.
Possibilities include Gnosticism, Christianity, and Persian
Emancipation
In the United States, Jewish emancipation required
no special deliberation or legislation (with the exception
of a few states): Jews simply benefited from the federal
prohibition on religious criteria for exercising political rights.
In Britain, in contrast, Jewish disabilities were whittled
away over the course of many decades; the last vestiges
(the eligibility of Jews to be seated in Parliament or elected
as Fellows of Oxford and Cambridge) were only legislated
away between 1858 and 1871. Expectations directed at
Jews also differed. In France it was tacitly assumed that
Jewish citizens would undergo voluntary regeneration (e.g.,
cultural assimilation, religious reform, occupational restructuring), whereas most German states of the Restoration and
Vormarz
periods passed laws requiring Jews to undertake
such changes prior to and as a pre-condition for emancipation.
Jewish emancipation generally proceeded in three stages:
an era of pre-emancipation amelioration of Jewish status, a classical era of Jewish emancipation, and a postemancipation period. The pre-emancipation era began when
Jews were granted expanded residential and occupational
liberties in areas of northern Italy and Western Europe during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The
most explicit case was that of Livorno (Leghorn), established
in the late sixteenth century as a Ligurian free port by the
Grand Duke of Tuscany. The 1593 Livornina document
granted Jews full religious freedom (and permitted conversos
to revert to Judaism without fear of Inquisitorial prosecution), among other benefits. Livorno was a trading zone
devoid of established guilds and Jews had a range of occupational choices, although the document encouraged Jewish
merchant activity above all. The Livornina did stipulate
a requirement for periodic renewal, a limitation compared
with most classical emancipation laws; the Jewish population, however, was never expelled.
Britains Jewish Naturalization Act or Jew Bill of 1753
has also been cited as a milestone on the path to emancipation. Yet even had the bill not undergone quick repeal, its
narrow provisions would have benefited only a handful of
individuals. More significant was the 1740 Plantation Act,
which permitted Jews and dissenting Protestants to become
naturalized British subjects (foregoing religious oaths offensive to either group) in return for seven years of residence
in Britains western hemisphere colonies. By comparison,
Emperor Joseph IIs 1782 Edict of Toleration, which historians have touted for advancing Jewish claims to legal equality
in Habsburg lands, was modest in its aims and inconsistent
in application. It removed long-standing restrictions on Jewish dress and eliminated formal prohibitions on Jews entry
into Christian guilds. At the same time it subjected Jews to
a series of regulations geared more to advancing the administrative prerogatives of the absolutist regime than Jewish
equality. Nevertheless, the Edict of Toleration, along with
such individual reforms as Louis XVIs 1784 revocation of
the special body toll on Jews, attests to a fresh humanitarian
spirit on the eve of the French Revolution.
If the French Revolution ushered in the period of classical
emancipation, it was quickly followed by a phase of backtracking. Prussia, which had removed most restrictions on
Jews in 1812, imposed new ones after 1816, establishing a
multi-tiered policy with more onerous disabilities directed
at Jews living in newly acquired and less Germanized
Emancipation
Encyclopedias
provided a model for Jews of Central and Eastern Europe,
who aspired to similar status in their countries of residence.
Four basic documents defined the emancipation of French
Jews. The first two the August 26, 1789, Declaration of
the Rights of Man and Citizen and the subsequent constitution of the new republic did not address the Jews
directly, but implicitly granted Jews the same rights as other
French people. Some National Assembly deputies, nevertheless, did seek to restrict Jews to passive citizenship,
whereas active citizenship alone conferred the right to
vote and hold office and was by law a prerogative determined solely by financial status. Despite the lack of grounds
for discriminating in any way other than financial, the
question, once open, festered during the remainder of the
National Assembly sessions.
Fearful that they would find themselves reduced to
second-class citizenship, Jews in southern France of
antisemitism could be more demoralizing to Jews than previously, because it now occurred in a context in which
legal redress had already been achieved. The Dreyfus Affair
in France and the outbreak of political party-based antisemitism in Germany and Austria during the 1870s and
1880s suggested ominously that formal emancipation was
not quite the panacea that many Jews had assumed.
For further reading, see P. Birnbaum and I. Katznelson,
eds., Paths of Emancipation (1995); J. Karp, The Politics of Jewish Commerce: Economic Thought and Emancipation in Europe
(2008); and R. Mahler, Jewish Emancipation: A Selection of
Documents (1941).
J ONATHAN K ARP
Emancipation, France.
Encyclopedias. In the nineteenth century, with the accumulation of scholarly literature generated by the German
154
Encyclopedias
MARRIAGE
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France and Germany for legal guidance, over several generations Jews developed their own rituals, traditions, and
customs. There is evidence of more than twenty-four private and public synagogues, several mikvaot (ritual baths),
and ten burial grounds. Certainly Jews celebrated the main
Jewish festivals even when incarcerated in the Tower
of London some Jewish prisoners paid bribes so that they
might celebrate their sacred days. They also imported kosher
wine. Elegies written by English Jews to the martyrs of massacres at Blois and York are extant. Most Jews were trilingual, but for those who were not, the Passover haggadah
was translated into French. Jewish communities were highly
organized; the Northampton community, for example, possessed a communal seal and had rental income from houses
it owned that paid for the upkeep of the synagogue and the
cemetery.
Medieval Anglo-Jewry left behind epitaphs, graffiti, marriage contracts, and business deeds in Latin, French, and
Hebrew. The community bred its own legal experts who
wrote responsa on various topics. Rabbi Moses of London wrote a treatise on punctuation (c. 1234) and Jacob of
London on the Tree of Life. Just before the 1290 expulsion, Meir of Norwich wrote a poem, Put a Curse on My
Enemy, describing the deteriorating conditions of Jewish
life. On November 1, 1290, under Edward I, all Jews were
expelled from England. They were not officially readmitted
until 1656.
Important studies include C. Roth, History of the Jews in
England, 3rd ed. (1978); R. B. Dobson, The Jews of York and
the Massacre of March 1190 (1974); P. Skinner, ed., Jews in
Medieval Britain: Historical, Literary and Archaeological Perspectives (2003); R. R. Mundill, Englands Jewish Solution: Experiment and Expulsion 12621290 (1998); and idem, The Kings
Jews: Money, Massacre and Exodus in Medieval England (2010).
See also COMMERCE: MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN EUROPE; FRANCE : MIDDLE AGES; FRANCE , SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES; and BRITAIN, EARLY MODERN AND
R OBIN R. M UNDILL
MODERN; Map 8.
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Epikoros.
Esau
Essenes
Exile, ca. 586 BCE, prophets hoped for definitive restoration to the Land of Israel. Haggai and Zechariah hailed
Essenes
Ethical Wills
NORTH AMERICA
Nah.manides, Joseph ibn Kaspi) or to all the writers children (Eleazar ben Samuel of Mainz; Elijah de Veali) and
other members of the family ( Vilna Gaon), providing counsel, guidance, and instruction drawn from the writers experience. Others are general statements of the writers wisdom and worldview, providing guidance addressed to no
one in particular. Many contain important autobiographical and historical content, including in one case (Ibn Kaspi)
a detailed educational curriculum for the writers son to
follow. Tzavaat ha-Rivash, containing instructions in spiritual living from R. Israel Baal Shem Tov, was the first
H
. asidic work of conduct literature to be published (1793).
The classic collection of texts in this genre, Jewish Ethical Wills
(1926), selected, translated, and edited by Israel Abrahams,
seems to have popularized the English term. An extensive
160
Ethical Wills
Ethics, Environmental
Ethics, Environmental. The core of Jewish environmental ethics is the notion that human beings are responsible for the natural world. The ethics of responsibility follows from the dual aspect of creation: Human beings are
created entities, yet Judaism teaches that humans care for
nature through their creation in the divine image. Jewish legislation ( halakhah) about various aspects of nature
constitutes sound conservation policy. Jewish environmental ethics stress the causal connection between the moral
quality of human life and the vitality of Gods creation. The
corruption of society is closely linked to the corruption of
nature. Thus, the just allocation of natures resources is a
religious issue of the highest order. Parts of the lands produce the corner of the field (peah), the gleanings of stalks
(leket), the forgotten sheaf (shikhekhah), the separated fruits
(peret), and the defective clusters (olelot) are given to the
poor, the hungry, the widow, and the orphan (Lev 19:910,
23:22; Deut 24:1921; Ruth 2:2). The failure to treat other
members of society with justice is integrally tied to the fate
of the land.
Concerns about ecology figure prominently in the writings of several modern Jewish thinkers. Samson Raphael
Ethics, Environmental
Ethics, Rabbinic
Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, and Hannah all had trouble conceiving and bearing children, an indication that infertility
was understood as both a heartbreaking and common phenomenon. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, as
large numbers of Jews extend their educations, many postpone marriage and attempts to have children until their
late twenties or thirties. This is the primary reason why
many Jewish couples encounter infertility problems. Rabbis
have generally supported assisted reproductive techniques
that use the husbands sperm and the wifes egg, but most
Orthodox rabbis (see JUDAISM, ORTHODOX entries) forbid the use of donor gametes (sperm or eggs). The Conservative movement (see JUDAISM, CONSERVATIVE) permits the use of donor gametes, but only when the donors
identity is ultimately made known to the child or when the
donor reveals not only his or her medical history but also
hobbies, traits, and other facts that will help the child gain a
sense of his or her genetic heritage and identity.
Sometimes couples want to prevent or abort pregnancies.
On the basis of Exodus 21:2225, the Rabbis distinguished
between the status of a fetus and an infant. They ruled
that, during the first forty days of gestation, the embryo is
merely liquid; from the forty-first day to the moment of
birth, the child is like the thigh of its mother. The fetus
becomes a full human being only at the moment of birth
specifically, when the head emerges from the vaginal canal
Ethics, Rabbinic
Ethics, Rabbinic
Ethics, Sexual
Ethics, Sexual
Ethics, Sexual.
Ethics, Sexual
Ethiopia
of Semitics from the Sorbonne in Paris, met with Beta Israel
in Ethiopia and described their degenerate condition. The
Kifu-Qen, or Great Famine, hit Ethiopia between 1888 and
1892, and many Beta Israel either starved to death or converted to Christianity. Dr. Jacques Faitlovitch (18811953),
Halevys student, left Paris for his first expedition to Ethiopia
in 190405. He returned to Palestine and Europe with two
Falasha boys, Taamrat Emmanuel and Gete Hermias. During the next thirty years Dr. Faitlovitch brought twenty-five
young men from Ethiopia and educated them in different
Jewish communities in Palestine and Europe. He hoped they
would return and educate their fellow Ethiopian Jews in the
tenets of normative Judaism. In 1923, Dr. Faitlovitch established a Falasha school in Addis Ababa, which operated
until the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 193536.
There was no mass emigration from Ethiopia by the Beta
Israel after the establishment of Israel in 1948. In the 1950s,
Emperor Haile Selassie allowed two groups of young Beta
Israel pupils to study in a dormitory school in Israel, on condition that they return. In 1973 and then again in 1975,
Israels chief rabbis declared that the Beta Israel could be
recognized as descendants of the tribe of Dan and return
to their historic homeland, Israel. Before 1984, however,
only a few hundred Beta Israel had managed to reach Israel.
Finally, in 198485, the Israeli government, through Operation Moses airlifted 7,700 Beta Israel from refugee camps
in the Sudan to Israel. An estimated 4,000 had died on
the way to Sudan. Once knowledge of the airlift reached
the press, the Sudanese government suddenly terminated
it. Diplomatic relations were restored between Ethiopia and
Israel in 1989 and Israel coordinated Operation Solomon in
May 1991 in response to international pressure demanding the rescue and emigration of the Beta Israel. In Operation Solomon, 14,310 Jews were airlifted out of Ethiopia to
Israel in thirty-six hours, as the fate of the Ethiopian government headed by Mengistu Haile Mariam hung in the balance. During the 1990s, other Beta Israel groups in Ethiopia
began claiming the right to immigrate to Israel; in response
there was an airlift of a few thousand Beta Israel from the
remote area of Qwara. Thousands of Felesmura, claiming
descent from Beta Israel who had converted to Christianity
beginning in the nineteenth century, have since migrated
to Israel and converted to Judaism; more are still waiting in
Ethiopia.
In 1986 Ethiopian Jews in Israel staged a strike opposite the offices of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem,
objecting to the symbolic conversion they had to undergo
to be accepted as full Jews. Today, there are still obstacles in registering Ethiopian Jewish marriages. Kessotch
(Ethiopian priests) act as spiritual leaders for the older generation, alongside young Modern Orthodox (see JUDAISM:
MODERN ORTHODOX) Ethiopian rabbis, who have been
ordained in Israel. New immigrants from Ethiopia are entitled to subsidized public housing, free Hebrew instruction,
an initial cash payment for absorption expenses, and special educational advantages. They serve in the Israel Defense
Forces. The majority of Ethiopian Jewish adults in Israel
live beneath the poverty line. The laws of ritual impurity observed in Ethiopia are being modified, and married
women are encouraged to go out to work to assist with family income. The seven-generation kinship unit is beginning
to break down, and the Ethiopian divorce rate (30%) is far
(18271917), a scholar
purity laws. In 1867, Joseph Halevy
165
Ethiopia
were they to make the choices that they made? The contrast between an omniscient, omnipotent, and benevolent
deity and the sorts of things that happen in the world that
God created is a major concern in a number of later biblical works, in particular Job and Psalms. In more optimistic
passages from the latter book, the psalmist has confidence
in Gods support for the virtuous and punishment of the
wicked, but in more gloomy verses he questions the ubiquity
of divine justice. Throughout Job the role of Gods justice in
the world is thrown into doubt, and although Job himself is
satisfied with Gods appearance toward the end of the book,
hardly anyone else is. It does not answer the central question of why existence is so difficult and painful, nor does
God address the apparently arbitrary distribution of evil and
suffering in the world.
A significant difficulty in Job is the absence of a clear doctrine of an afterlife. Later Jewish writings address this omission to a large extent, perhaps in reaction to the emphasis on the next world in Christianity. Thus, thinkers could
argue that undeserved suffering in this life could be compensated by future and more enduring rewards in a world
to come. Saadia Gaon, for example, argues in his commentary on Job that it is only fair for God to reward the virtuous and punish the wicked, and if there is no evidence
that this happens in this world, then it must happen in the
next. Yet in Jewish thought and, in particular, the writings
of Moses Maimonides, this sort of approach did not find
many supporters. It was often rejected as banal and as implying too great a resemblance between divine and human justice. Divine providence certainly flows through the universe,
Maimonides argues, and it is up to us to acquire it and
use it in positive ways, but precisely what it is apart from
the functioning of the laws of nature is difficult to specify.
Because Maimonides holds that there is no point of comparison between divine and human attributes, we cannot
really think of God as like a king who is trying to provide
assistance to his subjects; this would make God far too similar to his creatures. However, in popular Judaism a belief
in the afterlife has become entrenched, and many prayers
in the liturgy refer to the next world and the resurrection
of the dead. Of course, this afterlife can be allegorized and
understood to represent something like the survival of part
of us in our descendants or those whom we influence. However, many Jews literally interpret these prayers and the
texts on which they are based, and they locate the evil
and suffering of this world within an acceptable religious
context.
The idea that suffering is a test or a punishment for some
crime has been popular with many commentators. Such an
explanation makes individual and collective distress part of
the divine plan and easier to accept. Over the course of Jewish history, however, it became increasingly difficult to see
suffering in this way; it is difficult to see any religious rationale for a history so replete with persecution and murder.
Some mystics (see BREAKING OF THE VESSELS; KABBALAH) saw suffering and the prevalence of evil as prefiguring the coming of the messiah; in their view, God
would have to prevent the world from sinking into total
darkness.
In modern times the debate has become heightened in
response to the Holocaust. Some have argued that it was
just one disaster among the many that have occurred in
Exodus, Book of
PORA
Exilarch (Head of the Exile; Hebrew, rosh ha-golah; Aramaic, resh galuta), was a Parthian or Sassanian imperial designation for the head of all the Jews in the ancient community of exiles in Babylon. The origins and development
of this institution are obscure; rabbinic traditions about the
Exilarch in Babylonia and the Patriarch (nasi) in the land of
Israel are closely linked: Both institutions descended from
King David and had access to non-Jewish rulers, great
wealth, and the power to appoint judges. The exilarchate
may predate the patriarchate, and it is possible that Patriarchs and those who told stories about them looked to Babylonia for a model of inherited Jewish leadership. The conquering Muslims reconfirmed the authority of the Exilarch
(as they did with the Nestorian Christian Catholicos) over his
co-religionists. The process of consolidating and centralizing
Jewish authority under Muslim rule was facilitated when
the Sura and Pumbedita academies relocated to Baghdad shortly after the city was established and the Exilarch
became a regular courtier at the Abbasid court. See also
GAON AND GEONIC ACADEMIES ; and IRAQ.
167
Exodus, Book of
Ezekiel
168
Ezekiel
169
ities and into the responses of its victims exposes both the
limitations of thought to comprehend the evil and the necessity of life to resist it. Fackenheims essays and books written
after 1983 continued to elaborate the character of Jewish life
in a post-Holocaust world and to explore the implications of
the Holocaust for Christians, Germans, and others. See also,
HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES; and THOUGHT,
MODERN.
M ICHAEL L. M ORGAN
Family and Marriage: Early Modern Period. The premodern Jewish family is popularly imagined as consisting of
an arranged but stable marital union that produced many
children and maintained strong bonds with an extended
family. Yet sources reveal that Jewish family size between
1500 and 1800 was on average relatively modest (4.4
in Poland-Lithuania) and that deviations from traditional
standards of married life did occur. Adulterous affairs (see
ADULTERY), sexual liaisons with non-Jews, spousal abuse,
male absence because of extensive travel for yeshivah study
or trade, and sexual dysfunction or impotence could result
in marital breakdown and divorce. Women were particularly
vulnerable in such cases, since Jewish law and custom usually proscribed their ability to initiate divorce and prevented
abandoned wives ( agunot) from remarrying. Yet traditional
Jewish marriage practices remained the norm and were
never seriously challenged until the appearance of Jewish
advocates of Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) in the late
eighteenth century.
Arranged marriages (age sixteen for women and eighteen
for men) were considered the ideal, because it was assumed
that young people possessed neither the ability to postpone
sexual activity until a more mature age nor enough life
experience to choose proper partners. For families of means,
matchmaking strategies were dictated by considerations of
yih.us, familial prestige emanating from the scholarly accomplishments and, to a lesser extent, wealth of ones forebears
and living relatives. Betrothal negotiations were accompanied by an examination of the potential grooms talmudic
expertise. Some young men of humble backgrounds managed to acquire yih.us independently by earning a scholarly
reputation, enabling them to marry daughters of wealthy
families. After the wedding, a young married couple and
their offspring might be fed and housed by the wifes or husbands parents for a period of two to eight years; this support, known as kest, enabled the couple to learn a trade or
the groom to continue his studies. In reality, only parents
with the economic means for a dowry and kest could afford
yih.us-based matches for their teenaged children.
After the kest period husband and wife typically both
worked, with the wife functioning as a junior partner in the
family economic enterprise. The stereotypical arrangement
whereby the wife supported her husband financially while
he studied all day was only practiced among certain elites.
170
Fashion
Both Ashkenazic and Sephardic elite families used marriage strategies to create continental familial trade networks,
as well as inheritable rabbinical posts for the families scholars. The most successful families took on surnames, including Horowitz, Shapiro, Margaliot, and Landau, and formed
a Jewish aristocracy based predominantly on yih.us, wealth,
and, most important, Torah knowledge. Unlike non-Jewish
markers of nobility like land and titles, Torah knowledge
could not be automatically transferred; hence there was an
added urgency to educate ones sons. When, as a child, the
Polish/Moravian memoirist Phineas Katzenellenbogen was
unable to explain a certain passage, his father shamed him
by reciting each scholar in his ancestral line. The education of daughters was usually less formal and rigorous; their
value on the marriage market was determined by their yih.us,
mercantile abilities (including knowledge of non-Jewish languages), and physical attractiveness. Daughters were also
treated differently in their fathers wills, receiving one-half
of the males portion in Ashkenazic society.
Early modern memoirists, like Leon Modena (Italy,
15741648) and Ber of Bolechow (Poland, 17231805),
evinced discomfort with arranged marriages and strove
of
Fashion.
171
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fast Days
Esther, but was rabbinically mandated as a means of commemorating the three-day fast Esther ordered on account of
Hamans decree (Esther 4:16). The other four fasts are the
9th of Av ( Tisha BAv), the 17th of Tammuz, the Fast of
Gedaliah, and the 10th of Tevet, all of which are associated
with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. They
were extrapolated by the Rabbis on the basis of Zechariah
8:19, which refers to four fasts that will be transformed into
days of joy during the messianic age.
Public fasts fall into two categories: major and minor.
Yom Kippur and Tisha BAv are the two major fasts; they
require a complete day of abstention from eating, drinking,
bathing, sexual intercourse, and wearing leather shoes. The
four minor fasts are observed from sunrise to sunset and
require the same abstentions, excluding bathing. Except for
Yom Kippur, fasts are prohibited on the Sabbath and are
moved to another day. The Mishnah (Taanit 4:6) explains
the significance of both Tisha BAv and the 17th of Tammuz.
Tisha BAv primarily memorializes the destruction of both
the First and Second Temples, yet many calamities throughout Jewish history, subsequent to the Mishnah, have also
become associated with that day. The 17th of Tammuz primarily memorializes the events that led to the destruction
of the First Temple. The Fast of Gedaliah is held on the day
after the two days of Rosh Ha-Shanah, the 3rd of Tishri.
It memorializes the assassination of Gedaliah ben Ah.ikam,
a righteous Jewish governor, after the Babylonian conquest
of Jerusalem. His death destroyed any hope for Jewish selfgovernment after the Babylonian siege. The 10th of Tevet
173
Fast Days
Film: Europe
memorializes the actual siege of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, connecting it to the destruction of the Temple.
Jewish law obligates Jews over the age of Bar or Bat
Mitzvah to fast. However, certain exceptions are noted to
the rules of self-denial, including for pregnant and nursing
women, people who are ill, and those who are very delicate
or feeble. Other common fasts are the Fast of the Firstborn
(14th of Nissan), the fast of the bride and groom on their
wedding day, fasting on an anniversary of death ( yahrzeit),
and Yom Kippur Katan. This rarely observed fast, inspired
by sixteenth-century kabbalists, is held on the day before
the New Moon. There is also a prominent tradition of holding individual or communal fasts to protect against disasters,
such as drought. Moreover, some pietists fast as a means
to combat the inner evil inclination or as personal atonement for improper dreams, thoughts, or behavior. For further reading, see P. Steinberg, Celebrating the Jewish Year: The
Spring and Summer Holidays (2009); and E. Ki Tov, The Book
of Our Heritage (1979).
P AUL S TEINBERG
NORTH AMERICA
FEMINIST
Sukkot, and Purim. Five are derived from the Torah and
Purim is based on the book of Esther. Of the six, the
Shemini Atzeret, deemed a day of sacred assembly, is biblically ascribed its own sanctity. Whether Shemini Atzeret is
its own holiday or an extension of Sukkot itself is debatable.
In Israel and among Reform Jews in the Diaspora, Shemini
Atzeret is combined with Simh.at Torah; other Jews in the
Diaspora observe Simh.at Torah separately on the following
day. The pilgrimage festivals, as well as Shemini Atzeret and
Simh.at Torah, each have unique observances, yet they all
share the work restrictions that apply on the Sabbath, with
the exception of food preparation, transference of fire, and
carrying. The first and last days of Sukkot and Passover have
this sacred significance, whereas the intermediate days (h.ol
ha-moed) are categorized as semi-festivals and allow for various additional forms of work.
Film: Europe
Film: Europe
Film: Europe
Film: Israel
torn between her familys traditions and the new possibilities offered by late-nineteenth-century emancipation is a
sensitive portrayal of Jewish life in Denmark. Among a
number of other Scandinavian films with Jewish characters and themes are Freud flyttar hemifran
(Freuds Leaving
Home) directed by Susanne Bier (1991); God afton, herr Wallenberg (Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg), directed by Kjell
Grede (1990); Opphav ukjent (Origin Unknown), directed by
Nina Grunfield
(2005); Mendel, directed by Alexander Rsler
Sandgren (1993).
For further reading, see I. Avisar, Screening the Holocaust: Cinemas Images of the Unimaginable (1988); O. Bartov,
The Jew in Cinema: From The Golem to Dont Touch My
Holocaust (2005); M. Marcus, Italian Film in the Shadow of
Auschwitz (2007); S. Taberner, Philo-Semitism in Recent
German Film: Aimee and Jaguar, Rosenstrasse, and Das Wunder Von Bern, German Life and Letters 58:3 (2005): 35772;
and R. Wright, The Visible Wall: Jews and Ethnic Outsiders in
Swedish Film (1998).
A MOS C OHEN AND D EVORAH S HUBOWITZ
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
FILM
Film: Israel
forms: photography, dance, monologues, fictional dramatizations, and testimonial accounts. The Brazilian film The
Year My Parents Went on Vacation (Cao Hamburger, 1980)
takes place in 1970, and both the military dictatorship and
sports (Pele and the World Cup) play a part in it. Set in the
Jewish neighborhood of Sao Paolo, it depicts the trauma of a
twelve-year-old boy whose parents are involved in political
conflict and forced to flee the country (see BRAZIL).
Assimilation to the local culture is apparent in the comedy, My Mexican Shiva (Alejandro Springall, 2007); it depicts
the death of a Jewish patriarch, whose mourners include
his Catholic ex-lover and his newly Orthodox son, against
a background of Mexican mariachi and klezmer music.
A touch of magical realism is introduced by two Yiddishspeaking H.asidic Jews two spirits who observe the events
who pass judgment on the unfolding situations and ultimately intercede for the soul of the dead man. The subject
of intermarriage, present in many Latin American Jewish
films, is poignantly depicted as a fragile relationship in Poor
Butterfly. A more conciliatory view is offered in Autumn Sun
(Eduardo Mignona, 1996); in this film the mixed couple
searches for harmony in both religions and moves toward
integration into mainstream society. At first, mutually suspicious of each other (the man pretends to be a Jew), the
couple develops a positive relationship, enhanced by discussions about Jewish gastronomy and Yiddish expressions.
Jewishness as a secondary theme first appears in the 1948
production of Rag Ball (Leopoldo Torre Ros) contrasting
the Jewish privileging of mind over body. In Assassination
in the Senate of the Nation (1984) Juan Jose Jusid focuses
on the internal political corruption of Argentina during the
1920s. The gruesome depiction of the meat market acts as
a metaphor for the exploitation by corrupted officials of the
polacas (a term used at the time to describe Jewish prostitutes). In Suzana Amarals 1986 production of Hour of the
Star, adapted from a story by the renowned Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector, the protagonists origin and courageous
character are suggested by her name, Macabea. Nine Queens
Belinksky, 2000), satirizes the speech and behavior
(Fabian
of a secondary character, an elderly Jewish woman. In addition, memorable literary adaptations include Leopoldo Torre
Nilssons 1954 Dias de Odio, based on Emma Zunz by Jorge
L. Borges, and his 1972 Los siete locos, based on Roberto Arlts
story of the same name.
Many Latin American films with Jewish themes take an
autobiographical approach; this is particularly evident in the
auteur films of Daniel Burman, an Argentine director, producer, and screenwriter who places issues of Jewishness at
the center of his movies. Burman explores the development
of Jewish identity in the Diaspora, and his films have gradually departed from Jewish stereotypes. Although some of
his themes such as the generation gap, identity conflicts,
and assimilation were previously examined in other Latin
American Jewish films, Burman also delves into wider Jewish urban experiences, responses to homosexuality, and the
effects of recurrent economic crises on the population of
Argentina. The influence of Hollywood is most clearly seen
in Burmans Samy and I (2000), in which the protagonist is
inspired by Woody Allens schlemiel. He is an aspiring writer
who lives and struggles in Buenos Aires; the son of a domineering mother, he uses his own neurotic life as a model
and becomes a great comedian, despite himself.
the day, patrons of all ages and financial means could escape
into a world of fantasy and entertainment at nickelodeons
that featured not only the short films that were their official rationale but also songs, live acts, and sometimes amateur nights. Almost immediately the Jews in the nascent film
industry and their products were labeled morally objectionable and the cause of social unrest and criminal behavior
by newspaper critics, who called for censorship.
Nevertheless, the industry thrived and grew, moving to
California in the early decades of the twentieth century.
William Selig (1864-1948) became the first West Coast filmmaker in 1909, and by 1912, when Warner Brothers Pictures opened its Los Angeles office, there were fifteen film
companies in Hollywood. The Edison Trust (Motion Pictures
Production Company, MPPC) tried to limit their expansion,
but an antitrust suit brought by Fox, Paramount, and Universal broke its hold in 1915. That same year D. W. Griffith
released the powerfully xenophobic, anti-ethnic immigrant
film, Birth of a Nation, criticizing immigrants as crude interlopers threatening to swamp America and presenting the Ku
Klux Klan as upright defenders of American values. Disproportionately led by Jews, and attracting many Jews on all
levels of employment, the Hollywood motion picture industry developed rapidly.
Many early silent films sympathetically represented the
struggles of poor immigrants. The Jazz Singer (1927), for
example, often called the first talkie (although only the
musical portions of the film had sound, and the dialogue was
posted onscreen in silent-film-style placards), spotlighted the
American spirit in the heart of a young Jewish immigrant.
Al Jolsons Jack Robins personifies the immigrant struggle
between Old World tribalism and piety and universalistic,
individualistic striving. Robins is a talented Jewish youth
who is torn between his cantor father, who urges him to
remain in the synagogue and not debase the voice God
has given you, and his non-Jewish show business girlfriend
who encourages him to abandon the synagogue, sing the
jazz tunes he adores, and give his voice to the world.
Less positive Jewish film images in the following years
included Jewish gangsters, played by actors like James
Cagney, who spouted Yiddish out of the sides of their
mouths. More commonly, studio heads encouraged Jewish
actors not to appear too Jewish, to change their names,
and to play mostly non-Jewish roles. Theda Bara, born
Theodosia Burr Goodman in 1885, is just one example of
a long line of renamed Jewish film stars; her name became
synonymous with the expression vamp, meaning a predatory femme fatale.
Critics attacked these portrayals of steamy sexual liaisons
and savvy criminals as seductively dangerous, and many
of the campaigns to rein in the depravity of these unsupervised entertainments were openly antisemitic. Jewish
Hollywood studio heads such as Samuel Goldwyn (1882
1974), Jesse Lasky (18801958), and Louis B. Mayer (1885
1957) later joined by Harry and Jack Warner (18811958;
18921978), Harry Cohn (18911958), Irving Thalberg
(18991936), and David O. Selznick (19021965) were
denigrated as uneducated, crude, and vulgar autocrats.
American Jewish leaders were mortified by the films and
their detractors and joined in the chorus urging the Hollywood film industry either to govern itself or submit to outside censorship. After several groups jockeyed for power in
the creation of such codes in the 1920s, Postmaster General Will Hays joined together with the Catholic Legion of
Decency, which had been lobbying against the pernicious
Jewish influence, to create and implement the 1930 Motion
Picture Codes. Automobile magnate Henry Ford financed an
English translation of the 1905 Russian antisemitic tract, The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion, in response to what he perceived
as Jewish Hollywood, charging that Jews were ruining the
Christian youth of America through their control of popular entertainment. Among other charges, Fords publications
accused Jewish filmmakers of being motivated by communist sympathies. This accusation recurred decades later during the notorious 1950s U.S. House Un-American Activities
Committeee hearings. Overtly Jewish content virtually disappeared from films after the creation of movie codes that
prohibited or severely restricted representations of ethnicity.
In response to an atmosphere of rising antisemitism, films
written, directed, or produced by Jews promoted a melting
pot philosophy in which marriage across cultural boundaries (demographically few in number at that time) symbolized tolerance. Intermarriage was also a practical step for
men in the industry to accelerate American acceptance, as
they acquired symbolic Christian status by marrying Christian women.
After Adolph Hitler became German Chancellor in 1933,
Yiddish theater or in the Catskill Mountain resorts. Unusually successful was Molly Picon (18981992), who acted,
sang, and danced for decades in Yiddish plays, musicals, and
films and later was also in demand in English-language commercial plays and films. Gertrude Berg (18991966), whose
radio and television portrayals of the wise Jewish matriarch
180
Film: Yiddish-Language
Poland before World War I; Poland remained a major production center for Yiddish-language films, both silent and
talkies, until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. During the 1920s, films in Yiddish were produced in the Soviet
Union, and Yiddish-language films were also made in the
filmed in Warsaw, od
Krakow,
and Bialystok, offers invaluable portraits of Jewish life in Poland
before the Holocaust. Writer Joseph Green (19001996)
was responsible for four of the most popular talkies of the
1930s: Yidl mitn Fidl (dir. Green and Jan Nowina-Przybylski,
1936) and Mammele (dir. Green, 1938; both with Molly
Picon); Purim Shpiler (dir. Green and Nowina-Przybylski,
1937); and A Brivele der Mammen (A Letter to Mama; dir.
Green, 1938), which was the last Yiddish-language film
made in Poland before World War II. Other films were
based on works by Jewish writers and playwrights, including
Jacob Gordin, Peretz Hirshbein, Sholem Aleichem, Sholom
Secunda, Isidore Zolotarefsky, Dovid Pinski, and Sholem
Asch (see LITERATURE, YIDDISH). The Dybbuk (directed by
Michal Waszynski, 1937), based on the play by S. Ansky
(see DYBBUK; and THEATER, YIDDISH), is among the
most ambitious and best known motion pictures in Yiddish.
Important Yiddish-language films made in the Soviet Union
include Der Mabul (The Deluge, 1925) and what many consider the masterpiece of Soviet Yiddish cinema, Yidishe Glikn
(Jewish Luck, dir. Alexander A. Granovsky,1925), based on
a Sholem Aleichem character, Menah.em Mendl. The film
starred Solomon Mikhoels (ca. 18901949) of the Moscow
State Yiddish Theater.
Yiddish films produced in the United States featured actors
from New York Citys Artef and Yiddish Art Theaters,
including Celia Adler, Leo Fuchs (known as the Yiddish
Fred Astaire), Molly Picon, and Maurice Schwartz, and wellknown cantors such as Josef Yossele Rosenblatt, Moishe
Oysher, Louis Labele Waldman, and Mordechai Hershman. Directors included Boris Thomashefsky (also a popular
182
Film: Yiddish-Language
Five Scrolls (H
. amesh Megillot)
unclean animals be redeemed and that firstborn clean animals be sacrificed (Num 18:1517). Redemption of firstborn
sons is also explained as a commemoration of the slaying of
the firstborn sons of the Egyptians before the Exodus (Exod
13:15; Num 3:13). The redemption is to occur on the thirtieth day after birth, although it may be postponed if that day
is a Sabbath, festival, or fast day. The ritual includes the
recitation of a blessing followed by the sheheh.eyanu prayer
of thanksgiving; the father redeems his infant by giving five
silver coins of a specific minimum weight to a guest of high
priestly descent (kohen). Often the coins are returned to the
family as a gift. Redemption does not apply if the child was
born by cesarean section or if the mother had a miscarriage
or stillbirth after the first forty days of a previous pregnancy;
this is because the biblical commandment refers specifically to the firstborn sons opening of the mothers womb
(Num 3:12).
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Five Scrolls (H
. amesh Megillot) comprise the following
books from the Writings (Ketuvim) section of the Hebrew
Passover. Traditionally, the book has been understood allegorically, describing a loving, intimate relationship between
God and the Jewish people. The Rabbis drew deep meaning from the title, the Song (singular) of Songs (plural), and
taught that it is a summary account of all the songs
the moments when God spoke to Israel, as, for example,
at the splitting of the Reed Sea and at Mount Sinai. The
vivid natural imagery of the language is also well suited
to Passovers spring setting and themes of rebirth. The custom of reading Ruth on Shavuot (on the second day of the
festival in the Diaspora) is derived from a medieval work
called Tractate Soferim (Scribes). The book may be read on
Shavuot because it has a strong agricultural association with
the late spring barley harvest and because of its theme of
persistent faith. Lamentations, Eikhah in Hebrew (literally,
alas), is read on Tisha BAv, the fast day memorializing the destruction of both Temples. The book is a collection of five poetic laments, each specifically bemoaning the
Firstborn Son, Fast of. A fasting period for every firstborn male begins at sunrise on the eve of Passover (14th
of Nissan). Halakhic authorities debate whether this minor
fast should also include firstborn females (Shulh.an Arukh,
Orah. H
. ayyim 470:1). The fast commemorates the tenth
plague mentioned in Exodus, when all Egyptian firstborn
males were killed, while the firstborn sons of the Israelites
were saved. Compared with other fast days, this one is
lenient. One prevalent custom, which sidesteps the fast
entirely, is to hold a special learning session called a siyyum
bekhorim (concluding study period for firstborn) during
the morning. This custom stems from the Jewish tradition of eating a festive meal after completion of a special
event, such as a berit milah ( circumcision), or the completion of an entire text or course of study. Therefore, eating at the siyyum effectively supersedes the requirement to
complete the fast.
P AUL S TEINBERG
Firstborn Son, Redemption of (PIDYON HA-BEN). This
ritual originated in the biblical period when firstborn sons
were to be consecrated to God to serve as priests (Num
3:12). When the priesthood was assigned to the Levites (see
ISRAELITES: RELIGION; TEMPLE AND TEMPLE CULT),
firstborn sons in nonpriestly families were redeemed from
the priesthood at the price of five shekels (Num 3:46
48). Biblical commandments also required that firstborn
183
Five Scrolls (H
. amesh Megillot)
France: 17891939
the parables and stories in the Talmud and midrash as folk
creations; others (Fraenkel) argue that classic aggadic stories, despite their use of folk motifs, are constructed literary
creations that reflect social and spiritual rabbinic concerns.
Folk traditions evolved around figures such as Hillel the
Elder and Rabbi Akiva and social roles such as the leader
and the holy man. Later, these traditions served as models for biographical tales portraying famous personalities
such as Rashi and Maimonides (Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, late
sixteenth century), Judah the Pious (Mayse-Bukh, Yiddish,
early seventeenth century; see MIDDLE AGES: H
. ASIDEI
ASHKENAZ), and Shalom Shabazi ( Yemen, seventeenth
century). Hagiographic tales, or shevah.im, developed in the
seventeenth century around the legendary, mystical figure
of Rabbi Isaac Luria and soon became a widespread genre,
particularly in the early nineteenth century with tales of
H
. asidic masters, most prominently R. Israel Baal Shem
Tov.
Another popular genre of folktales is the moral story,
often used as a didactic device inserted in a non-narrative
context, as in Sefer H
. asidim ( Ashkenaz, thirteenth century).
Similarly, the medieval genre of exemplum seeks to reinforce normative cultural values such as sin and punishment,
virtue and its rewards, and loyalty to the commandments.
Other common genres of Jewish folktales are historical
and martyr legends, fables and animal tales, wisdom tales,
humorous anecdotes, and romantic and magic stories. Modern, stylized folktales, written in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by authors such as I. L. Peretz and Sholem Aleichem, use the tools and themes of Jewish storytelling, often
with a subversive twist to express a sense of fragmentation in a world that had broken with tradition (Roskies).
Yet Jewish folktales remain a living aesthetic form, and Jews
everywhere will doubtless continue to tell stories, to share,
and to remember.
Recent research includes E. Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning (1999); G. Hasan-Rokem, Web of Life:
Folklore and Midrash in Rabbinic Literature (2000); Y. Fraenkel,
Sipur Haagadah (2001); D. Ben-Amos and J. Mintz, In Praise
of the Baal Shem Tov. Shivhei Ha-Besht: The Earliest Collection of
Legends about the Founder of Hasidism (1994); and D. Roskies,
Against the Apocalypse (1984).
O RA W ISKIND E LPER
reading is mandated both at night and the following morning. The holidays customs and observances are based on the
storys account of the heroism of Esther and Mordecai in
the face of Hamans evil plot to destroy the Jews. Helpful
resources include H. L. Ginsberg, Five Megilloth and Jonah:
A New Translation (1969); and Shlomo Yosef Zevin, The
Festivals in Halakhah (1999).
P AUL S TEINBERG
life-cycle events, festivals, historical circumstance, and textual allusions. They often deal with basic concepts such as
divine providence, free choice, and moral responsibility, as
well as the sufferings of the righteous and interrelationships between Jews and their Gentile neighbors. Every folktale has a particular socio-religious and cultural context and
reflects the values, theological views, and moral ideas of a
specific narrator.
One controversial issue is which genres of Jewish literary tradition in which periods should be considered folktales. Most scholars consider biblical narratives, such as the
France: 17891939
France: 17891939
Germany not siphoned off that sizable community. However, a quarter of these Alsatian Jews migrated into remaining French territory to retain their citizenship. Some formed
new communities in Vesoul, Lille, and Besancon; many
more moved to Paris, boosting the Parisian Jewish population to 40,000. Paris thereafter remained home to the majority of the French Jewish population.
In 1914, on the eve of World War I, France had 150,000
Jews. Immigration from Eastern Europe and the Balkans
had swelled the Parisian Jewish population to about 75,000,
of whom half were immigrants. Immigration picked up
again after the war and accelerated when the United States
closed its gates in 1924, and again after 1933 when the
Levy).
By the early twentieth century Andre Citroen had
founded the famous auto company.
Nineteenth-century French Jews were visible in political life. In the 1830s, banker Benot Fould became the first
Jew elected to the Chamber of Deputies. He must have felt
fairly secure, because he had the courage to publicly chastise Foreign Minister Adolphe Thiers in the Chamber for
not condemning the support of French consul Ratti Menton
for ritual murder accusations against Jews in Damascus in
1840. By 1842 Foulds son, Achille Fould, also a financier,
France: 17891939
Ethnic solidarity, exhibited at local, national, and international levels, was a significant characteristic of French Jews
between 1789 and 1939. Although there were some spectacular conversions among high-profile figures, neither the
number of conversions nor the number of intermarriages
seriously affected the natural increase of Jewish population.
On the local level Jews established many charitable institutions. On the national scale, communities intervened to
defend or support those with whom they were bound in a
nationwide hierarchical administrative system.
Internationally, beginning early in the post-emancipation
period and increasingly throughout the nineteenth century, French Jews intervened to assist less fortunate Jews
around the world. Such efforts were the result of both private and communal initiative. In the 1830s a Lafayette
Committee brought Jews and Poles together over the issue
of Polish Jewish emancipation, and cooperation between
the groups continued during the 1848 revolution. In 1863,
when an Alliance Polonaise was established, seven of the first
1866 Cremieux
traveled there to seek alleviation of Jewish civil and political disabilities. In 1878, under pressure
from French Jewry, the French delegation to the Congress
of Berlin obtained minority rights recognition as a condition
of Romanian independence. Similar provisions were again
made after World War I in the Versailles treaty, but Romania failed to implement these agreements. In 1900, Bernard
Lazare visited Romania and denounced the terrible fate of
Romanian Jews in the French press. In the 1920s a Conseil
pour les droits des minorites juives was still working to remedy
the situation.
factors, including dispersal of Jews in many localities, a minimal German police presence, and assistance from some nonJews. The French government was slow to acknowledge
the wartime Vichy regimes collaboration with the Nazis in
these deportations; however, in early 2009, Frances highest
court issued a ruling recognizing the states complicity in the
deportation of tens of thousands of French and foreign Jews
(see HOLOCAUST; HOLOCAUST RESCUERS).
Many refugees from elsewhere in Europe settled in France
after World War II; by the early 1950s the Jewish population had reached 250,000. Sephardi and Mizrah.i Jews
from North Africa also immigrated to France in the postwar decades as the French colonial empire declined; by
1968 Jews of North African origin constituted the majority
of French Jewry. Today, the Jewish population of France,
approximately 600,000, is the largest in Europe. Significant communities are in Paris (375,000), Marseilles, Lyons,
Toulouse, Nice, and Strasbourg. Contemporary French Jews
face a constant and visible level of antisemitism, some of
which is generated by anti- Israel sentiment; since the late
1970s there have been a number of attacks on Jewish sites
and synagogues, as well as on individuals. There is a high
degree of assimilation and intermarriage but also an active
Jewish religious, educational, and cultural life. Communal
France et dAlgerie;
the Conseil Representatif des Juifs de
which was founded in
France; and Fonds Social Juif Unifie,
1949 and is particularly involved in addressing social welfare
needs. For further reading, see S. Zuccotti, The Holocaust, the
French, and the Jews (1999); and P. E. Hyman, The Jews of
Modern France (2000).
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Sicily; the Duchy of Toulouse; and the Papal See. Successfully exploiting their central geographic position, the Occitan
Jews absorbed and transmitted Jewish culture from communities to the south (Andalusia, Castile, Catalonia) and
to the north (France and Germany), in addition to making their own significant contributions. Beginning in the
twelfth century, perhaps a century after the birth of other
medieval Jewish intellectual centers in Western Europe,
Occitania was distinguished by more than 250 years of diversified achievement in Jewish legal scholarship, the study
of Hebrew language and biblical commentary, preaching, polemics, and poetry (see MIDDLE AGES: JEWISHCHRISTIAN POLEMICS; SERMONS).
Initially, the Jewish communities of Occitania seem to
have been most closely connected to those of Catalonia.
The first major work of rabbinic law from Occitania, Sefer
ha-Eshkol of Abraham ben Isaac, Av Beit Din of Narbonne
Talmud as his central text. At the end of the thirteenth century, Menah.em ha-Meiri of Perpignan (d. 1315) wrote his
encyclopedic anthology of Jewish legal interpretation organized around the Mishnah and Talmud. In contrast, Meiris
contemporary, Manoah. of Narbonne, directed his legal commentary to the Mishneh Torah, as did David ben Samuel of
Etoile in the next generation.
Maimonides interpretation of the meaning of Jewish
tradition also had a profound impact in Occitania. Samuel
ibn Tibbon of Marseilles (d. 1232) was a major agent in
the transmission of Maimonidean perspectives, both as a
translator of Maimonides Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic
to Hebrew, completed in Arles in 1204, as well as a daring
exponent of the philosophic interpretation of Scripture in
Hebrew in the ensuing decades. Over the course of the
thirteenth century, the diverse Maimonidean commitments
of Occitan Jewry became well established, although not
without controversy. The Jewish scholars of Occitania
were at the center of much high-profile correspondence
that included the leading scholars of neighboring Jewish communities; issues of debate included Maimonides
understanding of the resurrection of the dead (before Maimonides own death in 1204); Maimonidean teaching as a
whole (in the 1230s); and the work of the Tibbonide stream
of the philosophic interpretation of Scripture, in the wake
of Maimonidean influence (130406). In this final controversy, Meiri stood prominently against any condemnation of
Occitan Jewish scholarship or restriction of the curriculum
of Jewish philosophic study, despite his more moderate
Maimonidean orientation (see THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL).
At the turn of the twelfth century, just as Maimonides
work had begun to arrive, the Sefer ha-Bahir, the first book
`
of Kabbalah, emerged in Occitania. Rabad of Posquieres
son, Isaac the Blind (d. 1235), is historys first known kabbalist. He claimed to have received secret kabbalistic teachings from his father, who received them from his father-inlaw, Abraham ben Isaac Av Beit Din of Narbonne (Rabi);
there is some support for this line of transmission. However, for unclear reasons the history of Kabbalah in Occitania was brief. It is known that Occitanias ruling rabbinic
in either Korolowka
or Buczacz, Frank married in Salonica
Turkey and joined up with Frank himself but Bishop Kajetan Sotyk, who had orchestrated a ritual murder trial in
Zytomierz
four years earlier, persuaded King Augustus III to
bring the Frankists back to Poland in order to hold another
public disputation. The Frankists, now regarded as potential converts to Christianity, promised to prove that Jews
used Christian blood for ritual purposes. The disputation was
Frankfurt am Main
of the IRG (built 1853). The city was also home to Moritz
Daniel Oppenheim, a renowned painter of nineteenthcentury German Jewry (see ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH
CENTURY).
In the twentieth century, Franz Rosenzweigs Freies
Judisches
Lehrhaus (free Jewish learning center) made Frank
furt an important center of Jewish thought; its teachers included Martin Buber, Gershom Scholem, and Leo
Strauss. Also prominent in the flowering of Jewish intellectual creativity was the Frankfurt Institut fur
Sozialforschung,
the Frankfurt School of Social Research, whose members
included Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Mar
cuse, and Leo Lowenthal.
After 1933, the approximately 26,000 Jews of Frankfurt were besieged as the Nazi regime consolidated power.
Jewish institutional buildings were plundered during the
for twenty-one years. As part of his effort to bring modern scholarly approaches to the study of Jewish legal texts,
Frankel edited the journal Die Monatsschrift fur
Geschichte und
Wissenschaft des Judentums between 1851 and 1868.
Frankel was an active scholar with a particular interest in
comparative exegesis; he also prepared critical introductions
to various rabbinic works, including the Mishnah and the
Palestinian Talmud, using modern scholarly methods.
K ATE F RIEDMAN
Frankfurt am Main
SOCIETIES
Friedlander, David
In the early years of the Jewish Greek system a clear hierarchy operated based on such factors as wealth, family origin
(where ones parents came from in Europe and being born
in the United States were important determinants), appearance, and athletic ability. Much intra-Jewish snobbery and
discrimination were practiced when choosing and rejecting members. However, Jewish fraternities and sororities
served important community functions by providing places
for Jewish students to eat and sleep in small college towns
where landlords and fellow students did not want to live
with Jews. It was not uncommon for parents to cooperate
in helping buy fraternity houses for this purpose. Because
dating and eventual marriage were key parts of any social
fraternity, the Jewish system served as a national matchmaking bureau, bringing Jewish students together, especially at annual conventions and house parties, and keeping the Jewish intermarriage rate among college students
unusually low. They were also an important factor in achieving upward mobility, because members would often go into
business together and alumni would help recent graduates
find good positions. It was not uncommon for entire firms
to be dominated by members from a single fraternity.
The insularity of the separate Gentile and Jewish Greek
systems began breaking down in the 1950s with the enactment of laws forbidding publicly supported educational institutions from discriminating on the basis of race or religion.
The years of student protest on college campuses in the
1960s and early 1970s also had a negative impact on the
Jewish Greek system. At least three-quarters of formerly allJewish fraternities had to merge or go out of business; those
few that remain came to accept large numbers of non-Jews.
In the 1980s and 1990s the Greek system as a whole, as well
as its Jewish segment, enjoyed a modest revival. At the turn
of the twenty-first century four of the mens groups and four
of the womens groups continue to function. One fraternity,
Alpha Epsilon Pi, specifically embraces a Jewish mission and
aims to train young men for leadership in the Jewish community. Many of the others are reasserting their traditional
Jewish identity, a trend that has been encouraged by the
wider American Jewish community. However, it is doubtful that Jewish fraternities and sororities will ever be able,
legally or practically, to return to the insularity they enjoyed
in the first half of the twentieth century. For a recent study,
see M. Sanua, Going Greek: Jewish College Fraternities in the
United States, 18951945 (2003).
M ARIANNE S ANUA
Berlin Jewish communal leader, and writer and major participant in emancipation debates of the late eighteenth
century. Friedlander
was born in Konigsberg,
Prussia, to a
wealthy merchant family, and his controversial life illustrates the struggles of a transitional figure in the early
emancipation period. Starting his business career in the
Friedlander
quickly gained an influential presence as a
maskil and a central role in the leadership of both the Berlin
Jewish and mercantile communities. Although he believed
deeply in the unique position of the Jewish people and reli
gion, Friedlander,
in contrast to Mendelssohn, advocated a
critical attitude toward Jewish law and practice and believed
that religious reform was key to Jewish social and moral
improvement, and ultimately to political emancipation. He
helped fund the Berlin Jewish Freischule (free community
school and publisher) in 1778, a flagship Haskalah effort to
reform Jewish society through enlightened education, and
he prepared a Lesebuch fur
Kinder, a primer for Jewish
judische
children. Friedlander
translated the traditional prayer book
into modern German and authored a number of ethical
essays, which he viewed as crucial tools for the reform
of German Jewry. He published repeatedly in the prestigious Enlightenment journal Deutsche Monatschrift, and his
collected essays such as Reden der Erbauung (Edifying Discourses) attest to the depth of his religious and philosophical
ideas.
After 1786 and the death of Moses Mendelssohn,
Friedlander
and the Berlin Haskalah movement entered a
period of crisis. His close relationship to Mendelssohn, passionate interest in the intellectual enlightenment of German Jewry, and wealth and contacts in the highest strata
Friedlander
attracted attacks from traditionalistists. Simultaneously, Friedrich Wilhelm II rebuffed the efforts of
Friedlander
and other elite Berlin Jews toward Jewish legal
emancipation in 1790. Despairing of the future of both the
maskilic project of reforming Judaism and of the possibil
ity of Jews achieving civic equality, Friedlander
authored a
Sendschrift (open letter), signed by several prominent Prussian Jews, to liberal Protestant theologian Wilhelm Abraham
Freud,
193
Friedlander, David
Friedlander, David
Although Friedlander
understood conversion to mean simply nominal Protestantism based on antidoctrinal deism, the
letter sparked heated debate across religious lines, enraging
maskilim, traditionalists, and even some Christian thinkers.
194
Poland and northwestern Ukraine. Part of the old PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, Galicia entered Habsburg Austria as a result of the Polish partitions beginning in 1772
(both its borders and the name itself, Galizien, were Austrian
constructions). The region remained the Habsburg Empires
largest crown land, or province, until the empires collapse
in 1918, at which time it ceased to exist as a political entity.
At the time of its annexation, Galicia included nearly
200,000 Jews; the Jewish population increased to 575,000
in 1869 (10.6% of the population) and 873,000 in 1910
(10.9%). Galicia was an ethnically divided territory. The
western part was overwhelmingly Polish with a significant
Jewish minority (9%). In contrast, Poles constituted the
elites in the east, but numbered only 20% population, which
was about 13% Jewish and 65% Ruthenian (the Austrian designation of later-day Ukrainians). Jews typically
cconstituted more than a quarter of the population of Gali
H
. asidism, including the Belz, Sandz, and Czortkow
dynasties, struck deep roots in Galicia but so too did the
Galilee
Gardens
Saadia ben Joseph (d. 942), and Hai ben Sherira (d. 1038).
For further reading see R. Brody, The Geonim of Babylonia and
the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture (1998). Map 5
R OBERT B RODY
responsa, legal answers to questions sent to them from distant communities, especially those located in Islamic lands.
There was also a Gaon who served as head of the central academy in the Land of Israel, located in Tiberias for
most of this period. Unlike his Babylonian colleagues, he
appears to have dedicated more of his energies to communal politics and less to talmudic learning. Around the middle of the tenth century, the Tiberian academy relocated to
Gardens
Genesis, Book of
in which God is the lover and Israel the bride. Mystical interpretations emphasize images of the Shekhinah, the
indwelling divine presence, as a female alter ego of an infinite and eternal male aspect of the divine ( Ein Sof ). For
Jewish mysticism, the reconciliation of the male and female
lovers in the Song of Songs garden setting represents the
ultimate unification of the separated elements of God (see
KABBALAH; KABBALAH, LURIANIC.
The gardens qualities of pleasure, sensory richness, and
life-sustaining properties are also evoked elsewhere in biblical literature and Jewish tradition; the Torah itself is referred
to as a Tree of Life (Prov 3:18), and the psalms abound
with descriptions of the fecundity of nature. The Jerusalem
Gordon, extolled the value of hard labor and the relationship to the land for Jews historically alienated from such
work. The agricultural school at Mikve Israel, founded in
1870, trained gardeners and garden designers and established a botanical garden; a similar program was later established at Jerusalems Hebrew University. European immigrants founded a professional gardeners association and on
virtually every kibbutz there are gardeners trained in design
and maintenance. Making the desert bloom and planting
trees, the credo of the Jewish National Fund, embodied
garden ideology applied on a national scale. At the popular and professional level a distinctive Israeli garden design
has emerged that combines Jewish tradition with historic
Mediterranean and desert design sensibilities. It is common
in Israel and the Diaspora to create biblical gardens, featuring plants mentioned in the Bible. The most striking example in Israel is Neot Kedumim (Biblical Landscape Reserve),
founded in 1984 by Nogah Haruveni, son of noted botanist
and biblical scholar, Ephraim Haruveni.
For further reading, see K. Helphand, Defiant Gardens:
Making Gardens in Wartime (2006); for rabbinic references,
Horticulture, Jewish Encyclopedia (1906); and see also
ECOLOGY; ETHICS: ENVIRONMENTAL; ISRAEL, STATE
K ENNETH H ELPHAND
OF: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.
Berlin, he argued for a progressive Judaism, based especially on the biblical prophets, that stressed a universal message of ethical monotheism. He was the leading intellectual
among the Liberal rabbis of Germany, influential among
his colleagues and disciples both in Europe and America. His
broad scholarship extended to such areas as the text of the
Hebrew Bible, biblical commentary, and medieval Hebrew
NUMEROLOGY
Genesis, Book of
Genizah
constructing the Tower of Babel. So God again chooses a single family, through which the divine message will be spread.
The central founders of the Israelites are Abraham (12
25:18) and his grandson Jacob (also called Israel; 25:19
36). They are linked by Isaac, although he receives very
little independent attention. Finally, the story of Jacobs son
Genizah
Germany
first significant talmudic scholar was Rabbi Gershom ben
Judah of Mainz (9601028), whose influence stretched well
beyond his city of residence. Questions were addressed to
him from France, Germany, and Italy. He was able to promulgate regulations (takkanot) for all of Ashkenazic Jewry;
among the best known are his prohibitions of bigamy and of
the divorce of a wife against her will. German Jewry was
thus developing its own religious customs, which needed to
be reconciled with the dicta of the Babylonian Talmud.
The most important religious figure of Ashkenazi Jewry
was Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (known by the acronym
Babylon and the Land of Israel; and translations and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible especially into Aramaic,
Judeo-Arabic, and Greek. The literary history of such sectarian works as the Damascus Document, the Wisdom
of Ben Sira, and the Testament of Levi (see PSEUDEPIGRAPHA) is also known from Qumran (see DEAD SEA
SCROLLS). Major advances have also been made in the
textual and exegetical study of talmudic, midrashic, liturgical, and poetic literature and in the evolution of Jewish
religious law. Forgotten works, prolific personalities, and
unusual decisions have been discovered. Texts related to the
German lands ( Ashkenaz) come from the early fourth century. It is thought that Jews migrated northward from Italy,
settling especially along the Rhine and its tributaries. They
were involved in commerce in such towns as Cologne,
Trier, Mainz, Metz, and Strasbourg. Their economic situation during the early centuries was comparatively good, and
there are no recorded instances of persecution. By their own
choice Jews in each city lived in a separate quarter. Jewish legal status varied according to the jurisdiction in which
they lived; it was determined by charters of privilege and
restriction that were issued by local nobles or higher clergy.
Political authorities favored the granting of residence to Jews
because of their commercial talents. They were allowed to
bear arms and to adjudicate their own quarrels in accordance
with Jewish law.
In the early medieval period, Jews in Germany were
allowed to own both fields and vineyards. However, they
were excluded from the craft guilds, which possessed a
Christian character. By the late Middle Ages they were
increasingly concentrated in money lending, either dealing on a small scale with pawned objects or offering loans
against the mortgage of land. Unlike prominent Jews in
Muslim lands, medieval German Jews did not play any political roles (see, for example SPAIN, MUSLIM).
Jewish community institutions included one or more
synagogues, a cemetery, a mikveh (ritual bath), a hospital and inn for itinerants and the poor, and a bridal chamber for newly married couples. German Jews initially looked
to the Land of Israel for religious guidance and later to
the academies in Babylonia (see GAON, GEONIM, GEONIC
ACADEMIES). By the tenth century, German Jews were
beginning to gain independence in matters of religion. Their
199
Germany
Germany
traditionalism of the past. Samson Raphael Hirsch (1817
1894) became the proponent of a modern Orthodoxy that
allowed for cultural integration along with such synagogue
innovations as the German edifying sermon and clerical
garb. Other rabbis, such as Zacharias Frankel (18011875),
the first head of the first modern rabbinical seminary, established in Breslau in 1854, and Abraham Geiger (1810
1874), the principal figure in the broadening movement for
religious reform in Germany, were to varying degrees willing
to move beyond the religious status quo. University-trained
scholars began to examine Jewish tradition with the tools
of critical scholarship, an approach that considered classical Jewish texts within their historical contexts. The most
prominent of these scholars, who represented a new and
very different elite of Jewish learning from the older rabbinical model, was Leopold Zunz (17941886), the principal progenitor of what became known as Wissenschaft des
Judentums.
The second half of the nineteenth century witnessed the
growth of the German Jewish population; by 1871, it stood
at more than a half-million, 1.25% of the general population. The Jewish population continued to grow until World
War I, although its proportion of the total German population declined. Toward the end of the century German
Jewry was augmented by East European Jews fleeing deteriorating conditions in Russia. During this period German
Jews also gained in wealth and were increasingly concentrated in the larger cities, especially Berlin, where a large
majority engaged in commerce and trade. As the community
became increasingly bourgeois, Jewish women confined
their activity mostly to the domestic sphere, although some
followed Jewish men into higher education. As Jewish identity became increasingly a matter of the home, the family,
and Jewish social circles, women played a large role in maintaining it (see WOMEN, MODERN: CENTRAL EUROPE).
During the last decades of the nineteenth century, the
growth of the Jewish population, its greater visibility in
the large cities, and the increased penetration of Jews
into German economic and cultural spheres precipitated an
antisemitic reaction. This was expressed in religious, ethnic, and racially motivated agitation. In 1893, to protect
their interests, German Jews created a Central Association
of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith; this became the
largest Jewish organization and soon stood in opposition
to the small minority of German Jews who were drawn to
Zionism.
During the Weimar period the general cultural productivity of German Jews reached an apogee. Jews played major
roles as scientists, most prominently Albert Einstein (1879
1955); in the visual and performing arts; and in cultural criticism. A specifically Jewish renaissance, marked especially
by religious philosophers such as Martin Buber (1878
1965) and Franz Rosenzweig (18861929), reached the
more actively Jewish among German Jews. However, the
majority relegated Judaism to a small role at the edge of their
consciousness as Germans, and an increasing number married non-Jews.
With the ascent of the Nazi party and Hitlers rise to
power in 1933, German Jewish wealth was gradually expropriated; Jews were driven from positions of cultural influence and deprived of political equality. The Nuremberg Laws
of 1935 erased their status as citizens. On November 9,
Germany
Ghetto
Ghetto
Gluckel
of Hameln
GHETTOS
Gluckel
of Hameln (also GLIKL HAMELN; GLIKL BAS
JUDAH LEIB; 1646/71724) is the author of the earliest surviving memoir written by a Jewish woman. Her extensive
account of her life, in Judeo-German, was written to drive
away the melancholy that followed her husbands death and
to let her children know about their ancestry. Born into the
prosperous Court Jew milieu of Central Europe, Gluckel
business and arranged marriages for her children into distinguished families across Europe. She later remarried and
suffered grave financial and emotional hardship when her
second husband became bankrupt.
Gluckel
autobiography is imbued with a strong feeling
Gluckel
of Hameln
Gnosticism
from her voluminous reading and incorporated into her narrative to provide challenging moral and religious commentary on difficult events in her own life. Gluckel
profited
whether in German, French, Hebrew, or English, omit significant amounts of the actual text. Two English translations
are The Life of Gluckel
of Hameln, 16461724, Written by Herself,
trans. and ed. B. Z. Abrahams (1963; 2010); and The Memoirs of Gluckel
of Hameln, trans. M. Lowenthal (1932; 1977).
Melchizedekians. Friedlander
supported this hypothesis on
the basis of the writings of Philo, who distinguished
between true and false gnosis (Sacrifices of Abel and Cain, 2;
Posterity and Exile of Cain, 5253) and polemicized against
Friedlanders
instincts were generally correct. These papyrus
documents written in Coptic, approximately forty of which
are relevant for the study of Gnosticism, have confirmed that
Judaism left a deep imprint among the authors of these writings. The Apocryphon of John and the Hypostasis of the Archons,
for example, display a sophisticated exegetical engagement
with the Hebrew Bible, particularly Genesis 18, and contain names (e.g., Yaldabaoth and Saklas) that probably originated within a Semitic linguistic milieu. At a broader level,
Jewish apocalyptic texts (e.g., 1 Enoch and the writings
from Qumran) offer a framework for appreciating Gnosticisms interest in cosmic and social dualism. Wisdom traditions, such as Proverbs 8:2231 and 1 Enoch 42, foreground
the gnostic interest in the character of Wisdom (Hokhmah in
Hebrew; Sophia in Greek), a divine emanation instrumental in gnostic salvation history. Jewish merkavah mysticism
Gnosticism
God
God
Golem
covenant with Israel. Whether outside or inside the framework of covenantal theology, each thinker proposed different ways to think through the problem of God and Jewish intellectual history by abandoning ancient and modern
forms of theodicy (just deserts in this world or the next,
afflictions of love, vicarious atonement, messianic recompense, free will). They exhibited less willingness to uphold
the justice and goodness of God against perceived human
shortcomings. For them, the relationship between God and
human beings was more morally fraught. The theology driving the work of Emmanuel Levinas (Loving Torah more
than God; Useless Suffering) belongs to this stage in postHolocaust thought. The commanding face of the other is
more human than divine per se.
Since then, Jewish discourse about God has remained
a mixed bag. In the Jewish theology that emerged in
the late 1970s and 1980s, the embrace of mysticism and
divine immanence accompanied a sharp move away from
the rationalist philosophical tradition. Often skirting close
to New Age theology, thinkers like Arthur Green, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Judith Plaskow, Marcia Falk, Neil
Gilman, and Lawrence Kushner have yet to create a Jewish
theology that is rigorously philosophical. In contrast, participants in the more narrowly rarified circles of academic
Jewish philosophy tend to focus on historical studies. As a
philosophical figure, God gives way to texts and to ethics,
meaning, law, politics, and the body. All recent academic
Jewish philosophy is in this respect a Straussian exercise (see
STRAUSS, LEO), in which God has not yet dared come out
into the open. See also THOUGHT, MODERN.
Z ACHARY B RAITERMAN
AARON;
CANAAN,
CANAANITES;
EXODUS
205
Golem
fourth volume) of his magisterial Geschichte der Juden (History of the Jews), which would total eleven volumes, appeared
in 1853. Graetzs History has often been characterized as a
Leidens- und Gelehrtengeschichte, a history of suffering with
regard to relations with the outside world and of intellectual achievements where it concerns internal Jewish history.
The conservative German historian Heinrich von Treitschke
accused Graetz of spreading anti-German and anti-Christian
sentiments. Although these accusations stemmed from von
Treitschkes own antisemitism, Graetz was indeed a passionate and often emotional historian who, in addition to
profoundly rejecting Jewish mysticism, was very outspoken about any anti-Jewish sentiments. Graetz had sympathies for the renewed Jewish settlement in Palestine but
his writings should not be seen as a precursor of political
Zionism.
M ICHAEL B RENNER
206
Greece
-B ADILLOS
A NGEL S AENZ
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Greece
Gypsies
being Ottoman imperial subjects to being Greek national citizens; the implications of integration into a largely Christian
state were extremely complex. Since Greeces creation, there
has been a constant friction between Greek Jews and a state
that defines itself in largely Christian (Orthodox) terms.
At the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century,
there are roughly 5,000 Jews in Greece. In contrast, on the
eve of World War II, there were close to 80,000. More than
65,000 Jews from Greece were murdered in the course of the
war, most in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Of those who survived,
more than half ultimately emigrated in the post-war period,
most to Israel or the United States. Emigration to Israel,
in particular, continues, although the Greek Jewish population is now stable. Todays community tends to be highly
secularized; much of its group cultural practice consists of
commemorating the Greek Jewish past and remembering
the community of the pre-war period. As with a number of
European countries where the Jewish population was all but
eradicated, Jewish post-war consolidation has been largely
juridical: In Greece, the Central Board of Jewish Communities (KIS, Kentriko Israelitiko Symvoulio Ellados) was estab-
208
ROMA
H
. abad (also Chabad): A formulation of H.asidism shaped
by R. Schneur Zalman of Liady (17451813), H
. abad is an
acronym for h.okhmah (wisdom), binah (understanding),
and daat (knowledge). Lubavitch H.asidism, the major
branch of H.abad, emerged as a dynasty in 1813 when R.
Dov Ber of Lubavitch (17731828), the son of R. Schneur
Zalman, prevailed in a succession conflict. See H
. ASIDISM:
EUROPE and H
. ASIDISM: NORTH AMERICA.
Habsburg Empire
Habsburg Empire
the end of communal autonomy. The emperors Jewish legislation was part of a larger system of reforms to modernize the state. Joseph II issued a series of Edicts of Tolerance
for the Jews of the various provinces between 1781 and
1789. The emperor encouraged Jews to found factories
and to take up handicrafts, agriculture, and professions like
Haskalah, and German culture became the primary context of acculturation for Jews in the entire monarchy until
the mid-nineteenth century. The German Jewish schools
enjoyed the support of Ezekiel Landau (17131793), the
conservative chief rabbi of Prague, and they became a permanent feature of Jewish cultural life in Bohemia and
Moravia. The school system soon collapsed in Hungary and
Galicia, but Germanization did continue in both provinces.
Galician maskilim, among them Nachman Krochmal (1785
1840) and Solomon Judah Leib Rapoport (17901867), furthered Germanization and opened schools (see LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH).
Habsburg Empire
Hagar
OS
War I (2001). Maps 8, 10
K ATI V OR
usually read by the maftir, the final Torah reader; this reader
may be a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Special blessings introduce
and conclude the haftarah, and it is chanted according to
a system of cantillation (trop) that differs from that used
for the Torah. The origins for this custom are unknown;
some scholars believe the haftarah was added after 168
BCE when Torah reading was prohibited by Antiochus IV
Epiphanes prior to the Hasmonean era and that the word
comes from Greek, meaning addition. Others suggest that
the haftarah was created as a response to Jewish sects who
rejected the canonicity of the Prophets. Originally, there
were no set haftarot, and the selection would be chosen by
the final Torah reader. After the Torah was divided into
weekly portions in rabbinic times, corresponding haftarot
were chosen for each Torah portion, generally based on
shared thematic elements with the Torah reading or the
festival or fast day being observed (BT Megillah 29b). The
haftarot do not include the Prophets section in its entirety,
and the specific weekly haftarah may vary among different
Jewish communities.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
211
Hagar
Halakhah
Hai ben Sherira was one of the last and greatest of the
marriage. These stories, and the fact that Moses was judging cases (Exodus 18) before the Decalogue was announced
(Exodus 1910), indicate that in addition to the stated
212
Halakhah
Hammurabi
crimes. Halakhah also includes laws governing court procedures to ensure that justice is done.
In earlier eras, Jews were generally granted internal
autonomy over their own communities, as long as they paid
taxes to the ruling power. This meant that Jewish law was
enforced on Jews by Jewish authorities through a system
of communal organization that was backed by the government. Now that Jews are citizens of the countries in which
they live, they are governed by the state in civil and criminal matters. This means that individual Jews must determine
for themselves how much authority halakhah will have in
other areas of their lives. This has led to great diversity in
Jewish practice and in Jewish interpretations of the ongoing authority of halakhah. Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform Judaisms differ on these issues,
within denominations as well as with the other movements.
For further reading about Jewish law and its development,
see E. N. Dorff and A. Rosett, A Living Tree: The Roots and
Growth of Jewish Law (1988); M. Elon, Jewish Law: History,
Sources, Principles, 4 vols. (1994); and E. N. Dorff, The Unfolding Tradition: Jewish Law after Sinai (2005); see also DINA
DE-MALKHUTA DINA.
E LLIOT N. D ORFF
truth. Philosophy is accepted as an epistemological precursor to a higher stage of knowledge. However, the highest
level of understanding is limited to members in a divine
order (al-amr al-ilah
); it is revealed through prophecy and
governs all of existence. Halevi argues that the revelation
experienced by the Jewish people at Sinai was an historical
event preserved by an unbroken tradition; it is anchored in
the biological heritage of Israel and is kept vibrant through
ritual behaviors and practices. This argument allows Halevi
to defend Jewish particularity the chosenness of individual prophets, the people of Israel, the Land of Israel, the
H
. odesh (the New Moon), a half hallel is recited, omitting the first halves of Psalms 115 and 116. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, many congregations also
recite hallel on Israel Independence Day; hallel is omitted on
Hammurabi
H
. asidism: Europe
H
. anukkah and Women. Several traditions tie women
to the H.anukkah miracle. The book of Judith in the
H
. anukkah, literally dedication, also known as H.ag Ha-
Urim or the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in the
second century BCE. H
. anukkahs great appeal lies in its
unique symbols and its message of freedom from religious
oppression. It takes place from 25 Kislev to 2 Tevet.
The earliest sources for H
. anukkah are the First and Second
Books of Maccabees (ca. 100125 BCE), which provide parallel accounts of the Maccabean history, from approximately
180160 BCE. They recall a Jewish rebellion under the Maccabee family against the Seleucid ruler Antiochus and his
attempts to impose aspects of Hellenism on the Jewish population in the Land of Israel. The Maccabees achieved several
military victories over Antiochuss army, finally recapturing
Jerusalem and cleansing and rededicating the Temple on the
25th of Kislev, 165 BCE, precisely three years to the day after
Antiochus erected a statue of Zeus in the Temple. H
. anukkah
commemorates this triumphant moment and the eight days
of celebration that followed, which was probably a correlation to the eight-day festival of Sukkot (2 Macc 10:57).
Rather than emphasizing the military victories, rabbinic
Judaism focused on the survival of Jewish spiritual values. The Talmud claims that when the Maccabees rededicated the Temple and rekindled its menorah, one days
worth of oil miraculously lasted for eight days, representing Gods presence in the victory (BT Shabbat 21b). Thus, oil
and candles serve as significant H.anukkah emblems and are
found in the practice of lighting the h.anukkiyah or H
. anukkah
H
. aredi (pl. H.aredim; literally, Those who tremble (in awe
H
. asdai ibn Shaprut: See SPAIN, MUSLIM
H
. asidei Ashkenaz: See MIDDLE AGES: H. ASIDEI
ASHKE-
NAZ
H
. asidism: Europe. This pietistic movement, based on pop-
ularized forms of Jewish mysticism, originated in the teachings of R. Israel ben Eliezer (ca. 17001750), known as the
z,
Baal Shem Tov (or by the acronym, Besht) of Miedzybo
Podolia (present-day Ukraine). The Besht and his disciples
214
H
. asidism: Europe
H
. asidism: Europe
radically simplified the Kabbalah and renounced asceticism, asserting that God should be worshiped with a joyful
countenance. They held that uniquely endowed individuals
known as tzaddikim (righteous ones; rebbes in Yiddish)
could achieve devekut, the ecstatic state of supreme communion, even through apparently mundane activities, and
then draw down divine bounty to benefit their followers. As
H
. asidism was forged into a mass movement by disciples like
R. Dov Ber, the Great Maggid (preacher) of Miedzyrzecz,
even ordinary Jews were said to be capable of attaining
spiritual heights and receiving divine bounty by associating
with a tzaddik. H
. asidic courts and eventually dynasties
emerged with distinctive teachings, modes of worship, songs
and melodies (niggunim), dances, and political stances. After
the partitions of Poland- Lithuania (1772, 1793, 1795) by
(maggid), and judge. He established a court to which pilgrims would travel for inspiration, blessings, and miracles and granted followers personal audiences regardless of
their social status. Pilgrims, who were disproportionately
women and young men, approached the tzaddik with written requests for his divine intercession, accompanied by a
fee known as redemption money (pidyon). The tzaddik was
believed capable of miracles like healing, exorcisms, and
guaranteeing business success or fertility. He demonstrated
his attainment of devekut by performing standard Jewish rituals with extreme devotion, usually accompanied by convulsions and gesticulations. He was also revered for his mystical homiletics delivered in Yiddish at the third meal (seudat
shlishit) of the Sabbath, after which disciples would rush to
record the sermons in Hebrew. The translations were compiled, circulated in manuscript form, and eventually published to promote the movement, inspire adherents, and, if
the tzaddik was deceased, honor his memory. Visits to the
graves of tzaddikim with written petitions for divine intercession also became standard practice.
R. Dov Ber, the Great Maggid of Miedzyrzecz, was the
most successful early tzaddik. Each of his own major disciples
became a recognized tzaddik with his own court, regional
jurisdiction, and distinctive style. So popular was R. Aaron
of Karlin (d. 1772) that H
. asidim in historical Lithuania
became known as Karliners. After R. Menah.em Mendel of
Vitebsk emigrated, his disciple R. Schneur Zalman of Liady
(17451813) assumed leadership in what is today northern
(later, of Berdyczow,
H
. asidism: Europe
H
. asidism, Europe: Women
H
. asidism, Europe: Women. The development of the
pietistic/mystical movement H
. asidism in eighteenth-century
H
. asidism, Europe: Women
H
. asidism: North America
and wealthy H
. annah Rachel Verbermacher (18151888?),
known as the Holy Maid of Ludmir. Verbermacher, who
acquired a reputation for saintliness and miracle working,
attracted both men and women to her court, to whom she
would lecture from behind a closed door. Reaction from the
male H
. asidic leaders of her region was uniformly negative,
and pressure was successfully applied on H.annah to resume
her rightful female role in marriage. Although her marriages
were unsuccessful, they had the intended result of ending
her career as a religious leader, at least in Poland. Around
1860, Verbermacher moved to Jerusalem where she reestablished herself as a holy woman. Here, too, she attracted a
following of H
. asidic women and men, as well as Sephardi
and possibly some Muslim Arab women, and led gatherings
at the Western Wall, the Tomb of Rachel, and her own study
house.
H
. asidism, with its emphasis on mystical transcendence
and on male attendance on the rabbinic leader the tzaddik
or rebbe to the exclusion of the family unit, contributed to
the breakdown of Jewish social life in nineteenth-century
Eastern Europe. Similar tensions between family responsibility and devotion to Torah were also present among the
non-H
. asidic learned elite of this milieu, where wives tended
to assume the responsibility for supporting their families
while husbands were studying away from home. D. Biale
has noted that the sexual ascetism of the homosocial H
. asidic
courts and rabbinic yeshivot of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries offered young men a welcome withdrawal
from family tensions and the threats of modernity. However, attitudes toward human sexuality they found in these
environments were often openly misogynistic, incorporating
many demonic images of women from rabbinic, kabbalistic,
and Jewish folklore traditions.
For further reading, see D. Biale, Eros and the Jews (1992);
N. Deutsch, The Maiden of Ludmir (2003); and A. RapoportAlbert. On Women in Hasidism . . . in Jewish History, ed.
A. Rapoport-Albert and S. Zipperstein (1988), 495525.
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
New York City, Long Island, and New Jersey are home to
about 25,000 Hasidim.
Rockland County, about forty miles north of New York
City, includes some notable suburban H.asidic enclaves.
A. L. Nadler has estimated the population size of several
of these communities: Kiryas Joel, in Monroe, is home to
about 10,000 Satmar Hasidim; Squaretown, near Spring
Valley, has about 4,000 Skverer H
. asidim; and Monsey
has a range of Ultra-Orthodox Jews, including approximately 15,000 H
. asidim, who come from Lubavitch, Satmar,
Skverer, Belzer, Gerer, and other groups. Beyond the New
York area, H
. asidic enclaves can be found in Los Angeles,
H
. asidism: North America. Before World War II, H.asidism
was centered in Eastern Europe with only a few thousand H.asidism living in New York City and Jerusalem.
Since H.asidic culture was flourishing in Eastern Europe,
and most H
. asidic rebbes there strongly discouraged their
217
H
. asidism: North America
Haskalah
Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement of the late
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was the first organized Jewish endeavor to promote consciously and intentionally the modernization of the Jewish people. Led by
engaged and critical intellectuals, the maskilim, the movement initiated a cultural revolution that reconstructed the
face of Jewish education, literature, and popular thought,
as well as Jewish roles in the larger society. Haskalah was
part of the mosaic of the general European Enlightenment
period, but it retained a unique Jewish character. It incorporated modern European values of the era, such as belief
in human progress, criticism of earlier ideas and familiar beliefs, humanism, and an aspiration toward freedom,
while also retaining a commitment to Jewish tradition. Maskilim were revolutionary in challenging the Jewish establishment and rabbinic leadership, but they valued Jewish
collective identity and solidarity and rejected the option of
assimilation.
The European Enlightenment was an eighteenthcentury phenomenon. The Jewish Enlightenment, however, reached its climax in Eastern Europe exactly halfway
through the nineteenth century, in the era of nationalism and romanticism. Haskalah was a multifaceted movement, carried out by moderates and radicals, sensitive
poets, profound philosophers (Moses Mendelssohn, Nachman Krochmal), ordinary teachers in provincial schoolhouses, critics of H
. asidism (Joseph Perl, Isaac Erter), linguists (Solomon Judah Rapoport), counter-maskilim who
opposed rationalism (Samuel David Luzzatto), socialistinclined reformers with well-developed social sensitivities
(Judah Leib Levine, Moses Leib Lilienblum), deists (David
Friedlander,
Lazarus Bendavid, Judah Leib Mises), anticlericals (Judah Leib Gordon, Joshua Heschel Shorr), nationalists (Peretz Smolenskin, David Gordon), and conservatives
(Samuel Joseph Fuenn, Eliezer Zweifel, Kalman Shulman).
Yet, these individuals were united by the Haskalah process
itself, a social-cultural stance against the rabbinic elite, a critical and liberal mentality, and membership in a communication network (most importantly, through letters and journals) that established a public forum for action. Moreover,
there was an awareness of continuity that connected successive generations of maskilim from the eighteenth-century
early Haskalah through the Berlin Haskalah and to the
Haskalah
Haskalah
Mendelssohn (17291786). He was the first modern Jewish humanist and the most outstanding Jewish liberal of the
German Enlightenment; he was also the first modern Jewish
philosopher to deal with the dilemmas of Jewish existence in
the larger world. Mendelssohn was sensitive to what he saw
as the insularity of the traditional Jewish community and its
culture. One of his most important undertakings, a translation of the Pentateuch to German (Biur), was intended to
draw Jews closer to mainstream society through inculcating
knowledge of German; he hoped, as well, to distance Jews
from understanding the Torah through either Yiddish translations or German translations prepared by and for Christians. In his book Jerusalem (1783), he recommended that
membership in the Jewish community be based on choice
and will, and he advocated against enforcing religious allegiance and practice by coercion. In Mendelssohns opinion, one should observe the commandments out of personal
persuasion, not from the enforced pressure of the rabbinic
authorities. Mendelssohn also demanded that the political
state and Christian society show tolerance toward the Jewish minority and banish their own superstitions and hatreds.
In his religious thought, Mendelssohn taught that God can
be recognized through the human ability to reason, and he
insisted that belief in a beneficent universal God was essential to humanist convictions. Mendelssohn also believed in
the particularity of the divine revelation to the Jews at
Mount Sinai and in the unique obligations that stemmed
from it: to uphold the commandments and to guard the historical inheritance and framework of Jewish national life.
Nevertheless, Mendelssohn believed that God is first and
foremost the creator of the world who desires the success
and well-being of all created beings. By means of their intelligence, human beings can recognize God without revelation, the holy books, or the guidance of the assembly.
Mendelsson was the first Jewish thinker to advocate values
of religious tolerance of others for both Jews and Christians,
to imagine a multicultural society in which religion and the
state were separated, and to explain that Judaism contained
equal measures of rationalism and tradition. Nevertheless,
he was not the actual impetus behind the Haskalah movement, which became increasingly organized and institutionalized in the 1780s. Even so, the maskilim themselves, in
every generation, saw him as their founder and inspiration.
PHASES OF HASKALAH: The history of the Haskalah as
a cultural and social movement may be divided into five
phases, spreading over one hundred and twenty years from
1778 until the late decades of the nineteenth century. In the
first phase, which was intense yet relatively short (1778
Konigsberg.
In the latter part of 1782, he brought together a
very small circle of reformers, the Society of the Friends of
the Hebrew Language. The following year, Euchel and others edited and published the first periodical edition of the
The Gatherer (Ha-Meassef). By means of this printed periodical, the Haskalah spread from a concentrated group to a
broader community from Vilna to London. Several years
earlier, in 1778, the Jewish Free School (Freischule), the first
modern Jewish school, had been founded in Berlin. Its educational program was divided between Torah and secular
subjects. As the young movement expanded, the Society for
the Promotion of Goodness and Justice was formed in 1787
with the goal of organizing the maskilim into broadly defined
frameworks and by field.
Toward the end of the 1790s, the Haskalah faded in Berlin;
Ha-Meassef was shut down in 1797, and activities declined as
the maskilim failed to find many who sympathized with their
proposed cultural renaissance of Hebrew literature. However, the Haskalah would not end here; its ideas, programs,
and literary creations were reborn in communities in which
the processes of modernization were relatively slow or had
yet to begin.
In its second phase (17971824), the Haskalah flourished
in Breslau, Dessau, Posen, Prague, Vilna, Amsterdam, and
London. Toward the end of this period, lively and militant
maskilim founded a center of Jewish Enlightenment in Austrian Galicia. There, they invested significant and sophisticated literary efforts in the struggle against Hasidism, which
was seen as the central obstacle to modernization of the
Jews. Thus, Haskalah writings portrayed H.asidism as a worrisome deviation in Jewish history that perpetuated the ignorance of the multitudes, nurtured false faith, and inhibited
the forward march of progress. Maskilim in Galicia repeatedly
petitioned the Austrian state to impose measures to curb the
success of the H
. asidim and their expansion.
The third stage of the Haskalah movement was centered
in Russia and Congress Poland. These regional movements
had objectives similar to those of the Berlin Haskalah: Maskilim hoped to decrease communal autonomy, encourage
a shift in Jewish occupations from financial brokerage to
agriculture, mandate children to attend Jewish government
schools, and implement laws regarding Jewish citizenship
and army service obligations. The Haskalah movement in
Russia consolidated in the reign of Tsar Nicholas I (182555),
and activities were also organized in a number of communities in Ukraine, in Belorussia, and especially in Lithuania.
Isaac Baer Levinsohn was considered the source of inspiration of the Haskalah in Russia; his programmatic A Testimony in Israel (1828) called for changes in education,
`
economic life, and the position of the Jews vis-a-vis
the
state and non-Jewish society. The support of the maskilim
219
Haskalah
Haskalah
in the 1840s for Russian government modernization programs in Jewish education alienated many Orthodox Jews
who saw Haskalah as a threat and danger (see JUDAISM:
ORTHODOX).
Jewish Enlightenment reached its peak in the second half
of the nineteenth century, especially during the reign of Tsar
Alexander II (185681). In these years the activities of the
maskilim became an established part of the cultural milieu;
Hebrew literature blossomed in a number of forms, and new
journals in Hebrew, Yiddish, Polish, and Russian were developed. At this time a number of women (most prominently
Miriam Markel-Mosessohn) began to take prominent roles
in the movement, publishing newspaper articles, as well as
songs, translations, and literary works. By the end of this
fourth chapter, in 1881, The Love of the Righteous, the first
part of an original Hebrew novel by Sarah Foner Menkin
and the first Hebrew fiction composed by a woman had
appeared.
Modern Hebrew literature was enriched during this fourth
phase of the Haskalah with the emergence of novels, poetry,
and textbooks and teaching guides for geography and history. Literary and ideological criticism by radical maskilim
(especially Abraham Uri Kovner) insisted that literature
should be mobilized to address the social problems and daily
distresses of so many poor Jews; these appeals inspired some
maskilim (Isaac Kaminer, Aaron Liberman, and others) to
decry class differences and economic inequity. At the same
time, in the 1860s and 1870s, Lilienblum and Judah Leib
Gordon ran a cultural campaign (Religion versus Life)
against rabbinic authority. Their intent was to lighten the
yoke of religious law that they believed caused significant
daily difficulties to many Jews. Others, including Peretz
Smolenskin, the editor of the journal The Dawn (HaShah.ar), were concerned about the disintegration of Jewish
unity and solidarity in the era of emancipation. Warning of assimilation and the dangerous character of modern
CONCLUSION: The Haskalah gave birth to the selfconsciousness and identity of the modern Jew. With its
prophetic optimism, it represented an historic turning point
toward the challenges of a new era. The Haskalah movement was not the first attempt to introduce processes of
modernization; rather it was the first to suggest an ideology
that justified modernization, to mobilize common knowledge that would support it, and to suggest road maps and
practical means of implementation in many areas of Jewish
life. From a historical viewpoint, the Haskalah was a revolution that established precedents and templates for many
trends in modern Jewish history that remain central to the
lives of contemporary Jews. It shaped modern Jewish cultures receptivity to a series of concepts that encompassed
a wide range of meanings. The journalist, the author, the
publicist, the literary critic, and the teacher are just some of
the modern types formed by the Haskalah. In addition, the
Haskalah is also responsible for some central cultural creations: the modern Jewish school, teaching manuals, journals, the newspaper, the Hebrew novel, the renewal of the
Hebrew language, and also for the introduction of the values
of the general European Enlightenment, such as tolerance,
humanism, freedom, and rational thought, into Jewish discourse. The Haskalah also produced a new German translation of the Hebrew Bible, updated Jewish thought, and
founded the Wissenschaft des Judentums, the scientific study
of Jewish history and geography. Some of these contributions were restorative; that is, they returned neglected forms
of culture to legitimacy and to significant places in the intellectual discourse of the time (an example is a rediscovery of
rationalism in Jewish thought, particularly as exemplified by
Haskalah
Havdalah
Aaron and the other with King David, may be implicit criticism of the Hasmonean practice of having the same person
hold the offices of king and High Priest.
Simon (142135 BCE) succeeded Jonathan, who had
been killed by Trypho, a pretender to the Seleucid throne.
Simon formally declared the independence of Judah from
the Seleucid Empire in 142 BCE (1 Macc 13:41). He also
cluding the Sabbath that marks the transition from a consecrated day to the ordinary days of the new week. It is
221
Havdalah
H
. avurah Movement. Although the concept of the h.avurah
(fellowship group) originated in Second Temple times
among the Pharisees and Essenes, it was in the late
1960s that h.avurot arose as gatherings for worship, study,
and fellowship. H
. avurot were seen as alternatives to established Jewish modes of worship that were perceived as formal, cold, and nonegalitarian. Generally, the younger generation preferred h.avurot over their parents more institutionalized synagogue-based style of Judaism. The first
h.avurah, H.avurat Shalom, was organized in Somerville,
Massachusetts, in 1968; among its founders were Zalman M.
Schachter-Shalomi, a leader in the Jewish Renewal movement (see JUDAISM: JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT),
of which the h.avurah was one manifestation, and Arthur
Green, who later became president of the Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College. A second h.avurah was started in New
York City in 1970, and other h.avurot followed, often in university communities.
In accordance with the counterculture movement of
the late 1960s, the search for cultural authenticity determined h.avurot norms, which were often in sharp contrast
to those of suburban synagogues. Instead of employing rabbis, h.avurot emphasized equality of participants. Denominational labels were dropped, as h.avurot stood in the vanguard
of what became known as post-denominational Judaism.
H
. avurot displayed several commitments, including maintaining small-sized groups, experimenting in worship, and
striving toward spirituality and meaning in Jewish practice.
H
. avurot members believed that they could re-create Judaism
in their own generations image. H
. avurah ideals permeated
American Jewish life in the 1970s, in part because of the
1973 publication of The Jewish Catalogue, edited by Richard
Siegel, Michael Strassfeld, and Sharon Strassfeld, a guide to
H
. azzan: See CANTOR, CANTORATE: CONTEMPORARY;
and CANTOR, CANTORATE: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Head Covering: Men. There is no legal requirement for
a man to cover his head. Rabbinic literature tells the story
of Rabbi Nah.man, whose mother was told at his birth that
he would grow up to be a thief. To prevent that, she was
advised to make sure that his head remained covered at all
times. One day, after he had grown up and become a rabbi,
222
Hebrew Literature
HEBREW entries
Hebrew Translation
Hebrew Translation. When considered as a mode of cultural communication with cultures other than ones own,
translation was a major factor in the shaping of modern
Jewish life. However, any attempt at providing an overall description of the role of translation in Jewish culture
is highly problematic given the diversity of languages used
by Jews. In many respects, the problem is similar to discussions about what is Jewish literature, a question for which
there is no one satisfactory answer. Given the pivotal role of
Hebrew Translation
Hellenism
Hebron, This city, 30 kilometers (19 miles) southeast of
Syria (198 BCEca. 165 CE). During this era, many Jews
settled throughout the Hellenistic world, especially in cities
like Alexandria and Antioch, forming a significant Greekspeaking Diaspora.
With these political changes came profound cultural
changes, as conquered peoples, Jews among them,
embraced the Greek language. In addition, the arrival of
Greek troops and traders and the founding of Greek-style
cities led to the spread of Greek forms of education and
entertainment (gymnasiums, theaters), as well as literary
styles and philosophical ideas. This merger of local and
Greek cultures produced new ways of worshiping, governing, learning, and living. Jews, like others, faced remarkable
challenges to traditional ways of life. The vibrancy and creativity of this foreign culture prompted complex responses
of acceptance and resistance. Greek culture was appealing
to many Jews, both in Judea and the Diaspora; scholars no
longer suppose Judaism in the Land of Israel to have been
largely untouched by Hellenism. Most Jews welcomed some
of these new cultural and political ideas, adapting them to fit
their own needs. However, they were wary of other aspects
of Hellenism, especially those that might clash with Jewish
religious beliefs.
By the third century BCE, many Jews read Greek literature and had begun to use Greek for writing and translating Jewish texts. The Septuagint translation of the Bible
was a response to the needs of Diaspora Jews who were
unable to read Hebrew. Many Jews adopted Greek names
and eagerly moved into newly founded Greek cities in Judea
and the Diaspora, where they interacted with and learned
from Gentiles. They arbitrated disputes according to Hellenistic (non-Jewish) law; Jewish material remains (coins,
Mayer Wise in 1875, this institution is the oldest rabbinical seminary in the United States. In the early twentyfirst century, HUC-JIR trains men and women to become
Hellenism
monuments, tombs) contain Greek inscriptions and Hellenistic, and sometimes pagan, images. Jewish writers
adapted Greek literary genres and philosophical ideas. For
example, 4 Maccabees and perhaps Ecclesiastes were influenced by Stoicism; Ezekiel the Poet was influenced by
Greek tragedies, and Demetrius by Greek histories. Some
Jews (Aristobulous, Eupolemus) even argued that the greatest Greek thinkers were dependent on the religious and
philosophical insights of biblical heroes. This paradoxical
claim, seeking to find Jewish roots for Greek accomplishments, reflects an uncomfortable recognition of the depth
of Hellenistic influence on contemporary Jewish thought.
Even groups one might think were hostile to Hellenism
were undeniably influenced by it. The Hasmoneans, who
violently defended traditional Jewish practices, nonetheless used Greek names, minted Greek-style coins, and
adopted Greek titles and political structures. The conservative Qumran community focused on topics formerly of
little interest to Jews but reflective of Hellenistic thought,
such as communal ownership, celibacy, and utopianism
(see also PTOLEMIES: IMPACT ON JEWISH CULTURE AND
THOUGHT).
However, only a few Jews unreservedly adopted all
aspects of Greek life (1 Macc 1:43; 2 Macc 4:13). The emergence of a shared language and practices and of trends
that minimized ethnic and cultural differences prompted a
Jewish counterreaction, particularly against aspects of Hellenism that appeared to threaten Judaism and Jews distinctive religious identities. Rituals that separated Jews
from Gentiles, like Sabbath observance, circumcision, and
H
. erem is a ban of excommunication. It was the ultimate
H
. erem ha-yishuv (literally, ban on settlement) was a
restriction on residence imposed by established medieval
and early modern Jewish communities on other Jews,
mainly for economic reasons. It appears to have originated
226
Herzl, Theodor (18601904) was the founder of modern political Zionism. Born in Budapest, he moved to
ologian, and social activist, was born in Warsaw and immigrated to the United States in 1940. A descendant of distinguished H
. asidic dynasties (see H.ASIDISM: EUROPE), he was
named after his great-great-grandfather, Abraham Joshua
Heschel, the rebbe of Apt (Opatow). A child prodigy who
mastered Bible and Talmud, as well as Jewish mysticism
and H
. asidic traditions, Heschel published talmudic commentaries (novellae) in a Warsaw Orthodox monthly when
he was fifteen. He received rabbinic ordination at sixteen,
but left Warsaw for the secular, Yiddish-language RealGymnasium in Vilna, Lithuania, to prepare for university
study. In Berlin, he earned a degree from the Hochschule
fur
die Wissenschaft des Judentums, a liberal rabbinical institute, and completed a PhD in philosophy at Friedrich Wilhelm University in 1933, with a minor in the history of art.
In the same year, a collection of Heschels Yiddish poems,
Der Shem Hameforash: Mentsh (Gods Ineffable Name: Man),
which anticipate his mature theological system, was published in Warsaw.
227
High Holidays
High Holidays (also High Holy Days) are the most hallowed period of the Jewish year. Spanning ten days from
H
. eshvan is the eighth month of the Jewish calendar, usu-
ally falling in October or November of the Gregorian calendar. It is sometimes called Mar H.eshvan, bitter H
. eshvan
because there are no holidays in this month. See also CALENDAR; CALENDAR: MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
High Holidays
Latin America; affiliates at virtually every major university in the United States with a significant Jewish student
population; and signature programs and partnerships in the
areas of Israel, community service, arts and culture, student engagement, Jewish learning, celebration, and global
exchange.
J AY R UBIN
rabbinic hermeneutics with seven rules of biblical interpretation that were later expanded to thirteen rules by R.
Ishmael ben Elisha. He also enacted the prosbul; this word,
of Greek origin, refers to a legal strategy that eliminated
the cancellation of debts in the biblically ordained sabbatical year (Deut 15:16). The prosbul allowed lenders to
protect their investments and enabled the poor to obtain
essential loans (BT Gittin 36a). When asked to explain the
entire Torah while standing on one foot, Hillels classic
response was, What is hateful to you, do not do to your
fellow; this is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary
go and study (BT Shabbat 31a).
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Hirsch, Samson Raphael (18081888) was an Orthodox rabbi (see JUDAISM, ORTHODOX: MODERN ORTHODOX), theologian, community leader, educator, and publisher. Hirsch was the leader for most of his life of the
Holocaust
Hittites designates two different ancient peoples, one originating in Anatolia (modern Turkey) and the other a
Canaanite nation said to be descended from Noahs greatgrandson, Heth (Gen 10:15); it is unclear whether there is
any connection between the two groups. Abraham purchased Sarahs burial place, a field and cave in Hebron,
from Ephron the Hittite (Gen 23). Esau married two Hittite
women (Gen 26:34); King David enlisted Uriah, a Hittite
soldier (2 Sam 11); and Solomon married Hittite women (1
Kgs 1:11). From exile in Babylon, Ezekiel invoked Israels
Hittite (and Amorite) antecedents to remind the people of
their lowly, idolatrous beginnings and to admonish their
faithlessness (16:3).
K ATE F RIEDMAN
a response to Jewish religious reform in mid-nineteenthcentury Germany. His theology combined limited modernization of religious practice; strict fidelity to halakhah;
deep commitment to the German language, culture, and
social integration; and, ultimately, separation of Orthodox communities from larger, Reform-dominated official
Jewish communities.
Born in 1808 in Hamburg, Hirsch received both a religious and Gymnasium education. The chief rabbi of Hamburg was Isaac Bernays (1792-1849) and the religious milieu
he established there had a decisive impact on Hirschs enthusiasm for the harmony of Orthodox belief and practice
with limited modernization. Hirsch attended university at
Bonn for a year in 182930, and along with classmate
Abraham Geiger, founded a university society for German
Jewish students. Opting to pursue a rabbinical career, Hirsch
studied in Mannheim under the tutelage of Rabbi Jacob
Ettlinger, a preeminent German halakhist and early experimenter in Orthodox popular publication. In 1830, Hirsch
accepted the position of district rabbi in Oldenburg, an auspicious beginning to an impressive rabbinic career that took
him ultimately in 1851 to Frankfurt am Main via Aurich and
Osnabruch in Hannover (1841) and Nikolsberg, Moravia
(1846).
It was during Hirschs early career that religious reform,
a simmering issue in Jewish communities throughout the
German territories, intensified, and Hirsch emerged as one
of its most vocal foes (see JUDAISM, REFORM: GERMANY).
His opposition was highly nuanced, however. He embraced
many cosmetic modernizations favored by reformers; like
Bernays, Hirsch adopted German clerical dress, emphasized
decorum in religious worship, accepted some rearrangement
of synagogue interiors, and advocated the use of German
in sermons. He believed that intimate Jewish participation in German culture was wholly compatible with committed Orthodox belief. At the same time, Hirsch defended
the centrality of the entirety of Jewish law in his earliest treatises, the 19 Letters (1836) and Horeb (1837). The
emergence of a sophisticated German Jewish reading public
proved to be among Hirschs most potent tools; he reached
out to his readers through his monthly Jeschurun (launched
in the fall of 1855), a journal of Orthodox thought and
culture, in which he aimed at creating a full sense of the
meaning of being an Orthodox Jew in German society.
Topics covered in the journal included discussions of religious education, home life, engagement with German political and social issues, and, in serialized form, a comprehensive commentary on the Torah, the Jewish calendar, and
ritual.
As head of the IRG, Hirschs greatest legacy was a key
component of his thought: that secession by the Orthodox
minority from the official Jewish community was justified
to preserve the standards of Orthodox practice. This secession was accomplished for the IRG in 1876, after lengthy
debate in the Prussian parliament, in an act that set a significant precedent for the interaction of Orthodox and nonOrthodox communities in Germany and beyond.
For further reading, see N. Rosenbloom, Tradition in an
Age of Reform: The Religious Philosophy of Samson Raphael Hirsch
(1976); and R. Lieberles, Religious Conflict in Social Context: The
Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism in Frankfurt am Main, 1838
1877 (1985).
J ESS O LSON
Holland/Netherlands: See
Holocaust
Holocaust
world. From the Nazi perspective, the Jews supposed principal crime was a lust for power. Drawing from the fictitious late-nineteenth-century tsarist document, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (see RUSSIA), which claimed that
there was a secret Jewish plot to take over the world, Hitler
embraced the idea of an international Jewish conspiracy and
linked it to Vladimir Lenins seizure of power in Russia in
late 1917. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Nazis, who blamed
the Jews for everything that had gone awry in the aftermath
of the German defeat in World War I, insisted on a connection between Jews and Bolshevism, linking Germanys
Jews with the hated and feared Soviet Union.
DOMESTIC PHASE, 19331939: The Holocaust officially
began on January 30, 1933, and ended with the defeat of
Germany in the spring of 1945. The evolution of Nazi policy can best be understood by dividing the Holocaust into
three distinct phases. The first is the German domestic phase,
between 1933 and 1939, when the Nazis cautiously developed a series of policies designed to force as many Jews as
possible to leave Germany. However, the Jewish question
was secondary at this time to the German leaderships main
efforts to consolidate their power and prepare Germany for
a war of expansion that would give Hitler the lebensraum or
living space he felt he needed to build his Thousand Year
Reich. Nazi hostility toward the Jews remained controversial
within the party until the Night of the Long Knives purge
by the virulently antisemitic SA (Sturmabteilung) in the summer of 1934. By the fall of 1934, Hitler was secure enough in
power to give his top leadership the authority they needed
to pressure Germanys Jews to leave.
By 1935, German Jews, who had been stripped of most
of their political, social, and economic rights, had little reason to stay in Germany. From Hitlers perspective, what
was called for was a set of laws to define and legislate
the diminished status of Jews in the Reich. The result was
the Nuremberg Laws. Hastily written (and later expanded),
they were passed by the Reichstag during the Party Days
in Nuremberg in September 1935. There were three laws:
the Blutschutzgesetz (Law for the Protection of German Blood
and Honor), the Reichsburgergesetz (Reich Citizenship Law),
and the Ehegesundheitsgesetz (Marital Health Law). These
laws and their supplements defined who was Jewish and
declared that Jews could only have rights in Germany
as subjects of the state. They also outlawed marriage
between Jews and non-Jews and created a mechanism to
prevent such marriages.
However, the Nazi leadership was not successful in forcing large numbers of Jews to leave in the mid-1930s, partly
because few countries were willing to open their doors
during a worldwide economic depression. In addition, the
uneven nature of Germanys anti-Jewish policies caused
some Jews, who would lose everything if they left, to imagine that the worst of Germanys antisemitic persecution had
passed. Moreover, there was a lull in the persecution of
Jews, driven in large part by Germanys desire to show
the world a civilized face while it hosted the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics. However, once the Olympics
ended, pent-up Nazi frustration with the Jews exploded into
a growing crescendo of violence, which culminated in the
Holocaust
Holocaust
Rudolf Hoss,
the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, that the Fuhrer
had ordered the Endlosung der
that Hoss,
working closely with Adolf Eichmann, Himmlers specialist on Jewish deportations, was just the person
to carry out Hitlers wishes. On July 31, 1941, Reichsmarschall
Hermann Goring,
who was still technically in charge of Germanys Jewish policies, signed a decree that many scholars
think provided Heydrich with the authority to begin planning for the Final Solution. Over the next six months,
the SS experimented with various methods of murder, using
z
Zyklon B at Auschwitz I and gas vans at Chemno near od
The SS also began to recruit specialists from the earlier T-4
program in Germany, which had been developed to engage
in mass murder of the handicapped and the disabled. These
euthanasia specialists in mass death and body disposal provided the SS with the expertise needed to develop the final
stages of the Final Solution.
FINAL SOLUTION, 194245: By the end of 1941, the
mass murder of Jews in Russia was common knowledge to
most top-ranking government and Nazi party leaders. Consequently, Heydrich decided to call a meeting at an SS villa
in Wannsee, a suburb outside of Berlin, to ensure coordination between the various government and party agencies involved in various aspects of the Final Solution. Initially planned for December 9, the Wannsee Conference
was postponed after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
two days earlier and rescheduled for January 20, 1942. By
this date, plans for the implementation of the Final Solution were almost complete. Once the meeting began, Heydrich announced that the SS was now fully in charge of the
Jewish Question. His goal was to oversee the complete
annihilation of Europes eleven million Jews. He planned
to use the Nuremberg Laws to determine who was Jewish,
which prompted a discussion about mischlinge (individuals
who were partly Jewish).
What followed was the mass movement of Jews from various parts of German-occupied Europe to the General Government, where five of Nazi Germanys six death camps
were opened. The first was at Chemno (Kulmhof) in the
z (Litzmannstadt). Three camps
Greater Reich near od
Holocaust
Reinhard Heydrich, the Protectorates deputy Reichsprotektor, and Adolf Eichmann, one of Heinrich Himmlers top
deportation specialists, decided to open a new camp north
of Prague in the town of Terezn (Theresienstadt). This was
initially a ghetto for elderly and privileged Reich Jews, but
Eichmann later transformed it into a special show camp to
dispel rumors about the Final Solution.
To maintain this facade, Eichmann, who kept an office
at Theresienstadt, allowed the ghettos large community of
scholars, writers, musicians, and artists a certain amount
of creative freedom to study, write, and compose. In 1944,
Joseph Goebbels propaganda office produced a film, Theresienstadt: Ein Dokumentarfilm aus dem judischen
Siedlungsgebeit
but there is some controversy over whether a gas chamber was used there. Dachau was the site of some abhorrent military-related medical experiments by SS and Luftwaffe physicians who infected some inmates with malaria
and subjected others to deadly high altitude and low temperature experiments. Others were forced to drink large quantities of seawater.
Initially, Jews were not sent in large numbers to concentration camps because German policy was intended to
drive the Third Reichs half-million Jews out of the country by gradually depriving them of civil, economic, and
political rights. This all changed after Kristallnacht (Crystal
Night or Night of Broken Glass) on November 910, 1938.
Soon after, the Gestapo (secret state police) rounded up
30,000 Jewish men and sent them to the Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen concentration camps. Germany
had already occupied Austria in the spring of 1938 and
opened the Mauthausen concentration camp. About a third
of the 119,000 inmates who died there during the Holocaust
were Jews. After the German takeover of what remained of
Czechoslovakia in the spring of 1939, the region was transformed into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and
the SS began to persecute Czech Jews. In October 1941,
233
Holocaust Denial
Holocaust Denial
Holocaust Diaries
literary tradition of writing in response to catastrophe. Jewish diary writing also confirms the transformation of Jewish
cultural practices in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
as part of the process of Jewish acculturation to European
societies, in which diary writing had become a means of
autobiographical reflection, intellectual exploration, and historical documentation. Some individuals were prompted to
bear witness to their wartime experiences in hopes that their
diaries would furnish evidence in the pursuit of justice after
the war and in the writing of history. And for individuals
with relatives abroad, diaries became a vehicle for imparting information about the fate of their family members to be
delivered at wars end.
The content of diaries was largely determined by the
diarists reasons for writing. As a result, the body of source
materials grouped under the rubric diaries is quite varied
in subject matter and style of writing. Diarists who sought
to contribute evidence for future historians, such as Herman Kruk in the Vilna ghetto, Philip Mechanicus in the
Dutch transit camp Westerbork, David Sierakowiak in the
z ghetto, as well as Kaplan, Ringelblum, and Klemod
perer, described everything from daily efforts to procure
food, family and social relations, Jewish leadership, educational and cultural activities, religious responses, and news
and rumors about the war and the fates of other Jews.
Some diaries focused on intimate thoughts and feelings,
especially, although not exclusively, those written by adolescents. Some diaries were written anonymously and others
were signed; some diaries were written by individuals acting independently, and others were written by individuals
participating in underground group efforts to record Jewish
experiences. Finally, some diaries were revised or edited by
their writers, whereas others remained unedited.
Certain aspects of Jewish victims experiences during the
Holocaust barely register in diaries. The impossibility of
procuring writing supplies, as well as the lack of privacy
and hiding places, meant that few people wrote diaries
in concentration and extermination camps. Anne Franks
diary is a perfect illustration of this lacuna in the evidence; her diary stops three days before her deportation
from Amsterdam, which means that we must turn to other
sources for information about her experiences in Westerbork, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen. At the same time,
there are some notable exceptions. Among them are the
diaries and notes written by three Jewish men who worked
in the gas chambers and crematoria in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The manuscripts had been buried on the grounds of the crematoria and were discovered after the war.
Even in ghettos and in hiding, writing a diary proved emotionally and physically difficult. Paper, writing instruments,
and privacy were in short supply in those settings where
staving off hunger and evading round-ups for forced labor or
deportation took precedence. Moreover, diaries endangered
the lives of diarists and their helpers. As a result, some individuals discontinued their diaries. Others wrote in guarded
language or avoided certain topics altogether out of consideration for other peoples lives.
Although Holocaust diaries, taken together, are not a
complete chronicle of Jewish experiences and perceptions
during the Holocaust, they nonetheless open up aspects of
Holocaust history that are otherwise inaccessible. Diarists
interpretive efforts are also significant because they reveal
235
Holocaust Diaries
Holocaust Documentation
many Jews efforts to translate their experiences into language and transmit them to others. In so doing, diarists
attempted to empower themselves within the tremendous constraints imposed on them. They tried to allay the
fear that nothing would remain of their lives and their
worlds by recording their experiences, hoping that doing
so would be affirming to themselves as well as to future
readers.
For further reading, see R. Feldhay Brenner, Writing as
Resistance: Four Women Confronting the Holocaust (1997); A.
Garbarini, Numbered Days: Diaries and the Holocaust (2006); S.
Kassow, Who Will Write Our History? Emanuel Ringelblum, the
Warsaw Ghetto, and the Oyneg Shabes Archive (2007); and A.
Zapruder, Salvaged Pages: Young Writers Diaries of the Holocaust
(2002).
A LEXANDRA G ARBARINI
Holocaust Documentation
Israels victory in the Six Day War (1967), with its redemptive imagery of Jewish soldiers defending the Jewish state,
emboldened teachers to examine the greatest period of Jewish victimization. The 1973 Yom Kippur War heightened
feelings of isolation and vulnerability among Israelis and
American Jews, reinforcing the view that one could not
understand the importance of Israel without understanding
the Jewish experience under Nazism.
The moral education and civic education movements of
the late 1970s, closely tied to the national introspection arising out of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal, played
important roles in promoting Holocaust education in the
wider American public. Advocates of civic education,
oriented toward teaching tolerance and individual responsibility, adopted the Holocaust as an ideal case study for
exploring citizens duties in a democratic, nonracist society.
Attention surrounding the 1978 television mini-series Holocaust further spurred calls for education in Americas public
schools, as politicians, teachers, clergy, artists, and others
saw in the Holocaust lessons relevant to contemporary
American society. Following Steven Spielbergs film
Schindlers List (see HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM)
and the opening of the United States Holocaust Museum
(see HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS; MUSEUMS: Holocaust
Museums and Memorials), both in 1993, several states
passed legislation mandating Holocaust and genocide education in their public schools. By the end of the twentieth
century, Jewish educators had come to see study of the
Holocaust as critical to inculcating ethnic identity in their
students, and teachers in public and private schools across
the religious and political spectrum regarded Holocaust
education as essential not only to teaching American and
world history but also to conveying lessons that reinforced
their communitys values.
R ONA S HERAMY
Holocaust: Ghettos
Holocaust: Ghettos
Brigadenfuhrer
Friedreich Ubelhoer
ordered its establish
ment, noting that [t]he creation of the ghetto is of course
only a transition measure. I reserve to myself the decision
concerning the times and the means by which the ghetto
z will be cleansed of Jews.
and with it the city of od
As envisioned in Ubelhoers
memorandum, the ghetto
included a sealed-off ghetto area, as well as barracks of Jewish laborers elsewhere in the city; the latter part of this plan
was short-lived. The Litzmannstadt ghetto was soon sealed,
with more than 160,000 individuals within its barbed wire
border, making it the second largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied
Europe. Its Jewish Council was headed by the infamous
Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, who developed a system that
attempted to divide resources equally among all ghetto residents. As the German authorities, particularly Hans Biebow,
who was in charge of the ghetto, took a more direct hand
in its administration, laborers received resources and those
not engaged in labor were deported to death camps. Because
of its transformation into a work camp, the Litzmannstadt
ghetto survived the longest of all the Nazi ghettos; it was
liquidated in 1944, and most of its inhabitants were sent to
and elsewhere.
in ghettos in Vilna, Kovno, Krakow,
Not all ghettos were controlled by the Germans. The
238
Holocaust: Ghettos
Holocaust Literature
literary imagination with historical memory, Holocaust literature is a term that has come to refer to a body of works
that reconstruct, memorialize, and mediate a set of events
whose horrors have been termed unspeakable and unrepresentable. Encompassing a range of genres, languages,
styles, and perspectives, Holocaust literature utilizes narrative strategies and aesthetic techniques to convey complex
aspects of life, loss, survival, death, and memory of the Nazi
genocide and to contend with its psychological, philosophical, and ethical ramifications.
Already during the war years, literature offered its writers a way to preserve, understand, and mourn the ongoing destruction of lives and communities and to resist the
assault on their humanity. Through almost impossible conditions, with meager resources, and under the threat of
death, literary production continued in ghettos, labor camps,
and in hiding. Motivated in part by an imperative to preserve a record of Jewish lives and communities even as they
239
Holocaust Literature
Holocaust Literature
240
Holocaust Literature
Holocaust Memorials
Ficowski, Janos
Pilinszky, and Vasko Popa. The works of
many of these poets have only recently become available in
English translation.
Writing about the Holocaust has provided an opportunity for some non-Jewish writers to contest the behavior of contemporaneous regimes. Russian poet Yevgeny
Yevtyshenkos famous Babi Yar (1961) denounced the
massacre of more than 33,000 Jews over two days in
Kiev, Ukraine, during September 1941. In recalling this
atrocity, Yevtyshenko was also calling attention to the persistence of antisemitism in the post-war Soviet Union. This
politically radical poem was subsequently set to music by
Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (19061975) in his
Symphony No. 13. As the survivor generation gives way to a
new generation of writers removed from direct experience
with the historical events, poetry continues to engage with
the horrors of human actions through evocative images of
the Holocaust.
For further reading, see Selected Poems and Prose of Paul
Celan, trans. J. Felstiner (2000); J. Felstiner, Paul Celan: Poet,
Survivor, and Jew (2001); E. E. George, Miklos Radnoti: The
Complete Poetry (1980); B. Lang, ed., Writing and the Holocaust
(1988), 14; L. L. Langer, ed., Art from the Ashes: A Holocaust
Anthology (1995); and H. Schiff, ed., Holocaust Poetry (1995);
R ACHEL S. H ARRIS
see also HOLOCAUST LITERATURE.
Holocaust Memorials
Holocaust Memorials
Frank House in Amsterdam. The house and annex at Prinsengracht 263, where Anne and her family hid from July
1942 until August 1944 when they were betrayed by Dutch
collaborators to the Germans and sent to Auschwitz and
Bergen-Belsen (where Anne died), have been preserved as a
national shrine and museum to Anne Frank, her acclaimed
diary, and a universal vision of tolerance. The Anne Frank
House reminds the Dutch that, even though they harbored
her, they also betrayed her in the end, along with another
100,000 Dutch Jews. By reflecting back to the Dutch their
Holocaust Memorials
These questions and others arose with the very first open
competition for a memorial at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1957.
The choice of a monument to commemorate Auschwitz has
not been an easy task, the sculptor Henry Moore wrote as
head of the internationally acclaimed design jury assembled
for the Auschwitz competition. Essentially, what has been
attempted here has been the creation . . . of a monument to
crime and ugliness, to murder and to horror. The crime was
of such stupendous proportions that any work of art must
be on an appropriate scale. But apart from this, is it in fact
possible to create a work of art that can express the emotions engendered by Auschwitz? (Henry Moore, pamphlet
published at Auschwitz, 1958, n.p.).
As was clear to Moore in 1957 and to many critics
and artists since then, public art in general and Holocaust
memorials in particular tend to beg traditional art historical inquiry. Until recently, most discussions of Holocaust
memorial spaces ignored the essentially public dimension of
their performance, remaining either formally aestheticist or
almost piously historical. So although it is true that a sculptor like Nathan Rapoport (designer of the Warsaw Ghetto
Memorial) will never be regarded by art historians as highly
as his contemporaries, Jacques Lipshitz and Henry Moore,
neither can his work be dismissed solely on the basis of its
popular appeal. Unabashedly figurative, heroic, and referential, his work seems to be doomed critically by precisely
those qualities public accessibility and historical referentiality that make it monumental. Yet in fact, it may be just
this social and political resonance in the public mind that
finally constitutes the Holocaust memorials aesthetic performance. Instead of stopping at formal questions or at issues
of historical referentiality, students of Holocaust memorials now ask how memorial representations of history may
finally weave themselves into the course of ongoing events.
As the meanings of Holocaust memorials necessarily
evolve over time, depending on the needs and preoccupations of every new generation that visits them, so too
have the aims of critical inquiry into Holocaust memorials
evolved. No longer content to examine only these memorials formal and aesthetic qualities or their historical referents, critics now also ask how public history of Jewish
life and death is being shaped through these memorials
and to what interpretive ends. Instead of concentrating on
finished or monolithic Holocaust memory, visitors to Holocaust memorials increasingly look at the process by which
public history and memory are constructed. They ask, Who
creates this memory, under what circumstances, for which
audience? Which events are remembered, which are forgotten, and how are they explained? What are these memorials places in national and religious commemorative cycles?
What is the contemporary architects role in shaping public
memory? What are the consequences of these memorials for
both Jewish and other religious and national identities?
To this end, the life and texture of Holocaust memorials have been enlarged to include the times and places in
which they were conceived, their literal construction amid
historical and political realities, their finished forms in public
spaces, their places in the constellation of national memory,
their ever-evolving lives in the minds of their communities
and of the Jewish people over time and even their eventual
destruction. With these dimensions in mind, it is important
to understand how individual monuments create and rein-
$20.5 billion in 2008 dollars. The Nazi art confiscation program was the greatest displacement of art in human history.
The Allies, led by the United States, also undertook to
return art and other cultural objects but the task was enormous. A dedicated team of art experts from the United States
and the United Kingdom, known at the Monuments Men
because they sought to minimize damage to European monuments and other architecture, attempted to track down
Nazi-looted artworks. Hidden stashes of art and sculptures
were located in salt mines, castles, and trains and returned
to their countries of origin. For example, 60,000 artworks
were returned to France, with 45,000 returned largely to
their Jewish owners. However, for a variety of reasons, the
effort was only partially successful.
With the onset of the Cold War in the 1950s, the theft
that had accompanied the Nazi genocide was largely forgotten. At the end of the occupation, the Federal Republic of
create camp installations, such as Pearl Hirschfields Shadows of Auschwitz (1989) and Gerda Meyer-Bernsteins Shrine
(1991), into which the public was invited to enter.
Another early symbol, the crematorium chimney, stood
for the most idiosyncratic form of Holocaust murder: death
in the gas chamber and burning corpses in the crematorium.
The chimney was especially important in the art of survivors, such as Yehuda Bacon, Naftali Bezem, Samuel Bak,
and Friedensreich Hundertwasser, whether or not they had
seen them. In Hundertwassers Blood Garden Houses with
Yellow Smoke (196263), chimneys belch yellow smoke that
turns the blood-filled windows of the barracks black, as the
life within them is burnt in the crematorium. R.B. Kitajs
Passion 19401945: Girl/Plume (1985) places a fragile girl in a
chimney that recalls a coffin.
Other widespread Holocaust symbols also demanded only
minimal knowledge from the spectators. Cattle cars and railroad lines were used to represent deportations; skeletally
thin but living figures were identified immediately through
the liberators photographs as survivors; and children,
sometimes accompanied by their mothers, were used to
express the innocence of the Holocausts victims.
The second generation developed different symbols,
focusing on what they had encountered at home and subverted the methods of Nazi dehumanization the numbers tattooed on their parents arms and preserved camp
uniforms to memorialize their parents identities. From
1979 on, Mindy Weisel and Haim Maor repeatedly used
these numbers in various contexts, in 1992 Tatana Kellner
used casts of her parents arms that accent their camp numbers, and from 199598 Yosef Lemel created enormous photographs of the numbers on survivors arms. Such artists also
used family photographs and their parents drawings and
memoirs to express a feeling of loss and to preserve their
parents experiences.
The image that created the deepest, most lasting impression on artists, whether or not they had experienced the
Holocaust, was the gruesome mound of skeletally thin
corpses. This image also posed the greatest aesthetic and
emotional problems. Witnesses depicted these corpses as
individuals, and as with the photographs, most spectators
avert their eyes from these works. Haunted by photographs
of such images seen in news reports, artists sought to
translate them into art. Pablo Picasso fragmented the
corpses, softening the image to help spectators overcome
their repugnance. In contrast, Jews usually decided not to
base such works on photographs: their identification with
the dead precluded them from using these corpses to create art about the Holocaust. Instead, they substituted other
visual sources for these images or gave them other meanings. Thus Hyman Bloom based the corpses he painted
on autopsies, Baskin called his serene corpses Dead Men,
and Shahn used childrens corpses from a Holocaust photograph in Allegory (1948) to depict victims of a tenement
fire.
In the concluding decades of the twentieth century, it
became obvious that the world had learned nothing from
the past. Massacres and genocide proceeded apace and some
even denied that the Holocaust had occurred. Clearly, semiabstract and generalized works had not succeeded in forcing
people to confront the Holocaust. Zoran Music and Robert
Morris opted for a more striking use of this imagery to shock
248
After the war this image was used to denounce the church
for not doing enough to save the Jews.
Artists who tried to represent the Nazis realistically soon
found that they had only expressed the banality of evil.
Instead they decided to reveal the Nazis true nature by
symbolizing them as monsters, Death, or Moloch. Solutions ranged from Paul Klees Voice from the Ether: And Thou
Shalt Have Thy Fill! (1939) to Grosz Cain (1944) and Kitajs
maniacal The National Socialist (198081). After the war,
some artists such as Matta, Francis Bacon, and Maryan S.
Maryan comprehended that evil was not just a Nazi trait
but was inherent in human nature, and they began to portray all men as monstrous.
Another level of understanding the Holocaust led to the
affirmation of Jewish identity, even by artists who had
previously disdained religion. In Germany in the 1930s,
Ludwig Meidner began depicting Jews praying and signing
his works in Hebrew. In New York in the 1940s, Jack Levine
turned to the Bible and William Gropper began to portray
Jews praying as a yearly memorial to the Holocaust victims.
Shahn and Baskin added Hebrew and Yiddish inscriptions
to their works, and Barnett Newman translated the titles
of his abstract works from Hebrew into English. To those
who knew Hebrew, these artists transmitted hidden messages that would be incomprehensible to the general public.
Younger Jewish artists, including Kitaj, Jonathan Borofsky,
Nancy Spero, and Judy Chicago, underwent an opposite
process: lacking any religious background, the Holocaust
became for them the epitome of Judaism. Others lost their
faith, representing the absence of God and the inability of
Judaism to be restored.
This difference in generations can also be seen in artists
reactions to the connection between Israel and the Holocaust. In the late 1940s, Chagall and Lipchitz saw the creation of the State as a solution to the survivors plight. However, Israels constant wars and the threats to its existence
led artists such as Bak, Bezem, and Erich Brauer to see a
new Holocaust in every conflict. Leftist artists applied similar generalizations to other conflicts. In 1951 Picasso adapted
the image of Nazis shooting naked women and children to
the Korean War, thus evoking instinctive sympathy for the
North Koreans and hatred for the Americans. Mattas poster
Auschwitz 19411945 Palestine 19481968 (1968) and Joan
Snyders Women in the Camps (1988) equate Israelis with the
ImmenNazis and Palestinians with the Jews, whereas Jorg
dorffs Cafe Deutschland (1978) uses Holocaust imagery to
stress the differences between East and West Germany.
These examples raise moral issues. Applying the lessons of
the Holocaust to contemporary events rightly warns how
hatred and the immoral use of technology lead to genocide.
However, applying Holocaust imagery to inherently different situations in order to elicit an unthinking response does
not further these aims; it distorts the Holocausts lessons.
Moreover, the common use of these images diffuses their
meaning: one forgets that the Holocaust was a singular event
that occurred at a given time to a specific people, and this
becomes part of the process leading to Holocaust denial.
The inability of some artists to confront the Holocaust and
its implications was clear already at the end of the war. From
the late 1940s through the 1970s, a generation of West German artists withdrew into abstraction and refused to deal
with the war period. At that time, many Jewish artists also
249
and ultimately optimistic, two reasons for the plays seemingly inexhaustible popularity. The play, The Diary of Anne
Frank, and its 1959 Hollywood film version have influenced
all other dramatic representations of the Holocaust in the
United States (see HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM).
In Europe, plays on Holocaust themes departed from the
upbeat tone and generally realistic form favored by American playwrights. An early example is the prize-winning oneact play, Korczak and the Children (1957), by Erwin Sylvanus,
a German war veteran; it recounts the story of a Holocaust hero, the Polish Jewish doctor-educator Janusz Korczak, through a chronologically disrupted, allegorical metatheatrical form. The impetus to depart from realism stemmed
from the challenge of confronting the Holocaust in the countries where its devastation had occurred, together with the
recognition that realism could not artistically portray the
concentrationary universe in which millions of victims
had been slaughtered.
The countries most affected by the Holocaust tended to
produce plays reflecting localized cultural and political concerns; these changed over time with the emergence of new
knowledge of atrocities and new assumptions about their
causes and effects. Most controversial were dramatic efforts
to account for the deaths of so many innocent victims and
the shattering of deeply valued ethical assumptions about
humanity. In France, Charlotte Delbo, a non-Jewish survivor of Auschwitz, wrote Who Will Carry the Word? (1974);
this play attempts to identify and analyze Delbos own
complicated presence among compatriots who were themselves implicated in the betrayal and murder of innocent
people. In plays like The Workroom (1979), Jean-Claude
Grumberg has sought to assess Frances complicity with
the Holocausts perpetrators and its legacy of antisemitism.
Among German-speaking writers, Rolf Hochhuth in The
Deputy (1963), Peter Weiss in The Investigation (1965), and
Thomas Bernhard in Eve of Retirement (1979), in styles ranging from documentary to the poetic, explore the nature and
source of evil in Nazism and German culture. Hochhuths
greatest condemnation is reserved for the Vaticans indifference to Jewish suffering.
The most problematic Holocaust dramas present Jews as
accomplices to their own murder, an idea first raised by the
historian Raul Hilberg in The Destruction of the European Jews
(1961) and by the philosopher Hannah Arendt in Eichmann
in Jerusalem (1963). Plays such as Harold and Edith Liebermans Throne of Straw (1978), Joshua Sobols Ghetto (1984),
and Roy Kifts Camp Comedy (1996) depict the lethal moral
conundrums faced by Jewish leaders (Mordechai Chaim
z, Jacob Gens in Vilna, Jacob Eppstein in
Rumkowski in od
Franks Diary of a Young Girl by two Hollywood screenwriters, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Otto Frank,
Annes father, the only survivor of the family, had given
them permission to create a universal story from his daughters journal. Their play became a kind of American urtext
for the Holocaust experience, one that was invisibly Jewish
250
distributed, and also preserved as evidence of Nazi atrocities and mass murder. Photographs of emaciated living bodies and stacked corpses have become the ultimate images of
genocide and dehumanization.
In the immediate post-war years, aspects of the Holocaust
were portrayed in realistic dramas, which were motivated by
the desire to inform, to remember, and to learn the lessons
of the past while asserting a commitment to a better world.
The idea of a better world took many political forms. In
the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, national cinemas treated the Nazi horrors as the crucible for the ideological triumph of Russian-inspired socialism. Such films
include the Polish Border Street (dir. Alexander Ford, 1947)
and The Last Stage (dir. Wanda Jakubowska, 1947). Post-war
films, such as The Great Promise (dir. Josef Lejtes, 1946), My
Fathers House (dir. Herbert Kline, 1947), and The Illegals (dir.
Meyer Levin, 1948), have a Zionist emphasis, showing survivors recovering from their traumas in what would soon
become the State of Israel. In the United States, Hollywood
followed years of ignoring the Jewish genocide with films
like Gentlemans Agreement (dir. Elia Kazan, 1947) and Crossfire (dir. Edward Dmytryk, 1947), which address the problem
of antisemitism and the need to eradicate racism and prejudice from post-war American society. The first major American film on the Holocaust was The Diary of Anne Frank (dir.
George Stevens, 1959). Based on the published diary and
the Broadway theater version, the Hollywood production
sentimentalizes the Holocaust, promoting shallow forms of
optimism. Its final message is of hope; the legacy of the universalized Anne appears in her words that in spite of everything she believes in human goodness. Contemporary discomfort with the simplistic sentimentality of the Hollywood
presentation of Anne Frank also applied to productions in
other parts of the world in the 1950s, as they were usually
dramas that celebrated heroic and self-justified national ideology. However, many of these films represented their locations realistically. The Diary of Anne Frank was filmed in a
replica of the authentic attic and included exterior pictures
of the original site in Amsterdam. Gilo Potecorvos Kapo
(1959) was shot in camps in operation during the war years.
Alain Resnais Night And Fog (Nuit et Brouillard, 1955) is
an artistic reflection on the newsreel footage and documentary evidence of Nazi atrocities. In less than 30 minutes, this
exemplary documentary features the horrors of the concentration camp universe, employing wartime images and pictures of Auschwitz in the present. Its dualistic structure and
double perspective serve two purposes. On the one hand,
the film exposes details of the Holocaust: the daily routine, the infernal organization, and the victims helplessness
once they were caught up in the process of the extermination system. On the other hand, the brooding camera, as it
films Auschwitz in the 1950s, accompanied by cryptic narration and probing flute melodies, expresses the anguished
recognition that the images of the unimaginable cannot represent the universe of atrocities.
In the 1960s, Modernist existentialist attitudes generated
visions that regarded the concentration camp universe as
an incarnation of the human condition in general. Thus,
the Holocaust was invoked to offer insights and metaphors
for understanding the human predicament. Luchino Viscontis The Damned (1969), Bob Fosses Cabaret (1972),
Joseph Loseys Mr. Klein (Monsieur Klein, 1976), and H. J.
Nemec,
1964), and The Fifth Horseman Is Fear (Brynych,
1965). In France, The Sorrow and the Pity (Le chagrin et la pitie;
dir. Marcel Ophuls, 1969), a documentary on the conduct of
French society during World War II, counters national traditions of heroic resistance with details of widespread collaboration and antisemitic actions. The film spurred a new
wave of retro films that subvert the heroic historical narratives that had been fostered by French official institutions
and political leaders since the end of the war. Louis Malle
explores the character of a young collaborator in Lacombe
Lucien (1973) and personal guilt over the treatment of Jews
in Goodbye Children (Au revoir les enfants, 1987). Jewish filmmakers, recalling personal experiences from the war years,
feature the plight of the Jews in occupied France in Violins at
the Ball (Les violons du bal; dir. Michel Drach, 1974) and Black
Thursday (Les guichets du Louvre; dir. Michel Mitrani, 1974).
In the 1970s, a young generation of German filmmakers created movies that tried to deal with the history of
their country from the perspective of a personal confrontation with the burden of Nazism. These films include the
self-pitying Germany Pale Mother (Deutschland, bleiche Mutter;
dir. Helga Sanders Brahms, 1980), the subversive Lili Marleen (dir. R. W. Fassbinder, 1980), and the reclaiming of a
German past in the film series Homeland (Heimat; dir. Edgar
Reitz, 198084). Israeli filmmakers also began to examine
the legacy of the Holocaust in the national psyche and the
effects of the historical trauma on the political behavior of
the Jewish state in Operation Jonathan (dir. Menahem Golan,
1978) and Wooden Gun (dir. Ilan Moshenson, 1979).
The completion of Claude Lanzmanns Shoah in 1985
marks the appearance of a canonical text in the discourse of
the Holocaust as well as a unique film masterpiece. In more
than nine hours of film, Lanzmann focuses on the core of
the horrors: the death camps and the methods and details
of the killing process. The film presents the Holocaust as
a watershed historical event, a singular human experience,
and a unique challenge to the possibilities of artistic expression. The dramatic content occurs in two levels the excruciating accounts of the past and their painful recounting in
the present that interact with each other. Thus, the film
explores a past whose scars inform a tormented presence.
Although it appears to be a lean documentary, seemingly
limited to interviews and images of the sites of the genocide,
avoiding narration, music, or any sound effects, Shoah is a
highly artistic text, rich with significant aesthetic decisions
252
Szabos
Sunshine (1999), films that feature the unfolding of
the twentieth century through the sagas of individual characters but also highlight the centrality of the Holocaust in
modern experience. By 1960, fewer than 120 feature films
about the Holocaust had been made, in a total of fourteen
countries. In the 1990s alone, more than two hundred Holocaust movies were produced in thirty-one countries. Since
1980, many films dealing with the Holocaust have won the
American Academy Awards (Oscar) in the categories of documentaries and foreign films; these include the 2008 Austrian/German foreign film, The Counterfeiters (Die Falscher;
dir.
Jerusalem and television coverage was provided. As background for the trial a number of documentaries about the
Holocaust were produced; daily news broadcasts brought
the trial into Americas homes. Israel, which did not yet
have television (David Ben-Gurion, Israels founding prime
minister was wary of its potential cultural and materialistic impact on the state), broadcast the trial on closed-circuit
television as Israelis sat glued to their radios. If Nuremberg
was a trial by documents, the Eichmann trial was a trial by
survivors, who narrated the entire history of the Holocaust
whether it had relevance to the defendants deeds or not.
Over the next decade some important films were produced,
and the Holocaust slowly made its way out of the ghetto of
Sunday morning television.
In 1977 the mini-series Roots, an African American family saga, was broadcast on American television with great
success. One year later, NBC, newly confident that minority programming could attract a large viewership, broadcast the docudrama Holocaust over a four-night period; some
250 million Americans watched at least part of it. Despite
historical and aesthetic criticisms of aspects of the miniseries, the Holocaust had become mainstream. Fears that
the Holocaust would be forgotten disappeared, and the
only issue remaining was whether it would be remembered appropriately, with due deference to the power of the
event, or whether television would reduce its real human
drama to soap opera. In Germany, where it was seen by
a younger generation who had not lived through these
events, the mini-series Holocaust also had a great impact.
In its wake, the German Parliament rescinded the statute
of limitations for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals. In
the United States, the broadcast of Holocaust created the
climate that led to the creation of the Office of Special
Investigations of the Department of Justice to bring Nazi
war criminals to justice and the establishment of the Presidents Commission on the Holocaust, which subsequently
recommended the creation of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum. The mini-series coincided with the
emergence of Holocaust courses and research on college
and university campuses, which increased fiftyfold in the
1970s.
In the late 1980s, the mini-series, War and Remembrance,
based on Herman Wouks 1978 epic novel, was broadcast;
this series was far more graphic in its treatment of the Holocaust than anything seen before. By then, television had
entered the cable era, which segmented the television audience while permitting greater program diversity. Stories of
resistance particularly fascinated American television networks. Escape from Sobibor (1987) portrayed resistance in a
death camp. Jon Avnets mini-series Uprising, the narrative
of the Warsaw ghetto, was a far more graphic and nuanced
representation than previous work. It was broadcast on the
same night as the Emmy Awards and the seventh game of
the World Series in 2001, just weeks after 9/11. The rescue
of Denmarks Jews was depicted on national television, and
so, too, was the story of Raoul Wallenberg in Wallenberg: A
Heros Story (1985). By the late twentieth century, topical
shows routinely presented themes connected to the Holocaust. Thus, one of the episodes of Brooklyn Bridge (1991
93), a Jewish family drama set in the 1950s, was entitled the
Last Immigrant, about the arrival of a Holocaust survivor
254
Holocaust Rescuers
than 22,000 individuals and one country, Denmark, as
Righteous Gentiles or Righteous among the Nations. In
this entry, rescuers are dealt with country by country; there
are many more documented rescuers in these and other
countries who are not mentioned here.
BULGARIA: There were about 50,000 Jews in Bulgaria
on the eve of World War II, and most would survive the
Holocaust. A Nazi ally during most of the war, the Bulgarian government began to implement anti-Jewish legislation
in 1941. However, there was widespread opposition to these
policies, particularly to plans to deport Jews to Poland. In
the spring of 1943, Alexander Belev, the head of Bulgarias
Commissariat for Jewish Questions, decided to include
Bulgarian Jews in transports of Jews from Bulgarianoccupied Macedonia and Thrace to fill his quota of 20,000.
Metropolitan Kiril of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in
Plovdiv immediately asked King Boris III to halt the transports from Bulgaria proper and threatened to lie down on
the citys railroad tracks to stop the deportations. Similar
protests took place elsewhere in Bulgaria. As a result, Belev
decided not to include Bulgarian Jews in the transports, but
he did send the 11,500 Jews in Macedonia and Thrace to
death camps in Poland. He also forced 19,000 Jews in the
capital, Sofia, to move to twenty towns and villages throughout the country in May 1943. Metropolitan Kiril was among
nineteen Bulgarians later named Righteous Gentiles.
DENMARK: There were about 7,500 Jews in Denmark in
1940. After the German occupation, the Danish government
told the Germans that the Jewish question was off limits
for discussion. This all changed in the fall of 1943 when
Dr. Werner Best, Germanys new ambassador to Denmark,
began to plan the round-up and deportation of Denmarks
Jews for October 12. Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, an
attache at the German legation in Copenhagen, informed
Swedish, Jewish, and Danish underground leaders of
Bests plans, which prompted a Danish national rescue
effort in October 1943. The Danes were able to smuggle
7,220 Jews into Sweden, although another 461 Danish
Jews were unable to escape Bests dragnet and were sent to
and family efforts to keep a young boy from learning the fate
of Europes Jews (1992).
The cable channel Home Box Office (HBO) has played a
unique role in broadcasting documentaries, both its own creations such as One Survivor Remembers: The Gerda Weismann
Klein Story (1995), winner of an Oscar and an Emmy, and
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)
and serving as an outlet for the broadcast of documentaries created for other purposes, such as The Long Way
Home (1997) or Last Days (1998), both Academy-Awardwinning films. It also created Conspiracy, the Emmy-winning
ninety-minute reenactment of the Wannsee Conference.
The History Channel has also paid significant attention to the
Holocaust. Both cable and network channels routinely
rebroadcast major theatrical films with Holocaust themes.
For many decades the Holocaust was considered a sacred
event, off limits to comedy or comedians. Hogans Heroes
(196571), a television comedy about American prisoners
of war and their foolish German captors, presumed the evil
of the Nazi cause, but steered clear of the Holocaust. Jewish comedians, in particular, began to break this taboo, from
Mel Brooks The Producers (film [1968], Broadway musical
[2001], and film [2005]) to Jerry Seinfelds Soup Nazi
episode (Seinfeld, 1995, season 7). Larry Davids television
comedy, Curb Your Enthusiasm, routinely evokes the Holocaust, whether he pits a Holocaust survivor against a contestant on a television show (2004) or shows the tattoos on a
chefs arm, which he mistakes for tattoos of an Auschwitz
survivor (2002). David uses the Holocausts very sacredness
as a comedic tool: Nothing is out of bounds, nothing too holy
to touch.
Through television, the film industry has the unique
capacity to shape the perceptions of historical events for
the nonscholarly and nonliterary public (Shandler). Danny
Ankers television documentary, Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (AMC 2004), explores this very basic
issue and its uniquely American dimension. Because of
its status as the paradigmatic manifestation of twentiethcentury evil, the Holocaust is often used as a backdrop
to other instances of mass murder and genocide. Thus,
Elie Wiesel was featured as a commentator on The Day
After (1983), the story of the morrow of nuclear conflagration. Television commentators invoked the failure to bomb
Auschwitz when Kosovo was bombed by NATO forces.
The proliferation of creative approaches to the Holocaust
by men and women of greater and lesser talent and sensitivities in commercial contexts raises ongoing concern about
the subjects trivialization and vulgarization. However, for
the most part the Holocaust has been handled on television with respect and dignity; for many who have worked
with this material, it has elicited some of their finest work.
Because of the compelling nature of this event in human history, as well as the abundance of visual images and recorded
testimony, the Holocaust is bound to continue to fascinate filmmakers and documentarians for decades to come.
For further reading, see J. Shandler, While America Watches:
Televising the Holocaust (1999).
M ICHAEL B ERENBAUM
Israels Holocaust memorial authority, began to recognize non-Jews who helped save Jews during the
Holocaust Rescuers
Holocaust Rescuers
Dachau in 1943.
principal architect of the Final Solution, sent Adolf Eichmann, his deportation specialist, to Budapest to oversee the
round-up and transport of Hungarys Jews to Auschwitz.
Eichmann, working closely with Hungarian officials, sent
more than 437,000 Jews to Auschwitz between May 15 and
July 8, where most were murdered.
Rescue efforts began almost immediately, led by the
Jewish Agency of Palestines Relief and Rescue Committee of Budapest (RRCB). Joel Brand, a controversial RRCB
leader, held three meetings with Eichmann, who agreed
to sell Brand one million Jews in a goods for blood deal
that involved the transfer of ten thousand new trucks and
various foodstuffs to the SS. News of Eichmanns offer
quickly reached the Allies, who, in league with the international press, condemned the scheme as a Gestapo plot
and humanitarian blackmail. A number of diplomats in
Budapest did everything possible to save Hungarys Jews.
Swedish diplomats Per Anger, Carl Ivan Danielsson, and
Raoul Wallenberg went to extraordinary efforts to help, as
did Swiss diplomats Carl and Gerturd Lutz, Papal Nuncio
Angelo Rotta, Italian diplomat Giorgio Perlasca, and Swiss
International Red Cross representative Friedrich Born. Yad
Vashem later named each of them Righteous Gentiles. The
diplomats issued fake Schutz (protection) briefe or Schutzpasse
captivity, risked his life over and over to save as many Jews
as possible.
LITHUANIA: The first major effort to help Jews in the
early years of World War II came in the summer of 1940
after the Soviet Union conquered the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. There were 260,000 Jews in
Lithuania at this time. In early August 1940, Jewish refugees
in Lithuania flooded foreign legations seeking exit visas to
Palestine or the United States. Jan Zwartendijk, the acting Dutch consul, worked closely with Japanese diplomat
Sempo Sugihara to issue Dutch and Japanese transit visas to
thousands of Jews for Dutch Curacao via Japan. Although
Zwartendijks efforts were supported by his government,
Sugihara was criticized by Japanese authorities for violating strict Japanese immigration guidelines. Regardless, their
work saved the lives of thousands of Jews, which led to their
recognition as Righteous among the Nations. The following
year, Ona Simiate, a librarian at the University of Vilnius,
began to do everything she could to help the citys Jews.
She got permission to enter the Vilnius ( Vilna) ghetto after
explaining that she needed to recover books checked out
by former Jewish students. She tried to retrieve as many
books as she could from the famed YIVO Institute, hiding
them outside the ghetto. She also brought food, medicines,
and other supplies to Jewish friends there and helped hide
Jews who escaped from the ghetto. The Germans arrested
Simiate in 1944 and brutally tortured her. After friends at
the university bribed the police to prevent her execution,
she was sent to Dachau and then to France. Although she
refused any recognition for her rescue efforts, Yad Vashem
later declared her a Righteous among the Nations.
POLAND: Occupied Poland was both Nazi Germanys
racial laboratory and principal killing field during the Final
Solution. The Germans not only murdered 90% of pre-war
Polands 3.33.5 million Jews but they also killed three million Christian Poles. To help a Jew meant death to any Gentile. To date, Yad Vashem has recognized more than 6,000
Christian Poles as Righteous among the Nations.
One of the most famous Righteous Gentiles was Irena
other Zegota
leaders such as Julian and Halina Grobelny
and Irena Schutz, who helped her obtain illegal documents
from the city of Warsaws SanitaryEpidemiological Office
that allowed daily access to the ghetto. Children were
smuggled out through underground tunnels, taken briefly
to safe apartments, and then placed with Polish families,
Zegota
gave ZOB the addresses of safe houses for adults
who escaped from the ghetto. Once in the safe houses, the
escapees were given forged Aryan papers and then integrated into the local Polish population. Irena Sendlerowa,
Julian and Halina Grobelny, and Irena Schutz were all
declared Righteous Gentiles after the war.
256
Holocaust Rescuers
Holocaust Resistance
Holocaust Resistance
Holocaust: Role of Gender. While it is evident that gender was subordinate to racism in the Nazi determination to
annihilate all Jews, asking questions about gender, listening
to womens stories, and incorporating discussions of the different ways in which men and women experienced the Nazi
onslaught have expanded knowledge of this tragic epoch in
crucial ways.
Holocaust researchers only began considering gender as a
social category in the historical narrative of the Holocaust in
258
community and children whose families had become impoverished or split up.
Youth movement leaders, among them many young
women, turned the movements soup kitchens in the ghettos into more than a supplementary source of food; they
were also cultural and educational centers providing members with nurturing and warmth. Underground papers and
memoirs record the maternal character of key leaders such
as Zivia, of the Dror he-H
. alutz movement, who eventually
became the leader of the Warsaw ghetto uprising together
with Mordecai Anielewitz, Tema Schneiderman from
Bialystok, and many others. Young women were sent as
couriers or emissaries from one ghetto to another, passing
underground papers, exchanging messages, and distributing educational materials. They also became deeply involved
in the problems of daily living experienced by the members of the movements. The groups visited by the emissaries
described these meetings as beacons of light that provided a
sense of belonging to a larger body, strengthened local initiatives, and supplied spiritual encouragement. When the mass
killings began in the East the female couriers passed along
this information.
Female couriers were the first to contact the non-Jewish
underground to get armaments and smuggle in parts of
weapons that would be assembled in the ghetto when the
idea of armed resistance was initially formulated. Leaders
of the movement and of the armed resistance valued the
contribution of the couriers, as well as of the other young
women who participated in the actual fighting in Warsaw
and in the smaller direct clashes in Bialystok and other ghettos. The groups of Jewish partisans that were formed from
among members of the youth movements and the underground in the ghettos also valued the contibutions of young
women. Although womens central roles in the youth movements and the Jewish resistance have been acknowledged,
these young women have usually been called couriers rather
than fighters. A number of female scholars have challenged
how such women have been remembered, arguing that
they have not received the heroic status to which they are
entitled.
THE CAMPS: Research on women in Nazi camps is
uneven and does not always distinguish among concentration camps, forced labor camps, and death camps. True, all
were a particular hell for men and women alike. However,
conditions were different in each type of camp and changed
in different stages of the war (see HOLOCAUST CAMPS).
From the outset, research on women in the camps has
stressed female socialization as a source for differences in
female and male conduct and experience. It has claimed that
each of the sexes developed coping mechanisms according to
their distinctive cultural baggage. Womens caretaking and
homemaking skills were assets that enhanced their chances
of survival. Women bonded more than men, cherished family memories, exchanged recipes, and were more inclined
than men to create a surrogate family. Such small support groups, according to female and male survivors, made
survival a little more likely. The composition of such families changed according to the situation. Sometimes they
were made up of biological family members: mothers and
daughters, fathers and sons. However, when relatives were
absent, surrogate families comprised fellow prisoners, often
individuals who shared something in common. Women paid
260
Holocaust: Roma
261
Holocaust: Roma
Holocaust: Theological Responses. The first religious responses to the Holocaust were formulated by
Ultra-Orthodox Jews (see JUDAISM,ORTHODOX: ULTRAORTHODOX). They formulated these responses so quickly
because they drew on a spiritual tradition and metahistorical framework that allowed them to draw a line
between themselves and the war and to objectify the
catastrophe. As memory diffused the immediacy of the
Holocaust and as Jewish life revived, Jewish thinkers
outside the Ultra-Orthodox community, whose religious
identities were tied to empirical historical reality, also
attempted to respond. These initial responses may be understood according to seven central areas of concern: silence,
divine presence, assimilation, Amalek (Israels enemies),
Holocaust Trials
trials (December 1946July 1948), and the Dachau trials (November 1945December 1947). In the Dachau trials, U.S. military authorities tried crimes committed in the
Dachau, Flossenb
urg,
Mauthausen, Buchenwald, Muhldorf,
Holocaust Trials
years in prison.
One of the most prominent denial trials was that of the
unsuccessful libel case that David Irving brought against historian Deborah Lipstadt. In her book, Denying the Holocaust,
Lipstadt had written that Irving was a dangerous Holocaust
denier. Irving sued Lipstadt in 1996 for defamation of his
reputation as a historian. The trial began on January 11,
2000, and ended on April 11 with a judgment in favor of Lipstadt. The judge deemed Irving a racist, an active Holocaust
Hosea, Book of
HOLOCAUST: ROLE OF
GENDER
SEXUAL
Gods love for the nation Israel as well as Gods anger and
disappointment.
The book divides into two main parts: chapters 13 and
414. Its language is often difficult, perhaps because the
Ezekiel, and Deutero- lsaiah and also in rabbinic and Jewish mystical literature. The author(s) of Deuteronomy
was especially influenced by the covenant ideology found
throughout Hosea and borrows and reworks a great deal of
vocabulary from Hosea.
B ENJAMIN D. S OMMER
267
Host, Desecration of
Human Rights
Europe the libel that Jews desecrated the host (the communion wafer used in the Eucharist ritual and believed to
be the body of Christ) was sometimes conflated with the
Human Rights
Hungary
their proportion within the general population. Many Jewish students were forced to attend universities abroad. The
consolidating regime mitigated the law in 1928 for practical reasons, because it needed the support of the Jewish
economic elite and was concerned about Hungarys image
abroad. Both the Neolog and the Orthodox (see JUDAISM,
ORTHODOX) leadership remained loyal to the regime, and
the majority of Jews continued to follow the path of acculturation. There was a revival of Jewish cultural and organizational life and Zionist activism in the second half of
the 1920s, but no significant Jewish nationalist alternative
emerged until the 1940s. There was also a proliferation of
Jewish periodicals of all kinds in the 1920s and 1930s, and
the Hungarian Jewish Museum in Budapest became an
important center of Jewish cultural activity from 1931.
The 1930s saw the further advance of antisemitism, the
growing influence of fascistic extreme right groups, and
Hungarys increasingly close relationship with Nazi Germany. The Jews were gradually stripped of their civic equality, rights, and livelihood after 1938. The first and second
so-called Jewish laws in 1938 and 1939 restricted the participation of Jews in the economy, limited their number in
all professions and occupations, and narrowed their political
and property rights. The third Jewish law of 1941 aimed at
the social separation of Jews as an inferior and alien race,
banning marriages and sexual relations between Jews and
non-Jews. Jewish organizations responded by organizing aid
to alleviate the devastating effects of the legislation. The
Neolog, the Orthodox, and the Zionists worked together in
the Protection Office of Hungarian Israelites from 1938. An
active Jewish cultural life survived in Budapest under the
aegis of the National Hungarian Israelite Educational Association into the 1940s.
After the annexation of much of the territory lost in 1920,
with the help of Nazi Germany, the Jewish population of
Hungary grew to more than 800,000. Jews were drafted
to military labor service beginning in 1941, and 50,000 to
70,000 died in the cruel labor battalions during the war.
After the German occupation in March 1944, the Hungarian
government immediately introduced a series of restrictive
and humiliating measures. Ghettoization started in April,
and 437,000 Jews were deported to concentration camps
by the Hungarian authorities within six weeks (see HOLOCAUST: CAMPS AND KILLING CENTERS; HOLOCAUST:
Horthy (18681957) stopped
GHETTOS). Regent Miklos
the deportations in July, when only the Jews of Budapest
remained. With the rise to power of the fascist Arrow Cross
regime in October 1944, the Jews of Budapest were also
ghettoized. Tens of thousands fell victim to mass shootings,
death marches, illness, and hunger until their liberation in
February 1945. It is estimated that 550,000 Jews in territories under Hungarian rule perished during the Holocaust.
Of the approximately 200,000 Hungarian Jews who survived the Holocaust, 144,000 lived in Budapest at the end
of the war. Antisemitism remained strong and those Jews
who returned had to face considerable resentment. There
were several instances of bloody and deadly antisemitic violence in 1946. Many Jews joined the Communist Party, and
Zionism gained unprecedented popularity. However, Zionism was suppressed in 1949 after the communist takeover,
and several prominent Jews were arrested in the antiZionist atmosphere of the early 1950s. The Orthodox and
HUMANISTIC
Antisemitism became a defining element in the ideology of the nationalistic reactionary regime of the interwar
period, which defined Hungary as Christian in direct opposition to Jewishness. A numerus clausus law in 1920 limited
the number of Jews in institutions of higher learning to 5%,
269
Hungary
Hungary
OS
History, Society and Culture (2002). Maps 8, 10 K ATI V OR
270
aggadah. He regularly cites works by earlier exegetes, particularly Saadia Gaon, as well as several Karaites, whom he
largely derides. Abraham played a pivotal role in the transmission of the grammatical and lexicographical discoveries
of his predecessors, including Judah H
. ayyuj and Jonah ibn
Janah, some of whose works he translated from Arabic into
Hebrew. His poetry, both religious and secular, is notable for
its linguistic and structural simplicity and is especially well
represented among the zemirot recited traditionally on the
Incense
PURITY
Immersion, Ritual: Women. Immersion for women folIncense, a mixture of aromatic resinous spices laid atop
burning coals, was used from the time of the First Temple
into the rabbinic period. Ketoret, a special incense restricted
to cultic uses, was lit in the Temple morning and evening
and was used by the High Priest in the inner sanctum on
lowing menstruation and childbirth is a rabbinic not a biblical requirement (see NIDDAH). The halakhic regulations
appear particularly in BT Niddah, which discusses the practical consequences for male ritual purity of womens menstrual and nonmenstrual discharges. On the eighth white
day following the cessation of menstrual flow, the wife
must immerse in the mikveh (ritual bath) before marital
relations can resume. Jewish girls were traditionally taught
to comply strictly and promptly with the regulations connected with the niddah (the menstruating woman). Immersion, which took place only after the body and hair had
been thoroughly cleansed, had to be complete. Halakhah
demanded a single immersion, but three became customary. Postmenstrual and postpartum women usually visited
the mikveh at night, often accompanied by other women.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the practice
of female ritual ablution declined significantly in North
272
Incense
India
wife and describes the banquet she lays out for her lovers
(the foreign powers), drawing an analogy between the Temple incense and the incense burned at the feast (Ezek 23:41).
From this reference, we may deduce that the Jerusalemites
living in Babylonia in the fifth and sixth centuries BCE lit
incense as part of elaborate meals. No doubt, this practice
accompanied the exiles when they returned to the vicinity
of Jerusalem.
Practices surrounding incense continue well into the
rabbinic period. The substance lit was more akin to oil
than to incense that is used today (JT Berakhot 6:6). Rabbinic legal texts refer to fumigation of clothing and lighting incense (mugmar) after festive meals (e.g., M. Berakhot
6:6; JT Berakhot 6:6 10d). In some cases, Rabbis went
to great lengths to preserve the scent of incense on the
festivals. From the eighteenth century on, under the influence of the British, they began to move out of the Konkan
villages south of Bombay (today Mumbai). By the twentieth
century, the majority of the Bene Israel had set up synagogues
and communities in urban centers, such as Bombay, Pune,
Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Karachi, and Aden.
The religious customs of the Bene Israel were unique. On
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), known as the the Festival of the Closing of the Doors, the Bene Israel, influenced
by local Hindu and Muslim customs, arrived in synagogue
before dawn so as to avoid contact with other people. Their
folk customs included hair-shaving ceremonies for babies,
India
Infertility
Chendamanglam, Mala, and Parur. Among the unique customs of the Jews in all these communities is the Cochin Jewish wedding ceremony, in which the groom himself recites
the benedictions.
The Cochin Jews were acclaimed in 1968 when Prime
Minister Indira Ghandi celebrated the 400th anniversary
of the Paradesi synagogue, established in 1568; the Indian
government issued a commemorative stamp on the occasion. After the establishment of Israel, most of the Jews
from Cochin, motivated by Zionism, decided to emigrate.
Eight thousand Malabar Jews live largely in moshavim
( agricultural settlements); some have also moved to the
cities. In 2005, the Kerala government completed the
restoration of the synagogue in the village of Chennamangalam in Kerala. An exhibition on the Jews of Chennamangalam before and after their immigration to Israel was inaugurated on the premises in 2006.
The Baghdadi Jews migrated from Iraq and Syria to
two major urban centers, Calcutta and Bombay, from the
eighteenth century on. These Jewish merchants and their
dependents escaped deteriorating conditions in Iraq and the
pogroms of Daud Pasha in the mid-nineteenth century. They
were followed by other Jews, who established thriving businesses in the East, as far afield as Singapore, Hong Kong, and
Shanghai. The Sassoon dynasty built prayer houses, synagogues, hospitals, libraries, and schools in India for the benefit of Jews and non-Jews alike. In Calcutta, as many as eight
Baghdadi synagogues operated regularly, as well as several
Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic printing presses, which translated holy texts into local vernacular and published original
works. After the British withdrew from India in 1947, many
of the Baghdadis decided to emigrate to England and other
countries; several thousand went to Israel. Today, there are
less than two hundred Jews of Iraqi origin left in India.
In 1992, Israel and India renewed diplomatic relations.
Today, 50,000 Israelis, mainly backpackers, visit India each
year. Hindu-Jewish studies are beginning to develop as a
field of study and there is new interest in syncretic religious
practices combining spirituality, meditation, and mysticism.
Important studies include B. Holdrege, Veda and Torah:
Transcending the Textuality of Scripture (1996); S. Weil,
Judaism-South Asia, in Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, ed.
D. Levinson, K. Christensen, et al., 3: 284286; S. Weil,
The Heritage and Legacy of Indian Jews, in idem (ed.),
Indias Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle (2004), 8
21; H. Goodman, ed., Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism (1994); and N. Katz,
R. Chakravarti, B. M. Sinha, and S. Weil, eds., Indo-Judaic
Studies in the Twenty-First Century: A Perspective from the Margin
(2007).
S HALVA W EIL
Jacob, Joseph, and Samuel emphasized their exceptionality and demonstrated Gods role in Israels destiny. At the
274
Infertility
Inquisition, Spanish
beliefs, usury, proselytizing among Christians, magic, or sorcery, or those who aided or received relapsed Jewish converts to Christianity; technically, a Jew was forbidden to bear
witness against a Christian. Between 1481 and 1550, the
Inquisition mainly dealt with supposed crypto-Jews. Ninetyfive percent of those tried during this stage were accused
of judaizing; 1,500 of those convicted were burned at the
stake. Unlike other temporal inquisitions, the Spanish Holy
Tribunal, which coordinated inquisitorial activities, continued to function even after it had successfully dealt with
this heresy. After 1550, it sought out other heretics, including Lutherans, Erasmian humanists, Christianized Moors,
Moriscos, and pietists, and it also began to supervise the
clergy.
Judaizers again became the main focus in the midseventeenth century, due to the arrival in Spain of numerous Portuguese conversos. Native Portuguese Jews, as well
as Spanish exiles in Portugal, had been forcibly converted
to Catholicism in 1497, and the Portuguese Inquisition was
established in 1536. When the two Iberian nations united
in 1580 and borders were opened, numerous conversos who
returned to Spain were suspect. Consequently, from 1630
1730, the Inquisition once again focused on judaizers, most
of whom had Portuguese names; again, about 95% of those
tried at this time were accused of judaizing and 250 were
burned at the stake.
Technically only baptized Catholics were under the Inquisitions jurisdiction; however, all the conversos and their
descendants, whether judaizers or not, had been baptized.
The Jewish world has traditionally defined those who were
tried and convicted as martyrs, because accusations of Jewish beliefs and practices led to their deaths. Some historians
doubt the sincerity of the Inquisitions motives, assuming
that greed played a major role in its decision-making process.
In fact, despite attempts to maintain uniformity, there were
discrepancies in procedures over the years. For instance, the
personality of a particular inquisitor or the make-up of a particular court might influence the outcome of a given trial;
likewise, there were periods of religious fanaticism as well
as periods of abatement that resulted in differing sentences
for identical transgressions. Nevertheless, a study of court
procedures reveals a sophisticated legal system striving for
the utmost secrecy in order to conduct serious trials with a
minimum of outside interference.
The Spanish Inquisition diverged from papal standards;
before it began actual trials, the court declared a set grace
period of one to three months during which confessions and
testimonies were accepted. Although the Pope advocated
unlimited accessibility to confession for every Catholic, the
Spanish church believed this policy would impede the trial
process. In addition, the prosecution withheld the names
of witnesses from the defense to protect those witnesses.
Lastly, although the Pope objected to including the testimony of untrustworthy servants, such testimony appears
frequently in the Iberian records.The Spanish Inquisition
was not officially abolished until the nineteenth century;
it became the quintessential symbol of European religious
intolerance and medieval ethnic antisemitism. It continues
to be a topic of interest in contemporary historical writing,
literary works, and film.
For further reading, see E. Peters, Inquisition (1989); H.
Beinart, Conversos on Trial (1981); W. Monter, Frontiers of
Inquisition, Spanish. The main concern of the Papal Inquisition, an intensive inquiry conducted outside the realm
of normal legal procedure, was to discover and extirpate
heretics within the Roman Catholic church. During the Middle Ages, temporary courts would be established in problematic locales to deal with suspected aberrations. The 1478
decision to request a Papal Bull and establish an inquisition in Spain (see SPAIN, CHRISTIAN) resulted from the
forced conversion of tens of thousands of Jews beginning
in 1391. Once baptized, these converts ( conversos) had the
rights and privileges due all Christians; this turn of events
and the subsequent social, vocational, and economic successes of many conversos resulted in hostility and suspicions
toward former Jews. Although the church attempted to educate these converts, Spanish society did not accept them
as faithful Catholics; this lack of acceptance was exemplified by the discriminatory purity of blood (limpieza de sangre)
laws passed in Toledo in 1449 (which eventually were universally accepted throughout Iberia) and by the term New
Christians.
The Spanish Inquisition was instituted in 1481 to discover and deal with conversos who were still loyal to Judaism.
Its rationale was the presence of judaizers among the New
Christians and their continued contacts with Jews. The first
court was established in Seville, considered a hotbed of
crypto-Jewish activity, and eventually twenty-one central
and peripheral tribunals were set up throughout Castile
and Aragon. By 1483, the National Suprema, or Council of
the Supreme and General Inquisition, was established with
de Torquemada as the Inquisitor General. A cenTomas
tralized bureaucracy was created in which each local court
reported to the Suprema. Before the expulsion of Spains
remaining Jewish population in 1492, the inquisitorial court
had limited jurisdiction over Jews. It could only charge those
suspected of blasphemy against Christianity or Christian
275
Inquisition, Spanish
Intercalation: See
THE YEAR.
Intermarriage: Historical Perspectives. The classic biblical prohibition of JewishGentile intermarriage is Deuteronomy 7:34: You shall not intermarry with them: do not
give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for
your sons. For they will turn your children away from me
to worship other gods, and the Lords anger will blaze forth
against you and He will promptly wipe you out. As this
statement makes clear, the primary motivation behind forbidding Israelite marriages with non-Israelites was the fear
that the non-Israelite spouse would encourage worship of
deities other than the Israelite God. This prohibition was
strongly restated in the fifth century BCE, the period of
return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Exile. The leaders Ezra and Nehemiah insisted that Israelite men abandon their foreign wives and the children of those marriages
as a sign of repentance and allegiance to God (Ezra 10;
Neh 13).
During the rabbinic period, the principle of matrilineal
descent was established, according to which only the child of
a Jewish mother was considered a Jew. Although there was
dissent, with some rabbis ruling the child of a Jewish father
and a Gentile mother Jewish, and others who considered the
child of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father Gentile, this
principle was nearly universally accepted until 1983 when
the Reform movement declared that, for Reform Jews, Jewish commitment and a Jewish upbringing, regardless of the
Internet
Iran
America, and the Rimon ISP in Israel. As use of the internet became indispensable for business and personal communications, certain Ultra-Orthodox courts, the Belz H
. asidim
among them, relented and, realizing that their adherents
were using the internet regardless, decided to permit its use
under strict supervision. One of the significant issues troubling the Ultra-Orthodox is the anonymity provided by the
internet. This anonymity has resulted in a number of bulletin board discussion groups and blogs that openly deal with
issues that H
. aredi communities would prefer to deal with
privately or not at all.
Another precinct wherein Jewishness plays a role is in
online virtual reality games. Second Life, which has millions
of players, is the largest of these games in which players create an avatar, or game piece, and interact in a world of
their own invention. Second Life has multiple synagogues,
Jewish museums, and many Jewish activities that its players engage on many levels.
Just as numerous aspects of human life have migrated
in some way to the internet, antisemitic websites can also
be found there. Their presence became evident early in the
twenty-first century on Google, a popular search engine,
when the top result for the word Jew turned out to be
Jewwatch.com, a notoriously antisemitic website. Concerned
about these results, Google currently posts a notice that
says, Were disturbed about these results as well. Please
read our note here. This link leads to an offensive search
results document that explains how Googles search algorithms result in a large number of antisemitic results. To
counter this problem, the website Jewschool.com organized a
google-bombing of the Wikipedia entry for Jew in 2004.
This was a grassroots movement that placed links to the
Wikipedia entry on a large number of websites, causing it
to outnumber the antisemitic sites and take the top spot in
Googles search results. As the internet continues to grow at
an exponential rate, it can be anticipated that the amount of
Jewish material will also continue to expand.
E DDY P ORTNOY
Iran
Iraq
Iraq. Iraq was the location of a large Jewish community
Iraq
Isaiah
God ( devekut), intention ( kavannah) in prayer, and mystical meanings of light and colors. His commentary on Sefer
Yetzirah presents a complex and original vision of three levels
within the Divine ( ein sof [infinity], mah.ashavah [ thought],
and dibbur [speech]). The sefirot flow from the latter two and
through dibbur constitute and animate the created world.
Contemplation, through Torah study and prayer, enables
human beings to communicate with the upper realms. For
further reading, see J. Dan and R. Keiner, The Early Kabbalah
(1986).
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Isaiah is the first of the three major prophetic books
(see BIBLE: PROPHETS AND PROPHECY; PROPHETS
[NEVIIM]) and one of the most popular books in later
Isaiah
RABBINIC TRADITIONS: Rabbinic literature portrays Ishmael as a beloved yet displaced offspring, Isaacs sibling
rival, and the Arab forefather of robbers who engage in
sinful behavior. He is depicted both specifically as Isaacs
adversary and more generally and generically as Israels
other. A few tannaitic and amoraic sources characterize
Ishmaels descendants as Arab; however, more often, he and
his descendants are depicted as Israels imagined antipode,
much like Esau and the children of Keturah, the wife of
Abrahams old age.
Rabbinic aggadah of the amoraic period attests less
to a sibling conflict (Genesis Rabbah 55:4 and 56:4 [see
MIDRASH]) than an affirmation that the covenant is maintained through Isaac, not Ishmael (Genesis Rabbah 46:2 and
47:5). For example, Genesis Rabbah 53:12 unequivocally
states that Abrahams seed will be through Isaac. Furthermore, especially in amoraic literature, Ishmael is paired with
Esau. To reiterate the chosen stature of Israel/ Jacob, both
Ishmael and Esau are deemed unworthy issue (e.g., Sifre
Deuteronomy 312 and 343; Genesis Rabbah 67:13; and BT
Taanit 10b; see also BT Shabbat 145b; BT Pesah.im 56a and
119b; and BT Bava Kamma 92b). The figure of Esau generally
symbolizes Rome (both imperial and Christian) or is portrayed as Jacobs nemesis throughout rabbinic literature but
the elusive figure of Ishmael is multivalent (with the exception of some tannaitic and amoraic material [Genesis Rabbah
2:3, 66:4, 67:13; Leviticus Rabbah 36:5]). In Genesis Rabbah
53:12, Ishmael is said to represent anyone who does not
believe in the world to come (see AFTERLIFE); in this way,
the midrash emphasizes the covenantal primacy of Isaac by
depicting Isaac and Ishmael as metaphors for orthodox and
unorthodox theological tenets.
Since the medieval period, Ishmael has often, but not
exclusively, symbolized Islam. As Islam emerged as a
hegemonic power in the Near East, the Rabbis drew on
long-standing traditions associating Ishmaelites with Arabs
and used Ishmael metonymically to refer to Islam. When
Islams genealogical and theological contentions became
more widespread, it is reasonable to assume that rabbinic
exegetes addressed these challenging socio-political and religious matters in much the same way as they had confronted
foreign rule in the past. References to Ishmael after the rise
of Islam, however, are not always about the Arabs or Islamic
rule. As with rabbinic invocations of any biblical figure, each
reference must be understood contextually, in light of philological, cultural, and historical concerns that is, with textual and extratextual factors in mind. Thus, the diverse ways
in which Ishmael appears in rabbinic literature strongly indicate that the Rabbis did not systematically set out to use him
for one purpose. Although his marginal status is implicitly
recognized, he is neither embraced nor disavowed. In many
instances Ishmael represents non-Jews in general and is portrayed negatively, yet his treatment as a member of Abrahams household also yields neutral and positive depictions.
For further reading, see C. Bakhos, Ishmael on the Border: Rabbinic Portrayals of the First Arab (2006).
C AROL B AKHOS
Islam and Judaism. Islam emerged in the Arabian peninsula in the early seventh century CE. Islamic tradition
teaches that the Prophet Muhammad (570632 CE) brought
the [true] religion in Gods eyes (Quran 3:19) to the Arabs
in the form of divine revelations conveyed to him over a
282
Maimonides (11351204 CE) points to intellectual crossfertilization in the thought processes of Rabbis on the one
hand and Muslim religious scholars and jurists (ulama
and
fuqaha)
on the other.
At the systemic level, Muslim jurists analyzed us.ul-al
fiqh, The [Four] Roots of Jurisprudence namely, quran,
sunna, ijma,
and qiyas
(written scripture, oral tradition, juristic consensus, and argument by analogy). These four roots
bear a close linguistic and conceptual correspondence to the
main sources of talmudic law: mikra, mishnah, gemara (divrei
ha-kol), and hekkesh (scripture, oral law, talmudic consensus, and argument by analogy). Moreover, as regards qiyas
of Arab Lands (1979); idem, The Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times (1991); S. M. Wasserstrom, Between Muslim and
Jew: The Problem of Symbiosis under Early Islam (1995); J. R.
Wegner, Halakhah and Shara: Roots of Law and Norms
of Conduct in Theocratic Systems, CCAR Journal: A Reform
Jewish Quarterly (Fall 2000): 8195; and idem, The Status of
Women in Jewish and Islamic Marriage and Divorce Law,
Harvard Womens Law Journal 5 (1982): 133.
J UDITH R OMNEY W EGNER
(H
. ovevei Zion) groups were formed among Jews in Eastern
Europe with the aim of establishing new agriculture settlements in Eretz Israel. Beginning in 1882, a wave of Jewish
immigrants, known as the First Aliyah ( ISRAEL, STATE OF:
IMMIGRATION BEFORE 1948) began to arrive in the Land
of Israel. Settlers from among these immigrants established
four agricultural settlements in 1882. Two of these were
built on the sites of the former Jewish settlements Petach
Tikva and Rosh Pinna (Head of the Corner), the location of
Gei Oni. The settlers also built the settlements of Zamarin,
later Zichron Yaakov (Jacobs Memorial), and Rishon LeZion
(First in Zion). Those new villages were not initially successful, and only the financial support of Baron Edmond James
de Rothschild (18451934) enabled them to survive. Rothschild changed the structure of these settlements by introducing viniculture; he sent agronomists who helped the settlers plant vineyards. He also built two great vineyards in
Rishon LeZion and Zichron Yaakov, and a glass factory and
a small settlement in Tantura to produce the bottles needed
for marketing the wine. With the help of Rothschild, other
settlements were built including Givat Ada, Metula Meir
Shpheya, and Mahanayim. At the same time, BILU (Beit
Yaakov Lekhu Vnelkha [House of Jacob, Let us go up (Isaiah 2:5)]), a Jewish student association, established Gedera
in the south.
The Jewish settlers looked for large plots of land to establish villages, rather than farms. The deserted coastal plain
and the valleys of Eretz Israel including the Jezreel, Jordan,
and Harod valleys, were not occupied by the local Arabs.
From the late nineteenth century through the mid-1930s,
most Jewish settlements were established on those plains in
which heavy machinery could be used, rather than in more
hilly regions that were not suitable for modern agriculture.
In the 1890s, private individuals established two more
villages, Rehovot and Hadera. Other villages were subsequently established, but in 1900 Baron de Rothschild halted
his activities in Eretz Israel and transferred his authority to
the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA). The JCA established several more settlements in the lower Galilee area
(Kfar Tavor, Ilaniya, Yavneel, Menahamiya, and Mizpe) and
reorganized the older settlements to enable more efficient
agricultural activities. Thus, by 1900, there were twenty
Jewish agriculture settlements, from Metulla in the north
to Beer Tuvia in the south, and from Tantura in the west
to Yesud Hamala in the east, with a total of 5,500 occupants.
They had about 221,000 dunams of cultivated land; of these,
about 24,000 dunams were planted in grapes, 2,200 dunams
in citrus, 3,300 dunams in olives, and 60,000 dunams in
Rehoboam. The northern kingdom that Jeroboam established was larger, richer, and more populous than the
remaining portion of Solomons realm, which became the
southern kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam established his capital at Shechem, but later moved the kingdoms center to
Tirzah. He also erected shrines at Dan and Beth El to replace
the Jerusalem Temple. No consistent dynasty maintained
power in Israel. The Omride dynasty (1 Kgs 16:24) established close ties with Phoenicia when Omris son Ahab
married Jezebel, daughter of the ruler of Sidon. Ahab, who
ruled from 87152 BCE, was a strong monarch but was
killed in battle. Succeeding kings were generally less successful. Israel had to negotiate constantly between the competing powers of Egypt and Mesopotamia and in 722721
BCE, Assyria conquered the northern kingdom, and the
population was sent into exile. From that point on, the ten
tribes were lost to history (see TRIBES, TEN LOST). Map 2
Israel, Land of (Hebrew, Eretz Yisrael) refers to the geographical region of the Middle East with which the Jewish
people have been connected since biblical times. It is a designation that transcends politics or political sovereignty or
even exact boundaries; rather it expresses the deep historical and spiritual ties that Jews have maintained with the
land that was promised to Abraham and Sarah and their
descendants as part of the covenant Abraham established
with God. The Land of Israel has long been linked with
the promise of messianic redemption implicit in Jewish
theology and liturgy (see WORSHIP) and has been understood by many thinkers and mystics as the only place in
which Jews can live most fully as Jews (see THOUGHT,
MEDIEVAL). Diaspora Jews throughout the ages contrasted
their exile (galut) among the nations with the enhanced
holiness that would one day enhance their lives in Eretz
Yisrael.
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Israel, State of: Agricultural Settlements, 1878 to 1948.
For nineteenth-century Zionists, founding successful agricultural settlements in the Land of Israel was a major objective. They were convinced that changes in traditional Jewish
occupations were necessary to create a normal society and
that the return to the land was one step toward this goal.
Establishing agriculture settlements was also seen as a way
to acquire large portions of land that would ultimately constitute the considerable territory needed for a permanent,
independent state. The dispersion of these settlements all
over the country, which could be accomplished by relatively
285
ruler to make peace with Israel. This peace, too, has continued to hold.
At the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century,
Israeli accommodation with the Palestinians in Gaza and the
occupied West Bank remains elusive. In 2000, at a meeting
hosted by U.S. President Bill Clinton in Camp David, Maryland, Arafat rejected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Baraks
offer to return 95% of the occupied territories, including a
portion of Jerusalem to be used, if Arafat wished, as the capital of the state of Palestine. Arafat responded by launching
the Second Intifada, which still continues. In 2006, a year
after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered Israels unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and after the Palestinian
radical group Hamas won elections in Gaza, one of its leaders, Khalid Mishal, said, We shall never recognize the legitimacy of a Zionist state.
The elimination of Israel resonates powerfully with
many Palestinians, as well as Arabs and non-Arab Muslims elsewhere. For them Israel is illegitimate not only
because its nationalism conflicts with theirs but also because
Israels existence contradicts a prime geopolitical precept of
Islam. Although most Muslims acknowledge that Jews held
sovereignty in the area in antiquity, they believe that once
a non-Muslim land is conquered, it forever belongs to the
ummah, the universal community of Islam. Should the nonMuslim regain the land, this reconquest is temporary and
will last only until Muslims have the strength to reconquer
the territory. A signal example is the kingdom of Jerusalem,
which the Christian Crusaders established in 1099 and the
Muslims recaptured in its totality in 1291.
A 2003 Pew Research Center poll found that by wide
margins, Muslim populations [throughout the world] doubt
that a way can be found for the State of Israel to exist so that
the rights and needs of the Palestinian people are met. Eight
out of ten residents of the Palestinian Authority express this
opinion. In 2008 the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that, by majorities ranging from twothirds to more than three-fourths, Palestinians favored continued attacks on Israel, as well as the termination of peace
negotiations.
There have been eight ArabIsraeli wars in seven decades:
the 194849 War of Liberation (in which Israel won its
renascent independence); the 1956 Suez Campaign (in
which Britain and France sought to prevent Egypt from
nationalizing the Suez Canal, Israel captured the Sinai
peninsula, and then returned it to Egypt in response to
American and UN pressure); the 1967 Six Day War (in
which Syria lost the Golan Heights, Egypt lost the Gaza Strip
and Sinai, and Jordan lost the West Bank); the 196870 War
of Attrition (a limited conflict begun by Egyptian president
Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Soviet Air Force, and the Palestine
Liberation Organization to recapture the Sinai peninsula);
the 1973 Yom Kippur War (which Israel won, but which
laid the foundation for President Anwar El Sadats visit to
Jerusalem, the return of the Sinai, and the IsraeliEgyptian
peace treaty); the 1982 First Lebanon War (in which Israel
tried without success to seal off its northern border); the
2006 Second Lebanon War, a conflict in which a few thousand Hizbollah militants fought the Israeli Defense Forces
(IDF) to a draw; and the Israeli incursion into Gaza in 2008.
During its sixty years of statehood, Israels paramilitary enemies in the Arab world have also mounted countless attacks
Palestine
in the nineteenth century was essentially a poor and rural
society that had long been a backwater of the Ottoman
Empire. The population was overwhelmingly Muslim Arab
with a primarily urban Christian Arab merchant and professional class. There were fewer than 25,000 Jews in Palestine
before 1880; some two-thirds lived in Jerusalem, where
they constituted a majority of the population. This community, which came to be called the Old Yishuv, consisted of
descendants of Jews who had remained in the area since
earliest times, as well as a small stream of new immigrants,
mainly Orthodox Jews who sought to live a religious life
and die in the Holy Land.
In the late nineteenth century, in response to the nascent
political Zionist movement (see ZIONISM), there was a wave
of immigration of Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe.
This First Aliyah (from the Hebrew word to ascend) took
place between 1882 and 1903 and brought 20,000 to 30,000
individuals to Palestine. Many arrived in groups organized
by the H
. ovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) and BILU (Beit Yaakov
Lekhu Vnelkha; House of Jacob, Let us go up [Isa 2:5])
Zionist movements in Russia and Romania; others, mostly
from Galicia, arrived on their own. The new Jewish migration was diverse. Some people came primarily for religious
reasons and joined existing Jewish communities, mainly in
Jerusalem, but also in other holy cities such as Safed,
Tiberias (see GALILEE), and Hebron. Others were drawn
by Zionist ideology that sought the creation of a Jewish
state as a response to antisemitism in their native lands;
some were motivated by socialist ideas and concepts. These
new immigrants joined farm villages or established new
and sanctity. Thus, olim are portrayed as ideological immigrants fulfilling their national purpose, even though most
of the newcomers in the large waves of aliyah were in fact
motivated by various push and pull factors and lacked more
attractive migration options.
Aliyah has been an ongoing process. From the establishment of the state (1948) until 2007, more than 3 million
olim (3,090,000) arrived in Israel, especially in two huge
waves: 700,000 between 1948 and 1951, and more than
950,000 between 1990 and 2000. There were smaller waves
in 195557 (165,000 immigrants), 196164 (230,000), and
197273 (110,000). Most of the olim came from four regions:
Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the former Soviet Union.
Aliyah from Eastern Europe was part of the first mass
wave in the early years of the state (194851), with some
330,000 Jewish immigrants; another 225,000 came in the
1960s and 1970s. The main wave of immigrants from the
Middle East, some 240,000, also arrived in the early years.
They were followed in the 1960s and 1970s by another
70,000 immigrants. The first wave included almost all the
Jews of Yemen and Iraq, as well as Jews from Iran,
discriminatory economic and social policies, and the ramifications of the ongoing ArabIsraeli conflict. They were
drawn, too, by the hope of full equality in the Jewish state.
At the time Israel was almost the only immigration option
these Jews had, and its sophisticated immigration system
facilitated the process. In Israel, various ideological explanations were given for aliyah from these two regions: The
European olim were described as remnants and survivors,
and their experience of the Holocaust proved that the Zionist
solution was correct. The Jews of Islamic countries were said
to have immigrated because of persecution and a religious
messianic conception that identified the State of Israel with
the messianic redemption.
Israel suffered from severe housing shortages while
absorbing these olim, and for many months and sometimes years, tens of thousands of people, most of them
from Islamic countries, lived in tents and shacks in temporary camps known as maabarot. This experience left severe
scars on Israeli society. Despite these hardships, this wave
of aliyah played a formative role in shaping Israeli society: It doubled the population; broadened the distribution
of Jewish settlement by boosting the population of preexisting localities and establishing new localities throughout the
country, including some three hundred agricultural settlements; and determined the main outlines of Israeli society
for decades to come.
The social and cultural traits of different immigrant
groups, especially those from Islamic countries, evoked anxiety for the future development of a unified Israels culture.
For this reason the country adopted what was later termed
a melting pot policy: Immigrants were strongly encouraged to drop the unique elements of their traditions and to
adopt the Ashkenazi culture that prevailed at the time. The
melting pot policy applied to all olim, but especially those
from Islamic countries, because their Arab culture was perceived as inferior and antiquated and was also identified
with the Arab enemy. The policy extended to all aspects of
the immigrants lives: from forms of settlement and employment to personal hygiene, family planning, and education.
The most dramatic fight in the history of immigrant absorption in Israel was waged in the 1950s over the education of
immigrant children, particularly the Yemenites. What made
this policy unique was its intensity and its all-encompassing
nature. Criticism of the negative effects of this policy ultimately brought about its replacement by a more pluralistic
absorption policy that recognized the rights of the various
groups of olim to cultural autonomy. Demands for immediate change were dropped in favor of an expectation of slower
change, gradual adoption of the values of Israeli society, and
eventual integration into Israeli society.
The second wave of aliyah lasted two decades. It included
the arrival of more than 400,000 Jews from North Africa,
especially Morocco and Tunisia, and peaked in 195456 and
196164. The olim were motivated by apprehension regarding the French withdrawal from North Africa and the transfer of rule to Muslims belonging to nationalist movements,
as well as by hopes of full equality and an improved financial
status in Israel. During those years 150,000 Jews who had
left Eastern Europe due to communist regimes also arrived
in Israel. For about a decade (195161), Israel instituted a
selective policy regarding aliyah from North Africa, which
gave preference to young, healthy people and kept out
families with elderly or ill members or large numbers of children. The rationale for this policy was the countrys severe
economic plight and a desire to have the North African olim
carry out the national task of settling the periphery. Another
explanation claims that the selective policy also reflected fear
of the influence of North African Jews on Israeli society and
culture, as well as a desire to absorb them gradually and perhaps even to keep them away from influential positions in
central Israel.
Indeed, North African immigrants played a crucial role in
building up the Israeli periphery. Some 70% were placed
in moshavim and new towns (development towns) established in the north and south in a policy known as ship
to village; meanwhile, the olim from Eastern Europe settled
mainly in preexisting localities in central Israel. For the first
time in the history of Zionist settlement, olim were forced
to live in certain places, and the new system of administration made it hard for them to move elsewhere, even though
this effort ran counter to the Israeli policy of blending the
exiles.
The third wave of aliyah started in the 1970s with immigration from the Soviet Union (150,000 olim) and peaked
in the 1990s with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and
the arrival of close to a million immigrants, most from the
European republics (Russia and Ukraine), with a minority
from the Asian republics, especially Uzbekistan. The main
motivation was the collapse of the regime and the crisis in
the socioeconomic order of the former Soviet Union. Additional factors were entry restrictions imposed by destination
countries in the western world and Israels open-door policy.
This wave was characterized by small families and relatively
few children, as well as a high proportion of single-parent
families. The newcomers level of education was high compared with the receiving society in Israel; a sizable percentage of the olim were scientists, academics, and members of
the liberal professions. For the first time in the history of
aliyah, a significant percentage of the immigrants were nonJews entitled to immigrate under the 1970 amendment to
the Law of Return, which extended citizenship rights and
benefits to non-Jewish family members of persons eligible
for immigration. In the early 1990s, non-Jews accounted for
about one-tenth of olim; by the late 1990s they accounted
for around 40%.
In terms of culture, these immigrants proved thoroughly
secular, with a strong and solid Russian identity and only a
weak affinity for the Jewish collective. They were not willing
to give up their Russian culture and were in no rush to adopt
the local Israeli mores. For its part, Israeli society turned out
to be less cohesive and more pluralistic than earlier. These
circumstances led to tolerance for and legitimation of the
sectorial political parties founded by the immigrants. After
a decade, it was clear that the Russian-speaking olim had
developed an Israeli identity based on a sense of belonging
to the Jewish people, while also preserving Russian culture
and forming a Russian community in Israel.
The Russian-speaking olim underwent direct absorption, which included economic grants and limited intervention by the government. The geographical distribution
of the immigrants was correlated with their educational and
employment capital. Young people with needed professions
settled on the outskirts of the metropolitan areas and in the
leading peripheral cities; older and less educated segments of
292
this population settled in poor neighborhoods and peripheral localities, where they found readily available and relatively cheap housing, as the Israeli government increased
the construction of public housing in the periphery. This
immigration boosted the Jewish population by about 20%,
contributed to substantial economic growth, and even influenced local culture.
Concurrently with the Russian-speaking aliyah, close to
60,000 olim came from Ethiopia, forming a relatively small
but unique community within Israeli society. Some 16,000
arrived in the 1980s, and more than 40,000 came in
the 1990s and later. Most arrived in two waves that are
known as Operation Moses and Operation Solomon. The
Ethiopian immigration was delayed for many years, mainly
because of doubt as to the Jewishness of the community
members. Until they moved to Israel, most Ethiopian Jews
were villagers in transition from the country to the city; most
adults lacked even an elementary education. The Ethiopian
Israelis are an especially young population group because
of their high rate of fertility. Community members settled
mainly in medium-sized cities in the central and southern regions, where they tend to be concentrated in certain
neighborhoods.
A retrospective examination of the settlement patterns
of immigrants in Israel shows substantial consistency over
the sixty-year history of the state. A strong population with
high human capital, generally of European origin, settled in
the large and medium-sized cities of central Israel, especially
on the coastal plain, whereas the less educated population,
mainly from Asia and North Africa, was concentrated in the
geographical and social periphery. The advantages of living
in the central region rather than the periphery are manifested in a growing socioeconomic gap that typifies Israeli
society in its sixth decade.
E STHER M EIR-G LITZENSTEIN
appellate instance in both criminal and civil affairs. In addition, it acts also as a court of first instance when it hears public law petitions in its capacity as the High Court of Justice.
Over the years, the precedents of the Israeli Supreme Court
have defined fundamental principles of the Israeli legal system, including a judicial-based unwritten bill of rights. This
tradition owes much to justices with profound awareness
of the importance of rights and democratic values (particularly, Simon Agranat, Haim Cohn, and Aharon Barak).
These precedents have proved very important because Israel
did not adopt a formal written constitution in its formative years, due to political disagreements. To fill this void,
the Knesset decided to enact a series of basic laws, which
would eventually be consolidated into a formal constitution.
Gradually, the Supreme Court has abandoned, by way of
interpretation, the legal tradition of legislative sovereignty
and adopted the view that the basic laws can also serve as
a basis for judicial review of legislation contradicting them.
This move, as well as the Supreme Courts general activist
policy of judicial review of government decisions, is controversial. In general, the Supreme Court is both valued for its
contribution to public life in Israel and highly criticized as
operating outside the legitimate boundaries of judicial decision making. The critics of the Supreme Court argue that,
as an unelected institution, it should not interfere in decisions that reflect policymaking and democratic choices of
the political majority. In contrast, supporters of the Courts
legacy argue that its contribution is indispensable to the protection of human rights and the struggle against government
corruption.
D APHNE B ARAK-E REZ
literature, childrens books, poetry, encyclopedias, and philosophy. Two teachers colleges were opened, the first in
1940 (Seminar ha-Kibbutzim), and the second in 1950
(Oranim), initially for kibbutz educators and later for any
student. The kibbutz movement has its own choir (since
1957), orchestra (since 1970), theater (since 1964), and
economic independence. This status allows full participation in kibbutz life but also economic independence with no
rights over kibbutz property. At the beginning of the twentyfirst century, mutual aid in the kibbutz is more limited, and
trends of privatization of property are evident.
The future of the kibbutz movement will depend on the
vision of its members, as well as on local and global economic and political processes that will affect strategic decisions that kibbutzim will have to make. Contemporary concerns include the need to find a new meaning and mission,
the degree of commitment required of new members, and
whether to limit the nonmember population so that members remain the majority. Observers wonder whether kibbutzim will be able to attract entrepreneurs who can develop
new ventures that accord with the movements meaning
and mission. Will kibbutzim preserve the communitys small
size and maintain and develop a rural ecological environment? Will they be able to unite and formulate a common
action program that will have a continuing impact on the
larger society, or will they merge into neighboring towns (as
some government officials have proposed)? These are only a
few of the issues that will determine whether twenty-firstcentury kibbutzim will develop their own unique social economy by updating their communal social and economic way
of life or whether they will become ordinary dormitory villages or suburban residential communities.
For further reading, see M. Palgi, Social Dilemmas and
their Solution, in Wirtschaft, Demokratie und soziale Verantwortung, ed. G. W. Wolfgang, P. Pasqualoni, and C. Burtscher
(2004), 31732; and H. Near, The Kibbutz Movement: A History,
2 vols. (1992, 1997).
M ICHAL P ALGI
Palestine, the Holocaust, and the 194749 war over Palestine brought about a complete transformation in attitudes
toward the use of force. This process continued into Israeli
statehood as well. After a series of wars that Israel regarded
as successful (the War of Independence, the Sinai campaign, and the Six Day War), the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)
emerged as one of the countrys leading social and cultural
forces (see ISRAEL, STATE OF: WARS (1948); (19561967).
EARLY HISTORY: During the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, Jewish self-defense organizations
emerged in Russia, foreshadowing the formation of such
groups in Palestine during the last years of Ottoman rule. In
September 1907, young Eastern European immigrants who
had recently arrived in Palestine established a clandestine
group that aimed to replace the Palestinian Arabs working as
295
Yishuv. They were members of Ha-Shomer (1909); participated in the Haganah (1920); were conscripted into the
British army during World War II; and volunteered in the
Palmakh (1941), where they trained in battle and fought
in the War of Independence (1948). Such activities fed
a myth of gender equality in pre-Israel society. In fact,
most women took on gender-related roles, and during the
War of Independence, all women, including female fighters,
were given jobs on the home front. Nevertheless, womens
defense activities and the mandatory integration of women
in the IDF contributed to the image of Israel as an egalitarian
society.
The IDF, like all armies, is essentially a masculine institution, and its hierarchy and organizational structure create
marked gender differences. In Israel, as elsewhere, the army
is a central force in building a male-dominant society and in
reproducing such hierarchy in civilian society. It is unclear,
therefore, whether womens army service constitutes the
implementation of gender equality or whether it actually
intensifies gender inequality. For one thing, there are significant differences between male and female military obligations: Women serve two years, whereas men must serve
for three years; most women are free from reserve duty; and
it is relatively easy for women to receive exemption from
service for religious reasons.
The IDF, established in May 1948, was modeled after the
British military. Thus, the IDF Womens Corps was modeled
after the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the womens
branch of the British army. Since there is no Mens Corps
in the IDF (the different corps are determined according to
soldiers training and responsibilities), the Womens Corps
defined female soldiers by gender rather than military role.
Furthermore, army policies from the 1950s until the 1980s
prohibited female soldiers from combat roles and assigned
them primarily to support positions or jobs perceived as feminine, such as clerical work, instruction, and social work.
Womens lesser roles restricted their ability to advance to
senior army ranks, reduced their presence among the people who make decisions and determine priorities, and relegated them to second-class membership in a male organization under male governance.
After the Yom Kippur War (1973), because of a serious
shortage in human resources, new professions became open
to women, thereby freeing men for combat roles. Beginning in the mid-1970s, female soldiers demanded additional
opportunities. Social changes in Israel during the 1980s
affected the IDF as well, and the army allowed women access
to various technical and instructional positions relating to
combat professions (such as serving as instructors in the Military Infantry Corps).
In November 1995, Israels Supreme Court made a
precedent-setting and highly publicized ruling regarding the
petition submitted by Alice Miller. In that decision, the High
Court ruled that the IDF must allow women to volunteer
for the Israeli Air Force Flight School. This paved the way
for conscription of women for combat roles in the border police, the Cannon Corps, and the antiaircraft division
and opened the prestigious naval course to women, among
other changes. In 2001 the Womens Corps was dissolved
at the time of its greatest success, the peace camp faltered and lost credibility. After Rabins assassination at a
1995 peace rally and the escalating violence, new groups
sought a broader approach and outreach. Victor Cygielman and Ziad Abu Zayyad formed The Palestine-Israel Journal, and the womens group Profil H
. adash (New Profile)
opposed the occupation and military ethos by supporting
the refuseniks, mounting art shows that questioned media
and cultural images, and lobbying to stop military training
in schools.
With the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000 and
the collapse of the peace talks, many in the movement
despaired, but large numbers of high school students as well
as active and reserve soldiers joined Yesh Gevul and the newly
formed Haometz Lesarev (Courage to Refuse) to oppose military service. Backed by members of an elite commando unit
and pilots, the movement had popular support. Many of
the soldiers were women, often arguing against serving in
a patriarchal institution; others were Druze. Gradually, new
groups focused on direct aid to Palestinians. Money, food,
medical and legal assistance, and work harvesting olives
and rebuilding demolished homes came from groups such
as Taayush (Life in Common) and Yesh Din (There is Justice), which petitioned the Israeli courts. Help standing up
to bulldozers and bullets came from groups such as Havad
ha-Tziburi Neged Harisat Batim (Israeli Committee against
House Demolitions) and the mostly young Anarchistim Neged
Hacohma (Anarchists against the Wall), whose protests with
the villagers of Bilin and Niilin lasted several years. The
Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, composed of Jewish
and Arab women, waged civil disobedience against closures
and checkpoints. Other activists broke through a Bethlehem
checkpoint, performed street theater, and organized the childrens journal H
. alonot (Windows,) the Hand in Hand bicultural schools, the radio station All for Peace, the Sulha
dialogue groups, and the Bereaved Parents Circle, which
brought together family members on both sides who had lost
loved ones in the violence.
The Geneva Accords and Hamifkad ha-Leumi (Peoples
Voice), efforts to revive the peace process by Israeli and
Palestinian politicians and activists including former
Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin, former head of the
Shin Bet Ami Ayalon, and Palestinian academic Sari Nusseibeh proposed two states within the June 4, 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as a common capital. More than a
quarter-million Israelis and 150,000 Palestinians signed on.
It is difficult to measure the direct impact of the peace
movement, but its mass demonstrations and continuing dialogue and cooperation with the enemy have laid the foundation for the peace process and helped change perceptions on both sides. At the end of the first decade of the
twenty-first century a majority of the Israeli public believes
that a political settlement is necessary, and many support
a two-state solution. This belief, however, has not been
translated into political action. In its persistent work for a
peaceful and just resolution, the movement has remained a
counterbalance to violence and extremism and a beacon of
hope.
For further reading, see M. Bar-On, In Pursuit of Peace: A
History of the Israeli Peace Movement (1996); G. Feuerverger,
Oasis of Dreams (2001); D. Gavron, Holy Land Mosaic (2008);
T. Hermann, The Israeli Peace Movement 19671998, in
The combination of electoral rules that facilitate the creation of new parties and electoral lists with the rule guaranteeing at least one seat in the Knesset to any list that receives
2% of the national vote means that Israeli citizens have an
extremely wide choice at the polls. In the 2003 elections, for
example, there were twenty-seven electoral lists on the ballot, and fifteen parties gained representation in the Knesset.
Citizen participation in Israeli elections is among the highest in the world. About 80% of the eligible voters typically
cast ballots. This high turnout is probably due to the fact that
the security issue has always been an important, salient
factor to all Israelis. What the government does has a direct,
immediate impact on their lives. Most Israelis are constantly
discussing politics in their homes, their workplaces, their
schools, and their cafes. Therefore, Israeli elections function
in an environment in which an almost bewildering range of
policy alternatives are part of a robust, wide-open debate.
THE KNESSET AND THE GOVERNMENT: In a parliamentary democracy like Israel, the people elect their representatives, and the parliament selects the cabinet, which functions as the executive agency. For a cabinet to be installed,
the support of at least sixty-one members of the Knesset (a
majority of the parliament) is required. Once selected by a
Knesset majority, the government remains in office until the
next election unless it loses its Knesset support.
Because the Israeli electoral system facilitates a multiparty
system, no single party (or party list) has ever achieved a
Knesset majority. Therefore, all Israeli governments have
been coalitions comprising several parties. Most usually,
the government coalition is cobbled together by the leader
of the largest single Knesset party (the prime ministerdesignate) from among the eight to fifteen parties represented in that chamber. To form this coalition, the prime
minister-designate must agree to support some of the programs favored by the smaller parties and to assign the
administration of certain government ministries to the leaders of those parties. Forming a government involves intense
bargaining, much compromise, and considerable skill.
Real, effective power resides in the government, not in
the theoretically sovereign Knesset. As is all parliamentary
democracies, as long as the government retains its Knesset
majority, the cabinet makes all significant policies. The politics of coalition formation explains why governmental policy
in Israel is invariably based on bargaining and compromise
rather than on the dictates of a single individual or group.
The opposition, the parties comprising the minority of the
120 Knesset members, can only criticize; they have no role
in the actual policymaking process.
Within the government, all significant decisions require
the support of a majority of the ministers comprising the cabinet. The prime minister sets the cabinets agenda. Because
the governments policies are themselves the product of
internal bargaining among the coalition parties, the authority of a prime minister is determined by his or her effectiveness in dominating the cabinet and by the ultimate success of the governments policies. Still, on any given issue,
the prime minister of the day can lose the support of the
coalition partners and of the Knesset majority and be forced
to resign or to call new elections.
In September 2000, for example, the Labor Party-led government of Ehud Barak fell apart over the security issue
when he failed to reach a comprehensive peace arrangement
with the Palestinians. Prime Minister Barak lost his Knesset majority and was forced to call new elections in 2001.
He lost that election to the leader of the Likud Party, Ariel
Peres, a former prime minister and a Noble Peace Prize laureate, was elected president of Israel.
THE CIVIL COURTS (see ISRAEL, STATE OF: JUDICIAL SYSTEM): Because overt partisan considerations are
an inseparable element in the workings of the Knesset,
the potential for arbitrary governmental policies is obvious.
Given the rampant partisanship of their political system,
Israelis value the utility of independent objective and impartial decisions. The civil judiciary is seen as the institutional
repository of those values. The authority that accompanies
such an assessment gives the Israeli civil judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, considerable power.
The nonpolitical conception of the civil judiciary is evident in the judicial selection procedures. All members of the
Israeli civil judiciary are selected by a nine-member Nominations Committee. The Nominations Committee is chaired
by the minister of justice, and it contains one other minister
selected by the government of the day, the chief justice of
the Supreme Court and two other justices selected by members of that Court, two members of the Knesset selected by
secret ballot, and two practicing advocates (lawyers) elected
by the Israeli Chamber of Advocates (Bar Association). The
Nomination Committees decisions are by majority vote, and
its selections are binding on the president of Israel, who
makes the actual appointments. Once appointed, the judges
both of the Supreme Court and the lower civil courts hold
their offices until the mandatory retirement age of seventy.
The civil court system for handling general legal conflicts is three-tiered. The 29 Magistrates Courts (with 357
judges) deal with minor criminal offenses and small monetary claims. The 5 District Courts (with 121 judges) hear
302
militant program for establishing a Jewish state in Palestine. After independence, these movements formed the
core opposition to the socialist-labor policies advanced by
Mapai/Labor governments. To overcome Labor Party dominance, the bulk of the center-right parties formed Likud, and
under the leadership of Menachem Begin formed the government after the 1977 elections. Since then, the parties of
the center-right have led most Israeli government coalitions.
In the early twenty-first century, Likud remains a major
factor in the center-right political bloc. It emphasizes a
national security policy based on a strong Israeli military
force in the face of continued Arab enmity to the Jewish
states very existence. Likuds suspicions of Arab intentions,
however, have not prevented it from reaching agreements
with the Arabs, such as the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt.
Precisely because Likud has been willing to reach mutually acceptable agreements with the Arabs, other right-wing
parties have formed. Their core belief is that the Jewish people are historically entitled to all of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of
Israel) and that the territory Israel occupied after the 1967
Six Day War is necessary for the security of the state. That
is why they opposed the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai
required by the IsraelEgypt treaty. Similarly, they continue
to oppose any agreement that would require further Israeli
withdrawals. Moreover, these Israelis believe that the Arabs
continue to seek the destruction of the Jewish state and that
therefore no viable peace arrangements are possible. At the
beginning of the twenty-first century, the National Union
Party speaks for most of these Israeli Jews. In the 2006
elections, a subset of these right-wing Israelis representing
recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union formed the
Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Is Our Home) party and won twelve
seats in the Knesset.
In 2005, Likud Prime Minister Ariel Sharon concluded
that the nations security could best be secured by unilaterally relinquishing Israels control of the Gaza Strip. Because
most center-right Israelis, including a majority of Likud,
adamantly opposed this policy, Sharon formed a new party,
Kadima. Despite Sharons incapacitating stroke in early 2006,
Kadima won the most seats in that years Knesset election. Kadima, under the leadership of Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert, formed a coalition government with Labor and
other smaller parties, which turned the Gaza Strip over to
the Palestinian National Authority.
All center-right Israeli political parties believe that only a
strong military can sustain the continued existence of Israel
as a Jewish state. They share a reluctance to negotiate with
Israels Arab neighbors whom they believe continue to seek
the destruction of the Jewish state. Although these parties
have frequently criticized particular Supreme Court decisions, they remain committed to rule of law principles that
they seek to entrench in a written constitution.
RELIGIOUS PARTIES: The Zionist movement was predominantly secular, but a small minority of religious Jews
came to believe that the human struggle to re-create a Jewish state in the biblical homeland was not incompatible with
the commands of Jewish religious law ( halakhah). This was
the origin of the National Religious Party (NRP).
Orthodox Jews believe that divine commands are embodied in halakhah, and therefore its rules cannot be subordinated to secular law. They also believe that Israel, as the
Jewish state, must be based on halakhah, for that is what
Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, formed Shas to represent Orthodox Jews from Arabic-speaking lands. Approximately half of Jewish Israelis are from such areas. Rabbi
Yosef claimed they faced discrimination from both the secular parties and the Ashkenazi (European) religious parties.
Shas was successful in using the political process to obtain
resources for this population, and by 1992 it was the largest
religious party in Israel.
Shas has always sought to participate fully in the political process. Its position on security matters particularly
Israeli retention of the occupied territories has been more
ambiguous than that of the NRP. That ideological position,
plus the size of its Knesset delegation, has made Shas a
key player in the cabinet coalition process. As an Orthodox
party, Shas has sought to use its political power to expand
the role of halakhah in government policy, and it has frequently taken the lead in opposing Supreme Court decisions
to the contrary.
The religious parties are committed to the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state. They are united in the belief
that such a state, to be truly Jewish, must be governed by
halakhah. They seek to increase the role of Orthodox Jewish
religious practices in the laws and policies of the state. That is
why they remain adamantly opposed to a written constitution. They fear that having a human-made document as the
supreme law of the land would undermine the authority of
halakhah in Israel.
PALESTINIAN PARTIES: Palestinian Israelis comprise
approximately 20% of the Israeli population. They exercise
304
the franchise at only a slightly lower rate than their fellow citizens. Yet, Arabs are isolated from the mainstream
of Israeli life; their political effectiveness is limited by the
Jewish nature of the state and by the states omnipresent
security concerns. Only one Palestinian Israeli has been
appointed as a Supreme Court justice, and the first Arab cabinet minister (a member of the Labor Party) was appointed
in 2007.
Although Palestinian Israelis vote for and are members of
mainline parties like Kadima, Labor, Likud, and Meretz, most
support Palestinian parties. The names of these organizations have changed over time, but they still represent four
persistent orientations: the Israeli Arab, communist, nationalist, and Islamist streams. The members of the Israeli Arab
stream accept their status as a minority group in the Jewish state. Their core demand is for full equal citizenship.
Because Palestinian Israelis have never been accorded such
treatment, their politics are frequently difficult to distinguish
from that of the Arab parties. In the 2006 national elections, the United Arab/Taal joint list reflected this outlook;
it won six seats in the Knesset. The members of the communist stream emphasize a class orientation to politics. They do
not accept the ethnic (Jewish) character of Israel and seek its
transformation into a completely secular democratic state. In
the 2006 national election, this outlook was represented by
H
. adash; it won three seats in the Knesset. H
. adash, which literally means new in Hebrew, is an acronym for The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality.
The members of the nationalist stream see themselves
as sharing a common identity with the Palestinians in
the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and abroad. Their core objective is the transformation of Israeli into a binational (Jewish/Palestinian) state. In the short term, they seek policies
that would grant Palestinians autonomy within Israel. In
the 2006 national election, this outlook was represented
by Balad (its name is an acronym for National Democratic
Assembly); it won three seats in the Knesset.
The members of the Islamist stream derive their values
from the tenets of that religion. Their ultimate goal is to
establish an Islamist society in what they perceive as an Arab
land. To date, no party representing this stream has competed in an Israeli national election, although such parties
have had some success in local elections in Palestinian towns
and cities.
The Palestinian parties are marginalized by the operation
of the Israeli political system. Obviously the goals of the parties representing the communist, nationalist, and Islamist
streams make them impossible coalition partners for any
mainline Israeli party. Yet, even the more moderate parties of the Israeli Arab stream have yet to be included in
a coalition. Given Israels security situation, the mainline
parties have been unwilling to include parties representing
the same national group as their countrys enemies. Political
marginalization has increased the anger of the Palestinian
Israeli population.
The reality of Palestinian marginalization is a serious issue
but it should be seen as part of a larger political context.
Israel has been a vibrant democracy for more than sixty
years but as with most democratic nations, it has its flaws.
M ARTIN E DELMAN
ISRAEL
305
a new entity known as the Gaza Strip. This geopolitical reality remained until the 1967 Six Day War, when Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, the
Gaza Strip from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
What would the geopolitical reality be today if the Arabs
had accepted partition? There would be no Palestinian
refugees and no refugee camps. The original 400,000 Arabs
and their progeny in the area assigned to Israel by the United
Nations would be there today, unless they balked at being
citizens of the Jewish state and moved to neighboring countries or emigrated from the region entirely. There would be
no Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem would be a corpus separatum.
Part of the Galilee in the north of Israel, as well as the
Mediterranean coast of the Negev region in the south, would
be part of the post-partition Arab state.
Although there are no doubts about these facts, questions
have been raised about whether and the extent to which the
Israelis forced Arab Palestinians to flee. The principal proponents of the view that the Israelis did so are a group of
Israelis known as the New Historians. They include Profes and Benny Morsors Avi Shlaim, Uri Milstein, Ilan Pappe,
ris. Certainly, there were some expulsions and also killings
of Palestinian Arabs during the 1948 war, but such actions
were not official Israeli policy. Otherwise, the Near East Arabic Radio would not have made this broadcast: It must
not be forgotten that the Arab Higher Committee encouraged the refugees to flee from their homes in Jaffa, Haifa,
and Jerusalem and that certain leaders have tried to make
political capital out of their miserable situation. Nor would
Great Britains Sir Alexander Cadogan have told the United
Nations Security Council that the Arabs are those responsible for the latest developments [of Arab flight] in Haifa. Nor
would the American Lebanese daily Al-Hoda have written,
Brotherly advice was given to the Arabs of Palestine urging
them to leave their lands, homes, and property and to stay
temporarily in neighboring, brotherly states, lest the guns of
the invading Arab armies mow them down. The Palestine
Arabs had no choice but to obey the advice of the [Arab]
League and to believe what Azzam Pasha and other responsible men in the League told them that their withdrawal
from their lands was only temporary and would end in a
few days with the successful termination of the Arab punishment action against Israel. Nor did all Palestinian Arabs
leave; at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, one-fifth of Israels 7.2 million citizens and one-tenth
of the 120 members of its parliament are Arabs. It should
also be noted that another consequence of the 1948 war
was that some 500,000 Jews who lived in Egypt, Syria, Iraq,
and North Africa were forced from their homes and places
of employment. Most of them were absorbed into Israel (see
ISRAEL, STATE OF: IMMIGRATION POST-1948).
For further reading, see T. N. Dupuy, Elusive Victory:
The Arab-Israeli Wars, 19471974; J. C. Hurewitz, The Struggle for Palestine (1950); D. Joseph, The Faithful City: The
Siege of Jerusalem, 1948 (1960); E. Karsh, 1948, Israel,
and the Palestinians The True Story, Commentary (May
2008); B. Morris, 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War
(2008); and idem, 1948 and After: Israel and the Palestinians
(1994).
E DWARD B ERNARD G LICK
MODERN: PALES-
Israelites: Kingship
of Orthodox observance of religious commandments and
Zionist pioneering, to be best fulfilled in the kibbutz. The
basic educational units of BA are separate for boys and girls
but groups for older teenagers are mixed, with full and
equal participation of girls, including military service in the
NAH.AL.
Betar (acronym for Berit [Alliance] Yosef Trumpeldor), was
founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, and began its activity in
Palestine in 1926. Betar adopted the ideology of the Revisionist Party (and after 1948 of the H
. erut movement) of
monistic Zionism and rejected any fusion with alien creeds
(meaning mainly socialism, with a deep negation of class
struggle). The movements aim was the creation of a Jewish state with a Jewish majority on both sides of the Jordan
River. Betar held to a strong emphasis of discipline, with preeminence of the nation over the individual, and had a hierarchical structure resembling a military organization. Betars
brown uniform, adopted in the early 1920s to symbolize the
earth of Eretz Israel, was constructed by its rivals after 1933 as
tangible proof of its fascist character.
A VIVA H ALAMISH
Israelites: Kingship. Kingship, or rule by a single person atop a hierarchy with near-exclusive control of legitimated violence in a delimited territory, began in the Near
East toward the end of the fourth millennium BCE. Over
the next two millennia, polities of varying sizes and power
developed a set of governmental practices, including control of key cult offices, the use of the state military and
taxation system, gift giving for controlling subordinates
and foreign rivals, and the writing of chronicles, hymns, and
other literary forms celebrating the kings successes. In visual
and auditory media, kings presented themselves as builders,
worshipers pleasing to the high gods, conquerors, sexually
potent founders of dynasties, and guarantors of order and
prosperity.
During the early first millennium BCE, Israelites adopted
these practices. Their earliest known monarchs, Saul and
especially David and Solomon, self-consciously took on the
trappings of contemporary rulers. Israelite monarchy developed through five discernible stages: (1) a pre-monarchic
stage of tribal chieftains/ judges and the Canaanite citystate kings left over from the Amarna period of the Late
Bronze Age; (2) early monarchs; (3) consolidation, in the
north by the dynasty founded by Omri, and in the south
by Hezekiah; (4) a period of vassalage to foreign powers;
and (5) the end of the monarchy and substitution of hereditary governors (at first of the Davidic house in Judah). The
stages occurred as much as a century earlier in the northern kingdom of Israel than in Judah. Although the Israelite
monarchies lasted only about four centuries (ca. 1000586
BCE), with a brief revival in the second century under the
Chronicles contain stories of the Israelite monarchs, sometimes reporting legends, but often drawing on authentic
royal archives or chronicles. Several monarchs also appear in
inscriptions from Israel, Moab, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.
Thus the Tel Dan inscription refers to the king of the
house of David (i.e., a ninth-century ruler of Judah),
while Assyrian texts refer to the house of Omri, or the
308
Israelites: Kingship
Deuteronomy 17:1420, apparently a late pre-exilic reflection on the history of the monarchy, allows for kingship but
restricts the crowns control of the military, treasury, and
diplomatic service (by limiting the kings harem). The DH
judges all rulers of the northern kingdom deficient by definition because of their patronage of religious shrines in Dan
and Beth El, and most kings of Judah as equally unworthy.
It does allow that Hezekiah and Josiah were successful, on
account of their support of cult centralization in Jerusalem.
The Deuteronomists view of kingship and cult, however,
created a serious problem of theodicy, leading them to blame
the death of the good king Josiah on his evil grandfather,
Manasseh (2 Kgs 23:2627).
The chronicler addresses the untimely death of Josiah,
blaming Josiah himself for his death (2 Chron 35:22) and
recasting Manasseh as a penitent king. He also revises
the Deuteronomistic portrayal of Israelite kingship in other
ways. Chronicles largely omits stories of the northern kingdom, together with tales of Davids sexual predations and
Solomons tyrannies (compare 1 Chron 9 with 1 Kgs 11).
Chronicles augments its source in SamuelKings with stories of the building and remodeling of the Jerusalem Temple
and the celebration of major festivals by David (1 Chron 22
29), Hezekiah (2 Chron 2931), and Josiah (2 Chron 35).
These additions may draw on older sources, although interpretive processes also play a role.
The prophetic texts include stories of conflict between
prophets and Israelite kings (e.g., Isa 7; Jer 36; cf. Amos
7), as well as criticisms of foreign rulers (e.g., Isa 14; Ezek
2829, 3132). Although the prophets do not condemn
kingship per se, the post-exilic redactors of the prophetic
books rarely envision the restoration of the monarchy
(but see Amos 9:1015; Hag 2:2023). Similarly, texts in
the wisdom tradition (see BIBLE: WISDOM LITERATURE)
are skeptical about royal power (see Prov 23:13; Eccl
4:1316; 5:89), although they also help potential courtiers
manage themselves in the palace and hope for royal diligence (Prov 31:19; cf. Ps 101).
Texts from the Second Temple period, an era when most
Jews lived under foreign occupation, deal with kingship
in four ways. First, David and Solomon become models of
piety and inspirations for potential rulers. David was the
prophet and psalmist, to whom a Dead Sea Scroll, 11QPsa ,
attributed 4,050 hymns. Solomons reputation for wisdom
led to the pseudonymous ascriptions of Wisdom of Solomon
and Psalms of Solomon to him. Second, texts from the second century BCE, such as Pseudo-Aristeas and the Temple
Scroll (one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which includes an
the marital relationship focused on procreation and the carrying out of household tasks rather than on companionship.
The Hebrew Bible contains no hints about the average age
of first marriage, but ethnographic data suggest an early age,
corresponding to the onset of puberty. Pre-modern societies
like ancient Israel had high infant mortality rates and short
life-spans (an average of thirty to forty years), and a young
marriage age was necessary to maintain if not increase the
population. The need for the labor provided by offspring was
of paramount importance. Israelite demographic concerns
are expressed in biblical language mandating population
growth (e.g., Be fertile and increase in Gen 1:28 and 9:1),
which likely reflects early marriages. Even for elites, whose
interests in arranging marriages lay in the preservation of
family land holdings, early marriages would have been more
effective in ensuring the production of heirs. Very little is
known about the arrangements leading up to and culminating in the formation of a marital pair, with only a few
biblical narratives providing clues. The so-called Courtship
of Rebekah in Genesis 24 provides considerable information, but should be used cautiously, for Rebekah and her
spouse-to-be Isaac are hardly ordinary folk. They are part
of the exalted origins, according to the biblical construction,
of the people of Israel, and their families control substantial resources. It is uncertain that the elaborate exchange of
goods preceding their marriage would have taken place for
individuals with fewer possessions. Nonetheless, as for the
elite families whose marital arrangements appear in many
ancient Near Eastern law codes, financial matters were
integral to the formation of most marital liaisons, with premarital transactions serving a variety of economic, legal, and
social functions.
The family of the bride would have provided a dowry,
which ordinarily comprised movable property such as clothing, jewelry, and household items or furnishings; brides from
wealthier families might also bring animals and servants
(Gen 24:59, 29:24, 29). The groom or his family could even
supplement the dowry (Gen 24:53). Although sometimes
husbands had access to it, the dowry theoretically belonged
to the woman for the duration of the marriage and would
have been her chief resource in the event of widowhood or
divorce, especially if she had no sons or parents. The grooms
family in turn provided a payment or betrothal gift (mohar)
to the brides family (Gen 34:12; Exod 22:16; 1 Sam 18:25).
Sometimes called the bride-price, it has been interpreted as
evidence that women were purchased by men. The notion
that women were thus property of their husbands is also
suggested by the fact that the taking of a wife is sometimes,
nents of a largely vegetarian diet. Some of the fruits, vegetables, legumes, and dairy products were consumed raw,
but many were processed by churning, pickling, fermenting,
drying, pressing, or roasting to produce cheese, capers, dates,
olives, nuts, raisins, herbs, oil, and wine. Such foods could
be kept for extended periods and thus provide sustenance
long past the growing seasons. Because they were costly and
also had to be consumed all at once, animals were rarely
slaughtered for food except for special occasions or festivals
in which several families might share the meat.
In addition to the work required for making edible foods,
women also carried out a similarly tedious sequence of
tasks perhaps in the winter months when less time was
required for food processing to produce clothing and other
textiles. Wool shorn from the animals had to be carded,
spun, occasionally dyed, woven into cloth, and then sewn
into garments. It is not clear, however, whether women or
men or both fashioned leather goods, baskets, and other
household implements, although it is likely that each gender made the items associated with their particular productive responsibilities.
Certain benefits accrued to the women who performed
these onerous tasks. Considerable technological expertise
was necessary for many household procedures, and mastering the requisite skills could be gratifying, as was the satisfaction of feeding and clothing ones family. Men would
have experienced similar gratification from their productive
labors, although the periodic failure of crops due to drought
or pestilence all too often diminished that reward. Another
positive feature of womens work was that, because many
of the tasks (such as grinding or spinning) were done by
neighboring women working together, it involved pleasurable social interaction; in contrast, male labor to produce
field crops was more solitary. Womens daily social interaction also served the larger community in that it meant the
formation of informal womens networks that aided communication among household units and fostered the mutual
aid necessary for dealing with illness, death, and other family problems.
In addition to its economic functions, the family household was also the place where offspring were socialized and
educated. For most children, education consisted of learning the technologies they would need as adults and also the
values and stories of their families and their larger communities. Some of this information was instilled in children in
the course of routine daily activities through the instructions and admonitions of their parents; other information
was absorbed as children observed or participated in family and community religious and social events, which were
often intertwined.
The discovery in domestic contexts of cult corners and
objects known to have been used in religious rituals indicates that religion was another aspect of family life (see also
ISRAELITES: RELIGION). Community or national shrines
may have been the locus of seasonal festivals and periodic
sacrificial events, as set forth in the Bible, but other practices
took place in the household, perhaps even on a daily basis.
Men probably placed small-scale food or drink offerings in
miniature vessels in household shrines in the hopes of securing plentiful agricultural yields. Women used amulets and
figurines as well as apotropaic lamps and shiny jewelry, and
perhaps also made offerings, all to the end of protecting
311
Israelites: Religion
narrative traditions, suggesting the spectrum of ideas concerning the role of this high deity in the religious life of
Israel. In addition, both archeology and biblical evidence
indicate that other, lesser deities were worshiped alongside the primary ancestral deity. Clan-based Israelite religion included ritual communion with departed ancestors
and agricultural and livestock seasonal festivals with mythic
overtones; it boasted a vibrant fertility cult, replete with
devotees to a variety of goddesses. The most prominent of
these goddesses were apparently Asherah (the consort of El
and, later, YHWH) and Queen of Heaven. The identity of
the Queen of Heaven is uncertain, but the cult of this deity
was fostered in a family context in which women played
a prominent role (see Jer 7:1620, 44:1519). The central
position of women in early narrative and poetic traditions,
such as Miriam (ExodNum) Deborah and Jael (Judg 4
5), and Hannah (1 Sam 12), point to the sacral female
dimensions of early Israelite religion that survived for several centuries (Plate 1).
ROLE OF THE MONARCH: The transition to a monarchic
society (ca. 1020587 BCE) introduced dramatic changes in
the fabric of Israelite religion. Kings in ancient Near Eastern
culture very often headed the religion of their kingdoms as
chief priests; in some cases they were viewed as divine or
pseudo-divine. Biblical texts reflecting this shift place limits
on a kings ability to serve as the ultimate religious authority
of his kingdom (Deut 17:1420) or condemn kingship outright (1 Sam 8:1118). However, for much of the monarchic
period, kingship was conceived in terms of the establishment
of a covenantal tradition between YHWH and King David
(2 Sam 7). The establishment of a central Temple and Temple cult in Jerusalem under Davids son Solomon (1 Kgs 5
8) firmly bound religion to the royal line. Much of the poetry
in the book of Psalms derives from the religious world of
the Jerusalem Temple, which was understood as the center of the sacred cosmos and the portal between the human
and divine realms. Israels kings were thus imbued with a
sacred status and held important cultic responsibilities. After
the schism between north and south in 922 BCE, similar
characteristics are to be found among the kings of Israel, the
northern kingdom (Amos 7:1213; see ISRAELITES: KINGSHIP).
ROLE OF PROPHETS: With the shift to monarchy,
prophets emerge more distinctly as YHWHs human
spokespersons, perhaps to keep the king in check and to
maintain religious and ethical standards. Many biblical passages suggest that the prophetic role was primarily to inaugurate or legitimize kings when they came to power and
chastise them if they fell short of their duties as a representative of the people. Prophets thus provided independent and direct access to divine will in response to royal
and priestly practices; they mediated between the king and
his royal court on the one hand and YHWH and his heavenly court on the other. Much of the Bibles prophetic tradition constitutes sharp criticism of abuses of power. A significant number of prophets also appear to have strong
connections to the priests who had ties to the clan system
of the pre-monarchic period; these were the rural Levites
whose socio-religious influence had been challenged by the
Israelites: Religion
Israelites: Tribes
Israelites: Tribes
Isserles, Moses
Solomons death the country splits into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. When
the northern kingdom falls to Assyria, its constitutive tribes
are lost. Judah withstands Assyrian incursion, but eventually falls at the hands of the Babylonian Empire. A significant number of those exiled by the Babylonians return,
rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, and reconstitute the state
of Judah under Persian rule.
Despite the coherence of the biblical account, scholars
doubt its historicity. The story of twelve sons born to rival
wives was likely formulated to account for the social organization of the tribes. How then did the tribal structure come
into being? The question can be approached through various development models proposed by scholars, as well as
by examining biblical texts that represent a tribal confederation. The archeological record does not comport with the
account of the Israelites coming from a distance to invade
the east and west banks of the Jordan. Some suggest that
the tribes formed during the Late Bronze Age when Egyptian
power diminished, leaving a power vacuum in Canaan (see
ARCHEOLOGY: ANCIENT TIMES THROUGH THE PERSIAN
PERIOD). A theory popularized by Norman Gottwald proposes that an egalitarian tribal system resulted from a peasant revolt that shook the Judean highlands. The archeologist
and Bible scholar Carol Meyers suggests that the Hebrew
word shevet, commonly translated as tribe, more likely indicates a complex chiefdom that enabled equality in some
spheres of life while operating hierarchically in others. Martin Noth analogizes the twelve tribes of Israel to the Greek
league of twelve peoples that rallied around the sanctuary of
Apollo at Delphi. He accounts for the number twelve as an
attempt to have the social order mirror the cosmic order of a
year, which is both a unit onto itself and a conglomerate of
twelve months.
Most contemporary theories acknowledge a process in
which families ensured their survival by banding together
as a clan that in turn consolidated with other clans to form a
tribe for purposes of self-protection (see ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY). The tribes founding is then often
attributed to an eponymous ancestor as a means of confer-
ring historical legitimacy. Based on the repeated acknowledgment of the families that comprise the tribes (Num 1;
26), it seems that such a process led to both the rise of individual tribes and the stories of the twelve brothers. Tribal
leadership, however, proved an insufficient bulwark against
the encroachments of enemies such as the Philistines. This
prompted the institution of chieftains or judges. Saul may
well have begun as a chieftain whose early military successes
led him to constitute a monarchical system. Although tribal
affiliations competed with fealty to the king, the monarchy
seems to have contributed to the erosion of tribal identity in
favor of regional identity (see ISRAELITES: KINGSHIP).
The image of twelve tribes recurs in biblical poetry (see
BIBLE: POETRY) such as Genesis 49, where Jacobs blessing
of his sons provides glimpses into the unique characteristics of each tribe. Whereas in Genesis 49 the recipients of
blessing are the twelve sons, even though the content of the
blessings speaks to tribal realities, in Deuteronomy 33 Moses
gathers the tribes around him before he dies to bless them
like sons. Levi appears in the roster of Deuteronomy 33, and
Joseph figures as a singular tribe while Simeon is omitted.
Scholars suggest that the omission of Simeon reflects the historical absorption of the tribe of Simeon by Judah. Deborah,
the judge and prophet, addresses ten groups in the victory
song of Judges 5. Some are familiar tribes such as Ephraim,
Benjamin, Zebulun, Issachar, Naphtali, Reuben, Dan, and
Asher, and others are alternately named Machir and Gilead.
Machir and Gilead are figures associated with the eastern
half of the tribe of Manasseh (Num 26:29, 32:3940; Deut
3:15; Josh 13:29-31 [where Machir is a synonym for the
tribe of Manasseh]; Josh 17:1). The omission of Simeon,
Judah, and Levi in Judges 5 is noteworthy because it implies
a northern provenance, perhaps before the rise of the tribe
of Judah or the unification of northern and southern tribes.
Biblical narrative records ritual acts in which the number
twelve symbolically represents the tribes. Moses builds an
altar with twelve pillars during the revelation at Sinai (Exod
24:4), and Joshua sets up a twelve-stone memorial after the
national crossing of the Jordan (Josh 4:58). Twelve precious stones are inlaid in four rows on the breastplate worn
by the High Priest (Exod 28:1521, 39:814). In his vision of
a restored Israel, the prophet Ezekiel sees the land parceled
out in twelve equal portions for the tribes of Dan, Asher,
Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, Judah, Benjamin,
Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad, with the priests and
Levites situated at a sacred center and the strangers among
Israel enjoying equal citizenship and property rights (Ezek
4748).
For further reading, see N. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh:
A Sociology of the Religion of Liberated Israel 12501050 B.C.E
(1979); Z. Kallai, Historical Geography of the Bible: The Tribal
Territories of Israel (1986); and C. Meyers, Tribes and Tribulations: Retheorizing Earliest Israel, in Tracking the Tribes of
Yahweh: On the Trail of a Classic, ed. R. Boer (2002).
R ACHEL H AVRELOCK
Isserles, Moses
Italy
Italy. Jews have lived in Italy for more than two thousand years. The first-century-CE statesman and writer Cicero
blamed them for favoring Julius Caesar in factional Roman
politics. Italian Jews, unlike Jews elsewhere in Europe, cannot be viewed as newcomers who settled among an already
existing population. Indeed, Italian Jews have always spoken and written the vernacular, eaten local foods, and
dressed as others, as artistic evidence reveals. The roots of
Italian Jewish acculturation are deep, and one may ask who
actually acculturated to whom. Roman Jews, for example,
today maintain a cuisine dating back to the fifteenth century, if not earlier, and this food is commonly considered
Romes authentic fare. However, Jews did differ from their
Italian neighbors in religion. This created friction, including
socially, but it did not lead to attacks as occurred north of
the Alps. The single notable massacre was a judicial one, at
Trent in 1475, following a ritual murder accusation. This
was in territory that was part of the German Empire, where
both Jews and others spoke a German dialect. Tensions as
a rule were acted out in organized, even negotiated, annual
ritual stonings. The aim was to hurt no one or no thing,
while proclaiming the proper social order of Christian
dominance.
Rome has always been the site of a large Jewish community, and so was the south of the Italian peninsula until
about 1500. Ashkenazi (German) Jews, who lived in the
medieval Rhineland, traced the roots of their culture to Apulia (southwest Italy through the heel of the boot) and to a
mystical figure named Abu Aaron, who lived in the ninth
century. Jewish communities stretched out along the Via
Appia, which runs from Rome to Brindisi (in Apulia); this
road was built by the ancient Romans and is still in use.
There were numerous Jews in Sicily. Southern Jewish communities were expelled in 1492, 1511, and (a remnant in
Naples) in 1541; these areas were then under Spanish rule,
and their fate was sealed by the expulsion order from Spain
of 1492. North of Rome, Jews are rarely mentioned until
about the thirteenth century, when Jews were invited to
open small loan banks, whose condotta (permits) required
them to operate for periods of five to ten years. By the sixteenth century, Jewish communities were found throughout
the north. Perhaps the best known northern community was
in Venice, where Jews settled formally only in 1516. The
preexisting name of the island where Jews lived provided
315
Italy
Iyar
316
Jamaica
Jeremiah
foreign nations. Other subsections are more difficult to isolate. Jeremiah 26 has some internal cohesion, relating a
sequence of prophecies of judgment against the kingdoms
of Israel and Judah using the language of the covenantal
lawsuit (riv). Chapters 3031 are similarly cohesive, preserving a series of restoration oracles. Chapters 3745 are
predominantly biographical prose with brief poetic sections
interspersed.
Other layers of the book are not so well integrated. Personal laments relating the prophets emotional distress are
distributed throughout Jeremiah 1120 (11:1823; 12:16;
15:1014, 1521; 17:1418; 18:1823; 20:713, 1418). A
loose collection of stories describing symbolic actions performed by the prophet or his proxy are also present (e.g.,
13:111, 16:14, 18:112, 19:115, 27:128:17, 32:615,
35:119, 36:132, 43:813; cf. 51:5964). Two epistles supposedly written by the prophet appear in Jeremiah 29 and
45, and Jeremiah 52 concludes the book with a historical
appendix (ch. 52), which is duplicated in 2 Kings 24:18
25:30.
Given this literary diversity, the book is best regarded as a
compendium of materials by and about Jeremiah. Although
Jeremiah 36 describes how the prophets collected sayings
were written down, the story has been influenced by important Deuteronomic texts such as 2 Kings 22 and Deuteronomy 17, and its historical value is suspect. Baruch ben
Neriah is mentioned as a scribe attending the prophet (32:9
15, 36:419, 43:17, 45:15), but his role is controversial,
and the texts mentioning him cannot be used as historical data. The presence of both thematic and terminological
doublets (e.g., 7:315/ 26:26; 23:56/ 33:1416) suggests
the books complex literary pre-history. Possibly, Judean
refugees in Egypt and Babylon separately preserved recollections of Jeremiah, and their literary traditions were combined over a protracted period, in part under the influence
of Deuteronomic thinkers.
Despite its complicated formation process and the unevenness of its contents, a clear and coherent voice speaks from
the text. Jeremiahs poetic style favors concise, cadenced
wordplays (1:10, 20:3, among others), often playing creatively on a single verb (2:5, 17:14). Such structures are
frequently built into more elaborate oracles that suggest
complex logical relationships (8:412). Jeremiah presents
vivid images (4:34) and sometimes develops more elaborate
poems around them (10:116, 20:712). A master rhetorician, he cites the positions of his interlocutors and attempts
to answer the objections of his audience (e.g., 13:2027).
Only Amos (ch. 3) compares to Jeremiah in his degree of
intellectual engagement with his audience.
Jeremiahs literary style reflects his situation in the final
days of the Judean monarchy, after the initial deportation
of 597 BCE. He sought to prepare Judeans for a new way
of living as a community without the mediating institutions of Temple (3:1618, 7:2123) and palace (23:14).
He drew on Hoseas language (e.g., Hosea 2) to describe
Jeremiah
festivals (Deut 16:16; cf. Luke 2:41). Many psalms celebrate travel to Jerusalem. The Psalms of Ascent (120134),
likely recited by those entering the city, refer to the rituals of the priests and the royal throne. Those living outside the land yearned to be in Jerusalem (Isa 27:13; Ps 137).
Diaspora Jews revered the city and Temple, sending regular contributions for its upkeep and making pilgrimages
( Philo, Gaius 281; Acts 2:511).
Jews described Jerusalem in cosmic and fanciful language.
It was the navel of the earth, from which the world was
created (Ezek 38:12; Jubilees 8:19; Sibylline Oracles 5:247).
Solomons Temple is said to have been constructed on the
same spot where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac (2 Chron
3:1). Garden of Eden imagery is applied to the city (1 Enoch
26), and basic geography was ignored: Although Jerusalem
was not the highest spot in the region, it was said to be up in
the heights (Ps 68:19). Regardless of where one began ones
voyage, when traveling to the city, one was said to ascend
(Ezra 1:3). Although it was not the largest or most significant
city in the region, Jerusalem was said to be in the midst of
nations, with countries round about her (Ezek 5:5). It was
in Jerusalem that the great events of the final days would
occur and the dispersed would be gathered together in a city
purged of idolatry and wrongdoing (Jer 31; Joel 4). Ezekiel
predicted a new Temple, of incomparably greater glory and
size, to be built on the spot of the destroyed Temple (4048).
Not only Israel but all the nations would go up to Jerusalem
to worship the one true God (Isa 2:3; Zech 8:22, 14:16; Tobit
13:11; Sibylline Oracles 3:71023).
Rabbinic views on Jerusalem reveal complex attitudes
toward a revered city that had long been under foreign
sovereignty and whose great Temple still lay in ruin. The
Rabbis felt a deep, continuing attachment to the city, while
also accommodating themselves to the loss of the Temple rituals, regular pilgrimages, and ancient institutions of priesthood and kingship. They vividly praised the city whose
320
Jerusalem: 19481967
Jerusalem: 19481967. Between 1948 and 1967, Jerusalem was divided between Israel, which controlled the
western portion of the city, and Jordan, which controlled the
eastern portion. Contrary to UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of November 29, 1947, which still remains in force,
both Israel and Jordan refused to accept the city as an international entity and instead preferred its partition. Jordan
and Israel regarded this arrangement as a pragmatic alternative to an all-or-nothing approach. It is no coincidence
that, except for odd days here and there, the administration of urban concerns shared by both parts of the city, such
as water, sewage, pest control, and legal and illegal civilian
movement, was undertaken in an atmosphere of calm and
characterized by a degree of cooperation. A good example
of such cooperation was the convoy of Israeli soldiers disguised as policemen (with Jordanian knowledge) that was
escorted by the Jordanian Legion to the Israeli enclave of
Mt. Scopus every two weeks. Tourists and Arabs (usually
Christian) were also allowed to move between the two
parts of the city via the Mandelbaum Gate. As time passed,
the joint Israeli-Jordanian Ceasefire Committee also evolved
into a civilian forum for city administration and the solving of problems that arose from time to time in a city where
the border passed through residential neighborhoods and, in
some places, private homes.
Notwithstanding this cooperation, Israel encouraged the
construction of civilian residences in demilitarized zones and
no-mans land, and Jordan prevented Israeli access to the
holy places, even though all of these acts ran counter to the
IsraeliJordanian cease-fire agreement of April 1948. Such
actions, and the fact that a border fence ran through the
321
Jerusalem: 19481967
See CHRISTIANITY
JUDAISM; NEW TESTAMENT
JERUSALEM
AND
SECOND
TINE
TEMPLE
Jewish Studies
JUDAISM: JEWISH
RENEWAL MOVEMENT
Jewish Science is a philosophy of Judaism that developed into a movement in 1922 with the establishment
of the Society of Jewish Science in New York City. The
term was coined by Reform Rabbi Alfred Geiger Moses
324
Jewish Studies
Jewish Studies
Jewish Studies
homosexuality became sources of tension within the seminary. After much debate, JTS admitted women to rabbinic
studies in 1983. A 2007 decision by the law committee permitted self-identified gay and lesbian individuals, given the
assent of the faculty, to enter JTS and the Ziegler Rabbinical
School in California, but not the Jerusalem-based Schechter
Seminary.
In the first decade of the twenty-first century, JTS consists of five schools: List College (an undergraduate division
offering dual degrees with Columbia University and Barnard
College), the Rabbinical School, Cantors Institute, Graduate
School, and the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education. The most recent chancellor, Dr. Arnold M.
Eisen, was installed in 2007.
R ACHEL G ORDAN
Levi,
and Salomon Reinach, made significant contributions in the developing field of Oriental studies. They produced works in the general fields of comparative linguistics,
mythology, and ancient religions, laying foundations for the
disciplines of religious studies and the sociology of religion.
The founder of the field of sociology, Emile Durkheim, was
the son of an Alsatian rabbi. By 1895 Jews were disproportionately represented in the Institut de France, constituting 7
of its 260 members. Among important Jewish philosophers
lished in New York City in 1887 in response to the radical direction of American Reform Judaism (see JUDAISM,
REFORM: NORTH AMERICA), outlined in its 1885 Pittsburgh Platform. Moderate Jewish communal leaders, principally Sabato Morais, Henry Pereira Mendes, Alexander
Kohut, and Cyrus Adler organized support for a rabbinical
seminary more traditional than Hebrew Union College, but
also reflective of the nineteenth-century Positive-Historical
schools conception of Judaism as an evolving religion. The
JTS curriculum was modeled after that of the seminary in
Breslau founded by Zacharias Frankel; it stressed biblical,
historical, and philosophical subjects in addition to the traditional focus on rabbinic literature and Judaism.
Despite community outreach and organizing efforts, JTS
did not successfully create a congregational base, leading
to financial struggles during the schools first fifteen years.
In 1902, when JTS was on the brink of closing, Solomon
Palestina, an indication that Jews were no longer the dominant factor in the population. One of the Romans punitive acts was a prohibition not only of Jewish residence
in Jerusalem but even of entry into the city, which then
became a place of foreign residents.
After the revolt was suppressed, the Romans prohibited
public Jewish ritual observances in an attempt to undermine the independent leadership of the Jewish people by
preventing communal gatherings. Some Jews observed the
commandments secretly, and others transgressed publicly to
demonstrate that they were prepared to die as martyrs for
the sake of observing the commandments. Antoninus Pius
or the Joint), is the largest Jewish relief and welfare organization granting assistance to Jews outside North America. It
was founded in 1914, under the chairmanship of Felix M.
Warburg, when American Orthodox, Reform, and socialist Jews joined forces to provide emergency aid to suffering
Jewish populations in Eastern Europe and Palestine during
World War I. JDC focused on child care and the distribution
of food, clothes, and medical and sanitary aid. Beginning
in 1923, JDC undertook rehabilitation and reconstruction
of Jewish communities by founding a network of cooperative credit institutions for craftsmen and small businessmen,
establishing courses for vocational training, and encouraging Jewish engagement in agriculture throughout Eastern
Europe. In 1924, in cooperation with the Soviet government, JDC launched a large-scale project for the agrarization of Soviet Jews left without a livelihood (Agro-Joint).
As a result, more than 150,000 Jews settled on land in the
Crimea and Ukraine.
With Hitlers 1933 rise to power, through the Holocaust
period, JDC made efforts to provide relief and to rescue European Jews. Until December 1941, when the
United States entered World War II, JDC legally supported
the increasingly impoverished German Jewish community
and aided Polish Jewish communal organizations. Subsequently, through its European headquarters in Lisbon, JDC
supported illegal Holocaust rescue and resistance activities in German-occupied Europe, including armed resistance
in France and Poland. It sent parcels to Polish Jews in
the Soviet Union via Teheran, and it financially assisted
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenbergs efforts to rescue tens
of thousands of Jews in Hungary (see HOLOCAUST RESCUERS).
During the first post-war years, JDC cared for more than
200,000 Jews in displaced persons camps in Europe and
supported the illegal movement of Jews from Europe to
Jerusalem.
Beginning in the 1950s when JDC was unable to operate openly in the Eastern Bloc countries (except in Poland
between 1957 and 1967, and Romania since 1967), it financially supported the massive dispatch of individual clothing and food parcels, matzah for Passover observance, and
financial remittances, directed mostly by the Israeli governmental organization Nativ. JDC renewed its operations in
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland in the early 1980s
and in the USSR in 1988. Dedicated to reviving Jewish communal life in the Soviet Union and its successor countries,
JDC has set up more than 170 welfare centers (h.asadim),
which provide elderly and needy Jewish survivors with
food, medical assistance, home care, and cultural activities,
and 180 Jewish libraries. JDC supports the local Jewish press
Jerusalem (1:12:11) that culminates in a call to collective repentance (2:1217) and a divine response (2:1832).
Chapters 3 and 4 describe Gods intervention on Judahs
behalf, the restoration of its fortunes, and its engagement in
a cosmic battle against national foes. Joel marks an important transition from the language of earlier prophecy to the
the First Jewish War (6670 CE) against Rome (see PHARISEES). In many ways the founder of rabbinic Judaism (see
JUDAISM; RABBINIC LITERATURE entries), Joh.anan is said
to have obtained permission from the Roman authorities to
leave the besieged city of Jerusalem with his followers and
to establish a center of learning at Yavneh (Jabneh, Jamnia).
He is also credited with urging the substitution of ethical
behavior (acts of lovingkindness) for the sacrificial cult that
was no longer possible after the destruction of the Temple
in 70 CE (see JUDAISM; TANNAIM; TEMPLE AND TEMPLE
CULT; WORSHIP).
Joseph
Proverbs and M. Avot, a compilation on the laws of slaughter, and a number of other ethical and halakhic writings.
Recent research includes, I. Ta-Shma, Rabbi Yonah Girondi:
Spirituality and Leadership, in M. Idel and M. Ostow, eds.,
Jewish Mystical Leaders and Leadership in the Thirteenth Century
(1998).
Josephus, Flavius
Joshua
as the Deuteronomistic History that includes Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings.
Joshuas leadership is contingent on the degree to which he
resembles Moses and upholds the Torah.
The book of Joshua can be divided into two parts: Israels
battles of conquest and the redistricting of the land to accommodate the tribes of Israel. The book begins east of the Jordan River and describes the miraculous crossing: The river
stops flowing when the feet of the priests carrying the Ark
of the Covenant touch the water, and all Israel crosses on
dry land (34). The ritual dimension of this event is emphasized when the men of Israel undergo mass circumcision,
the people celebrate Passover, and Joshua encounters the
Divine in the form of the captain of a heavenly army (5).
In 8:3035, after a victorious battle, the people of Israel
stand between the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal as Joshua
publicly recites the Torah to the people. Joshua 11 concludes with the declaration that Joshua conquered all of the
land.
The second portion of the book focuses on the territorial claims of individual Israelite tribes. These boundary lists
reflect the territorial divisions that existed in the period of
the Divided Monarchy (ca. 931722 BCE; see ISRAELITES:
KINGSHIP) when regional and tribal affiliations coexisted
with national and religious affiliations. Joshua 21 addresses
the situation of the tribe of Levi that inherits sacred duties
rather than territory; because they still require a place to
live and to pasture their flocks, the other tribes must relinquish certain towns and fields to sustain them. The book
concludes with Joshuas preparations for his death (23) and
the renewal of the national covenant at Shechem (24). The
importance of the Jordan crossing and conquest of the land
in the larger narrative of Israels founding, exile, and return
has led some scholars to propose the idea of a Hexateuch, a
six-book canon spanning Genesis to Joshua, rather than a
five-book Pentateuch.
Although Joshua is represented as a focused general, he is
something of a flat character, lacking the pathos associated
with such figures as Moses or David. Some have suggested
that Joshua is intended as a model of a good king whose
attributes are reflected in the Judean kings Hezekiah and
Josiah.
Jews and Christians have understood the book of Joshua
as demonstrating the ideology that homeland entails warfare. Joshua espouses the notion of holy war insofar as battles and the displacement of resident populations are sanctioned by God and the spoils of war are placed under a
ban called herem. Because of its explicit military theme,
Joshua has also been subject to critical readings. The Rabbis
who wrote and compiled the Talmud and midrash excised
the notion of holy war from Judaism, in part by commenting very little on the book of Joshua. Contemporary readings have observed counter traditions, arguing that rather
than exterminating their neighbors, the tribes of Israel lived
alongside them (6:25, 9:2627, 11:22, 13:13, 16:10, 17:11
13) and that the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah
in Jerusalem until today (15:63).
For further reading, see G. Mitchell, Together in the Land:
A Reading of the Book of Joshua (1993); and M. Weinfeld, The
Promise of the Land: The Inheritance of the Land of Canaan by
the Israelites (1993); see also BIBLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF
R ACHEL H AVRELOCK
WAR AND PEACE.
Josiah
Josephus The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews. Written in southern Italy by an anonymous author in the tenth
century CE, this work chronicles Jewish history from creation to the end of the First Jewish War against Rome. The
first printed edition was published in Mantua in 1480; an
illustrated Yiddish version was printed in Zurich in 1546.
See also MARTYRDOM.
Israelite
Universelle schools, fluent in a few languages, and
knowledgeable in Jewish history and tradition. Some (e.g.,
David Fresco, Joseph Romano, Abraham Galante) were persecuted and even excommunicated by rabbinical authorities,
who felt threatened by their publications. Despite the differences in their ideological stances, all Ladino periodicals
endeavored to disseminate progressive ideas, offer objective
coverage of local and international developments, enlighten
their readers, and provide them with appropriate entertainment.
The impact of the Ladino press, which was both a tool and
a product of westernization, on the Ottoman Jews exceeded
the most ambitious aspirations of its creators. It connected
generations of Sephardim to the larger world, increased
literacy, developed reading habits of men and women, supported modern Ladino fiction, and created a sphere of public
discussions inside and between Ottoman Jewish communities. For further reading, see G. Nassi, ed., Jewish Journalism
and Printing Houses in the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey
(2001); and S. A. Stein, Making Jews Modern: The Yiddish and
Ladino Press in the Russian and Ottoman Empires (2003).
O LGA B OROVAYA
newspapers of the Early Republic such as the National Advocate and the New York Evening Star. A Democrat and a proto
Zionist or restorationist, Noah personified the slash-andburn style of early American newspapers that would later
be discredited by Adolph S. Ochs (18551935), the most
important Jew in the history of U.S. journalism. In 1896, this
young publisher of the Chattanooga Times purchased a financially failing daily, the New York Times. Without disavowing
a preference for the Democratic Party, he upheld an ideal of
objectivity that would become the twentieth-century standard against which the best of newspaper journalism was
henceforth measured.
Ochs insisted on news gathering that would accumulate facts to be presented impartially in the Times. He was
reluctant to interfere in the editorial decisions of the newspaper that he and his family owned, and he maintained
strict separation between the news columns and the editorial page. Ochs values were conveyed to his descendants as well. His son-in-law, Arthur Hays Sulzberger,
published the Times from 1935 until 1961; another son-inlaw, Orvil Dryfoos, from 1961 until 1963; and then Ochs
son Arthur Ochs (Punch) Sulzberger from 1963 until 1992.
Punch Sulzbergers son, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., became
the first non-Jew in the family to run the newspaper. The
fidelity to the Ochs tradition is traced in S. E. Tifft and A. S.
Joness The Trust (1999).
In the tenacity with which editors and reporters pursued
and presented stories, the Times dwarfed all other newspapers in the world. No other newspaper was ever so comprehensive; its news room covered 1.3 acres. Although the
newspaper was generally deferential to Washington until
the 1960s, the Times very often deserved its reputation
for making a serious stab at impartiality. Its Jewish ownership was not irrelevant, however, to the history of the
Times. Ochs own admiration for German Kultur may have
slowed the newspapers recognition of Germanys descent
into Nazi barbarism. During World War II, coverage of
the Holocaust was shockingly inadequate (a failure that
was hardly unique). The familys opposition to Zionism
was patent. Anxieties about antisemitism also stunted the
careers of some Jewish reporters and editors. Because the
Times was known as a Jewish newspaper, it was not until
1977 that a Jew (A. M. Rosenthal) become its executive editor; it was another seven years before Thomas L. Friedman
became the first Jewish bureau chief assigned to cover Israel
and its neighbors.
Similar concerns haunted the career and the reputation
of Walter Lippmann (18891974), the ablest intellectual of
the twentieth century to work within the field of American journalism. He co-founded and co-edited the leading
liberal weekly magazine, The New Republic, in 1914 and in
the following decade presided over the editorial page of the
Pulitzer familys fabled New York World. By the end of the
1920s, Lippmann had invented the syndicated column of
political opinion, and from his perch at the New York HeraldTribune, he was able to hover above the rest of the media
and indeed above diplomacy. Until the 1960s, foreign governments were said to formally accredit their ambassadors
to the president and by private letter to Lippmann. Ronald
Steels biography, Walter Lippmann and the American Century
(1980), also exposes the private shame that this brilliant
political analyst and gifted prose stylist harbored because of
Agudat Israels Der yud, and the Vilna Tog. As linguistic Polonization intensified in this period, however, Yiddish periodicals faced increasing competition from both the Polish
and the growing Polish Jewish presses. Just as Hebrew writers and editors were often also active in Yiddish publishing,
many of those active in Yiddish worked simultaneously for
Polish Jewish publications.
In the Soviet Union, where Yiddish was recognized as
the national language of the Jews while Hebrew- and
Russian-language Jewish presses were eliminated, the statesupported Yiddish press encouraged many new and amateur
writers, often of inferior caliber. Conforming to the dictate,
socialist in content, national in form, it was constrained
by official ideology and its Jewish content was generally
weak; Jews often preferred to read the dominant Russian
press instead. The largest dailies Der emes (Moscow, 1920
38, earlier called Di varhayt), Der shtern (Kharkov, 192541),
and Oktyaber (Minsk, 192541) appeared alongside smaller
local papers. However, many political, literary, and scholarly journals (among them Di royte velt, Di yidishe shprakh,
and Der prolit) were often of excellent quality. Their numbers and frequency declined by the late 1930s because of the
increasingly severe repression of Yiddish culture and growing linguistic assimilation.
The annexation of Bessarabia and Bukovina by Romania,
areas with large numbers of unacculturated Jews, significantly increased its Jewish population and reinforced Yiddish cultural life in the interwar years. A variety of publications of an ideological, literary, and humorous character
appeared, including the literary-political journal Tshernovitser
bleter (192838). Severed from the larger Jewish communities of Poland and the USSR, Jews in the Baltic states had
difficulty sustaining a Yiddish press because of their limited
numbers, but they managed to publish dailies in Lithuania
and Latvia for much of this period. Although even traditional Jews in Hungary tended to speak Hungarian, a Yiddish press also existed in Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which
was Hungarian before World War I and Czechoslovakian
thereafter.
After the Holocaust, a number of weekly and semiweekly Yiddish publications representing different political
views appeared between 1945 and 1949 in Poland. However, the postWW II communist regime permitted only
a single Yiddish newspaper, Di folks-shtime (194591). It
was considered more liberal than the Soviet Yiddish press
and explored a greater number of Jewish issues after the
period of liberalization in 1956. Little was published in Yiddish in the USSR after Stalins suppression of Yiddish culture (194852), with the exception of the newspaper Birobidzhaner shtern (1930-present) in the Jewish autonomous
region of Birobidjan. The Moscow literary monthly Sovetish
heymland (196191) appeared after Stalins death, largely to
appease voices in the West who complained about the suppression of Jewish culture and to disseminate Soviet propaganda at home and especially abroad. After the collapse of
the Soviet Union, Sovetish heymland continued as Di yidishe
gas (199397).
For further reading, see G. Estraikh, The YiddishLanguage Communist Press, Studies in Contemporary Jewry
20 (2004): 6282; A. Greenbaum, Newspapers and Periodicals, in The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe
(2005); A. Orbach, New Voices of Russian Jewry (1980); and
S. A. Stein, Making Jews Modern: The Yiddish and Ladino Press
in the Russian and Ottoman Empires (2004).
K ALMAN W EISER
Plate 1. ASTARTE FIGURINES. Judah, Israelite period, 8th centuryearly 6th century BCE. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Accession numbers: 68.32.4, 64.67/3,
64.67/4 IAA 60725, 802. Photo The Israel Museum Jerusalem by Nahum
Slapak. See ARCHEOLOGY, LAND OF ISRAEL: ANCIENT TIMES TO PERSIAN PERIOD; CANAAN, CANAANITES; ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY; ISRAELITES: RELIGION; JUDAH, KINGDOM OF; and WOMEN, ANCIENT:
BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS.
Plate 2. DEAD SEA SCROLL: The Community Rule (detail). Qumran, 1st century BCE1st century CE. Parchment.
The Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Accession number: 96.83/208A. Photo The Israel Museum,
Jerusalem. See ARCHEOLOGY, LAND OF ISRAEL: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD; DEAD SEA SCROLLS; and QUMRAN.
Plate 3. SYNAGOGUE MOSAIC FLOOR (detail): The central shrine (possibly a Torah ark) and the menorahs, shofars, and
incense shovels symbolize the Jerusalem Temple and expectation of messianic redemption. Beth Shean, Byzantine period,
6th century CE. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. IAA Photo The Israel Museum Jerusalem. See ART: LATE ANTIQUITY;
BYZANTINE EMPIRE; DECAPOLIS CITIES; MENORAH; MESSIANISM: BIBLICAL AND SECOND TEMPLE ERAS; SHOFAR;
and SYNAGOGUES, ANCIENT.
Plate 4. THE REGENSBURG PENTATEUCH: This depiction of Aaron the High Priest lighting the Tabernacle menorah,
with Tabernacle implements, invokes a rebuilt Temple and future redemption. Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany, ca. 1300
CE. Pen and ink, tempera and gold leaf on vellum. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Accession number: B05.0009; 180/05.
Photo The Israel Museum Jerusalem by David Harris. See AARON; ART: MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT ILLUSTRATION;
MENORAH; TABERNACLE; and TEMPLE AND TEMPLE CULT.
Plate 5. PASSOVER PLATE. Spain, ca. 1480. Earthenware. The Israel Museum,
Jerusalem. Gift of Jakob Michael, New York, in memory of his wife, Erna
Sondheimer-Michael. Accession number: B65.12.0483; 134/057. Photo The
Israel Museum Jerusalem by Nahum Slapak. See CEREMONIAL OBJECTS;
PASSOVER; and SPAIN, CHRISTIAN.
Plate 6. BRIDAL CASKET (cofanetto) represents from right to left the three duties incumbent on Jewish women:
h.allah (putting aside a portion of the Sabbath dough); niddah; and hadlakat ha-ner (kindling Sabbath lights). North
Italy, late 15th century. Cast and engraved silver, niello, partly gilt. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gift of Astorre
Mayer, Milan Accession number: B51.04.0207; 131/030. Photo The Israel Museum Jerusalem. See NIDDAH;
SABBATH; IMMERSION, RITUAL: WOMEN; MIKVEH; and WOMEN, ANCIENT: RABBINIC JUDAISM.
cutout
Plate 8. TORAH FINIALS (rimonim). Cochin, India, 18th century19th century. Gold: repousse,
and engraved; tin backing. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum,
NY / Art Resource, NY ART64627. See CEREMONIAL OBJECTS; COCHIN JEWS; INDIA; and TORAH.
Plate 9. Israel Dov Rosenbaum, MIZRAH. (an ornamental plaque on the wall
of a synagogue or home indicating east [mizrah.], the direction of prayer). Podkamen, Ukraine, 1877. Paint, ink, and pencil on cut-out paper. The Jewish
Museum, New York City. Gift of Helen W. Finkel in memory of Israel Dov Rosenbaum and Bessie Rosenbaum Finkel. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY /
Art Resource, NYART312632. See SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY; SYNAGOGUES, WOODEN; and WORSHIP.
Plate 10. H.ANUKKAH LAMP. Central Anti-Atlas Mountains (?) (Morocco), 19th
early 20th century. Copper alloy: cast and enameled. The Jewish Museum, New York
City. Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY / Art
Resource, NY ART392475. See CEREMONIAL OBJECTS; CEREMONIAL OBJECTS:
ISLAMIC LANDS; H
. ANUKKAH; and NORTH AFRICA.
Plate 11. Zeev Raban (18901970), H.ANUKKAH LAMP. Bezalel School, Jerusalem, early
1920s. Copper alloy: die-stamped. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Gift of Dr. Harry G.
Friedman, F 5455. Location: NY, U.S.A. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY / Art Resource,
NY ART392476. See ART: ISRAELI; CEREMONIAL OBJECTS; and H
. ANUKKAH.
Plate 12. Isidor Kaufmann (18531921), FRIDAY EVENING, ca. 1920. Oil on canvas.
The Jewish Museum, New York City. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. M. R. Schweitzer, JM 4
63. Photo: John Parnell. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY / Art Resource, NY
ART58316. See ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH CENTURY; SABBATH; and WOMEN,
MODERN: EASTERN EUROPE.
Plate 14. Marc Chagall (18871985), WHITE CRUCIFIXION, 1938. Oil on canvas.
The Art Institute of Chicago. Gift of Alfred S. Alschuler, 1946.925. Photography
The Art Institute of Chicago. See ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY; POGROM;
RUSSIA; and HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART.
Plate 16. Max Weber (18811961), STILL LIFE WITH CHALLAH, ca.
1930. Oil on canvas. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Gift of Joy S.
Weber, 199459. Photo Credit: The Jewish Museum, NY / Art Resource,
NY Art392477. See ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; and SABBATH.
Plate 18. Ben Shahn (18981969), NEW YORK, 1947. Tempera on paper mounted on panel. The
Jewish Museum, New York City. Purchase: Oscar and Regina Gruss Charitable and Educational Foundation Fund, 199623. Photo: John Parnell. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY / Art Resource,
NY ART132848. See ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; and ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; and NEW
YORK CITY.
Plate 19. Leonard Baskin (19222000), THE ALTAR, 1977. Lindenwood: carved and laminated. Location: The Jewish Museum, New York City. Photo credit: Estate of the artist.
See ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; and HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART.
Plate 20. Deborah Kass (b. 1952), SIX BLUE BARBRAS (THE JEWISH JACKIE SERIES), 1992.
Screen print and acrylic on canvas. The Jewish Museum, New York City. Gift of Seth Cohen,
200410. Photo by Richard Goodbody, Inc. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, NY / Art Resource,
NY ART334071. See ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; and CELEBRITIES.
Plate 21. Ephraim Moses Lilien (18741925), SKETCH FOR A CARPET (triptych; dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. David Wolffson): right: GALUT [exile], center: ALLEGORICAL WEDDING, left: LIBERATION, 1906. Oil and pencil on canvas. The
Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Photo The Israel Museum Jerusalem. Accession number: B88.0279. See ART, EUROPE:
TWENTIETH CENTURY; and ART: ISRAELI.
Plate 22. Reuven Rubin, FIRST FRUITS (triptych): right: SERENITY (THE BEDOUINE); center: FRUIT OF THE LAND; left:
THE SHEPHERD, 1923. Oil on canvas. Rubin Museum Collection, Tel Aviv. See ART: ISRAELI.
Plate 24. Mordecai Ardon (18961992), AT THE GATES OF JERUSALEM (triptych): right: SIGN; center: LADDERS;
left: ROCK, 1967. Oil on canvas. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gift of the artist in honor of Israels twentieth anniversary and the reunification of Jerusalem. Estate of the artist. Accession number: B67.0546. Photo (c) The Israel Museum
Jerusalem. See ART: ISRAELI.
Judaism
When Joshua allocated the land of Canaan, Judah was
assigned a large region west of the Dead Sea containing
Bethlehem and Hebron. Jacobs blessing of Judah in Genesis 49:812, assigning the tribe preeminence and promising
that the scepter shall not depart from Judah, is a reflection
of the tribal roots of the Davidic dynasty that succeeded King
Judaism in virtually all of its present-day forms has its origins in rabbinic Judaism (ca. 50600 CE), an intellectual and
religious movement that developed in the aftermath of the
destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Through its most important literary achievement, the Babylonian Talmud, the ongoing literary and legal endeavor (see
HALAKHAH) of rabbinic Judaism shaped and determined
virtually all forms of Jewish life and practice before 1800.
Moreover, all contemporary forms of Judaism are built on its
foundations. The destruction of the Temple, the cessation of
sacrificial offerings, and the disempowerment of the hereditary priesthood ended Israelite religion, the religious practice that informs most biblical books (see ISRAELITES: RELIGION; TEMPLE AND TEMPLE CULT). Judaism as invented
by the Rabbis represented a new and enduring development
in the life of the Jewish people.
Even before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the
founders of the rabbinic movement, the Pharisees, created
a way of life that valued personal piety and devotion to
Judaism
Judaism, Conservative
Judaism, Conservative
Judaism, Feminist
Judaism, Feminist
Judaism, Feminist
both possible and imperative. It is possible because the central Jewish concept of covenant is one that includes men
and women, and it is imperative if Judaism is to remain
an ongoing, meaningful religious tradition (see also LIFECYCLE RITUALS; PRAYER; WORSHIP).
Those attempting to create a feminist Judaism within
existing Jewish institutions and organizations place major
emphasis on creating inclusive communities that welcome
heterosexual, gay, bisexual, and transgendered Jews; traditional and nontraditional Jewish families; Jews who are
physically challenged and have other differences and that
provide rituals (such as gay commitment ceremonies performed by a leader of the congregation) that make each
of its members feel at home. Egalitarian worship is often
equated with feminist Judaism, but most feminists insist
that egalitarianism, although important, is insufficient. Also
needed are a more just distribution of power within the
Jewish community and linguistic changes during public
worship that make womens role as covenantal partners
clear. These liturgical changes include a deemphasis or elimination of divine images of hierarchical domination, such as
Lord and King, and the addition of other gender-neutral
ways of characterizing the deity. Suggestions for alternate
terms include Elah, the grammatically feminine form of
El (God), and Shekhinah, a grammatically feminine noun
referring to Gods indwelling presence that medieval Jewish
mystics viewed as female by nature. Identifying Shekhinah as
She-Who-Dwells-Within, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb envisions
God as a being who connects all of life, expresses our longing for wholeness, and ultimately calls us to justice (She Who
Dwells Within: A Feminist Vision of a Renewed Judaism [1995]).
In Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective (1990), feminist theologian Judith Plaskow proposes
such anthropomorphic images of God as lover, companion, co-creator, and friend, while also endorsing the nonanthropomorphic richly ambiguous image of God as makom
(place) an image that points to community as a special
place of Gods self-manifestation (165). Poet and theologian Marcia Falk further suggests images composed of the
basic elements of creation earth, water, wind, and fire
such as eyn ha-h.ayyim, wellspring or source of life; nishmat
kol h.ai, breath of all living things; and nitzotzot ha-nefesh,
sparks of the inner, unseen self to help construct a theology of immanence that will both affirm the sanctity of the
world and shatter the idolatrous reign of the lord/God/king
(Toward a Feminist Jewish Reconstruction of Monotheism, Tikkun 4 [1989]: 53, 56).
Do such changes, however, in and of themselves constitute a feminist Judaism? For the theologians cited earlier,
as well as for many others, the answer is no. As Judith
Plaskow has written, all three basic elements of Judaism
God, Torah, and Israel need to be reenvisioned before
a feminist Judaism can truly be created. This new vision
includes constructing a new concept of Israel (or community) that recognizes women as fully Jewish while also
taking womens experiences seriously, including the feminist experience of personal empowerment (Standing Again
at Sinai, 86). Although Plaskow points to halakhah (rabbinic law) as negative when it submerges women in the
covenant community (85), feminist ethicist and theologian
Rachel Adler proposes the re-creation and renewal of liberal or progressive Judaism by reappropriating halakhah as a
Judaism, Feminist
Judaism, Liberal
Judaism, Liberal
Judaism, Orthodox: Modern Othodox refers to an interpretation of Orthodox Judaism that arose in the nineteenth
century to affirm the authority of the intellectual and communal heritage of pre-modern rabbinic Judaism and to
oppose advocates of a conscious alteration or reform of
Judaism in the spirit of the times. Ideologically, many
Modern Orthodox Jews see themselves in continuity with
the teachings of such nineteenth-century Orthodox rabbis as Samson Raphael Hirsch and Esriel Hildesheimer,
who, in differing ways, advocated a stringent observance of
halakhah (the rabbinic legal system) coupled with a positive engagement with aspects of modern western culture.
Overwhelmingly Zionist and pro-Israel in their orientation,
Modern Orthodox Jews tend to support ideologies of the
Religious Zionist [ Mizrachi] movement as it developed in
Israel and to connect with the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac ha-Kohen Kook. They often look to Yeshiva
343
H
. aredi communities. The former president of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Norman Lamm, has suggested replacing the
label Modern Orthodoxy with Centrist Orthodoxy. In
terms of publications, Modern Orthodox Jews have nothing
to compare with the impact created by Artscroll and other
anglophone H.aredi publishers and often use the books these
publishers produce.
Ideological proponents of Modern Orthodoxy, led by
Rabbi Saul Berman, organized themselves in 1999 in a
group called Edah, with the slogan, The Courage to Be
Modern and Orthodox. Among other things, Edah articulated positions that affirmed the equality of women in
Judaism while preserving the halakhic process. The demise
of Edah in 2005 demonstrates the organizational weakness of ideological Modern Orthodoxy. The liberal Orthodox
yeshiva Chovevei Torah has taken up some of the void left by
Edah.
One of the pioneers of research into Modern Orthodoxy
was Charles Liebman, whose 1966 study, Orthodoxy in American Jewish Life, was highly influential; also important are
the articles of sociologist C. I. Waxman, especially Dilemmas of Modern Orthodoxy: Sociological and Philosophical,
Judaism (Winter, 1993). Also useful are S. C. Heilman and S.
M. Cohen, Cosmopolitans & Parochials: Modern Orthodox Jews in
America (1989); and Heilman, Sliding to the Right: The Contest
for the Future of American Jewish Orthodoxy (2006).
I RA R OBINSON
Hirsch, Torah im derekh eretz (Torah with worldly culture), which encouraged engagement with those aspects
of German culture that did not directly threaten religious
observance.
The most extreme form of Ultra-Orthodoxy, insisting on
intellectual and cultural isolationism and rejecting any innovations in Jewish life, was found in southern Hungary and
Ukraine, and Baltic states, never developed an official theology of separation because the Reform movement, which
had triggered such separatism in the West, was almost
nonexistent in these regions. However, in response to secular Jewish ideologies, like Zionism and socialism, there
was a discernible movement toward increased piety and reli
gious conservatism among both H
. asidim and mitnaggedim
(non-H
asidic
Orthodox)
and
within
the
major
rabbinical
.
academies (yeshivot), most of which banned the study of secular subjects, unless required to include them in their curricula by Russian law.
In addition, there was a discernible rise in vigilance
regarding the observance of certain aspects of Jewish law;
there was also a renewed emphasis on practices that had
previously been treated with a certain degree of latitude,
such as the use of traditional Jewish language, ethnic customs, appearance, and dress. For men this change involved
an intensified rejection of western clothing, in favor of the
traditional kapotehs or long black coats and black hats, and
an insistence on not trimming beards or peyot (side curls).
For women, there was a renewed emphasis on the laws of
modesty including completely covering the hair with hats,
tikhels (head scarves), or sheitels (wigs) and wearing understated dresses that concealed the arms and legs. Because
language was perceived as a conduit to social assimilation, Ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Hungary, Romania,
Poland, and Lithuania insisted on maintaining Yiddish as
the vernacular of Jewish daily life. Only in Germany and
the large cities of central Hungary, such as Budapest, Szeged,
and Miskolcz, did Ultra-Orthodox Jews speak German or
Hungarian among themselves.
Judaism, Reconstructionist
Jerusalem.
The Ultra-Orthodox communities of Europe were entirely
destroyed during the Holocaust, along with more than
90% of their members. After World War II, however,
against most expectations, Ultra-Orthodoxy reconstituted
itself, establishing communities, consisting mainly of Holocaust survivors, in Israel, the United States, Belgium,
Canada, Britain, and France. These Ultra-Orthodox communities have experienced remarkable growth, unanticipated by the large majority of Jewish social scientists. In
the first decade of the twenty-first century, they are the
fastest growing segment of the Jewish community worldwide, a result of high birthrates and minute attrition. In large
cities, such as Antwerp, Bnai Brak, Brooklyn (New York),
Jerusalem, Lakewood, (New Jersey), London, Los Angeles,
Montreal, and Paris, Ultra-Orthodox Jews live apart from
the non-Orthodox and maintain autonomous communal
and religious institutions. In addition to Agudat Israel, which
continues to operate as a worldwide federation representing the majority of H
. aredi Jews (except the ardently antiZionist), the Ultra-Orthodox maintain their own rabbinical
and community councils. In Israel, they are represented by
the Edah ha-H
. aredit as well as by several political parties,
such as Agudat Israel and Degel ha-Torah. In North America,
the rabbinic leadership group is Agudas ha-Rabonim of the
United States and Canada. The highest and final arbitrator
of political and halakhic issues of contention is the international tribunal, Moetset Gedolay ha-Torah (Council of Torah
Sages).
An interesting recent development is the attraction of
many Sephardic Jews in Israel and the United States to
the H.aredi ideology and way of life, including adoption of
Eastern European H
. aredi dress and halakhic stringencies
that were entirely unknown in their Muslim lands of origin. Although there is little exact information, the number
of Ultra-Orthodox Jews is estimated at 300,000 in North
America, 500,000 in Israel, and another 75,000 in Canada,
Europe, and Latin America. For further reading, see J. Katz,
Judaism, Progressive. Progressive Judaism refers to contemporary forms of Judaism that are rooted in the teachings of the biblical prophets, particularly those that stress
inwardness and a desire to enact the values of justice, equality, democracy, peace, personal fulfillment, and collective
obligations. Although its practices are anchored in Jewish
thought and tradition, Progressive Judaism grants full equality to all Jews in Jewish life and religious practice, regardless
of gender and sexual orientation. Moreover, the denominations that are part of the movement challenge laws and
practices that are contrary to fundamental Jewish principles of justice and ethical behavior. See WORLD UNION FOR
R ACHEL G ORDAN
PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM.
Judaism, Reconstructionist. This movement, which origi-
Judaism, Reconstructionist
of the next generation of Reconstructionism. Reconstructionist Judaism has followed the contemporary Jewish trend
toward a focus on the humandivine encounter that is
predicated on a more traditional view of God as a partner in conversation. Although Reconstructionist Jews in the
early twenty-first century are not likely to believe that God
responds directly to supplication or acts to reward or punish
them in their lives, they are likely to seek a relationship with
God through prayer and meditation.
The emphasis on inclusive community is the other defining characteristic of Reconstructionist Judaism. Reconstructionists welcome Jews who see themselves as unwelcome
in the rest of the Jewish community, particularly gay men
and lesbians and the intermarried. The Reconstructionist
Rabbinical Association adopted patrilineal descent (accepting as Jews those who are the child of a Jewish father and
a non-Jewish mother) and developed guidelines for welcoming intermarried couples in 1978. The Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College was the first seminary to admit openly
gay and lesbian students in 1984. Contemporary Reconstructionism is best described in R. Alpert and J. Staubs
primer, Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach (2nd
ed., 2001).
R EBECCA T. A LPERT
the rabbinical leadership held a broad spectrum of opinions from those like Zacharias Frankel (18011875), who
favored only a moderate reform based on Jewish law and
the will of observant Jews, to Samuel Holdheim (1806
1860), who distinguished sharply between an eternal moral
and theological essence and changeable forms that could be
adjusted to contemporary circumstances. Holdheim became
the rabbi of a radical independent congregation in Berlin,
which was unique in the German movement in that it called
itself Reform rather than Liberal. Abraham Geiger (1810
1874) occupied a position between Frankel and Holdheim;
like the former, he stressed historical continuity, but like
the latter, he based Judaism on prophetic morality rather
than Jewish law ( halakhah). During the second half of the
nineteenth century the German Reform movement stagnated as idealism gave way to materialism. German Protestantism, which in some respects had served as a model for
Reform, turned from liberalism to reaction. Only toward the
end of the century did a new generation of liberal religious
thinkers, especially Hermann Cohen (18421918) and Leo
Baeck (18731956), breathe new life into the movement.
Under the Nazi regime, Liberal Judaism in Germany
experienced a brief revival as the synagogue became an
emotional refuge and Liberal rabbis like Baeck and Joachim
Prinz (19021988) offered spiritual resistance in the face of
degradation. In recent years Liberal Judaism has reappeared
in Germany; a number of congregations have been established as well as a rabbinical seminary, the Abraham Geiger
College, in Berlin.
M ICHAEL A. M EYER
Judaism, Reform: North America. There are approxiJudaism, Reform: Germany. Although the first congre-
sympathetic to the movement. On the eve of the largescale immigration of Eastern European Jewry that began
in the 1880s, the Reform movement dominated American
Judaism. It appealed to people who wanted to maintain a
Jewish identity and various Jewish practices without a system of compulsory ritual adherence. No longer obligated
to observe all the laws and customs of Orthodox Judaism,
members of Reform synagogues could maintain forms of
practice that remained distinctive and meaningful in a modern Christian-dominated society and yet did not separate
Jews significantly from their Christian neighbors.
The first leader of American Reform Judaism was Isaac
Mayer Wise (18191900), who arrived in the United States
from Bohemia in 1846. He was the main influence behind
the establishment of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) in 1873, and he founded the Hebrew Union
College (HUC) in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1875 (the first seminary for rabbinic training in North America) and the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) in 1889. He was
regarded as the leader of the moderate wing of the Reform
movement, which battled with the radical reformers, most
of whom lived along the East Coast. Led by David Einhorn
(18081879), the radical reformers eventually succeeded
in creating a deritualized form of Liberal Judaism, which
became known as Classical Reform. Classical Reform was
defined by the 1885 Declaration of Principles, which became
known as the Pittsburgh Platform. It minimized ritual and
emphasized ethical behavior in a universalistic context as the
central message of the biblical prophets.
An important feature of American Reform Judaism was
its stated commitment to the equality of women; it was
expressed in various ways, including mixed seating during worship. Family pews were first introduced in Albany,
New York, in 1851, and then in 1854 in New York City;
by the 1870s, they were the norm in most American
synagogues. Girls and boys were educated together, and
American Reform congregations initially replaced Bar Mitzvah with confirmation, a group ceremony for young people in their mid-teens. Ordination of women as rabbis and
cantors, however, did not occur until late in the twentieth century. The first synagogue sisterhood groups emerged
in the 1890s; these local groups were linked when the
National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods (now Women of
Reform Judaism [WRJ]; see SYNAGOGUE SISTERHOODS)
was established in 1913. In 2005, WRJ had 75,000 members
in five hundred local affiliates in the United States, Canada,
and twelve other countries. Organization membership independently financed the publication of The Torah: A Womens
Commentary (ed. T. Eshkenzi and A. Weiss [2008]), with contributions from more than 250 female scholars and rabbis.
Reform theologians were influenced by the modern biblical criticism of their time and were involved as well in the
academic study of religion. They fostered a Reform Judaism
that did not interpret the Bible in a literal manner and
saw no conflict between religion and science. Most believed
that God created the world in some form or manner and
continued to be involved as part of an ongoing process of
progressive revelation. Late-nineteenth-century and earlytwentieth-century reformers stressed the importance of ethical monotheism. They believed that the ethical message
of Judaism derived from one beneficent creator God who
exists as the source and goal of all humanity. Without the
existence of God, any attempt to aspire to high ethical standards of behavior would be useless. The mission of Israel
was to spread the concept of ethical monotheism, serving
as Gods messengers in an age without prophets.
As a corollary to this idea of the mission of Israel in the
Priesand. HUC-JIR established the Sally J. Priesand Visiting Professorship in her honor in the fall of 1999 at its New
York campus. By the early twenty-first century, women rabbis, as well as cantors, synagogue presidents, and other religious leaders, have become increasingly numerous, not only
in Reform Judaism but also in Reconstructionist and Conservative Judaism (see RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN).
Another area where Reform Judaism has changed dramatically is in the realm of worship. The Union Prayer Book
had been a ubiquitous presence since the closing years of
the 1800s; by the 1960s, many younger people found its
ponderous language excessively formal and its theological
conceptions outdated. There was, however, no consensus on
what a new prayer book might look like. The CCAR Liturgy
Committee decided that it was not possible to create a single service that would be satisfactory to the different theological positions within the movement, and so they decided
to include multiple services in the new prayer book, thus
allowing for considerable theological diversity. When Gates
of Prayer: The New Union Prayer Book was published in 1975, it
included ten Sabbath evening and six Sabbath morning services that differed in theological focus. Unfortunately, Gates
of Prayer was published in a non-gender-sensitive format and
was also awkward to use. After many years of work and
numerous drafts, the CCAR published a new prayer book,
Mishkan Tfilah (Tabernacle of Prayer) in 2007. This was the
first Reform prayer book in memory to have a Hebrew name,
and unlike previous prayer books published by the CCAR, it
only opened from the Hebrew side. It incorporated many
traditional elements that had been excised from the original Union Prayer Book, although there were still places where
the liturgy differed from the Orthodox prayer book, either
because of theological differences or for purposes of brevity
(see PRAYER BOOKS: UNITED STATES).
Judeo-Arabic dialects began dying out. In the early twentyfirst century, significant research is focused on documenting
the language, literature, and oral traditions of these communities.
For further reading see J. Blau, The Emergence and Linguistic Background of Judeo-Arabic: A Study of the Origins of Middle
Arabic (1965); and N. Stillman, The Language and Culture of
the Jews of Sefrou, Morocco: An Ethnolinguistic Study (1988).
S HARON V ANCE
Judea was the Greek and Roman designation for the south-
Judith, Book of
often recite from memory works by well-known JudeoPersian and Muslim poets, which were copied into the
Hebrew script. Muslim traditions and texts that have disappeared are often preserved in Judeo-Persian texts and
oral traditions. However, few Judeo-Persian works have
been translated into western languages, and the full extent
of the Judeo-Persian cultural contribution remains largely
unknown. Recent research includes G. Lazard, The Origins of
Literary Persian (1993); and A. Netzer, Persian Jewry and
Literature. A Sociocultural View, in Sephardi and Middle
Eastern Jewries: History and Culture in the Modern Era, ed. H.
Goldberg (1996).
R IVANNE S ANDLER
Judischer
Frauenbund (JFB; League of Jewish Women)
351
APOCRYPHA; H
. ANUKKAH AND
Europe: the Iyyun circle, named after its central text, Sefer haIyyun (Book of Contemplation), which flourished in southern France or northern Spain in the late twelfth century
and the beginning of the thirteenth; the Bahir (Book of Brilliance), which was identified by Gershom Scholem as the
earliest text of the Kabbalah; and the circle of kabbalists in
Provence, headed by Isaac ben Abraham (known as Isaac
the Blind). The Iyyun circle presented a mostly independent system concerning the structure of the divine world.
It is unclear whether there was any connection between the
Bahir and the southern France circle. Scholem viewed the
Iyyun circle as following the teachings of the Bahir, yet there
are meaningful differences between them that are difficult
to explain if they were in close connection.
The direct history of kabbalist schools begins with the
Iyyun circle in southern France, which was the main inspiration for the center that emerged in the Catalan town
of Gerona in the first half of the thirteenth century. Two
kabbalists, Ezra ben Solomon and Azriel, produced their
writings there, unifying and developing the teachings of
the Bahir and their predecessors. The next generation of
kabbalists in Gerona was headed by Moses ben Nah.man
( Nah.manides), who was one of the most influential leaders of Spanish Jewry in that period; he and several members of this circle took part in the great controversy over
the writings of Maimonides that divided Spanish Jewry in
123235 and later. From the center in Gerona, the Kabbalah
spread, and several circles were active in the second half of
the thirteenth century. These included the Cohen brothers,
Jacob and Isaac, in Castile, and Abraham Abulafia, a wandering teacher with his own unique mystical system. The
Kabbalah reached Italy at that time, but its main center was
the Spanish school headed by Moses de Leon and Joseph
Gikatilla, who wrote numerous kabbalistic works in Hebrew.
The Zohar, the most important and influential work of the
Kabbalah, emerged from this circle at the end of the thirteenth century. This was the golden age of the medieval
Kabbalah, but its teachings were known only to the few
people interested in this esoteric tradition and had minimal
impact on Jewish culture as a whole.
The age of the Zohar was followed by a period of relative
decline when kabbalistic circles were few and far between;
one probably flourished in Byzantium in the fourteenth
century, producing the works of Sefer ha-Peliah (The Wondrous Book) and Sefer ha-Kanah (The Book of the Kanah
Family). In the last decades before the 1492 expulsion from
Spain, there was a surge of kabbalistic writings, many of
them expressing intense messianic expectations. After the
expulsion, kabbalists spread to other countries, mainly Italy,
as well as Greece and Turkey in the flourishing Ottoman
Empire. In this era the Kabbalah emerged from esoteric circles and became increasingly a part of general Jewish intellectual discourse. The Zohar was quoted by many, especially
in Italy, and was printed in the sixteenth century. Kabbalah
replaced the tradition of Jewish rationalistic philosophy,
God there are different layers of divine powers with different functions. Three such circles appeared in Germany and
northern France: the circle of the Kalonymus family in the
Rhineland; the Unique Cherub Circle, which based its traditions on a fictional baraita attributed to Joseph ben Uziel;
and the anonymous author of the Sefer ha-H
. ayyim (Book of
Life). It seems that each of these groups produced its teachings independently. Three other groups existed in southern
352
Kabbalah
Kabbalah, Lurianic
Galilee, attracted by the belief that the tomb of the talmudic sage, R. Simon bar Yoh.ai, the supposed author of
the Zohar, was located in the nearby town of Miron. These
kabbalists included several scholars who were exiles from
Spain. Prominent among them was Moses Cordovero, the
author of numerous kabbalistic treatises and a monumental commentary on the Zohar (Or Yakar [Precious Light]).
His most influential work was Pardes Rimonim (Orchard of
Pomegranates), a systematic presentation of the main subjects of classical Spanish Kabbalah. By the middle of the century Safed was a vibrant center of kabbalistic creativity.
In 1570 Isaac Luria Ashkenazi, known by the acronym
Ari, returned to Safed (he was born there but had migrated
to Egypt) and began to present a new, revolutionary, and
intensely mythological interpretation of kabbalistic tradition.
His teachings were radically eschatological; like many other
kabbalists in Safed he believed that the messianic era was
imminent. Lurianic Kabbalah demanded that every Jew participate in a spiritual process of strengthening the powers
of goodness and rejecting evil forces, thus speeding and
enabling the coming of the messiah. In fact, Lurianic Kabbalah may be regarded as a national ideology, uniting all
Jews in the endeavor to bring forth redemption. Luria died
in 1572, in a plague, when he was thirty-eight years old.
The group of disciples that had surrounded him continued to
develop his teachings; they were led by H
. ayyim Vital, who
wrote numerous volumes presenting Lurias Kabbalah. In
the seventeenth century this new school gradually replaced
all others, including Cordoveros, and became the dominant
theology of Judaism.
One of the adherents of Lurianic Kabbalah was Nathan,
a young mystic from Gaza, who met the messianic pretender Shabbatai Zevi in 1665 and became convinced that
he was indeed the messiah. In many letters, pamphlets,
is Moses H
. ayyim Luzzatto (Ramhal), who lived in Padua in
the first half of the eighteenth century.
The founders of the H
. asidic movement in the middle
and second half of the eighteenth century were kabbalistic preachers. The Kabbalah served as a theological foundation for the traditions and writings of the founder of
H
. asidism, the Besht (Israel Baal Shem Tov), and his disciples, Jacob Joseph of Polonoi and Dov Ber of Miedzyrzecz,
Some of the third-generation leaders of H
. asidism, the disciples of Dov Ber, were prominent kabbalists, most notably
Schneur Zalman of Liady, the founder of H
. abad (Lubav
itch) H
asidism,
and
Nah
man
of
Bratzlav,
a
great-grandson
.
.
of the Besht, who founded Bratzlav H
. asidism. The oppo
nents of H
. asidism ( mitnaggedim, literally opponents) were
kabbalists as well. Elijah, the Vilna Gaon, the leader of the
opposition to H
. asidism, was an authority on the Kabbalah.
A kabbalistic center flourished in Jerusalem in the eighteenth century, and kabbalists immigrated there, as well as
to Hebron and Safed in the nineteenth century. In the first
half of the twentieth century Rav Judah Ashlag wrote an
extensive, multivolume commentary on the Zohar, adapting
it to conform to the Lurianic worldview.
In the last decades of the twentieth century and the first
decade of the twenty-first, several groups in North America,
Israel, and Europe have developed various integrations of
some kabbalistic traditions with New Age ideas and trends,
producing mixtures with astrology, numerology, occultism,
353
Kabbalah, Lurianic
Kabbalah, Lurianic
Kabbalah, Lurianic
Kafka, Franz
Luria as a great and saintly person, based on the hagiographical stories of Shivh.ei ha-Ari and Toledot ha-Ari, preceded the
spreading of his ideas. Yet in the first half of the seventeenth
century the central concepts spread via the works of Saruk,
some writings of Vital, and ethical works that used Lurianic
concepts, like the Shnei Luh.ot ha-Berit (Two Tables of the
Covenant) by Isaiah Halevi Horowitz and many others. The
teachings of Luria gradually replaced those of Cordovero.
Gershom Scholems studies presented Lurianic Kabbalah,
both before its emergence in Safed and after its dissemination in the seventeenth century, in close connection with
two major historical events in Judaism: the 1492 expulsion from Spain and the messianic movement around
Shabbetai Zevi in the 1600s. Scholem saw in Lurias teachings an expression of the new awareness of exile that characterized Jewish perceptions of the communitys fate after the
expulsion. Luria placed the experience of exile within the
godhead, in the tzimtzum, and in the captivity of the sparks;
the redemption of God from its exile is the essence of the
human endeavor for redemption. The spreading of Lurianic concepts, even in a most basic form, paved the way for
the Sabbatean message, which used, especially in the writings of Nathan of Gaza, Shabbatai Zevis prophet, Lurianic
symbolism to explain the role of the messiah in redeeming
the last sparks and destroying the powers of evil. In various forms, Lurianic symbols continued to be among the
most potent and influential elements of Jewish spirituality
in H
. asidic and other Jewish sects and circles of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and in many respects even
today. For further reading, see G. Scholem, Major Trends in
Jewish Mysticism (1954), 24486; and idem, On the Kabbalah
and Its Symbolism (1965), 87117.
J OSEPH D AN
Kafka, Franz (18831924), one of the most influential fiction writers of the twentieth century, was born in
Bohemia into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family; he spent most of his life in Prague. Kafka took a law
degree from the Charles-Ferdinand University and afterward
worked for an insurance company while devoting his free
time to literature. Although he was also fluent in Czech, his
major works were written in German. His novels include The
Trial (1925), The Castle (1926), and Amerika (1927). Important short stories are The Judgment (1913), The Metamorphosis (1915), A Country Doctor (1919), In the
Penal Colony (1920), and A Hunger Artist (1922). Kafkas
writings, influenced by authors such as Kleist, Flaubert,
and Dostoyevsky, are generally devoid of sentimentality and
reflect the anxiety and alienation of modern human beings.
His main characters tend to fail in their objectives because
of anonymous opposing forces or are punished even before
they have formally offended the law.
Kafkas diaries and letters shed light on the personal background and genesis of his literary oeuvre. They portray the
Kaddish is an Aramaic prayer (with some Hebrew additions) expressing ten praises of the divine name; it may have
originated as a doxology (a brief hymn praising God) used
to conclude study sessions in rabbinic times. This function
is preserved because the kaddish, in one form or another,
concludes each segment of communal worship. The forms
include the kaddish shalem (full kaddish), the h.atzi kaddish
(half kaddish), the mourners kaddish (kaddish yatom, literally orphans kaddish), and the kaddish de-rabbanan (Rabbis kaddish). The kaddish shalem is recited after the amidah
(see WORSHIP) by the leader of the synagogue service, and
the congregation responds at appropriate points. The h.atzi
kaddish contains only the first two major paragraphs of the
kaddish shalem and is recited before the blessings of the
Kafka, Franz
Karaism
than commandments (mitzvot) in the traditional sense.
Among his innovations were Bat Mitzvah and changes in
[see H
. EREM] by a group of Orthodox rabbis in 1945). One
of his most controversial views was the rejection of the
concept of the Jews as the chosen people; he believed
that every people could have a vocation to contribute special insights to humanity. Kaplan had a considerable, if
often unacknowledged influence on Reform and Conservative rabbis (see JUDAISM, REFORM: UNITED STATES; and
JUDAISM, CONSERVATIVE). Soon after his 1963 retirement from JTS, his supporters constituted Reconstructionism as a separate Jewish denomination. Kaplans journals
from 1913 to 1934 were published as Communings of the
Spirit, ed. M. Scult (2002). Recent research includes R. M.
Seltzer, Which Wissenschaft? Reconstructionisms Theological Appropriation of Sociology and Religious Naturalism, in
Modern Judaism and Historical Consciousness, ed. A. Gotzmann
and C. Wiese (2007), 41544.
R OBERT M . S ELTZER
Kahal,
Mishnah. In contemporary times, this phrase refers to organized study sessions of specific length, generally convened
during vacation periods.
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Kaplan, Mordecai M.
Karaism
Ketubbah
institutions parallel to those of rabbinic Judaism and developing their own form of law, exegesis, linguistic studies,
polemics, and historiography. Their religiosity was characterized as well by mourning for Zion, adopting ascetic
practices in the hope of bringing the messiah. Important
early Karaites include Benjamin al-Nahawendi; Daniel alKumisi, who called for Jewish immigration to the Land of
Israel; Jefet ben Eli, the chief Karaite exegete who composed
commentaries on all books of the Bible (in Judeo-Arabic,
which was the literary language of most early Karaites);
Abul Harun al-Faraj, grammarian; Joseph al-Basir, theologian and legalist; and Jeshua ben Judah, theologian and
exegete. Jacob al-Kirkisani, one of the few Karaites of the
period who lived outside the Land of Israel and was not a
Mourner of Zion, was a legalist, theologian, and exegete.
In the tenth century, Karaites began making their way
into Byzantium, which became the center of Karaite creativity in the twelfth century after the demise of the community in the Land of Israel. Byzantine Karaites succeeded
in adapting classical Karaism to the needs of the Diaspora.
The outstanding figures of this period were Judah Hadassi
(fl. 1148), whose summa of law and lore serves as a digest
of classical Karaism; Aaron ben Joseph (fl. 1294), exegete;
Aaron ben Elijah (d. 1369), author of books of law, exegesis,
and philosophy; and Elijah Bashyatchi (d. 1490), the final
decisor of Karaite Judaism. The Byzantine period of Karaism
is marked by constant Karaite attempts to narrow the differences between themselves and Rabbanite Jews.
Karaites had moved into the Crimea by the thirteenth
century and into parts of Eastern Europe by the fifteenth
century. These communities were marked by increased
intellectual rapprochement with Rabbanism, while, at the
same time, the social distance between the groups grew.
Unlike the communities in Arabic-speaking countries (such
as Egypt, which has had a continuous Karaite presence
from the Middle Ages to the present), Karaites of Eastern Europe spoke a different language from the Rabbanites (a Turkic dialect usually called Karaim, rather than
the Rabbanite Yiddish), and intermarriage was rare. Yet,
early modern Karaite intellectuals were very knowledgeable
about Rabbanite literature, which was decisive in forming
their worldview. One of the early modern Karaite thinkers
was Isaac ben Abraham of Troki (d. 1594), best known
for his anti-Christian polemic that was used extensively by
Rabbanites; another notable figure was Simh.ah Isaac Lutski (d. 1760), the author of twenty-four books. The last
well-known Karaite was Abraham Firkovitch (d. 1874),
whose collections of manuscripts, held today in the Russian
National Library of Saint Petersburg, are a major resource
for the study of Karaism and Rabbanism alike.
When tsarist expansionism in the late eighteenth century
brought Eastern European Karaites under Russian control,
the Karaites looked for ways to avoid the legal disabilities
(e.g., taxes and conscription) legislated against Jews. They
avoided these laws by convincing the Russian authorities
that they were not Jews; by the early twentieth century,
some Karaites theorized that they were of Turkish origin
with no relation to the Jewish people. This identification was
generally accepted by the Nazis and led to the survival of
most Karaites in World War II.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century there are
approximately 30,000 Karaites worldwide; most are located
Ketubbah
Kimh.i Family
or divorce, she would receive the dowry she brought into the
marriage as well as an additional stipulated amount from her
spouse. The ketubbah enhanced womens status, prevented
rash divorces, and limited the numbers of indigent wid dependent on community support. The
ows and divorcees
medieval ketubbah could also contain added stipulations such
as assurances that a husband would not take a second wife;
that he would not beat his wife; and that before traveling
he would prepare a conditional bill of divorce and deposit
his marriage gift so that his wife would be able to remarry if
he perished on his journey. As dated legal documents identifying specific individuals and communities, ketubbot are an
important historical source. Some ketubbot inventoried the
contents of the dowry, an indication of local material culture, while decorated ketubbot reflect Jewish art of various times and places. For further reading, see J. R. Baskin,
Medieval Jewish Models of Marriage, in The Medieval Marriage Scene: Prudence, Passion, Policy, ed. S. Roush and C. Baskins (2005), 122; and S. Sabar, Ketubbah: The Art of the Jewish
Marriage Contract (2001).
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Weakened by the shifting trade patterns favoring its vassal, Volga Bulgharia, and by growing difficulties with the
Slavo-Scandinavian Rus and the Turkic Pechenegs and
Oghuz, the Khazar state succumbed to Rus and Oghuz
attacks in 96569. The Khazar element in the shaping of
Eastern European Jewry remains the subject of speculation.
For further reading, see P. B. Golden, The Conversion of
the Khazars to Judaism, in The World of the Khazars: New
Perspectives (2007), ed. P. B. Golden, H. Ben-Shammai, and
A. Rona-Tas,
12362; D. M. Dunlop, The History of the Jewish Khazars (1954); and N. Golb and O. Pritsak, Khazarian
Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century (1982).
P ETER B. G OLDEN
MOVEMENT
with Byzantium, both sharing a common foe in the Arabian Caliphate. Khazaria was Constantinoples first line of
defense against nomadic incursions from the steppe.
The Khazars had been typical Turkic shamanists. After an
Arab invasion of Khazaria in 737, the ruler, the Qaghan, had
been forced to convert to Islam, which he soon abjured.
un
During the reign of the Abbasid
Caliph Har
al-Rashd
(786809), the Qaghan, increasingly a sacralized, ceremonial
figure, or his deputy, the Qaghan-Beg, the de facto ruler, converted to Judaism. This dating is confirmed by Khazar imitation Arab dirhams (units of currency) dating to 837/838,
which substitute the statement Mus
a rasul
Allah
(Moses
is the Messenger of God), for the Muslim profession of
faith. Thereafter, Judaism, in its Rabbanite form, spread
within the Khazar core tribes, and Khazaria attracted Jews
fleeing persecution in Byzantium and elsewhere. Khazar
Hebrew sources dating from the mid-tenth century give several accounts of the conversion, presenting it as a return
to an ancestral faith. Muslim sources also mention Khazar
Judaism; the Byzantines are noticeably silent. The Khazaro
Byzantine alliance turned to open hostility in the tenth
century.
Bible exegetes in Provence (see FRANCE, SOUTHERN) during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. JOSEPH
KIMH.I (ca. 1105ca. 1170) immigrated to Narbonne from
Muslim Spain (ca. 1150) in the wake of Almohad
invasions. He and several other prominent Spanish
Kimh.i Family
Kings, Books of
Lowenthal
[19231993]), herself a Kindertransport child,
published We Came As Children (1966), a collective biography
of Kindertransport participants. See also BRITAIN: EARLY
MODERN AND MODERN; HOLOCAUST; HOLOCAUST RESCUERS ; LITERATURE: BRITAIN.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
359
Kings, Books of
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS .
Krochmal, Nachman
repentance, light, and holiness. Kook posited that repentance is part of the nature of the cosmos that the cosmos
returns on itself and, in doing so, reveals the innate holiness
of creation in nature, history, and culture. He believed that
Israels return to the Holy Land is part of a larger act of
cosmic return, or repentance, a sign of the impending
disclosure of divine will and the light of redemption.
The secular Zionists who abandoned their homes in the
Krochmal, Nachman
Kurdistan
Aramaic; with the Islamic conquests in the seventh century, Aramaic was gradually superseded by Arabic and survived only in the remote mountainous areas of Kurdistan.
Judaism in Kurdistan was very rudimentary, based mostly
on oral transmission of inherited Judaic practices, customs,
and lore. Yet Kurdish Jews, like other conservative ruralfarming societies, were quite traditional in practice. Practically all Jews kept dietary laws very strictly (called Halala,
from the Arabic Halal); men prayed in synagogues twice
daily, morning and evening; on Sabbaths and festivals,
all men and boys, almost without exception, attended services. Yet, literacy or deep knowledge of Jewish sources was
362
(e.g., tengo avlado, I have been talking). The Spanish ustedes polite form of second-person address does not exist in
Ladino. The diminutive in Ladino is -iko/-ika rather than the
Spanish -ito/-ita. Hebrew influence on the language can also
be seen in syntactic structures. Ladino has retained much
medieval Spanish vocabulary, and a considerable number
of Hebrew- Aramaic words have become fused and integrated into the language. Over the course of the centuries,
many loanwords have also been added to the language from
Turkish, Arabic, and Greek.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Ladino is fast
becoming an endangered language because of the lack of
new native speakers. The main reasons are the Haskalah
movement in Europe, the dispersion of Sephardic Jews
around the world, the murder of most Greek Jews during
the Holocaust, and the growing influences of secularism
and modernism. Nevertheless, there is growing academic
interest in the language and its literature, and several grammar books and dictionaries have recently been published for
the use of both Ladino speakers and academic researchers,
including E. Kohen and D. Kohen-Gordon, LadinoEnglish, English-Ladino: Concise Encyclopedic Dictionary (2000);
see also LITERATURE: LADINO.
O RA R ODRIGUE S CHWARZWALD
rate poems, this biblical book, found in the Writings section of the Bible, bewails the Babylonian destruction of
Lamentations, Book of
Latin America
and Portugal established their New World empires, all
Spanish and Portuguese subjects were required to be
Catholic. Spain, the stricter of the two, even forbade Jews
who had converted to Christianity to immigrate to its
colonies, although the ban proved impossible to enforce. No
doubt some Spanish and Portuguese colonists maintained
Jewish observances, aided by the proximity of Dutch and
British colonies, such as Surinam and several Caribbean
islands, where Judaism was tolerated. The community in
Recife, Brazil, under Dutch control from 1630 to 1654, had
a synagogue and attracted Jewish immigrants from Europe.
However, the clandestine nature of Jewish life in Spanish
and Portuguese colonies makes it an elusive topic of study.
Some have argued that Monterrey, Mexico, was founded
as a crypto-Jewish refuge and that Cubas mountains
once sheltered villages of openly observant Jews (see
CARIBBEAN). The Inquisition had offices in Mexico City
and Lima, and inquisitors records provide written sources of
information about hidden Jews during the colonial period.
However, this documentation is flawed by the outlook of the
inquisitors who were zealously determined to discover secret
practitioners of Judaism. J. L. Elkins survey of the shaky
information on colonial-era Jews suggests that the true history of Jewish life in Latin America starts in the nineteenth
century, not long after the end of the wars that established
independence in Latin American countries (181024).
During the middle years of the nineteenth century, from
the 1830s to the late 1880s, small numbers of openly Jewish immigrants arrived sporadically in Latin America. Many
of the new arrivals were Ashkenazic Jews from Western
Europe, displaced by the Franco-Prussian wars. Sephardic
Jews from North Africa also arrived, settling in Brazil and
World War I, created the modern Latin American Jewish communities. In this period, the bulk of the immigrants were Eastern Europeans, fleeing pogroms and regulations designed to crowd Jews into a restricted area where
there were little means of livelihood. Certain Latin American countries, most notably Argentina and Brazil, sought
European immigrants to accelerate growth and modernization. The Jewish Colonization Association, established by the
philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch, recruited principally Eastern European Jews to settle in agricultural colonies
in Argentina and, unsuccessfully, in Brazil. Other Jewish
farming settlements were created in Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, and later in Bolivia. The settlement of Jewish immigrants on farms was intended not only to provide
a safe home and a livelihood but also to promote Jewish
Chapter 3, the theological heart of Lamentations, provides the closest thing to a response. The triumph of hope
over suffering will provide sustenance to the exiled community: Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed, for
his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The Lord is my
portion; therefore I will wait for him (3:2124). For further reading, see T. Linafelt, Surviving Lamentations: Catastrophe, Lament, and Protest in the Afterlife of a Biblical Book (2000);
and F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp, Weep, O Daughter of Zion: A Study of
the City Lament Genre in the Hebrew Bible (1993).
S ANDRA C OLLINS
LAND OF
SOCIETIES
Lasker-Schuler,
Else (18691945) came from a well-to-do
1936. The collection of essays and poems, Konzert (Concert [Berlin, 1932]), was published when she received the
Kleist prize, the highest literary award at the time. Four
months later she fled to Switzerland. After her first jour(Land of
ney to Palestine in 1934 she wrote Hebraerland
Lasker-Schuler.
Biographie (2004).
S IGRID B AUSCHINGER
364
Latin America
cultural activities. Jewish participation in national intellectual life also began early in the twentieth century. The
Argentine Alberto Gerchunoff, best remembered for his
1910 novel Los gauchos judos (The Jewish Gauchos of the
Pampas), was the first Latin American Jewish intellectual
to attain national visibility. Gerchunoff addressed a largely
non-Jewish readership via the mainstream La Nacion newspaper, there were also Spanish-language publications for a
Jewish audience. The magazine Judaica (Buenos Aires) was
perhaps the most noted of many publications featuring Jewish topics. Many Jewish immigrants and their children were
in the publishing industry, where their knowledge of languages and of European literatures made them especially
useful as editors and translators. By the mid-twentieth century, a number of Jewish creative writers had become well
Leeser, Isaac
Leeser, Isaac
Levinas, Emmanuel
Leibowitz, Yeshayahu:
THOUGHT, MODERN
Leo Baeck Institute (LBI) is a research, exhibition, and lecture center that is devoted to the study, preservation, and
comprehensive documentation of German-speaking Jewry
from its origins to the post-war period. It was established
by German Jews in 1955 and named after German rabbi,
Jewish historian, and Holocaust survivor Leo Baeck (1873
1956), who became the institutes first international president. The LBI is a constituent of the Center for Jewish History in New York City and also has centers in Jerusalem
and London (see Britain). All the centers regularly hold
local and international conferences on a variety of themes.
Since 1956, the LBI has published a yearbook containing scholarship on the history and culture of the Jews of
367
Levinas, Emmanuel
Leviticus, Book of
The book also sets out a program for how Jewish life in
Russia should be reformed according to Haskalah values.
Efes Damim (No Blood), a refutation of the ritual murder accusation, appeared in 1837 and was later translated into English, German, and Russian in response to the
LEVIRATE
Leviticus, Book of
Life-Cycle Rituals
Life-Cycle Rituals
Literature: Britain
Literature: Britain
Literature: Britain
Russia. Most of these women have passed into obscurity, but as Michael Galchinsky has written, they understood their choice of a dominant cultural form as an entry
ticket into full cultural participation in the Victorian world.
The best known of these Victorian writers is Grace Aguilar
(18161847), daughter of a Sephardic businessman, who
wrote poetry and novels that ranged from historical to
domestic romance, including Vale of Cedars (183135; published posthumously, 1850), Home Influence (1836), and its
sequel, A Mothers Recompense (1837). In her religious and
historical writings (including Spirit of Judaism [1842], The
Jewish Faith [1845], and Women of Israel [1845]), as well as in
her fiction, Aguilar extols the benefits of successful acculturation to English life and compares the spirit of Judaism with
that of Christianity. At the same time, she combats conversionist arguments and assigns to women the role of transmitting in the domestic sphere the heritage of the exiled Jewish
nation (see BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN).
The first Anglo-Jewish novel that can be said to be a
full social critique of the Jewish community is Reuben Sachs
(1889), by the poet Amy Levy (18611888), who committed suicide at twenty-seven. This novel is a study of
the wealthy Jews of Bayswater, in West London, at a
time when Londons East End was teeming with penniless
Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Another realist
novel of revolt is Dr Phillips: A Maida Vale Idyll (1887) by
Frank Danby (pseudonym of Julia Frankau, 18591916),
a tale of a man who murders his German Jewish wife
and elopes with a Christian mistress. Some scholars regard
this work as a self-hating discourse of Jewish racial and
cultural inferiority. By contrast, Benjamin Farjeon (1838
1903) was a prolific novelist who emulated Charles Dickens; in the few novels he devoted to Jewish subjects, such as
Solomon Isaacs (1877), Aaron the Jew (1894), and Pride of Race
(1901), he represents Jews as a valuable model of economic
success.
Israel Zangwill (18641926) is the acknowledged chronicler of East End Jewry. His Children of the Ghetto (1892)
is a critical appraisal of the old ways lost to Anglicization,
yet Zangwill senses a poetic idealism in these destitute paupers. His heroine, Esther Ansell, and other protagonists must
choose between apostasy and a return to the ghetto. Esther
writes a novel under a pseudonym in which she castigates
the hypocrisy of the wealthy assimilated community of her
benefactors, who do not suspect the true identity of the
author. The response of these benefactors, who regard themselves as having rescued Esther from the gutter, was to
become a recurrent refrain of critics of the Anglo-Jewish
novel: What will the Gentiles say? At the end of the novel,
Esther sails to America, that melting pot in the title of Zangwills play (1908), where, presumably, she will be better
able to reconcile her yearnings for independence and her
instinctive loyalty to the Jewish people. Zangwill promoted
his brand of Zionism through the Jewish Territorial Organization, which sought to settle Jews in Uganda and elsewhere, and was a sometimes controversial, misunderstood
spokesman for English Jewry.
Zangwills The King of Schnorrers (1894) is a picaresque
satire that shows his comic talent but also internalizes antisemitic stereotypes. Two other collections of stories, Ghetto
Tragedies (1893) and Ghetto Comedies (1907), also demonstrate his skillful depiction of his fellow Jews.
Kathe
Lowenthal
[19231993]), who came to Britain as a
Literature: Britain
Literature: Britain
Britain from Germany but left for India with her husband
in 1951 and in the 1970s relocated to the United States.
In general, from the 1960s on, Jewish writers found themselves, to use the title of Efraim Sichers study of Jewish
writing in Britain, beyond marginality. Rapid social mobilization had eased their way out of the poverty of the
East End, and now Anglo-Jewrys disaffected young writers could critique the wall-to-wall carpeted superficiality
of a complacent Jewish bourgeoisie who were as hypocritical as the Bayswater Jews in Reuben Sachs. In the category of what Anglo-Jewish novelist and Jewish Chronicle
columnist Chaim Bermant (19291998) called the Golders Green novel may be included The Bankrupts (1958) by
soccer columnist Brian Glanville (b. 1931); The Crossing Point
(1960) by Gerda Charles (pseudonym of Edna Lipson, 1914
1996); The Limits of Love (1960) by American-born screenwriter Frederic Raphael (b. 1931); and Bermants own Jericho Sleep Alone (1964). The Elected Member (U.S. title, Chosen
People, 1969; Booker Prize, 1970) by Bernice Rubens (1928
2004) is another novel in this genre that brilliantly describes
the disturbed mind of a young Jew overattached to his dead
mother and addicted to hallucinogens.
The translator, poet, and biographer Elaine Feinstein (b.
1930) made her mark as an English novelist with The Amberstone Exit (1972) and The Glass Alembic (1973); her The Shadow
Master (1978) reflects a historical reassessment of secular
Diaspora identity as Israel became a focus of Jewish culture and solidarity after the Six Day War. The Shadow
Master spans the centuries and countries of Jewish dispersion in a plot that revolves around the seventeenth-century
false messiah Shabbetai Zevi. The precariousness of Jewish
history in the Diaspora lurks behind the comfort of assimilation in several of Feinsteins novels (Children of the Rose,
1975; The Survivors, 1982; The Border, 1984). Feinsteins Russian Jewish parentage may explain her interest in such Russian poets as Marina Tsvetaeva and Anna Akhmatova, who
have been formative influences on her work. Among the
dead writers with whom she converses in her imagination in
Russian Jerusalem (2008) is Isaac Babel (18941940; see LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION [IN RUSSIAN]).
The womens movement of the 1970s influenced Guardian
columnist Linda Grant (b. 1951), who, like Eva Figes, has
written important works on feminist issues. Grants novel,
When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), winner of the Orange
Prize, is set in Tel Aviv in the days before the 1948 War of
Independence and the establishment of the State of Israel.
It explores gender, sexuality, and identity in the retrospect
of disillusioned idealism through the story of Evelyn Sert, a
Jewish woman who escapes a vacuous post-war existence in
England and becomes involved with a fighter in the Jewish
underground. Grants reportage, The People on the Streets
(2006), is a ground-level view of Israelis coping with their
complex political and security situation. The vantage point
of a child of immigrants affords Grant an empathic position
in The Clothes on Their Backs (2008), a novel about survival
and betrayal, as well as about how clothes define personalities, whereas Remind Me Who I Am Again (1998) is an account
of her mothers decline into dementia that explores the role
of memory in forming family history. Grants novel Still Here
(2002) is also about repressed memory, set in her native
Liverpool, in the debris of middle age after the sexual
revolution.
The unembarrassed unearthing of a familys past is represented in a narrative about the discovery of a sealed room
at 19 Princelet Street, in Londons East End. Ian Sinclair
and Rachel Lichtensteins exploration of that lost Jewish
history in Rodinskys Room (2000) opens up a post-modern
palimpsest of time and space, as Jewish memory enters a
multicultural and multiethnic world inhabited by children
of Asian immigrants. Jeremy Gavron (b. 1961) taps similar veins of fact, fantasy, and cultural archeology of the
East End in his novel, An Acre of Barren Ground (2005), subtitled The History of Everyone Who Ever Lived in Brick
Lane.
Prominent in contemporary British Jewish writing are
irreverent satires about a generation that is aware of its Jewish heritage and of antisemitism, but sees no contradiction in
enjoying the hedonism of a promiscuous post-modernism.
These types appear in the short-story collection Hearts of Gold
(1979) and the novels Bedbugs (1982) and Blood Libels (1986)
by Clive Sinclair (b. 1945), whose fantasies owe much to
Isaac Bashevis Singer. They are also evident in the comic
novels by Howard Jacobson (b. 1942), such as The Mighty
Walzer (1999) or Kalooki Nights (2006), fictional memoirs of
coming of age in Manchester. His satire of self-hating Jewish
anti-Zionists, The Finkler Question (2010), won the prestigious Booker prize. Although he sees himself as a Jewish
Jane Austen, Jacobson is more like a British Philip Roth
who celebrates Jewish humor and the disputatious Jewish
mind; he has offered his own zany view of Anglo-Jewry in
Roots Schmoots (1993). Like Sinclair in Blood Libels and Jeremy
Gavron in The Book of Israel (2002), Jacobson writes back to
antisemitism, past and present, just as post-colonial authors
write back to Empire.
Elena Lappin (born Moscow, 1954), sister of German
Jewish humorist Max Biller (see LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE), has explored the comic situations of
women who marry into the Anglo-Jewish community, as
in the title piece of Foreign Brides (1999), in which an Israeli
woman vents her frustration at her football crazy, outwardly
religious husband by feeding the family meat that is not
kosher and seducing the pork butcher. Lappins novel The
Nose (2001) is a satire of the Anglo-Jewish literary scene,
based on her own experience as editor of The Jewish Quarterly
(founded by Jacob Sonntag in 1953). Another insiders view
is a controversial prize-winning first novel by Naomi Alderman (b. 1974), Disobedience (2006), about a lesbian daughter
of a rabbi in the north London suburb of Hendon, whereas a
third novel, When We Were Bad (2007) by Charlotte Mendelson (b. 1972), shows a north London Jewish family spiraling out of control. These novelists use unashamedly Jewish language and situations, and their voices blend into the
multiethnic diversity of post-modern British fiction. Aldermans Orthodox feminist persona recalls American author
Pearl Abrahams The Romance Reader, and indeed, the preoccupation with sexual, spiritual, and personal identity in
these novels is shared with a number of contemporary
Jewish American authors.
For further reading, see B. Cheyette, ed., Contemporary
Jewish Writing in Britain and Ireland: An Anthology (1998);
M. Galchinsky, The Origin of the Modern Jewish Woman
Writer: Romance and Reform in Victorian England (1996); and
E. Sicher, Beyond Marginality: Anglo-Jewish Writing after the
Holocaust (1985).
E FRAIM S ICHER
372
Literature: Canada
Literature: Canada
Literature: Canada. A. M. Klein (19091972), the founding father of Canadian Jewish literature, spent most of his
life in Montreal, Canadas cultural Jewish center throughout the twentieth century. In 1927 he published some of his
early poetry in the Menorah Journal, and in 1938 he became
the editor of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle. An early collection of his poetry, Hath Not a Jew (1940), contains a preface
by Ludwig Lewisohn, who describes Klein as the first contributor of authentic Jewish poetry to the English language.
From his traditional background, the poet draws on biblical and talmudic sources as well as medieval Yiddish and
Hebrew folktales. In a poem about Spinoza, Klein identifies with the philosophers skepticism: From glass and dust
of glass he brought to light, out of the pulver and the polished lens . . . and hence the infinitesimal and infinite.
The poets transformational powers recur in a later poem,
Autobiographical, which begins Out of the ghetto streets
where a Jewboy / Dreamed pavement into pleasant Bibleland, and ends with the same Jewboy hearing The
Hebrew violins, / Delighting in the sobbed Oriental note.
Klein appended this poem to his novel, The Second Scroll
(1951), as Gloss Aleph. (Other glosses include a polemical essay on the Sistine Chapel and a play that demonstrates
the injustices of Muslim society toward Jews.) Loosely structured on the Pentateuch, The Second Scroll follows the life
of a messianic figure, Melech Davidson, from surviving the
Holocaust to his aliyah (emigration) to the newly established State of Israel. His nameless nephew leaves Montreal
to track Uncle Melech from Rome to Casablanca to Israel,
but never succeeds in meeting his mysterious relative, either
in the Diaspora or in Zion. This failed encounter represents
a motif not only in Kleins life and writing but also in the
rest of Canadian Jewish literature. After The Second Scroll
Klein became increasingly reclusive and spent his last years
in silence.
As if responding to his mentors withdrawal, Montreal
poet Irving Layton (19122006) developed an outspoken persona. In the prophetic tradition, Layton excoriated
follies within Jewish society, Richler used cinematic techniques to critique the newly rich. Duddys apprenticeship
represents the comic coming of age of Montreals Jewry.
St. Urbains Horseman copies the quest motif in Kleins The
Second Scroll, with Cousin Joey as a messianic golem who
roams the Diaspora to avenge Nazi crimes. Solomon Gursky is
even more explicit in its backhanded tribute to Kleins close
personal and professional relationship to the Bronfman family of Montreal, as Richler visits remote Canadian territories
where the Gurskys interact with native peoples.
If Yiddish influences may be found in Montreals literature from Klein to Richler, then the novels of Chava Rosenfarb (b. 1923) explore her Polish heritage in the greatest
detail, most notably her trilogy, The Tree of Life (1972), which
z ghetto.
chronicles the od
Three francophone writers differentiate Montreal from
other cities in North America. Naim Kattan (b. 1928) writes
extensively about his Iraqi past and his migration to North
America, with France as an intermediate stage. Biblical allusions fill his work, as they also inform the poetry and prose
of Monique Bosco (b. 1927), who immigrated to Montreal
after World War II. Her writing is marked by a feminist
critique of patriarchal patterns in Judaism. A Yiddish
and French sensibility informs the post-modern writing of
Regine
Robin, who relies on Jewish legends to invigorate
contemporary Montreal and Paris. Robert Majzels (b. 1950),
who writes in English, is the most experimental Jewish
writer in Montreal: Like Robin and others, he employs postmodern pastiche and translation of languages to come to
terms with post-Holocaust identity in his unique city.
If Montreal has been the primary center of Jewish Canadian literature, then Winnipeg is a second pole, combining its Yiddish-socialist ethos with a northern and western
Canadian sensibility. Adele Wiseman (19281992), Miriam
Waddington (19172004), and Jack Ludwig (b. 1922) constitute a troika of Winnipegs Jewish writers. Wisemans first
novel, The Sacrifice (1956), charts three generations of an
immigrant family, each member possessing a biblical name.
A tragic novel in which Abraham the butcher commits murder, it depicts the hardships of this poor familys adjustment to the New World. By contrast, her second novel,
Crackpot (1974), focuses on the comic aspects of its heroine
Hoda, who transcends her immigrant roots. Indebted to A.
M. Klein, Peretz, Mendele, and Sholem Aleichem (see LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY),
Miriam Waddingtons lyrical poetry demonstrates a strong
social commitment. Jack Ludwigs novels show the influence of James Joyce, as his protagonists celebrate the joys
of Jewish life across North America.
Further west, Henry Kreisels (19221991) fiction also
exhibits Kleins influence. In one of his short stories,
The Almost Meeting (1981), Kreisel describes his failed
encounter with Klein. Both of Kreisels novels focus on the
Holocaust: In The Rich Man (1947) the protagonist Jacob
Grossman returns to Vienna from Canada to visit his family just before World War II, and in The Betrayal (1964), the
author examines the psychological dimensions of the Holocaust as it impinges on the lives of survivors in Edmonton.
Also on the prairies, and influenced by Klein, Eli Mandel
(19221990) returns to his Jewish roots in a post-modern
quest for meaning and identity among the Jewish graves
in Estevan, Saskatchewan. He combines pastiche and
373
Literature: Canada
seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century memoir written in Western Yiddish and on a seventeenth-century Yiddish purimspil ( Purim play) written in Leipzig (see entries
under LITERATURE: YIDDISH). An essay on the Hebrewlanguage periodical Ha-Meassef is also included in the compendium; among the centerpieces of the Jewish Enlightenment movement ( Haskalah) in German-speaking lands
from the 1790s, this periodical published odes in Hebrew
in honor of political leaders like Frederick the Great of
Prussia or Joseph II of Austria alongside Hebrew translations of important eighteenth-century German literature.
The impact and adoption of German literary models such as
the ode, as well as the Jewish fascination with Central European writers and political leaders, are important aspects of
this Jewish literary production. Yiddish and Hebrew literature and culture, especially in Berlin and Vienna, but also
elsewhere in Central Europe, were important aspects of Central European Jewish creative activity up through the twentieth century, until they were largely erased by Nazism.
Walter Benjamin and others have viewed Moses
Minnesanger
(troubadour), to the outstanding Jewish writ
ers and Expressionist poets of the 1920s, including Franz
the center of the Jewish national literary cultural enterprise in German. They also published a series of ambitiously conceived literary and artistic anthologies, like the
Judischer
Almanach (1902) or Judische
Kunstler (1903), which
[Etoiles
Book], 1986). In contrast, French-born Ashkenazi
novelists, often writing family portraits, articulate the pain
of their ancestors who faced discrimination and persecution or portray their country as a society that came to
terms with its collaborationist past quite late. In this con
text, important authors include Eliette Abecassis
(b. 1969;
Lor et la cendre [Gold and Ashes], 1998), Annette Kahn (Why
My Father Died, 1991), Alain Gluckstein
(Nos grands Hommes
ish identity and history are mutually and intimately intertwined. In the literary realm Jewish authors continue to
be creative participants in an ongoing debate on the continents past and future while also renegotiating relationships between Jewish and non-Jewish cultures. Despite the
minority position of present-day European Jewish authors,
a vigorous resurgence of Jewish culture can be observed
as many Jewish writers have turned to their own origins,
reflecting on their identity and position in a Gentile society.
Jewish authors express a variety of possible relationships
to Judaism, as well as to the cultural, literary, and historical
contexts of the countries where they are citizens. Although
most contemporary Jewish writers did not personally experience the tragedy of the Holocaust, its traces occupy a central position in their literature and play an important role in
Jewish self-awareness. Their literary aesthetics reflects the
secondary trauma of growing up within families shattered
by the Holocaust, and their writing has been shaped by the
legacy of the victims and the testimonies of the survivors.
Holocaust writing by first-generation survivors encompasses a variety of primarily semi-autobiographical genres
like the memoir, the bildungsroman, and the family saga, in
which history and fiction, testimony and poetry go hand in
hand without excluding one another. The Hungarian Imre
(b. 1929) was awarded the Nobel Prize for LiteraKertesz
ture in 2002 for works such as Fateless (1975) that draw on
his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Autobiography is often the literary form chosen to render the history
of the self after the catastrophe, paradigmatically adopted in
Primo Levis memoir, If This Is a Man (1959; also published
as Survival in Auschwitz), or Elie Wiesels testimony, Night
(1960).
The remembrance of the lost world of the shtetl is an
important element in much of the European Jewish literature written in the last half of the twentieth century. In
the tradition of the Jewish Holocaust memorial books, yizker
bikher (see YIZKOR BOOKS), many authors aim to preserve
the lost communities of Eastern Europe. Accordingly, the
second and third generation give a concrete literary voice
to the persecution and displacement of their forebears. This
writing is generated by the need to re-create a picture of the
past as experienced by their families. It illustrates the vicissitudes of the modern Jewish experience at large by rendering multigenerational stories that feature ancestors enjoying
emancipation or struggling to achieve it, tempted by secularization, pressured into assimilation, displaced by pogroms,
haunted by persecution, or blinded by ideologies. In her
novel In Memorys Garden (2002), the Polish author Joanna
Olczak-Ronikier (b. 1934) reflects the imperative of zakhor,
the Jewish command to remember, for many of her peers.
However, even though a number of common dynamics can
be identified, European Jewish literature displays a diversity
that is embedded in various national contexts.
In Italy, Jewish writers often consider italianita` and ebreicita` to be components of one single identity. Apart from
authors such as Primo Levi and Giorgio Bassani (1916
2000), who transformed their personal experiences as Jews
under Nazism into literature, the Italian literary tradition
shows very little interest in cultural particularism. Indeed,
contemporary Italian Jewish writers, such as Clara Sereni
(b. 1946; Keeping House, 2005), Stefano Jesurum (Soltanto per
376
Literature: France
Literature: France. Armand Lunel (18921977), prominent writer and historian of French Jewry, rightly suggested
that the Dreyfus Affair led to an awakening of Jewish
consciousness in French letters, interrupting a long-standing
commitment to acculturation that had affected literature as
well. The authors who took decidedly Jewish positions, often
expressing Zionist predilections, included Bernard Lazare
(18651930); Edmond Fleg (18741964), whose seminal
Anthologie juive appeared in 1923; Andre Spire (18681966);
Jean-Richard Bloch (18841947); Max Jacob (18741944);
and Henri Franck (18881912). The journal La Revue juive,
edited in Geneva by the Corfu-born Albert Cohen (1895
1981), became a popular forum of discussion, critiquing
positions that (a` la Marcel Prousts) were now deemed
lacking in Jewish self-awareness or self-assertiveness.
Albert Cohens own literary career was marked both at its
beginning and its end with important examples of Jewish
writing that spoke out against antisemitism and racial
prejudice.
The next phase of Jewish writing in France has been
called a literature of the Shoah (see HOLOCAUST LITERATURE) and encompasses authors such as Anna Langfus (19201966), Elie Wiesel (b. 1928), Arnold Mandel
(191387), Piotr Rawicz (191982), and Andre SchwarzBart (19282006). It is worth noting that many of them
Literature: France
antisemitism.
Eisner always recognized that visual art could be a potent
weapon in combating stereotypes of the Jew, just as it had
once proven effective in circulating hostile images. Describing the process that influenced Fagin the Jew (2003), he
remarks how, in examining the illustrations of the original editions of Charles Dickens 1838 novel Oliver Twist, I
found an unquestionable example of visual defamation in
classic literature. The memory of their awful use by the
Nazis . . . one hundred years later, added evidence to the persistence of evil stereotyping. Combating it became an obsessive pursuit (Fagin the Jew, 4). His final work, The Plot,
completed just before his death, tells the story behind The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the fraudulent antisemitic screed
that describes the supposed Jewish plan for global influence and domination (see RUSSIA). Eisner also wrote the
influential study, Comics & Sequential Art (1985). Michael
Chabons Pulitzer-prize-winning novel, Kavalier and Clay
(2000), is based in part on Eisners early years. In 2002,
Eisner received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the
National Federation for Jewish Culture (presented by Art
Spiegelman). The highest recognition of achievement in the
graphic novel, the Eisner Award, is named after him.
Despite Eisners strong early efforts, it was not until the
publication of Spiegelmans Maus: A Survivors Tale (the first
volume was published in 1986; earlier drafts appeared in
and Cecile
Wajsbrot, openly address French societys complicity in the persecution of French Jews during the so-called
annees noires (black years).
Some of these writers also render self-critical portrayals of Jewish life in present-day France by using literary
forms ranging from conventional memoirs (Serge Koster,
Claude Gutman, Anne Rabinovitch) and multigenerational
genealogies (Anissimov) to avant-garde narratives (Patrick
Modiano, Gerard
Wajcman, Georges Perec) and sensational
began his career as a contributor to Art Spiegelmans legendary underground magazine Raw and has been the recipient of a Guggenheim and other prestigious awards. His
reimagined Jewish pasts and interrogations of authenticity
warrant careful consideration alongside other Jewish American voices such as Philip Roth and Michael Chabon.
In Europe, few emerging graphic novelists in recent years
have generated more excitement than the staggeringly prolific Joann Sfar; his Le Chat du rabbin (The Rabbis Cat,
2005) and Klezmer (2006) series portray the disparate histories and cultural worlds of Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews
with manic energy and astonishing invention. In France,
Sfars works have frequently appeared on the best-selling
lists compiled by LExpress. In The Rabbis Cat, set in 1930s
Algeria, the titular feline gains the power of speech and
challenges his rabbinic master to instruct him in the Jewish faith so that he might have a proper Bar Mitzvah. Sfars
exuberant imagery and absurdly humorous episodes present
profoundly serious meditations on the complex relation
between Jewish tradition and modernity, celebrating the
rich contact zones of North African and Ashkenazi Jewry
(in The Rabbis Cat) and the cultural exchanges of gypsies,
Jews, and others in early-twentieth-century Ukraine (in
Klezmer).
Italian cartoonist Vittorio Giardino bears witness to the
darker aspects of the modern Jewish encounter with Europe
through his elegantly drawn multivolume series, A Jew in
Communist Prague, which many critics have praised as a
masterpiece. Visually, Giardinos meticulously detailed fullcolor panels capture the atmosphere and architecture of
post-war Prague, while his narrative poignantly traces the
precarious coming-of-age of the young protagonist, Jonas,
during the years of his fathers imprisonment officially
for being a counterrevolutionary, although the narrative
makes abundantly clear that he is the victim of unofficial
state antisemitism.
In Israel, the graphic novel has taken a little longer to
catch on as a cultural phenomenon, but its artists and writers have long produced innovative and often startling work.
The internationally acclaimed Actus Tragicus, a collective of
five comic artists (Mira Friedmann, Yirmi Pinkus, Itzik Rennert, Rutu Modan, and Batia Kolton), have based many of
the stories included in their annual collections on the irreverent fiction of Etgar Keret. Rutu Modan also created an
Israel-based serial for the Sunday New York Times (2008),
and her Exit Wounds (2007) is a gripping examination of
the fraught nexus of terrorism and the quotidian in Israeli
society. Eli Esheds and Uri Finks subversive approaches to
Literature, Hebrew: Haskalah. The Haskalah (enlightenment) was a Jewish literary, cultural, and social movement patterned after the European Enlightenment; it started
in Germany (Prussia) in the 1780s and moved first to
Aliyah (19041913) pioneer as he moves between the secular and religious worlds and between tradition and modernity. Only Yesterday touches on the central themes of Israeli
literature: the collective versus the individual, the spiritual
versus the material, and Diaspora versus Zion. It remains
a powerful patchwork of the styles that have come to define
Modern Hebrew literature: myth, epic, social realism, psychological realism, magical realism, and symbolic parable.
S. Yizhar (Yizhar Smilansky, 19162006) is far more representative of the 1940s. He initiated the style and substance of an Israeli-born literature, created by the so-called
Native Generation, also known as the Generation of 1948
or the Palmakh Generation. With the War of Independence (194749) barely ended, Yizhar penned his short
story, The Prisoner (1949), which examines the interrogation and abuse of an Arab shepherd by Israeli soldiers.
Despite the military ethos of the time, Yizhars story helped
institute what have become substantial motifs in Israeli fiction: the (mis)treatment of its Arab citizens and neighbors and the tragic heroism of the Israeli (soldier or civilian) who must struggle to preserve dignity while wielding
power. His 1949 novella, The Story of Hirbet Hizah, has similar
themes (see ARABS: REPRESENTATIONS IN ISRAELI LITERATURE).
Even as the emerging Israeli state battled to set its borders
and establish a stable economy, it sought to absorb hundreds of thousands of immigrants. The Native Generation
had been raised on images of the stoic, strong, and brave
New Hebrew, but the Holocaust survivors who arrived
on Israels shores were ravaged both physically and mentally. These survivors were often met with impatience, contempt, and silence by sabras (native-born Israelis), intolerant of vulnerability even as Israel faced an uncertain
future. Yehudit Hendels (b. 1926) story, They Are Different People (1949), may be one of the earliest works
to confront the bewildering encounter between survivors
and sabras. The encounter with Mizrah.i Jews from Muslim
countries proved more reassuring. Israels mass evacuation
of Yemens Jewry during Operation Magic Carpet (1949)
captivated the country with a display of its own heroism.
This episode helped popularize the work of Mordecai Tabib
(19101979), a writer born in Israel to Yemenite parents. He
achieved early success with As a Weed in the Field (1948), his
depiction of the Yemenite Jewish community in Israel. The
neglect of Jews from Muslim lands remains a contentious
issue in literary studies today (see MIZRAH.I MIZRAH
. IM).
1950s: Agnon produced several outstanding works in
the 1950s, including the novellas Tehillah (1950) and the
enigmatic Edo and Enam (1950). In Tehillah, Agnon crafts a
sophisticated allegory of Jerusalem, whereas the mysterious and complex tale of passion in Edo and Enam underlies
a symbolic account of the confrontation between tradition
and modernity. Some point to Agnon as the spiritual inheritor of Franz Kafka, but unlike Kafkas writings, Agnons
War, conquest, and grief receive complex treatment during this decade as Israeli society and its political borders profoundly changed. Kaniuks Himmo, King of Jerusalem (1965)
describes a morbid love affair between a beautiful nurse and
her horribly disfigured and mortally wounded patient. As
a kind of Israeli predecessor to The English Patient, Kaniuks
slim novel both solidifies and subverts the Israeli cult of
sacrifice. Others who critically examined hero worship and
sacrifice include Aharon Megged in The Living and the Dead
(1965) and A. B. Yehoshua in his collection, Facing the Forests
(1968). Megged measures the impotence of his contemporaries against the boldness of the earlier pioneers and finds
both wanting. Yehoshua, especially in the much praised title
story to his collection (first published 1963), contemplates
the lassitude of a younger generation with a mixture of envy
and contempt, while reserving no small measure of satire for
the hubris of Israels founding generation.
Amos Ozs (b. 1939) collection Where the Jackals Howl
(1965), marked the appearance of Israels most well-known
literary talent and symbol of the Statehood Generation or
New Wave. This volumes best stories present allegorical
and psychologically complex tales of the kibbutz. For
Oz, conflicts raging inside the kibbutz, the ideal socialist
labor commune, become a cipher for the grim realities of
an unattainable yet ever promised utopia. Ozs novel, My
Michael (1968)] appeared shortly after Israels sweeping
victory in the Six Day War (1967). Often considered
an Israeli revision of Madame Bovary, Ozs novel imagines the inner life of a woman who finds release from
her stultifying married life in sexual fantasies involving
Arab men.
1970s: The euphoria following the Six Day War gave way
among many intellectuals to a recognition that Israels military triumph had failed to alter the countrys status in the
Middle East. Border incursions, state-sponsored terrorism,
and skirmishes with neighboring Arab states continued. Ozs
two novellas Unto Death and A Late Love (1971) seem to have
captured a sense of impending crisis: The former displaces
conquest and its legacy to the era of the Crusades; the latter depicts one mans apocalyptic paranoia. Yehoshua also
treated the cycle of warfare, grief, and retribution in the long
story, In the Beginning of Summer 1970 (1971), in which
a father is mistakenly informed that his son has been killed
in the line of duty.
Published on the cusp of the previous decade, David
Shahars (19261997) search for the lost era of pre-state
Palestine in Summer in the Street of the Prophets (1969) is
the first book of his multivolume epic, The Palace of Shattered Vessels (196994). This spiritually inflected epic marks
a turn toward the nostalgic that emerged prominently in the
1970s. Yaakov Shabtais (19341981) bittersweet and carnivalesque stories of his youth in Tel Aviv were collected
in Uncle Peretz Takes Flight (1972), but Shabtais masterpiece
is the formally inventive Past Continuous (1977). This novel
makes use of a breathless, headlong rush of prose with little
punctuation to narrate the alienation between Israeli generations. The posthumous publication of Agnons incomplete A City and the Fullness Thereof (1973) revealed a different
retrospective take, focusing on the authors pre-war youth.
Agnon, Hebrew literatures only Nobel Prize winner (1966),
died in 1970, but he continued to cast a long shadow on the
literary world in Israel.
The Yom Kippur War (1973) severely tested Israels military might. Perhaps as a consequence of a renewed sense of
vulnerability, a darkness of tone and subject matter found its
way into much Hebrew literature. The bleakest expression
appears in Amos Kenans (b. 1927) Shoah II (1975), which
suggests an apocalyptic end to Jewish existence brought on
by occupation and an abandonment of principles. Appelfeld
approached the Holocaust in an oblique way in his masterful novella Badenheim 1939 (1979), which imagines a European resort narrowing into a ghetto. Yet, the disillusionment and crisis of the era were nowhere more strongly
felt than in Yehoshuas The Lover (1977). Yehoshuas first
novel reveals the influence of Faulkner in its use of multiple first-person narratives and fragmented chronology to
tell the symbolically charged story of a disappearance that
reveals the divides and ruptures within an Israeli family.
1980s: Israel emerged from the malaise of the 1970s
only to deal with threats to its northern borders, the First
Lebanon War, and a restive Palestinian population. Internal social, ethnic, and economic divides continued unabated,
notably characterized in the work of two Mizrah.i writers, Eli
Amir (b. 1937) and Sami Michael (b. 1926). Amirs semiautobiographical Scapegoat (1983) follows the acculturation
of the child of Baghdadi Jewish professionals into Israels
Diaspora.
Another family saga written by a Mizrah.i writer who is
at the center of the Modern Hebrew canon is Yehoshuas
Mr. Mani (1990). One of the most important Israeli novels,
Mr. Mani is a tour de force composed of five one-sided conversations. Each conversation treats a progressively more
distant historical era, beginning in 1982 and ending in 1848,
cumulatively presenting roughly one hundred and forty
years of Jewish history as a cosmic farce, rather than as governed by divine election. A more mainstream epic, Polishborn author Dan Tsalkas (b. 1936) sweeping A Thousand
Hearts (1991), follows the fortunes and foolishness of the
immigrants from the Third Aliyah (191923) who created
modern-day Israel. Tsalkas novel, too, strives to demonstrate the origins of the enduring conflicts between East and
West within Israel and without.
2000s: As the Second Intifada raged and as Israel
embarked on the Second Lebanon War, the new millennium more and more resembled the old one. The postZionism of the 1990s continued to exert its influence on society and on belles lettres. Castel-Blums fun house of a novel,
Human Parts (2002), powerfully evokes the terror of suicide
bombing, while capturing the despair of a society riven by
religious differences, ethnic strife, and economic injustice.
Amir Gutfreunds (b. 1963) Our Holocaust (2000) plunges
readers into an encounter with the history and memory of
the Holocaust, while also daring to ponder whether Israeli
Holocaust survivors. Shulamit Lapid, in her widely popular novel Gei Oni, reconstructs a heroic chapter in Zionist
history, successfully inserting the female point of view.
These women writers and others began to feel empowered
to seek a more private vision in the 1970s, when the trend
to reassess the Zionist meta-narrative caused writers of both
sexes to turn away from ideological and political themes.
Women writers won both public and critical accolades and
became integrated into the mainstream history of Modern
Hebrew literature, with the canonical establishment finally
according them critical appreciation for offering an alternative, rather than minor, poetics.
A more radical turning point occurred in the late 1980s
when gender issues, along with other social concerns, came
to the fore in both Israeli public discourse and fiction,
followed by an unquestioned openness to women writers
on the part of the literary/critical establishment. Women
felt freer to express themselves as fiction writers and to
introduce the feminine dimension to the national culture,
Literature, Hebrew:
Literature, Ladino
strongly influenced by an ancient, pre-biblical mythology and vocabulary, founded the Canaanite movement.
Although this movement never had a significant number
of adherents, its emphasis on myth and its stylistic mannerisms had considerable impact on contemporary poetry
(Carmi, 139).
The search for an authentic literary identity expressed in
Hebrew, whether in the style of the traditional Labor Zionist literary canon, with its complex psychological components, or in the Canaanite mode, which was devoted to
stripping away modern trends to find an authentic mythical past, characterized the literature of the Yishuv in its final
phase. On the eve of the establishment of Israel, it was these
two trends that would influence literary development in the
decades to come.
For further reading, see S. Halkin, Modern Hebrew Literature (1970); A. Alcalay, Keys to the Garden: New Israeli Writing
(1996); E. Zakim, Build and Be Built: Landscape, Literature, and
the Construction of Zionist Identity (2006); G. Shaked, Modern
Hebrew Fiction (2000); and T. Carmi, ed., The Penguin Book of
Hebrew Verse (1981).
R ACHEL S. H ARRIS
Mishnah tractate Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) were continually translated into Ladino and published either as part
of the mah.zor or as separate booklets. Ladino translations
published in Latin script in Italy, Amsterdam, and London
were aimed at converted Jews (see CONVERSOS) who were
returning to Judaism; these translations are slightly Hispanized compared to equivalent Ladino texts produced in
the Ottoman Empire.
RABBINIC LITERATURE: Rabbinic literature includes
Bible commentaries (see BIBLICAL COMMENTARY); the
Mishnah, and the Passover haggadah; works relating to ethical behavior; Jewish legal works; mystical writings; and
Literature, Ladino, refers to written or oral verbal compositions in the language of Sephardic Jewry. The written genres were mainly reserved for educated people, mostly men,
whereas folkloristic oral genres were universally known and
often used by all Sephardic community members. Some
Ladino literature is similar to the equivalent literary genres of Iberian Spanish (which was subsequently developed
by Sephardic Jews [see LITERATURE, HEBREW: MEDIEVAL
SPAIN]). Other genres are new, either autonomous of any
prior tradition or developed under the influence of local literary forms. Although many of these genres are Jewish in
nature, many others are Jewish only by virtue of the language in which they are written, their Hebrew orthography,
and their source and target audience. The genres include
translations into Ladino, rabbinical literature, drama, belles
lettres, newspapers, other written publications, and popular folkloristic oral genres that have been written down in
recent generations.
Very little literature before the 1492 expulsion from
Literature, Ladino
Chocron);
Uruguay (Mauricio Rosencof, Teresa Porzecanski); and Venezuela (Alicia Freilich). Recurrent themes
that manifest themselves in the tradition are antisemitism,
assimilation, and the connection between literature and politics. The Hispanic world is a stage for a particular type of
antisemitism that developed in the period of Muslim rule,
which was known as La Convivencia in medieval Spain.
Each country in the region has adapted it to its idiosyncratic
needs. Consequently, Jewish authors of different nations
present the theme differently.
This is also the case with assimilation: Jewish populations from Mexico to Argentine have been shrinking since
the 1970s. Today most Latin American Jewish authors live
abroad in the United States, Israel, Spain, and France
and their connections with their native places have become
increasingly tenuous. Frequently, their books are published
abroad first (and in other languages) and only then at home,
if at all. As for the connection between literature and politics, the economic and social disparities that characterize
Latin America have turned authors into spokespersons for
the voiceless. Jewish writers have generally been advocates of left-wing causes and movements; for instance, during Argentinas Dirty War and Chiles Pinochet dictatorial
regime. They, like other Jews, have paid a disproportionate
price through torture and becoming desaparecidos. They often
emphasize the connection between these violent periods and
the Holocaust.
Another common theme, which is typical of Jewish
Diaspora literature in general, is the search for a genealogical tree. Although interest in the colonial period remains
small, novels, stories, and poems point to Poland, Russia,
Literature: Scandinavia
Literature: Scandinavia
Literature: Scandinavia
Literature: Scandinavia
yeshivah, the graduate seminary helps explain their popularity with general readers who found in them, and in the
1981 film version of The Chosen, compelling explanations of
Judaism and Judaic scholarship. At roughly the same time
the best-selling detective novels of Harry Kemelman (1908
1996) investigated Jewish acculturation to the middle-class
Literature, United States: Popular Fiction. Two bestselling middlebrow novels of the 1950s signaled a new turn
in Jewish writing within mainstream American literature.
Marjorie Morningstar (1955) by Herman Wouk (b. 1915) and
Exodus (1958) by Leon Uris (19242003) neatly illustrated
the three Jewish experiences in the first part of the twentieth century that proved compelling to a mass American
readership and exploitable to general publishers: the traumas of the Holocaust, the struggle for Jewish national and
cultural self-determination, and the social and psychological
hardships of acculturation. The success of both novels and
of their film adaptations rested on the ways they reflected
and relieved Jewish anxieties about those experiences and
satisfied Gentile curiosity about Jewish identity. They cast a
long shadow over popular Jewish fiction and inevitably tied
that fiction to the social novel, to Hollywood, and to American cultural productions in general. Over the next forty
years, however, as writers, publishers, readers, and critics
expanded definitions of popular, a wider range of narratives developed, and a longer, multinational history of popular Jewish fiction became visible. Like popular fiction in
general, this often-denigrated mode of Jewish writing fulfills readers desire for instruction about and solutions to the
confusions of the modern world and, in the right hands, is
capable of an entertaining complexity.
At the beginning of the twentieth century what counted
as popular Jewish literary work in America, as elsewhere,
depended on the tastes and retail demands of an insular
but still diverse Jewish readership. A 1906 magazine article
on Jewish bookstores of the Lower East Side suggests that
Eastern Europe where the line between the literary and the
popular was indistinct and readers were not yet categorized
by their reading preferences.
It is not until the postWorld War I expansion of publishing and mass-circulated newspapers that definitions of
popular changed in relation to audience and content. In
396
Bashevis Singers Jachid and Jechida and Bernard Malamuds Jewbird, established an arguable tradition of speculative Jewish fiction about galactic Diasporas, the supernatural, persecution, and the search for a Jewish home planet.
A second volume, More Wandering Stars (1999), and works
by Avram Davidson (19231993), Joel Rosenberg (b. 1954),
Philip Graubart, Daniel (D. J.) Kessler, and Michael Burstein
(b. 1970) carry on these themes of wandering and homecoming. In many ways, Marge Piercys (b. 1936) speculative
futurist novel He, She and It (1991) fits into this category as
well.
In contrast, the popular Jewish romance developed energetically through a series of provocative innovations, the
first initiated by Belva Plain (b. 1919). Her novel Evergreen
(1978), adapted into a TV mini-series in 1985, chronicled
the family saga of Polish Jewish immigrant Anna Friedman
as she moved from the Lower East Side to arrival in the
in England and France, respectively. Rachel, or The Inheritance, Foas opening story in a collection entitled Rachel
(1833), purports to be the posthumously discovered memoirs of a Jewish woman writer who, after refusing marriage
to her Christian lover, is abandoned by her Jewish husband
(as was the case with Foa). Aguilars novella, The Perez Family (1843), similarly addresses the issue of intermarriage by
depicting a failed marriage between a Jewish man and Christian woman.
In 1833 Germany, the letters of Rahel Levin Varnhagen
(17711832), a well-known Jewish salon hostess and avid
correspondent, were posthumously published as Rahel: Ein
Buch des Andenkens fur
ihre Freunde (Rahel: A Remembrance
Book for Her Friends). Varnhagen was part of a group of
Jewish salon hostesses including Moses Mendelssohns
daughter, Brendel, who became the translator and writer
Dorothea Schlegel, most of whom ultimately converted
and intermarried. The Jessica theme of conversion and
intermarriage continued to do battle with the Rebecca
model of dutiful renunciation and spinsterhood throughout nineteenth-century literature by Jewish women. Later
examples include Jenny (1843) by Fanny Lewald (1811
1889) in Germany; Reuben Sachs (1889) by Amy Levy (1861
1889) in England; and Other Things Being Equal (1892) by
Emma Wolf (18651932) of San Francisco.
The close of the nineteenth century brought waves of
immigrants from Eastern Europe to Western Europe and
North America. Some of these women immigrants wrote in
Yiddish; others began writing in Russian or Polish, but subsequently switched to Yiddish or English. Many of their writings have been translated for the first time in the groundbreaking collections, Found Treasures (1994) and Arguing with
the Storm (2007). Two immigrant writers who wrote successfully in English are Mary Antin (18811949) who published her autobiography, The Promised Land, about her 1912
journey from Poland to the United States. Anzia Yezierska
(1885?1970), whose most famous novel is The Bread Givers
(1925), also collaborated on film versions of her stories and
books.
In the twentieth century increasing numbers of American Jewish women writers have appealed to wider audiences by addressing both specifically Jewish and universal
themes. Tillie Olsen (19132007), Grace Paley (19222007),
and Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928) all achieved widespread critical
acclaim and popularity among general audiences primarily
for their short stories or, in Ozicks case, also for her many
novels and literary essays. Jo Sinclair (Ruth Seid [1913
1995]), whose novel Wasteland (1946) treats Jewish selfhatred and features a Jewish lesbian character and whose
The Changelings (1955) deals with tensions between Jewish
and African American communities in the Midwest, merits
mention with Olsen and Paley because all three focused on
issues of social identity and difference in the mid-twentiethcentury American setting.
Joanne Greenberg (b. 1932), a prolific novelist who is best
known for I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1964; written
under the pseudonym Hannah Green), about a young Jewish womans mental breakdown and successful recovery, has
addressed similar themes of otherness and disability. (Her
other works with Jewish themes and/or characters include
The Kings Persons [1963], about the massacre of the Jewish population of York in 1190; A Season of Delight [1981];
customs, ethical literature, collections of folktales, paraphrases of the Torah, and tkhines, devotional literature written for and often by women that provides vernacular prayers
for synagogue worship and life-cycle and domestic rituals
(see PRAYER: WOMENS DEVOTIONAL; WOMEN: EARLY
MODERN EUROPE).
Jewish women with literary aspirations in earlynineteenth-century England, France, Germany, and the
Eugenie
Foa (1796-??), a French writer of Sephardic background, began her career as a novelist with La Juive (The
Jewess; 1835), a historical romance about a Jewish woman
who renounces her Christian lover. The novel includes
descriptions of exotic Jewish rituals and was clearly targeted at the same non-Jewish audience fascinated by a contemporaneous opera of the same title by Jacques Fromen
`
thal Halevy
and Eugene
Scribe. Aguilar and Foa also produced fictions depicting contemporary Jewish communities
398
Literature, Yiddish: Beginnings to 1700. Yiddish developed as Jews moved into German-speaking territories in the
course of the late first millennium CE and adapted the local
language, as Jews had done in earlier migrations. Yiddish
thus became the vernacular of Ashkenaz and ultimately
also a literary language that complemented Hebrew literature over the course of a millennium. By the late Middle
Ages, Yiddish literature spanned the same range of genres
399
Genizah codex, 1382) to Moshe Esrim ve-Arbas Shmuelbukh (Book of Samuel [Augsburg, 1544]), the great masterpiece of the tradition, combining both Jewish sacred and
Germanic heroic traditions.
Although liturgy (see WORSHIP) remained strictly the
domain of Hebrew- Aramaic, translations of the prayer
book appeared by the fifteenth century, making it comprehensible to those who knew little Hebrew. Yiddish also fulfilled important liturgical functions in domestic ritual: Bilingual Passover hymns had appeared by the fifteenth century,
and there were also many collections of tkhines (supplications) and slikhes (penitentials), the most important domains
of Yiddish prayer. Similarly, although traditional legal textuality ( halakhah), like liturgy, remained staunchly HebrewAramaic, Yiddish frequently appears as quoted testimony in
rabbinical responses to legal queries (see RESPONSA).
Among the most important and statistically most
widespread genres in Ashkenaz were writings that taught
proper conduct according to locally defined usage, minhogim
(Hebrew, minhagim; see CUSTOM), through books of customs and literature emphasizing proper morals and ethical
behavior. Such muser (Hebrew, musar) writings, characterized by illustrative narratives, parables, and legends, include
Isaac b. Eliakim of Posens Seyfer lev tov (Book of the Good
Heart) published in Prague in 1620.
Because of its obvious Christian origin, it is quite remarkable to find the secular epic or romance among popular
early Yiddish genres. Dukus Horant (Duke Horant [1382]),
for example, narrates a typical royal bridal quest, whereas
the fifteenth-century Vidvilt (As You Wish) is an Arthurian
romance concerning Sir Gawain and his son; both are from
German sources. The masterpieces of the genre are Elye
Bokher (Elijah) Levitas rather conventional Bovo dAntona
(Bovo of Antona [1507]); and the consummate renaissance
epic Pariz un Viene (Paris and Vienna [Verona, 1594]). These
last two works are derived from Italian sources.
ed., Early Yiddish Texts, 11001750 (2004); and J. Baumgarten, Introduction to Old Yiddish Literature, rev. ed. (2005).
J EROLD C. F RAKES
Literature, Yiddish: 1800 to Twenty-First Century. Yiddish literature helped shape both the traditional culture
and the gradual modernization of the Jews. Although some
adherents of the Jewish Enlightenment ( Haskalah) opposed
the use of Yiddish, Yiddish authors contributed to education and secularization in several important ways. During
the short period between 1860 and 1940, Yiddish literature
recapitulated many aspects of European literary history and,
at the same time, introduced Eastern European Jews to the
modern world. Before its abrupt decline in the 1940s and
1950s, Yiddish was an influential medium of political and
cultural activity.
Some of the earliest modern Yiddish writing arose among
the H.asidim and their antagonists, the mitnaggedim. Two
forms of H
. asidic writing made an especially deep impression: orally transmitted tales about H
. asidic leaders, such
as the Baal Shem Tov, and stories told by the leaders themselves. The hagiographic collection Shivh.ei ha-Besht
(In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov) appeared in Hebrew
in 1815 and was soon followed by several popular Yiddish editions. In a very different mode, Nathan Sternharz published fantasy tales by his H
. asidic master, R.
Literature, Yiddish: The Yishuv. Until the early twentieth century Yiddish literature in Palestine was confined to
religious works; in the 1920s, however, increasing numbers
of immigrants from Eastern Europe caused a major shift.
Although Zionist ideology proscribed Yiddish and its culture as epitomizing exilic existence, Yiddish writers who had
been active in Europe continued writing in the Yishuv, the
Jewish community in Palestine both for immigrants eager
for materials in their native language and for a worldwide
Yiddish audience. Some of these writers, many of whom
followed Modernist trends, expressed views of Palestinian
life that diverged from the Zionist mainstream ideal, perhaps
empowered by writing in the forbidden language.
Between 1928 and 1946, the Yiddish Writers and Journalists Club in Palestine published twenty-six literary
magazines featuring fiction, poetry, cultural criticism, and
reviews. There is no information about the distribution of
these magazines, yet their continued appearance is indicative of an ongoing demand. Numerous collections of locally
written poetry and prose also appeared, both in Palestine
and elsewhere. Because the Palestinian Yiddish writers were
intimately connected with the European Yiddish culture of
403
Love
a western branch of Hebrew Union College, the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University); the
Skirball Jewish Center; the Museum of Tolerance; and the
Brandeis-Bardin Institute. In recent years significant Persian and Israeli communities have increased the citys Jewish
diversity and pushed the Jewish population toward 600,000.
For further reading, see E. Eisenberg, A. Kahn, and W.
Toll, Jews of the Pacific Coast: Reinventing Community on Americas Edge (2010); A. Kahn and M. Dollinger, California Jews
(2004); and M. Vorspan and L. P. Gartner, History of the Jews
of Los Angeles (1970); see also UNITED STATES, WESTERN.
A VA F RAN K AHN
Lithuania: See
WORSHIP
404
Love
Love
harmony evokes the presence of the Shekhinah (divine presence). Thus, he taught that one must not marry without
love, not only because of the likelihood that the marriage
would fail but also because of the potential risk of hating a
spouse, a fellow human being. Akiva implied that human
love is a manifestation of divine love and that the Song of
Songs is simultaneously a celebration of romantic love and
a celebration of the special love of Israel and God. Thus, he
argued for the inclusion of the Song of Songs in the Bible:
For the entire world was not worthy as the day on which
the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all of scripture is
holy, and the Song of Songs is holy of holies! (M. Yadayim
3:5).
The Zohar, the principal work of Jewish mystical theosophy, conceives of love and desire in terms of the individual, the community of Israel, and the unity within the
godhead. On the one hand, loving God is the responsibility of the soul. As a particle of the divine, the soul seeks
reunion with God. The righteous soul after death is depicted
in Gods palace of love where God fondles and caresses
her, even as a father treats his beloved daughter. Additionally, the Zohars description of the love between Israel
and God is expressed within the erotic language of the Song
of Songs. Furthermore, the Zohar conceives of the cosmic
rupture that occurred within God as a separation between
God and His creation, and between the upper worlds and
lower worlds. The birth of human souls is the result of
Gods joining with the Shekhinah (the feminine principle
of the divinity representing Gods immanence); this process provides a rationale for procreation, because the sexual
union below affects the state of the upper worlds by bringing harmony to the male and female aspects of the divine.
One who does not engage in procreation diminishes the
image that comprises all images (Zohar I, 13a). Therefore,
marital sexual union has cosmic redemptive value reflecting the union between God and the Shekhinah, or the upper
and lower worlds, which is the reintegration of primordial
unity.
The theme of love, especially love of God, pervades
medieval Jewish thought. Love of God is a religious duty,
based on the commandment, And thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with
all thy might (Deut 6:5). According to Jewish philosophers
such as Saadia Gaon, Solomon ibn Gabirol, Bah.ia ibn
Pakuda, Abraham ibn Ezra, and Maimonides, love of God
should be a rational love achieved by contemplation and
studying philosophy and the sciences. In the tradition of
Aristotle, philosophers such as Maimonides envisioned an
intellectual love of God. Such love leads to the eternal life
of the soul, because the eternity of the soul depends on
the achievement of rational perfection. In contrast, thinkers
such as Judah Halevi rejected the rationalist approach as
too sterile and instead insisted on the experience of faith,
which creates an intimacy with the divine that leads to the
overflow of love for God.
In the modern and contemporary period, the discourse
of love of God is found most profoundly in the writings
of H
. asidic masters. According to Shneur Zalman of Liady
(17451812), love is the inclination of the entire self and
being toward the other. Love is the cleaving of spirit unto
spirit . . . manifesting in all parts of the soul: the intellect and
emotions, as well as their modes of expression: thought,
halakhic discussions on fulfilling ones marital sexual obligation to meditations on love of neighbor and love of God.
Among the numerous rabbinic personalities, the life and
thought of the second-century-CE sage and martyr Akiva
stand out as a remarkable tribute to the exalted powers of
human and divine love. Midrashic traditions about his marriage to Rachel, their mutual devotion, and his views of
marriage are exemplary of the wisdom of love. He taught
that love thy neighbor as thyself is the greatest principle in the Torah (Sifra, Kedoshim 2) because it is predicated
on love of oneself, which provides a foundation for love of
others. He also held that love between man and woman
represents the highest level of holiness and that marital
405
Love
Luzzatto, Moses H
. ayyim
speech, and action. All of these are cloven unto the beloved.
The H
. asidic masters elevated the experience of mystical love
of God as the most sublime human experience by fusing
mystical contemplation with daily prayer. They described
and prescribed stages whereby the H.asid moves from the
heart to the intellect in yearning for God until reaching
a stage of transcendence: There are times when the love
of God burns so powerfully within your heart that . . . it is
not yourself who speak[s]; rather it is through you that the
words are spoken (Green and Holtz, 62).
Franz Rosenzweig theorized about love as a central theological motif in The Star of Redemption, in which he conceptualized revelation the encounter of the human and
the divine as the outpouring of divine love upon the
soul. Using the Song of Songs as a template for conceiving
the dialogical moment of God and the human soul, Rosenzweig claims, It is not enough that Gods relationship to
man is explained by the simile of the lover and the beloved.
Gods word must contain the relationship of lover to beloved
directly . . . and so we find it in the Song of Songs (trans.
W. W. Hallo [1971], 199). Love and speech become interchangeable in Rosenzweigs midrashic interpretation of the
Song, underscoring the erotic and dialogical nature of love.
The intimacy and presentness of love in revelation transform
the self to a compassionate posture toward the other, which
is manifested as love of neighbor. The boundaries between
the erotic and the spiritual, the human and the divine, blur
in the face of the fecundity of love.
For further reading, see A. and C. Bloch, The Song of Songs:
A New Translation (1995); M. Goshen-Gottstein, Abraham
Lover or Beloved of God, in Love and Death in the Ancient
Near East: Essays in Honor of Marvin H. Pope, ed. J. H. Marks
and R. M. Good (1987), 10104; A. Green and B. Holtz, eds.,
Your Word Is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer
(1987); L. Jacobs, The Love of God, in idem, A Jewish Theology (1973); Y. Muffs, Love and Joy: Law, Language, and Religion in Ancient Israel (1992); J. Van Seters, Love and Death
in the Court History of David, in Love and Death in the Ancient
Near East, ed. J. H. Marks and R. M. Good (1987), 12124.
Y UDIT K ORNBERG G REENBERG
Luzzatto, Moses H
. ayyim (17071747) was a messianic
406
Luzzatto, Moses H
. ayyim
407
Magic
Magnes, Judah L.
409
Magnes, Judah L.
Maimonides
Berlin, but was turned out of the city before making any
serious contacts; he lived as a beggar before finding a sponsor in Posen. Back in Berlin by 1780, he read eclectically and
voraciously and met Moses Mendelssohn, who introduced
him to other proponents of the Haskalah.
Maimon was intellectually astute but socially inept, and
he never polished his language skills. Virtually unintelligible,
unrepentantly Spinozistic, and scathingly honest, Maimon
was again expelled from Berlin. His peripatetic life led him to
Breslau where his wife found him and demanded a divorce.
He returned to Berlin by 1787 where he achieved some professional acclaim. Writing in German and Hebrew, Maimon
contributed several articles to Enlightenment journals, published ten major philosophical studies (including Versuch uber
Maimonides (MOSES BEN MAIMON, also known as Rambam) was born in Cordova, Spain, in 1138, but he and his
family were forced to flee in 1148 when the Almohads,
an extremist sect, invaded southern Spain and offered all
non-Muslims the choice of conversion, death, or exile. Maimonides family fled Spain and traveled through North
Africa, where, for some time, they lived incognito as Muslims. In 1166, Maimonides settled in Fustat, Egypt (old
Cairo), where he wrote most of his best-known works and
served as court physician to the Sultan. He died in Fustat
in 1204. Often regarded as the greatest Jewish philosopher
of all time, Maimonides was also a talmudic expositor and
renowned physician (see HALAKHAH; MEDICINE).
His first masterpiece, the Commentary on the Mishnah, published in 1168, is best known for its treatment of Chapter 10
of Tractate Sanhedrin. There, Maimonides lists thirteen principles he considers binding on every Jew: the existence of
410
Maimonides
revelation. If reason directs us to a God who is immaterial, unchanging, and devoid of emotion, on a literal reading, then revelation directs us to a God who has bodily parts,
grows angry, and changes location. Maimonides argues that
a literal reading of Scripture is unjustified, and thus the conflict is apparent rather than real.
According to Maimonides, all of Jewish law ( halakhah)
aims at two things: the improvement of the body and the
improvement of the soul. The former is a means to the latter;
the soul is improved by acquiring correct opinions and eventually knowledge. The basis of all knowledge is summed up
in the first two commandments, which Maimonides takes
as (1) belief in a timeless, changeless, immaterial God and
(2) rejection of idolatry. Only by acquiring knowledge can a
person fulfill the commandment to love God.
Therefore, a person who has a false conception of God,
one based on a literal reading of Scripture, is not worshiping
God, no matter how many other commandments he or she
may perform. That is not to say that the other commandments can be dispensed with Maimonides does not countenance liberalization of the law. Rather, it is to say that the
purpose of the other commandments is to put us in a position where we can perfect our intellect. This purpose could
only be achieved if we lived in an orderly society that promoted the health and well-being of its members. Still health
and well-being are not enough: A perfect society must also
look after spiritual and intellectual growth.
Two features characterize Maimonides thinking. The first
may be described as demystification. In almost everything
he wrote, Maimonides sought to free Judaism of any taint
of mythology or superstition. Beyond the rejection of literal interpretation, he is skeptical of miracles and anything
else that defies rational explanation. The second feature may
be described as intellectualism. Rather than comfort, merriment, or ethnic solidarity, the purpose of Judaism is to direct
us to truth. Should Scripture appear to say something that
reason can show is false, we have no choice but to reinterpret it to conform to reason so that truth is preserved.
Behind this claim is the view that reason is a Godgiven faculty that defines us as human beings. In his terms,
[Mans] ultimate perfection is to become rational in actuality; this would consist in his knowing everything concerning all beings that it is within the capacity of man to know
(Guide of the Perplexed, Book 3, chapter 27). Rather than
impeding the human relationship with God, reason brings
us closer to God. This does not mean that reason can answer
every question put to it. Maimonides is clear that part of
rationality consists in the recognition that reason has limits.
Thus, he makes the qualification that reason can only lead
to things that it is within the capacity of man to know. His basic
point is that, when reason can answer a question, as in reasons affirmation of the existence of a timeless, changeless,
immaterial God, we have a sacred obligation to trust it.
Despite his fame, Maimonides became the source of
a long-standing controversy. To supporters, he restored
Judaism to the intellectual rigor it was always supposed to
have had. To detractors, he corrupted Judaism by assigning a larger role to Aristotle than to Moses. Whichever view
one takes, there is no denying that, after the publication of
Maimonides works, Judaism was never the same. An old
saying sums up his contribution well: From Moses to
Moses, there was none like Moses.
In addition to the primary sources mentioned earlier, for
further reading, see I. Twersky, A Maimonides Reader (1972);
D. Hartmann, Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest (1976);
R. L. Weiss, Maimonides Ethics (1991); and K. Seeskin, ed.,
The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides (2005); also see
THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL.
K ENNETH S EESKIN
Marriage, Levirate
and commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem, even at
the happiest moments. Other common customs include the
aufruf: calling up the groom, or either or both members of
the couple in egalitarian communities, to the Torah on the
onward, the legal core of Jewish marriage has been a twostep process. The first stage, kiddushin or erusin, is often translated in English as betrothal. Although the couple does
not yet live together, it is a form of unofficial marriage during which the laws of adultery apply; a betrothal may only
be dissolved by divorce (or death of one of the parties).
Kiddushin is created by the man presenting to the woman an
item of minimal value (most commonly a ring is used) and
stating, You are betrothed to me according to the laws of
Moses and Israel; through this process, he acquires her as
his wife. Rabbinic law also allows for kiddushin to be created
by means of a document or an act of sexual intercourse (M.
Kiddushin 1:1), but these fell out of Jewish practice early on.
The marriage is completed through nissuin, nuptials, also
known as bringing the bride into the h.uppah. In rabbinic
times, the h.uppah was a bridal chamber, and bringing the
bride into it represented her entry into the husbands household. In modern practice, the h.uppah is an open canopy
under which the wedding takes place, although it continues
to symbolize the new household being created. The nissuin
is accompanied by seven blessings, the sheva berakhot. These
blessings recall the creation of the world and human beings,
the hope for the return to Zion, and the joy of companionship and marriage; they are recited over a cup of wine, which
the bride and groom then share. At one time kiddushin and
nissuin could take place as much as a year or more apart but
since approximately the twelfth century CE, the practice has
been to combine both in one extended ceremony. The two
parts may be separated by a reading of the marriage contract (see later) or by words to the couple from the officiant
or another person chosen for the occasion. The ceremony is
usually followed by yih.ud, a period of seclusion for the bride
and groom, which symbolically and legally represents the
consummation of the marriage.
Biblical and rabbinic law allow for polygyny, although its
frequency is difficult to gauge. Polygyny was formally prohibited among Ashkenazi Jews in a ruling attributed to the
German scholar R. Gershom ben Judah (9601028) in his
h.erem de-Rabbenu Gershom. Men of Sephardi and Mizrah.i
descent, particularly those living in Islamic societies, did not
consider themselves bound by the h.erem and sometimes contracted plural marriages well into the twentieth century.
The State of Israel formally outlawed polygamy in 1951,
but allowed for already polygamous immigrant families to
remain intact. Moreover, because taking a second wife is
valid by biblical law, if a man does so in violation of the
law the relationship must still be dissolved by divorce; civil
penalties such as imprisonment can also be brought to bear.
Weddings are prohibited during certain days and periods
of the year. A wedding should not take place on the Sabbath
or on a festival, for example, because of the rabbinic principle that one should not dilute the celebration of the holiday with the celebration of the wedding. Conversely, weddings traditionally do not take place during the period of the
counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot, or
during the three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and
Marriage, Levirate
Martyrdom
be blotted out in Israel. (By rabbinic times, levirate marriage was considered obligatory only when the widow had
no child of either sex [M. Yevamot 2:5; BT Yevamot 22b]).
Should the brother-in-law refuse to perform this obligation,
then he and his brothers widow had to perform a ceremony
called h.alitzah (removal), which is described in Deuteronomy 25:910. The woman approaches the brother-in-law in
the presence of the community elders, pulls his sandal from
his foot, spits in his face, and declares, Thus shall be done
to the man who will not build up his brothers house! Then
the brother-in-law shall go in Israel by the name of the
family of the unsandaled one, and the released widow is
now free to marry as she chooses.
The purpose of levirate marriage in Israelite religion was
to preserve patriarchal patterns of inheritance; it also provided protection for widows in societies that offered single women few attractive options. Levirate marriage presupposed a polygynous society in which a man could have
more than one wife. A man who refused the duty of the
levir may have been concerned about his own potential economic loss in providing an heir for his brothers property,
as well as the impact of adding another woman and her
potential children to his household. It is interesting to note
that in all other circumstances biblical law forbids a man
to marry his brothers widow (Lev 18:16, 20:21). Levirate
marriage appears in biblical narrative in the story of Tamar,
the daughter-in-law of Jacobs son Judah, in Genesis 38.
Although the events in the book of Ruth bear similarities to
levirate marriage, Boazs agreement to marry his kinsmans
widow, Ruth, reflects the institution of the goel (redeemer of
clan property).
Rabbinic Judaism continued the practice of levirate marriage, although some rabbinic sages recommended h.alitzah
in all cases (BT Bekhorot 13a and Yevamot 109a). A tractate
of the Talmud, Yevamot (sisters-in-law), is devoted to the
ramifications of this custom. During the medieval period,
rabbinic authorities who lived in the Muslim world, where
polygyny was a cultural norm, generally supported levirate marriage. However, levirate marriage was rendered virtually impossible among Jewish communities in Christian
regions by the legal amendment (takkanah) against polygyny attributed to R. Gershom ben Judah of Mainz ca.
1000. Nevertheless, the ceremony of h.alitzah had to be performed by the brother-in-law before the childless widow
could remarry. A 1950 takkanah by the Chief Rabbinate of
the State of Israel prohibited the practice of levirate marriage
in Israel and made performance of h.alitzah obligatory.
In the contemporary era, Orthodox Judaism (see
JUDAISM: ORTHODOX entries) requires a childless widow
to undergo h.alitzah to be free to remarry. The ceremony
takes place in the presence of a specially convened Jewish
New York City where he played a crucial role in the reorganization of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and was a prominent supporter and leader of both the
New York Kehillah and the American Jewish Committee.
He worked to combat antisemitism and to improve conditions for immigrants on the Lower East Side, and he also
opposed immigration restrictions that would have closed the
Zionism, although he was a supporter of the Balfour Declaration. For further reading, see H. Alpert, Louis Marshall:
18561929 (2008); C. Reznikoff, ed., Louis Marshall: Champion
of Liberty, 2 vols. (1957); and J. Sarna, Two Jewish Lawyers
Named Louis, American Jewish History 94(12) (2008).
M ICHAEL R. C OHEN
Martyrdom
Martyrdom
Judaism.
Theologizing the concept of voluntary death became the
task of the Rabbis. Their rulings attempted to balance the
Jewish commitment to the sanctity of life and the popular notion of voluntary death. A second-century rabbinic
council at Lod allegedly set the basic rule: When forced to
choose between transgressing the commandments ( mitzvot)
and death, a Jew should transgress rather than be killed,
except in cases of idolatry, sexual misconduct, and homicide (BT Sanhedrin 74ab, JT Sanhedrin 3:6, 21b). In contrast, Rabbi Ishmael argued that engaging in idolatrous worship was permitted to save ones life, because Leviticus 18:5
instructed that one was to live by the commandments, not
die for them, but this minority position was challenged.
The Rabbis distinguished between forced idolatrous worship in private, which is permissible to save ones life, and in
public (i.e., in the presence of at least ten men), which must
be avoided. According to other talmudic views, in times of
religious persecution Jews must let themselves be killed,
even for a trivial commandment. However, if the demand
to transgress benefits only the oppressor and does not aim
at denigrating Judaism publicly, life should be chosen. All
of these halakhic (legal) discussions employ the verb to be
killed, stressing the passive nature of martyrdom. These rulings abandoned the Temple symbols and the images of active
martyrdom found in first- and second-century-CE Jewish
narratives.
Several martyrological accounts appear in the Talmud
and various midrash collections. They include a version
of the anonymous mother and sons narrative from Maccabean times (BT Gittin 57b; Lamentations Rabbah 1:16, 50)
and the story of four hundred girls and boys who drowned
themselves in the sea en route to Rome to escape sexual
slavery (BT Gittin 57b). More famous and detailed are the
accounts about the Roman executions of ten Rabbis, including Akiva, H
. ananiah ben Teradyon, and Judah ben Baba,
during the second-century-CE Hadrianic persecutions (BT
Sanhedrin 14a; BT Avodah Zarah 8b, 17b18a; Lamentations
Rabbah 2:2). These talmudic accounts lack a specific term
for martyrdom. Only later did rabbinic discussion link the
need to avoid a public transgression at all costs to the act of
sanctifying Gods name (kiddush ha-Shem). A post-talmudic
text, called both Midrash Eleh Ezkerah (These I Shall Remember) and Midrash Asarah Harugei Malkut (The Ten Killed by
the Royal Government), reworks individual talmudic tales
into a legendary martyrology, known as the Ten Martyrs.
Excerpts from this midrash appear in a selih.ah (penitential
prayer) recited on Yom Kippur, also entitled Eleh Ezkerah.
Similar content appears in a dirge for Tisha BAv entitled
Artzei ha-Levanon (The Cedars of Lebanon).
No other period in history is more identified with Jewish martyrdom than the Middle Ages. The first known
case took place in Otranto in southern Italy, a Byzantine
province at the time. A tenth-century epistle reports the selfsacrifice of two rabbis and their student. Equally important
to the history of Jewish martyrdom is the liturgy and literature produced by Italian/Byzantine Jewry, especially the
tenth-century Sefer Yosippon (Book of Josippon). It retells
the Maccabean stories of martyrdom and Josephus accounts
of events during the conflicts with Rome. Together with contemporary liturgical works, Sefer Yosippon restored to Jewish
Martyrdom
Masorah; Masoretes
conflict between classes. He argued in The Communist Manifesto (1848) that the passage from feudalism to capitalism divided the bourgeoisie and proletariat into two hostile
camps; after the inevitable overthrow of the former, the proletariat would eliminate social classes by abolishing private
property.
Marxs attitude to Jews and Judaism has evoked accusations of antisemitism. In On the Jewish Question (1844), he
associated Jewry with usury and finance capitalism, writing, The social emancipation of the Jew is the emancipation of society from Judaism. In an 1843 letter, Marx wrote
that the Israelite faith is repugnant to me. Recent scholars, however, have situated Marxs views in the wider context of his revulsion for all organized religions; they point
to his friendships with contemporary Jewish intellectuals
like Moses Hess and Heinrich Graetz (18171891) and note
the complexity of his views on the Jewish question. Marx
unambiguously favored Jewish emancipation and full rights
for Jews as Jews. When the French parliament called for a
universal Sunday rest day, Marx opposed the bill because it
legalized the Sunday of the Christians; he asked, Should
not the Jewish Sabbath have the same right? Thus, Marx
distinguished between the role Jews had played in the modern state, which he believed was negative, and the rights
they were entitled to as individuals, which he absolutely
supported. For further reading, see R. C. Tucker, ed., The
Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed. (1978); S. Avineri, Marx and
Jewish Emancipation, Journal of the History of Ideas, 23(3)
(1964): 44550; and D. M. Snyder, Freud, Einstein, and Marx:
The Influence of Judaism on Their Works (1998).
J OSHUA D. Z IMMERMAN
Masorah; Masoretes. Masorah, which means transmission, refers to scribal traditions that evolved to preserve
correct readings, performance, and reproduction of the biblical text. Although vowel signs were introduced into the
biblical text by the sixth or seventh century, the Masoretes
developed various systems of graphemes (written symbols)
415
Masorah; Masoretes
Medicine
Mathematics: See SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
to facilitate accurate vocalization, accentuation, and cantillation (chanting). These grammarians and scribes lived in
the Land of Israel, primarily in Tiberias in the Galilee and
Medicine
Megillat Taanit
du Moyen Age
et la medicine,
in Le Monde sepharade, ed.
S. I. Trigano (2006); J. Shatzmiller, Jews, Medicine, and
Medieval Society (1995); D. Ruderman, Jewish Thought and
Scientific Discovery in Early Modern Europe (1995); N. Berger,
ed., Jews and Medicine: Religion, Culture, Science (1995); and
Medicine, Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd ed. (2006); see also
NURSING: UNITED STATES.
A NDREW B ERNS
biblical book of Esther, which is publicly read on the festival of Purim, often from a specially designated and decorated scroll (see CEREMONIAL OBJECTS). Esther is one
of five relatively brief biblical books that constitute the
Megillat Taanit (Scroll of Fasting) is a document of a semihistorical character that originated among the sages of the
Second Temple era. It was apparently compiled between
41 and 70 CE. The scroll is essentially a list of about thirtyfive dates drawn up in Aramaic and arranged in calendar
order. Its goal, as stated in its opening sentence, is to forbid Jews to fast on these days that are defined in the
Jerusalem Talmud as days on which miracles had been
performed for Israel. The dates listed are, in the main,
those of joyous events of various kinds during the Second
Temple period, from the days of Ezra and Nehemiah to
the times of the destruction of the Temple. An explanatory commentary in Hebrew, known as the Scholion, was
later appended to the scroll and has been transmitted in two
417
Megillat Taanit
Meir, Golda
Meir, Golda
in the context of their family, education, and young adulthood but also to the receptiveness of the Hebrew-reading
audience to such works.
Israeli historiography, like Israeli literary culture, did not
immediately make space for the writing of individual lives.
The reasons are similar: an initial adherence to collective
ideological imperatives, followed by an expanded perspective. Where Zionist historiography might once have focused
on nation, class, and the historical process as forces, it now
increasingly recognizes the role of individuals in shaping history. Perhaps the relative stability of the nation-state, more
than sixty years after its founding, has made possible this
backward-looking stage of Israeli society and culture. Anita
Shapiras biography of Berl Katznelson, Berl: Biografiyah
(1980), is viewed as a watershed moment that opened up
the field of academic biography in Israel. In a similar vein
are works on David Ben-Gurion by Shabtai Tevet (1976)
and Michael Bar-Zohar (1980), as well as Yehuda Reinharzs study of Chaim Weizmann (1987). Literary figures
are also benefiting from the recent acceptance of Hebrew
biography. Yehoshua Porats biography of Yonatan Ratosh
(1989), Ehud Ben-Ezers biography of Esther Raab (1998),
and Haim Beers group portrait of Bialik, Brenner, and
S. Y. Agnon (1992) constitute examples of Hebrew literary criticism entering the age of biography. Taken together,
these developments in Israeli lifewriting indicate that the
once dominant discourse of the national narrative has given
way to a more flexible and variegated texture of literary
production (see also ISRAEL, STATE OF entries).
For further reading, see Y. Feldman, Living on the Top
Floor: The Arrested Autobiography in Israeli Fiction, Modern Hebrew Literature 1 (1988): 7277; A. Mintz, Banished
from Their Fathers Table: Loss of Faith and Hebrew Autobiography (1989); G. Shaked, Modern Hebrew Fiction (2000);
M. Keren, National Icons and Personal Identities in Three
Israeli Autobiographies, Biography 27(2) (2004): 35783;
M. Moseley, Being for Myself Alone: Origins of Jewish Autobiography (2006); and T. Hess, The Confessions of a Bad Reader:
Embodied Selves, Narrative Strategies, and Subversion
in Israeli Womens Autobiography, Prooftexts 27 (2007):
15187.
H ANNAH S. P RESSMAN
customs were woven into the daily routine and the family
sat at the center.
Most of these memoirs take place during times of intense
societal changes, including increasing secularization, modernization, and urbanization. As traditional Muslim societies became more aware of the larger world and as ideas
of political nationalism spread, the status of Jews changed.
The memoirs portray these changes from the perspectives
of individuals, depicting personal stories against tumultuous
historical backdrops. The audiences for these works are the
writers themselves and their peers, their children, and Jews
from very different backgrounds. One of the earliest such
works Albert Memmis 1953 autobiographical novel La
Statue de Sel (Pillar of Salt), the story of a young Jewish
boy growing up in French-colonized and Nazi-occupied
Tunisia has become a classic (see NORTH AFRICA).
Although nearly every community has its chronicler, a
greater number of works are set in Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
A number of Egyptian-born writers have followed essayist
Jacqueline Kahanoffs lead in writing about the Levantine
dimension of their lives. Her From East the Sun, originally
written in English, was first published in Aharon Amirs
Hebrew translation Memizrah. ha-Shemesh (1978). Andre Aciman (Out of Egypt; 1994), Gini Alhadeff (The Sun at Midday:
Tales of a Mediterranean Family; 1997), and Lucette Lagnado
(The Man in the Sharkskin Suit; 2007) also recall their origins
in Egypt: They write of cosmopolitan families; eccentric relatives; the colorful confusion of languages, cultures, and identities; and the devastating impact of dislocation and exile.
Although Alexandria is the more Mediterranean of
Egypts major cities, Cairo is also a site of multiculturalism
and of fluid identities. Cairo-born Claudia Roden develops
the language of food, offering memories of her lost past
through tracking down other displaced Middle Easterners to
gather recipes and compile cookbooks. Her first cookbook,
A Book of Middle Eastern Food (1974), intersperses stories and
personal reminiscences with recipes. The book works on two
levels: a sharing of memories with compatriots and a culinary introduction to the region for a western audience. The
texts based in Egypt share a number of memories the quail
harvest, summers in Alexandria, street vendors, social stratification, shifting identities, and multilingualism: French for
culture and education, Italian for assumed identity, Ladino
and/or Turkish from the past, and Arabic limited to the
lower classes and thus the kitchen, with English as a language of the future.
In recent years a number of Jewish women have joined
their non-Jewish counterparts in writing memoirs set in
Iran. (For a variety of reasons these memoirs tend to be
written in English.) Although the 1979 revolution is the catalyst for nearly all of them, the difference is that the Jewish writers do not tend to idealize pre-revolutionary Iran.
Instead they show themselves chafing against the restrictions that limited them as girls and the hatred that threatens them as Jews. Examples include Roya Hakakian, Journey
from the Land of No: A Memoir of a Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran (2004); Farideh Goldin, Wedding Song: Memoirs of an
Iranian Jewish Woman (2003); Dalia Sofer, Septembers of Shiraz (2007); and the autobiographical fiction of Gina Nahai
Mendelssohn, Moses
supported readmission, merchants feared commercial competition and antisemitic literature probably influenced public opinion against the proposal as well. Rather than have a
negative decision on record, Cromwell dismissed the gathering. In 1656 Menasseh ben Israel published Vindiciae Judaeorum in defense of the Jews. He returned to Amsterdam in
1657 after being granted a pension from Cromwell and died
later that year.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Mendelssohn, Moses (17291786) was a German Enlightenment thinker and writer and the central figure in the
initial stages of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment
movement. Born in Dessau (Anhalt), the fourteen-yearold Moses Mendelssohn walked to Berlin to continue
learning with his mentor David Fraenkel, who had been
named rabbi in Berlin. Fraenkels introduced Mendelssohn
to the Haskalah, the religious enlightenment of Judaism in
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that echoed the
contemporaneous scientific and intellectual revolutions in
European thought. In Berlin Mendelssohn befriended several Jews (including Aron Gumpertz and Israel Samoscz)
who studied European and ancient languages, mathematics, medicine, and natural science along with more traditional Jewish subjects; under their guidance Mendelssohn
immersed himself in contemporary theology, ancient philosophy, and classical literature. He earned a small livelihood, first through tutoring and then as a bookkeeper for a
silk manufacturing company (one of the professions available to Jews in Prussia); later he became a partner and
then inherited the business, working full time throughout his life. Mendelssohn married Fromet Guggenheim in
1762; together they had ten children Sara, Brendel (later
Dorothea von Schlegel), Chaim, Recha, Mendel, Joseph,
Yente (later Henriette), Abraham, Sisa, and Nathan; five survived to adulthood.
Over the course of his successful intellectual career,
Mendelssohn published widely (and often anonymously) in
German (on aesthetics, belles lettres, metaphysics, mathematics, contract law, religious liberty, and Judaism) and
in Hebrew (on logic, aesthetics, literature, halakhah,
medieval theology, and Bible commentary). With his
close friends Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Friedrich Nicolai, Mendlessohn co-edited the Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen Kunste
(Library of the Fine Arts and
Mendelssohn, Moses
Menorah
somewhat ironically, ecumenical dialogue. The Hebrew biographical eulogy written by Isaac Euchel, a leading figure in
the Haskalah, made Mendelssohn a symbol of the potential
within Jewish scholarship and solidified his place in the histories of modern philosophy, Jewish thought, and Jewish
emancipation. In modern Judaism, Mendelssohn is alternately reviled (by those who blame him for liberal forms
of Judaism and the organizational breakdown of traditional
Judaism) and revered (by those who praise him for opening the ghetto doors). In fact, his admirers included Sam
two very differson Raphael Hirsch and David Friedlander,
ent Jewish thinkers whose influence on nineteenth-century
German Jewry had widely distinct impacts. For further reading, see A. Altmann, Moses Mendelssohn: A Biographical Study
(1973); and S. Feiner, Moses Mendelssohn: Sage of Modernity
(2010).
L EAH H OCHMAN
Menorah
and elaborate botanical decorations, it would have resembled a stylized tree and thus symbolized divine power as a
source of fertility. Its lamps may have signified divine omniscience. Like the other sacred furnishings, the menorah contributed to the sense of divine presence in Gods earthly
dwelling.
C AROL M EYERS
Menorah Association, the intercollegiate national Jewish organization devoted to serving the needs of American
Jewish undergraduates, came into being at a time when
American Jewish college students were far and few between
and campus life was inhospitable to expressions of Jewish
collective identity. Established at Harvard in 1906, where,
as one of its sayings would have it, young American Jews
were encouraged to find themselves as Jews in the modern
world, without ghettoism and yet with a certain distinction,
the Menorah Association spread to some eighty campuses by
1920, before losing ground to Hillel at one end of the spectrum and Jewish fraternities and sororities at the other. In
the years before World War I, the organization provided a
public address for Jewish collegians a place for intellectual
give-and-take and socializing.
The Menorah Association went on to publish a sophisticated intellectual magazine known as The Menorah Journal (published in various forms between 191562), which
intended, according to the editorial statement in the first
issue, to be a Jewish forum open to all sides, devoted first
and last to bringing out the values of Jewish culture and
ideals, of Hebraism and of Judaism and striving for their
advancement. Its impact on American Jewish arts and letters was far reaching, especially during the interwar years.
Within its timely, vivacious, and readable pages, contributors as varied as Salo Baron, Sidney Hook, Mordecai M.
Mesopotamia
and a rich array of biblical, rabbinic, and medieval Jewish sources in thinking about the messiah and the end of
days. Significant historical and social developments, such as
the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain, fueled messianic conjecture. Early modern Jewish messianism was also
closely connected to Christian and Islamic messianic speculation. Although generally discouraged by rabbinic authorities, some early modern Jews did attempt to calculate the
beginning of the messianic era.
Jewish messianic views were rarely simple and not always
uniform. For example, some Jews believed that the coming
of the messiah would be accompanied by an apocalyptic
overturning of society through warfare, natural disaster, and
cosmic changes. Others imagined a more peaceful transformation. In either event, messianism addressed the challenge
of divine promise and current and historical suffering by
positing a future reality that reestablished the position of
Jews and Judaism. This was a comforting notion at times
of persecution and marginalization; messianic anticipation
could also serve as a catalyst for early modern Jews to repent
for their own perceived shortcomings.
Throughout the Early Modern period, numerous Jews
claimed to be harbingers of the messiah or the messiah
himself. One example is the early-sixteenth-century figure Asher Lemlein of Ruetlingen, who circulated around
Metatron
intervention; therefore, the socially destructive apocalyptic energies of messianism as a human phenomenon risk
detaching God from Jewish history. Similarly, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kooks progressive notion of history, which led
him to see the political successes of Zionism as a sign of
imminent religious redemption, is broadly utopian. The
notion of the rate of progress as pre-determined, and the
insistence that the present moment is on the cusp of
redemption, led his son Rabbi Zvi Yehudah Kook (and,
more broadly, the contemporary Israeli settler movement)
to assert that the State of Israel is divine. Here, anarchy
shows itself in an abandonment of political realism.
Scholem also associated the restorative pole of the messianic idea with passivity and the anarchic-utopian pole
with activity. These associations are no longer viable. When
a group of anti-Zionist Ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrates
outside the Israeli consulate in New York City, is this passive? When West Bank settlers are carried by Israeli police
from their homes during the dismantling of settlements, is
this active? The blurring of the boundary between the
anarchist and the bourgeois, which seemed so clear for
Scholem, may make it desirable to view expressions of the
messianic idea and not only in the contemporary period
as strategies by which a particular worldview is validated. In
other words, a messianic ideology is one of many pragmatic
strategies by which a religious Jewish community hopes to
achieve or sustain power of one form or another.
This is true for the rabbis of antiquity who warned
against hastening the end. It is true for Maimonides rationalist approach to the messianic idea. It is true for Sabbateanists; it is true for Kook and Neturei Karta. It is true
for the H
. abad H
. asidim who in the 1990s said that the messiahs arrival was imminent, and it is true for those H
. abad
H
. asidim who believed that their rebbe Menah.em Mendel
Levinas. Where all these views differ is not in viewing messianism as a strategy, but in their convictions of where essential power resides: Is it in the divine, in the community, or
in the individual? In and through those self-definitions, the
parameters of lives in the historical present are drawn even
if (and perhaps because) the messiah is not present.
For further reading, see A. F. Segal, Rebeccas Children
(1986); P. Schafer,
Jesus in the Talmud (2007); J. J. Collins,
The Scepter and the Star (1995); G. Scholem, The Messianic Idea
in Judaism (1971); A. Ravitzky, Messianism, Zionism, and Jewish Religious Radicalism (1996); D. Berger, The Rebbe, The Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference (2001); E. Levinas,
Difficult Freedom (1990); and M. Kavka, Jewish Messianism and
the History of Philosophy (2004).
M ARTIN K AVKA
427
Metatron
Mezuzah
him; the name should therefore be interpreted as deriving from Greek tetra (four) and the Tetragrammaton, the
divine name of four letters (although other explanations
have been offered, based on references to Metatron as a
messenger). According to BT H
. agigah 15a, the sage Elisha
ben Abuya was declared a heretic when he observed Metatron sitting on a throne in the seventh heaven and judging
the world, and he said, Perhaps there are two powers in
heaven. Metatron may also be associated with the sar haolam (prince of the world), an opaque midrashic reference,
probably to a demiurgic power. He is frequently described
in hekhalot mystical literature, and the most detailed description is found in the late pseudepigraphical work, 3 Enoch
(also called The Hebrew Apocalypse of Enoch and Sefer Hekhalot
[Book of the Palaces]), which describes the gradual transformation of Enoch ben Jared (Gen 5:24) into the power Metatron (see ESCHATOLOGY; MYSTICISM: HEKHALOT AND
MERKAVAH LITERATURE). The identification of Metatron
with Enoch was probably motivated by the wish to sever
any connection between Metatron and the creation, because
there were tendencies to view him as a demiurgic power.
In 3 Enoch, Metatron is called a naar (youth or servant),
and the same appellation is found in gnostic treatises. Gershom Scholem identified him with Yahoel, an angel who
appears in The Apocalypse of Abraham, a pseudepigraphical
work of the first or second century CE. Medieval kabbalists often connected Metatron with different entities of the
divine realms as described in the Kabbalah, most often with
the Shekhinah (G. Scholem, Kabbalah [1974], 37781).
J OSEPH D AN
428
Mezuzah
429
A. Haverkamp (1999), 23351; and D. Nirenberg, Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages
(1996), 4369. Map 7
J UDITH B RONSTEIN
Middle Ages: Demography. For the first half of the Middle Ages (roughly the sixth through the tenth centuries), the
overwhelming majority of Jews lived under Muslim domination, with a substantial number residing in eastern Christendom under Byzantine rule. Western Christendom was a
distant third in terms of the Jewish population it hosted and
the power and creativity of that population. Even in Europe,
the largest Jewish communities were in areas under Muslim
control, such as most of the Iberian Peninsula ( Spain) and
southern sectors of Italy (see also SICILY).
This distribution of world Jewry reflected the relative
power of the three major power blocs during the first half of
the Middle Ages: the dominant Islamic bloc, the still potent
Greek Christian bloc, and weak and backward Latin Chris431
Middle Ages: H
. asidei Ashkenaz
detect nascent kabbalistic teachings, especially in the writings of Eleazar, together with prayer interpretations that
revolve around a precise counting of the Hebrew words and
letters in each prayer text, in addition to midrashic and fully
esoteric interpretations of the liturgy. Eleazar of Worms was
also a prodigious author of liturgical poems (piyyutim; see
POETRY, LITURGICAL [PIYYUT]); Judah the Pious was not,
although he is perhaps the author of the so-called Shir haKavod. Eleazars student, Abraham ben Azriel of Bohemia,
produced an extensive commentary to the piyyutim entitled
Arugat ha-Bosem (Bed of Spices [Song of Songs 3:15]). R.
Moses ben Isaac of Vienna (ca. 12001270) records a variety of teachings from both Judah and Eleazar (with whom
he studied) in his halakhic compendium, Sefer Or Zarua.
Judahs descendants continued his tradition of esoteric studies. Particularly noteworthy is his great-grandson, Moses ben
Eliezer, who composed a mystical commentary on the Shiur
Komah. Among the esoteric theories of this school, the divine
kavod, which emanated from the godhead and served as
the subject of revelation (a concept that has its origins in
the writings of Saadia Gaon), became especially influential.
Also of importance is the more exoteric notion that focused
extreme devotion on every detail of the commandments and
the imperative that sought to uncover the covert or hidden
divine will (see also KABBALAH).
The Circle of the Unique Cherub (H
. ug ha-Keruv haMeyuh.ad) is also associated with H
. asidei Ashkenaz. This
school based many of its mystical teachings on a pseudepigraphical treatise, Baraita de Yosef ben Uziel, the author of
which was said to be descended from Ben Sira (see WISDOM OF BEN SIRA) and the prophet Jeremiah. This circle also produced a commentary (that is attributed to Saadia Gaon) on the earlier mystical work Sefer Yetzirah, and
additional commentaries to Sefer Yetzirah as well. One of the
leading figures in this group was Elh.anan ben Jakar of London (who also lived for a time in northwest France and was
the author of several works). This circle also produced a theological work entitled Sod ha-Sodot (Secret of Secrets).
A third branch of H
. asidei Ashkenaz produced several
anonymous mystical and ethical treatises. Among these is
Sefer H
. ayyim (written at the turn of the twelfth century) that
has been (incorrectly) attributed to the Tosafist student of
R. Jacob Tam, R. H
. ayyim ha-Kohen. Sefer ha-Navon, a commentary to the shema and Shiur Komah (composed c. 1230)
has recently been attributed to a R. Neh.emiah ben Solomon,
who may be the same person as R. Troestlin ha-Navi of
Erfurt.
Modern scholarship initially posited a gap between the
H
. asidei Ashkenaz and the Tosafists, who flourished in northern France and Germany at the same time and were the
leading talmudists and halakhists of the day. More recently,
however, it has been shown that these distinct groups of
rabbinic scholars interacted productively on both intellectual and spiritual levels. Tosafists sometimes accepted the
broader curriculum and the sharp focus on deciding matters
of Jewish law (as opposed to unbridled theoretical study)
that were stressed by the Rhineland pietists, even as the
pietists participated to an extent in Tosafist talmudic study.
R. Eleazar of Worms composed Tosafot to BT Bava Kamma
that were based on the Tosafot of R. Isaac (Ri) of Dampierre,
and Sefer H
. asidim proclaims the virtue of possessing genuine
Tosafot texts. Similarly, it is possible to point to Tosafists in
of Medieval Western Christendom (2006); and idem, Fashioning Jewish Identity in Medieval Western Europe (2009); see also
COMMERCE, MEDIEVAL; Map 7.
R OBERT C HAZAN
Middle Ages: H
. asidei Ashkenaz (the pious ones of Ashke-
Middle Ages: H
. asidei Ashkenaz
H
. asidei Ashkenaz were familiar with Neoplatonic and other
philosophical systems, which they joined with earlier Jewish mystical texts (most notably hekhalot literature, which
was more widely available in medieval Ashkenaz) to put
forward theosophical and theurgic doctrines and formulations. A number of these doctrines made their way southward and were subsequently absorbed by the systems of
kabbalistic teachings then developing elsewhere in medieval
Europe.
For further reading, see J. R. Baskin, Women and Sexual Ambivalence in Sefer Hasidim, Jewish Quarterly Review 96
(2006): 18; M. Idel, Some Forlorn Writings of an Ashkenazi Prophet: R. Nehemiah ben Shlomo ha-Navi, Jewish
Quarterly Review 95 (2005): 18396; E. Kanarfogel, R. Judah
he-Hasid and the Rabbinic Scholars of Regensburg: Interactions, Influences and Implications, Jewish Quarterly Review
96 (2006): 1737; I. Marcus, Piety and Society (1981); and H.
Soloveitchik, Three Themes in the Sefer Hasidim, Association
for Jewish Studies Review 1 (1976): 31157.
E PHRAIM K ANARFOGEL
Bible to Jewish claims of inconsistencies in the New Testament. This work exerted considerable influence on later
Jewish authors in the heart of Christian Europe.
Sporadic philosophical arguments against Christian doctrines began to appear by the tenth century in works of
Jewish thinkers like R. Saadia Gaon, who lived in the
Muslim orbit; similarly, biblical exegetes periodically refuted
the Christological understanding of a few key verses in the
Hebrew Bible. However, full-fledged polemical works by
European Jews did not emerge until the third quarter of
the twelfth century, when Jacob ben Reubens Milh.amot haShem (Wars of the Lord) and Joseph Kimh.is Sefer ha-Berit
(Book of the Covenant) appeared almost simultaneously in
southern France (see FRANCE: MIDDLE AGES; FRANCE,
SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES).
433
Mishnah
Midrash: See
HERMENEUTICS;
Mikdash: See
AGGADAH; RABBINIC
RABBINIC LITERATURE: MIDRASH
the Rabbis could have decreed that these laws were also
irrelevant after the destruction of the Temple, but they
decided otherwise.
Although women may ritually immerse in a natural
body of water, doing so can be problematic and unreliable. Thus, each Jewish community generally built its own
mikveh, sometimes even before building a synagogue. The
mikvehs basic physical structure is determined by Jewish
law (Mikvaot, sixth tractate of the Order Tohorot (Purities)
of the Mishnah and Talmuds). The water volume should
be about several hundred liters (the exact amount is a subject for debate, because of the various interpretations of the
rabbinic volume of forty seah). For a mikveh to be valid, its
water, or at least a portion of it, must be accumulated in a
natural way; it should not be drawn water. For this reason, many mikvaot are located in places where water can be
accumulated naturally. Since the Middle Ages, mikvaot have
often been built under or near synagogues. Today, the vast
majority of modern mikvaot are heated, but before the Early
Modern period, this was not the case.
A mikveh can be used for other Jewish ritual purposes,
including the purification of certain utensils produced by
non-Jews, the ritual immersion of converts to Judaism,
immersion by women before marriage, and voluntary ritual immersion for men. This practice of male ritual immersion has existed since ancient times, but it has become especially common since the sixteenth century, with the rise
of kabbalistic and then H
. asidic circles. Although in theory the main purpose of such immersion is for purification
after ejaculation, mens mikveh immersion is more often
understood as a spiritual preparation for the Sabbath and
major festivals. See also IMMERSION, RITUAL: WOMEN;
NIDDAH; PURITY AND IMPURITY.
E VYATAR M ARIENBERG
SECOND.
Mishnah
Mishnah
Temple.
Several features of the Mishnahs literary form seem particularly well designed to aid in the preservation and formal transmission of tradition. For example, legal traditions
are often grouped in sets of three or five, a feature commonly associated with oral tradition. Likewise, the Mishnah employs parallel structures with extensive repetition
of key elements. It also organizes its traditions topically,
rather than by associatively linking them with biblical verses,
enabling its students to recall teachings by subject matter or
a sages name. The broadest topical divisions in the Mishnah
are known as orders (sedarim, pl.; seder, sing.), which are
further subdivided into sixty-three tractates (masekhtot, pl.;
masekhet, sing.). Each tractate is divided into chapters, and
each chapter consists of individually numbered teachings
each of which is known as a mishnah (pl. mishnayot). The
six orders of the Mishnah are laws of Agriculture (Zeraim),
Holidays (Moed), Women (Nashim), Civil Laws (Nezikin),
Holy Things (Kodashim), and Purities (Tohorot). Masekhet, the
Hebrew word for tractate, literally means webbing and
alludes to the fact that the Mishnahs topical organization is a
loose one, with the Mishnah often associatively shifting from
topic to topic. An additional feature of the Mishnah that
aids in the formal transmission of tradition is its condensed
expression. Where parallels (especially in the Tosefta)
often preserve lengthy and spelled-out versions of tradition, the Mishnah is known for its laconic and telegraphic
style.
Traditional accounts attribute the redaction of the Mishnah to R. Judah the Patriarch ( Judah ha-Nasi, referred to
in the Mishnah as Rabbi) in 200 CE (see BT Bava Metzia 86a:
The end of Mishnah is Rabbi and Rabbi Natan). Earlier
collections of legal traditions that were similarly arranged
by topic and divorced from relevant biblical verses are said
to have served as the prototype and basis for Rabbis collection. Important earlier collections are said to have circulated in the name of R. Meir, and before that in the name
of R. Akiva; both were among the Tannaim, sages active
between 50 and 200 CE.
Scholars debate why legal traditions were collected in the
Mishnah. One school of thought suggests that R. Judah the
Patriarch edited the Mishnah to serve as an authoritative law
code (Epstein, 1957). In this conception, R. Judah edited the
435
Moab
MOED
(Seasons)
NASHIM
(Women)
NEZIKIN
(Damages)
KODASHIM
(Holy Things)
Berakhot
Peah
Demai
Kilayim
Sheviit
Terumot
Maaserot
Maaser Sheni
H
. allah
Orlah
Bikkurim
Shabbat
Eruvin
Pesah.im
Shekalim
Yoma
Sukkah
Beitzah
Rosh Ha-Shanah
Taanit
Megillah
Moed Katan
H
. agigah
Yevamot
Ketubbot
Nedarim
Nazir
Sotah
Gittin
Kiddushin
Bava Metzia
Bava Kamma
Bava Batra
Sanhedrin
Makkot
Shevuot
Eduyot
Avodah Zarah
Avot
Horayot
Zevah.im
Menah.ot
H
. ullin
Bekhorot
Arakhin
Temurah
Keritot
Meilah
Tamid
Middot
Kinnim
TOHOROT
(Ritual
Purities)
Keilim
Oholot
Negaim
Parah
Tohorot
Mikvaot
Niddah
Makhshirin
Zavim
Tevul Yom
Yadayim
Uktzim
Mitnaggedim (sing. mitnagged) were those Jews who opposed the H.asidic movment that began in eighteenth-century
Poland. See H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE; VILNA GAON, ELIJAH.
Moab
Solomons Moabite wives; 1 Kgs 11:78). The ninthcentury-BCE Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) attests to Moabs
king Mesha regaining his freedom from Omri, king of Israel
(2 Kgs 3:45). Excavations at Dhiban, Madaba, Tall Hisban
(Hesbon), `Ara`ir (Aroer), and other sites illuminate Moabite
culture. Its economy combined agriculture and pastoralism.
Moab is mentioned often in the Bible. It shares roots with
the Israelites (through Abraham and Lot in Gen 19:37;
through David in the book of Ruth; and through Solomon
in 1 Kgs 11:1, 7, 33). More frequently, relations with Israel
are shown as hostile (Num 21:2939, 22:1ff; Judg 3:1230;
1 Sam 14: 47; 2 Sam 8:23; Ezra 9:1; Neh 13:12; various prophets). In the fourth to third centuries BCE, Moab
became home to Nabateans moving north from their desert
homeland. Map 2
B ETH A LPERT N AKHAI
ORTHODOX
entries; THEOLOGY
Montefiore, Moses Haim (17841885) was a British businessman, communal leader, and philanthropist who was
revered for his interventions to assist Jewish communities
in Eastern Europe and Muslim lands. Although born in
Livorno, Montefiore came from a family of Anglo-Italian
merchants already well established in London. His cosmopolitan roots in the western Sephardi Diaspora informed
his Jewish activism and belie his popular image as the
quintessential English Jew. Montefiore made a fortune on
the stock exchange, thanks partly to his marriage to the
wealthy, Ashkenazi JUDITH BARENT COHEN (1784
1862), whose brother-in-law Nathan Rothschild became
a close associate. In later life the Rothschild connection
added greatly to Montefiores influence, but his fame as a
humanitarian in the non-Jewish world owed much to business connections forged with evangelical and nonconformist
Christians.
In his forties, Montefiore cut back his business activity
before embarking for Palestine with Judith in 1827. This
life-changing pilgrimage inspired Montefiores second career
as a communal leader, as well as Judiths growing confidence as a pioneering Anglo-Jewish writer. In all, Montefiore made seven visits to Palestine; the last one was in
1875 when he was ninety. Montefiore devoted the 1830s
to campaigning for Anglo-Jewish emancipation; to this end
he served as Sheriff of the City of London, an office that
brought him a knighthood. Although he served as president of the Board of Deputies for British Jews for some
forty years (see BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN), his role in Jewish communal politics was controversial. He was widely blamed for the bitter divide that
developed in Britain between Reform and mainstream
Judaism. Meanwhile, Montefiores high-profile foreign missions (accompanied by Judith) brought the couple growing celebrity. The intersection between Jewish interests and
British imperialism ensured that they had their greatest success in the Muslim world, where Montefiores intervention
in the Damascus Affair (1840) and their mission to Morocco
(1864) elicited formal commitments to protect local Jews.
Missions to Russia (1846), Rome (1859), and Romania
(1867) had less direct impact, but contributed to the globalization of modern Jewish consciousness.
Montefiores long-standing commitment to Palestine also
proved pivotal in this regard. His second visit (1839) has
attracted particular attention because of Montefiores precocious scheme to promote Jewish agricultural colonization,
a project more influenced by contact with British antislavery activists than an explicitly nationalist agenda. Judiths
account of the expedition (1844) became a central reference in debates about the introduction of productive industries in Palestine, although the scheme foundered as did later
agricultural and industrial initiatives. Only the windmill and
almshouses Montefiore built outside the Old City survived
to become symbols of modern Jerusalem.
All these activities were facilitated by Montefiores innovative philanthropy. Through the Holy Land Relief Fund
(1855) and the Persian Famine Relief Fund (1872) he pioneered subscription fundraising in a global, Jewish context;
however, he left nothing substantial to the early Zionists
Moses
who raised money in his name. The only charitable institution Montefiore founded was the Judith Lady Montefiore
Theological College in Ramsgate, in memory of his wife.
Their loving marriage had been marred by infertility. She
found expression through publishing her travel diaries and
compiling the first ever Jewish cookbook (1846); rumours
of illegitimate children suggest this profoundly religious man
may have sought comfort in extramarital affairs. A recent
study is A. Green, Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial
Hero (2010).
A BIGAIL G REEN
Months: See
MOON
LITERATURE : CANADA
Moses
Museums
unsurpassed (Deut 34:1012). In addition, his death outside of the land and his unknown grave (34:6) ensure that
he belongs to a previous age; it is significant that Moses
descendants play no discernible role in biblical Israels later
history.
This inaccessibility is also reflected in the question of the
historical Moses. No extrabiblical sources attest to him, and
many aspects of his story echo episodes from other ancient
texts. Nonetheless, some elements of the narrative, such as
his name, do have an authentically Egyptian feel, and recent
historical research plausibly allows for a modified, reduced
version of the Exodus. However, the nature of the literature
and the scanty historical evidence make any level of certainty highly unlikely. Recent scholarship includes B. Britt,
Rewriting Moses (2004); W. H. C. Propp, Exodus 118 (1999);
and S. Weitzman, Song and Story in Biblical Narrative (1997).
S EAN B URT
Musar Movement. The Hebrew term musar, usually translated as morals or ethics, also bears the meaning of
chastisement and method. In the teaching of the nineteenthcentury Musar movement, all senses of musar combine, creating a powerful call for serious self-examination and correction of the religious life. Whereas H
. asidism emphasizes
joyfulness and devotional feeling during religious activities,
the Musar movement associated with the mitnaggedim (the
opponents, the rabbinical movement that stood in opposition to H
. asidism) stresses labor, duty, and seriousness as
essential prerequisites for a genuine religious and moral life.
Proponents of the Musar movement locate its origins in
the teachings of the Vilna Gaon and his students, but the
Europe, the United States, and Palestine in the early twentieth century, and their history is integrally linked with
the twentieth-century Jewish experience. Jewish museums
441
Museums
Museums
Museums
Music, Folk
H
. asidic niggunim (wordless songs). In the Sephardic tradition, Judeo-Spanish ( Ladino) songs and piyyutim (see
POETRY: LITURGICAL [PIYYUT]) are important categories.
443
Music, Folk
Music, Popular
Cantors not only sang for the synagogue but they certainly also sang Yiddish songs. Some Yiddish songs depict
a h.azzan (cantor) and may even parody the emotional style
of cantorial singing. The aesthetic of the virtuosic playing
of a clarinet for a klezmer musician is said to follow the
geshrai, or wail, of the cantor. The interrelationship of the
genres is also found within the very fabric of the music
itself: Nusakh (the liturgical tradition of the synagogue) is
incorporated into Yiddish songs, klezmer, H
. asidic melodies,
and art music. When new songs were composed for each
genre they were often written in the style of Jewish prayer
modes.
The Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) traditions of Sephardic Jews
have retained many aspects of medieval Spanish and
Music, Popular
Music, Popular
Mediterranean traditions, providing another current of popular music production important to Sephardic communities.
The rise of the Nazi regime ironically gave an initial
boost to Jewish popular music in Central Europe by consolidating Jewish cultural production in the 1930s; after
the start of the war, accounts show that Jews continued to
write and exchange popular songs even as they were moved
into ghettos and concentration camps. The Holocaust ultimately silenced Jewish music in most of Europe; after World
War II, Palestine/Israel and the United States became the
central sites of training, recording, and popular musical consumption.
ISRAEL: In Israel, popular song became a means of
nation-building and part of the governments central project
for creating a unified Israeli culture. Already by Israeli
statehood in 1948, the country had a significant body of
songs from which it drew for local public singing sessions
and national celebrations. Songwriters such as Naomi Shemer (19302004) later added to this repertoire with songs
that extolled the land in poetic, biblically inspired terms.
The Israeli military, central to the countrys security, also
became an important source for new popular music through
its entertainment troupes. Based on British practices, these
troupes kept up the morale of soldiers while wittily addressing contemporary concerns. Their shows and songs often
became sensations throughout Israel and started the careers
of many Israeli popular musicians, including Arik Einstein
(b. 1939), Danny Sanderson (b. 1950), Ehud Manor (1941
2005), and Yehoram Gaon (b. 1939).
Outside the army, attempts to create a specifically Israeli
popular music in the 1960s took the form of national song
contests, such as the Israel Song Festival, the H.asidic Song
Festival, and the Mizrah.i Song Festival (and, later, the PreEurovision Competition). Determined both through popular vote and expert panels, these competitions introduced
such songs as Abanibi (1978) and Jerusalem of Gold
(1967). Meanwhile the H
. asidic Song Festival became an
important platform for Shlomo Carlebachs music in the
1970s. The influence of rock music from Europe and the
United States led to another transformation of the Israeli
scene toward the end of the 1960s. Although groups simply
covered English songs at first, eventually bands such as the
Churchills and Kaveret began to combine rock aesthetics and
Hebrew lyrics to reflect the Israeli experience. Artists such as
Shlomo Artzi (b. 1949), T-Slam, Rami Kleinstein (b. 1962),
Rita (b. 1962), and Aviv Geffen (b. 1973) became central
figures between the 1970s and the turn of the twenty-first
century, creating a culture of concerts alongside the popular
public singing tradition.
The 1980s brought artists from the previously marginalized Middle Eastern ( Mizrah.i) Jewish communities into
the public spotlight. Although singers such as Haim Moshe
(b. 1955) and Zohar Argov (19551987) had achieved
popularity earlier, they had fought to do so on their own
terms. Now, figures such as Yemenite Jewish singer Ofra
Haza (19572000) thrived in the flourishing world music
scene in the mid-1980s with a successful blend of rock and
Middle Eastern music. The group Ethnix followed in the
late 1980s, using exotic imagery and sounds to build a following. A few years later, The Teapacks (Tipex) and Eyal
Golan (b. 1971) continued to open doors to the mainstream
industry. In doing so, Mizrah.i artists began to give Israel an
445
Music, Popular
Music, Religious
the 1990s inspired bold rhetorical pairings of sound, performance, and Jewish symbolism. Related movements at the
close of the twentieth century, often fueled by survivalist
philanthropic efforts, led to an expansion of radical Jewish musical activity, including record labels JDub, Reboot
Stereophonic, and OyHoo, as well as performance venues
such as New Yorks Makor. Through these and other networks, including an expanding number of Jewish music festivals across North America, young Jewish musicians could
explore and support new forms of musical expression such
as (nonparody) Jewish hip-hop, reggae, punk, and a wide
array of styles and fusions. Among the most prominent of
these musicians was Matisyahu (b. Matthew Miller, 1979), a
young baal teshuvah (an individual who recently returned
to Orthodox Judaism). He was initially signed by JDub and
his career as a H
. asidic reggae performer led to mainstream
recognition in 2005.
At the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, Jewish popular music comprises a wide spectrum of
activities, linked with any of a number of established musical genres. Orthodox popular music artists release dozens of
albums per year, providing observant Jews with a culturally
sanctioned space for enjoying popular music recreationally.
Expanded a cappella offerings timed for the weeks between
Music, Religious
Music, Religious
Ashkenazic Jews follow Western and Eastern European cultural aesthetics, whereas Sephardi and Mizrah.i Jews follow a range of musical practices, from the Andalusian styles
of Spain and North Africa to Middle Eastern music from
the Levant ( Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt).
Although liturgical texts are similar among Ashkenazic,
Sephardi, and Mizrah.i Jews, the music that accompanies
them conforms to regional traditions. Music has been and
continues to be transmitted orally; written documentation is
limited before 1750.
There are three genres of Jewish liturgical music: cantillation, chant, and liturgical song. The development of these
three genres shows the changes and growth of music in
Jewish religious life. Cantillation refers to the intonation
of biblical and liturgical texts. Although scholars differ in
their dating of cantillation, it has probably been practiced
since Second Temple times. The Ben Asher Family in the
similar intervalically to the western major scale with a lowered seventh (C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb-C). Magen Avot is equivalent to a western natural minor scale (C-D-Eb-F-G-Ab-BbC). Ahavah Rabbah has often been called the most Jewish
of these modes because it is quite distinctive (C-Db-E-F-GAb-Bb-C) and without an equivalent in western music. Its
essential feature is the augmented second interval between
the second and third notes of the mode (D-flat to E-natural).
Ahavah Rabbah means great love; this designation
aptly reflects the affective association of this mode, which
expresses great love for God through a unique musical
sound. The melancholy nature of the mode enhances its
rich musical expression. Ha-Shem Malakh (the Lord reigns)
expresses Gods majesty. Magen Avot (shield of our fathers)
does not have an affect and is used as a didactic mode to
recite the text.
All three modes are used during Sabbath worship to convey various aspects of the text. Sabbath prayer on Friday night begins with the Kabbalat Shabbat psalms offering
praises to God that are chanted in the Ha-Shem Malach. Likewise, this mode is appropriately used on the High Holidays,
particularly Rosh Ha-Shanah. The Ahavah Rabbah mode is
used on Shabbat morning for a contemplative section of the
service before the amidah prayer.
Liturgical melodies in Ashkenazic practice can be divided
into two categories: Mi-Sinai niggunim (melodies from Mount
Sinai) and metrical tunes. These two categories contain
known melodies that are either sung by the h.azzan ( cantor),
the congregation, or both and are associated with particular
liturgical sections at specific times during the calendar year.
The Mi-Sinai niggunim represent the oldest body of melodies
in the Ashkenazic tradition and encompass the recurrent
melodies of the High Holidays and the three festivals of
Music, Religious
Music, Religious
Central European cities, musical practitioners began incorporating external influences while, at the same time, retaining elements of traditional Jewish music, such as the MiSinai niggunim. The most significant development in Central
European cantorial and synagogue music resulted from the
liturgical and aesthetic changes of the Reform movement.
Although changes in various Central European cities began
in the late 1700s and early 1800s, reforms did not take
shape in an established fashion until the mid-nineteenth
century under the musical leadership of Salomon Sulzer
(18041890). Sulzer began to officiate at the New Synagogue in Vienna in 1826, and he elevated the office of cantor with his fine musicianship; Schubert and Liszt admired
his singing. Sulzers lasting contribution is his two-volume
publication Shir Zion, a collection of his compositions and
those by other composers that he commissioned; it was published in 1840 and 1866. Sulzers goal was to take traditional Jewish melodies and purify them. He felt that ornate
baroque musical elaborations did not befit the dignity of the
service.
Another significant figure in Central European synagogue
music was Louis Lewandowski (18211894). He served as
a choral director and composer in Berlin at the Old Synagogue in the Heidereutergasse, and after 1866 at the New
Synagogue. His musical compositions appear in two publications, Kol Rinah UTfillah (A Voice of Joy and Prayer,
1871), for one and two voices, and Todah WSimrah (Thanksgiving and Song, 18761882), for four voices and solos,
with optional organ accompaniment. Lewandowskis musical compositions in Kol Rinah UTfillah contain simple choral
responses designed for ease of use with congregations. Many
of the Todah WSimrah compositions include organ accompaniment that doubled the choral line or filled in the solo
melodic line. The accompaniment adds a rich texture but
the optional indication displays Lewandowskis recognition
that not all congregations would want or be able to afford an
organist.
The Eastern European cantorial style remained traditional in focus. Few Eastern European synagogues incorporated the reforms commonly found in Central Europe.
Adherence to traditional melodies and the Jewish prayer
modes remained the norm, although some cantors came to
Vienna to study with Sulzer and incorporated his musical innovations in a style appropriate for their home communities. The hallmark of the Eastern European style was
the use of recurring melodic fragments that convey a deep
emotional feeling to the congregation. Ornate musical
embellishments were used to transport the listener into a
Music, Religious
Music, Synagogue
Conservative Judaism. Among the vast array of performers in the Orthodox community are Mordecai Ben David,
Avraham Fried, Regesh, Miami Boys Choir, Dedi, and Yaakov
Shweky. Other composers, including Michael Isaacson,
Benjie Ellen Schiller, and Ami Aloni, have combined a range
of music styles that tend to be accessible to congregations.
The neo-H
. asidic repertoire of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach has
also been an important resource for contemporary worship.
SEPHARDIC MUSIC: Cantillation and liturgical chant in
Sephardi/Mizrah.i communities are significantly influenced
by the music of the majority culture in any given location.
Western Sephardic Jews (from communities in England,
could not wholly re-create the elaborate musical accompaniment provided by the choirs and orchestra of the Temple,
but delegations of pious Israelites from around the country (called anshei maamad [men of standing]) were specially
designated to represent their communities; they visited the
Temple for one week at a time, observed the rituals there,
and apparently brought home transferable aspects of the rite,
including the music.
The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE forced
dramatic changes in Jewish worship. The Rabbis now saw
musical accompaniment as inappropriate for a nation that
was mourning the loss of its spiritual center, and they understood the quotation in Hosea 9:1 (Rejoice not, O Israel, as
other peoples exult; cf. BT Gittin 7a) to be a blanket indictment of virtually all musical activities, including those of the
synagogue. The choral and instrumental performances that
had distinguished the Temple rituals were discontinued.
The sole musical remnant of the Temple service to survive transplantation to the synagogue was the ritual chanting of portions of the Torah. Instituted in the time of the
Second Jerusalem Temple, this practice became the centerpiece of the new synagogue service, and by the third century CE, what had been a fairly simple act of declaiming
the sacred text became an obligatory musical exercise (see
BT Megillah 32a). The oral transmission of the tradition
governing proper pronunciation and grammatical syntax of
the biblical text gave way to a series of written systems
whose symbols also acquired musical significance. Chanting
of the scriptural passages became known as cantillation (see
MUSIC, RELIGIOUS), and in addition to varying motives to
articulate grammatical phrases, unique music evolved to distinguish the chanting of different scrolls. The music used to
chant from the Pentateuch was different from that used
for prophetic passages (see HAFTARAH) or for the scroll of
449
Music, Synagogue
Mysticism: Ancient
Metatron, a demiurgic mythical figure, and the development of Samael, a satanic figure, also provided important
material for subsequent mystical speculation.
The term maaseh bereshit in M. H
. agigah 2:1 refers to
homiletical exegesis of the biblical chapters dedicated to the
creation, mainly the first chapters of Genesis. The Talmuds,
especially M. H
. agigah 2, as well as the Tosefta and midrash,
include a variety of homilies and stories interpreting the
process of creation. The largest collection of these traditions is at the beginning of the midrash collection Genesis
Rabbah, but such traditions also appear frequently in other
classical and late midrashim. Although BT H
. agigah prohibits
dealing (at least in public) with what is below and what
is above, what is before and what is after (a quote from
the apocryphal book, Wisdom of Ben Sira), several treatises dedicated specifically to this subject were composed
in the late talmudic and geonic periods. They include the
Baraita de-Maaseh Bereshit, Midrash Konen, and Midrash Tadsheh. Sefer Yetzirah also fits into the maaseh bereshit literature
of late antiquity.
Medieval Jewish mystics and esoterics devoted much
effort to the subject of creation, especially in the numerous commentaries on Sefer Yetzirah written by kabbalists
and the H
. asidei Ashkenaz in the thirteenth century. In the
KABBALAH; KABBALAH, LURI ANIC; MYSTICISM: HEKHALOT AND MERKAVAH LITERATURE; MYSTICISM, WOMEN AND, etc.
450
Mysticism: Ancient
description of the divine realms and the powers that govern them. To these may be added another treatise, the Sar
Torah, the Prince of the Torah, describing the descent of
the Shekhinah to the Second Temple when it was being built
by those who returned from Babylonian exile.
These mystical treatises include several characteristics
not found anywhere else. They are: 1) the term hekhalot,
palaces or temples, seven of which comprise the divine
world; 2) the divine pleroma, constituted of several powers who are called Lord God of Israel in addition to their
angelic names; 3) the image of God as the shiur komah;
4) a unique concept of history, completely disregarding talmudic tradition; 5) the terminology of ascent and descent
to the chariot; 6) reliance on a new interpretation of the
(1989); P. Schafer,
The Hidden and Manifest God: Some Major
Themes in Early Jewish Mysticism (1992); and D. J. Halperin,
The Faces of the Chariot (1988).
J OSEPH D AN
452
ben Ammar
was appointed nagid of
Yemen. One Zakkar
the Jews of Palermo in 1069, but no other nagid of Sicily is
known; this suggests that the term was not yet attached to
an established office of the headship of the Jews. However,
in Egypt from the time of Abraham Maimonides (d. 1237),
the title nagid and the hereditary headship of the Jewish
community (ras al-yahud)were
linked. The office seems to
Nazirite (from the Hebrew word nazir, separated or dedicated). According to Numbers 6:121, a man or woman
who takes a vow of devotion to God for at least thirty
days assumes Nazirite obligations, including abstaining from
grapes and all derivative products, leaving hair unshorn,
and shunning contact with a corpse. At the conclusion of a
nazirite vow, the Nazirite brings three specified sacrifices to
the Temple, following which the hair of the head is shaved
and burned on the fire as a sacrifice of well-being. Some
individuals, such as Samson and Samuel (Judg 13:7; 1 Sam
1:21), were permanent Nazirites. Halakhic regulations concerning the Nazirite are found in the Mishnah and Talmud
in Tractate Nazir and are summarized in Maimonides
Mishneh Torah, Haflaah, Nazir.
K ATE F RIEDMAN
Near East, Ancient. This term refers to the geographical region in which ancient Near Eastern civilizations were
located; it extends from Iran in the east to Egypt in the
west, and from Turkey in the north to Arabia in the south.
It is labeled the Near East from the perspective of Europe
and in contrast to eastern Asia, the Far East. Civilization
began in the Near East with the domestication of cereal
plants and flock animals around 8000 BCE, a development
that allowed for a sharp rise in population, the growth of
cities, and, by 3100 BCE, the advent of writing. After the
conquests of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, the cultures
of the region began to merge with that of ancient Greece,
and this new Hellenistic civilization largely marks the end
of the ancient Near East.
The ancient Near East also provided the cradle of
Jewish civilization, because the Land of Israel, situated
on the land bridge between Egypt and Mesopotamia,
was heavily influenced by the cultures of these regions.
When they find similarities between the Hebrew Bible and
ancient Near Eastern texts, modern scholars assume that the
Mesopotamian or Egyptian sources influenced the Israelite
version, because of the greater antiquity and cultural dominance of these civilizations. Fragments of Babylonian literary texts from Mesopotamia have been found in Israel,
Egypt, and Ugarit, on the Mediterranean coast of Syria,
indicating the broad extent of their cultural dissemination.
The Israelites may also have absorbed aspects of ancient
Near Eastern culture indirectly via the Canaanites who
lived in the land before their arrival. Genesis records that
ORGANIZA-
New Years
Israel and Judah may have employed scribes and administrators trained in the scribal schools and royal bureaucracies
of other nations, and these individuals would have brought
the intellectual traditions of their homelands. The dual kingdoms of Israel and Judah endured centuries of domination by the two great empires of Mesopotamia Assyria
and Babylonia. The 580s BCE exile of Judahs upper classes
to Babylonia and Persia exerted a particularly significant
influence on later Jewish institutions. Considering all of the
various cultural pressures imposed on the small nation of
ancient Israel, what is truly remarkable was its ability to
maintain such a distinctive sense of its God and its unique
role in world history. Map 1
E LAINE G OODFRIEND
writings came to be regarded as a supplement or complement to the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Tanakh was designated the Old Testament and included as a fundamental
part of the Christian Bible. Therefore, the New Testament
did not so much supersede the Old Testament as provide the
lens through which Christians read the Tanakh. It was the
key to the Christian interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures.
In fact, within Christianity the New Testament plays a role
in relation to the Tanakh somewhat equivalent to the role
of the Mishnah in relation to the Tanakh within rabbinic
Judaism.
It is important, then, to appreciate that the New Testament writings are interrelated with the Tanakh by a host
of assumptions, themes, concerns, language, quotations, and
allusions. It is not possible to appreciate the writings of the
New Testament without knowledge of and reference to the
Tanakh. The New Testament on its own would have many
gaps in the religion it inculcated; these gaps are the unspoken taken-for-granteds of the New Testament writers, and
they can only be filled from the writings that the New Testament writers regarded as their Scripture.
It is also highly significant that almost all the New Testament writers were Jews. Because Christianity began within
and as part of the rich diversity of late Second Temple
Judaism, it is not inappropriate to describe the New Testament as Jewish literature, which tells of a renewal movement
within Second Temple Judaism that ultimately grew mostly
beyond the boundaries of traditional Judaism and became
Christianity.
Christian biblical scholarship has always depended on the
help of interested or sympathetic rabbis. After centuries of
suspicion and hostility, the latter half of the twentieth century saw an increase in Jewish and Christian scholars working together to achieve a better understanding of the circumstances that produced the New Testament. The Jewishness of
the foundational inspirational figure, Jesus, is now taken for
granted, and the Jewishness of his mission and message is
widely accepted on all sides. More controversial is the character of the ex- Pharisee and apostle to the Gentiles, Paul,
whose own writings probably indicate an individual who
saw his role as fulfilling or helping fulfill Israels commission
to be a light to the Gentiles.
Helpful readings include R. E. Brown, An Introduction to the
New Testament (1997); J. D. G. Dunn, Unity and Diversity in the
New Testament: An Inquiry into the Character of Earliest Christianity, 3rd ed. (2006); and S. McKnight and G. R. Osborne,
The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research
(2004).
J AMES D. G. D UNN
OF
Daniel. The Gospels and the letters of Paul were widely recognized as authoritative by the Christian churches by the
end of the second century, and the complete body of literature was designated canonical in the fourth century. It is
important to note that as canon these writings define not
only the features that unify Christianity but also the diversity that equally characterizes Christianity.
These writings are described as the New Testament,
both because the only sacred text recognized by the very
first Christians was the Hebrew Bible or Septuagint, and
because over the next two centuries these twenty-seven
New Years
American Jewish Committee (1906), womens organizations such as Hadassah (1912; see ORGANIZATIONS:
NORTH AMERICA; ORGANIZATIONS, NORTH AMERICA:
WOMENS), Jewish settlement houses such as the
Judaism.
Immigrants helped sustain New Yorks Jewish working
class; only in the 1970s did the citys Jewish occupational
profile change dramatically as Jews moved into the middle and upper middle classes, out of manufacturing and into
women in the synagogue. After 1825, the citys Jewish population more than doubled in each succeeding decade, from
7,000 in 1840, to 40,000 in 1860, to 500,000 in 1900. At
the beginning of the twentieth century, New York City, with
40% of American Jews, was the largest Jewish community
in the United States; more Jews lived in New York than in
any European city. Jewish immigrants from the German
states, Habsburg Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Russian
Empire established their own congregations; started alternative forms of Jewish fellowship, such as the fraternal
order Bnai Brith (Sons of the Covenant; see UNITED
STATES: FRATERNAL SOCIETIES); introduced intellectual
activities, including library associations and a Young Mens
Hebrew Association; and developed philanthropic organizations, including a hospital. Jewish intellectuals, rabbis, writers, poets, political activists, and educators along with
garment manufacturers, bankers, printers, and publishers
came as immigrants. As the city entered a period of explosive
456
Niddah
1677. Newport is known for the oldest standing synagogue
in North America, built by the preeminent colonial architect Peter Harrison and dedicated in 1763. It is known
as the Touro Synagogue, in honor of the communitys
Niddah is the term used in Jewish tradition for a menstruating woman and, by extension, for menstruation, menstrual impurity, laws related to menstruation, and the like.
In the Hebrew Bible, niddah appears within the wider context of discussions of purity and impurity. The word derives
from a Hebrew root (ndd/ndh) that pertains to wandering
or exclusion, suggesting that a menstruating woman or
others in a state of impurity should be excluded from the
community.
The main biblical sources about menstruation are found
in Leviticus 15:1924, 18:19, and 20:18. In the first text, the
menstruating woman and persons and objects with which
she comes into contact are, or become, impure. There is no
suggestion, however, that intimate relations with a woman
during this period of seven days are forbidden. The two other
texts formally warn against sexual relations and include the
statement that both men and women who transgress the
prohibition shall be cut off from among their people. These
texts were discussed and developed in various types of Jewish literature of the Second Temple period, as well as in the
457
Niddah
North Africa
husband and wife, were declared forbidden as well. According to some traditions, which at times were sanctioned by
the highest authorities, a niddah should also avoid entering synagogues and cemeteries. Observance of these rules
is one of the three ritual obligations specifically incumbent
on women together with h.allah, separating a part of the
dough used to make Sabbath loaves, and hadlakah, kindling
Sabbath lights.
Although traditional Jewish communities have considered the niddah laws to be extremely important, some discomfort with those laws can be detected today, even in
the most traditional circles. The many apologetic works
explaining the purported benefits of observing these laws
and the euphemism for these regulations taharat hamishpah.ah (purity of the family) are just two reflections
of this discomfort. This expression, likely coined first in
Germany, replaces the traditional expression hilkhot niddah
(laws of niddah), reducing some of its negative connotations.
Another example of the reshaping of these laws is the decision of Conservative Judaism that couples should observe
only the seven biblically ordained days of niddah separation
without the white days added during the rabbinic era.
Recent books on this subject include C. Fonrobert, Menstrual Purity: Rabbinic and Christian Reconstructions of Biblical
Gender (2000); and R. Wasserfall, ed., Women and Water: Menstruation in Jewish Life and Law (1999); see also BARAITA
DE- NIDDAH.
E VYATAR M ARIENBERG
Nissan is the first month of the Jewish calendar; it is equivalent to March and/or April on the Gregorian calendar. Its
status as the beginning of the Jewish calendar year derives
from Exodus 12:12. The festival of Passover (Pesah.) takes
place from Nissan 1521, preceded by the Fast of the Firstborn (Nissan 14; see FAST DAYS). Yom ha-Shoah is commemorated on or around 27 Nissan. See also CALENDAR;
CALENDAR: MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
GENESIS
North Africa
North Africa
North Africa
Numbers, Book of
population amid a mood of growing antisemitism; this hostility was aggravated during the time of the Dreyfus Affair
when anti-Jewish rioting occurred. While most Jews in
Algeria maintained a close connection to their indigenous
culture, receiving a modern French education and identification with France led to assimilation to French culture that
to the Cremieux
Decree in Tunisia. Yet even without citizenship for all, Tunisian Jewrys political and social status was
transformed, and new generations of Tunisian Jews were
greatly influenced by French secular culture and education.
When Tunisia achieved independence in 1956, there were
about 105,000 thousand Jews in the country. By the 1960s,
the majority had left for France or Israel. However, several
hundred still remained at the beginning of the twenty-first
century, primarily in Jerba and Tunis.
Morocco had the largest Jewish population of any country in the modern Islamic world, about 280,000 before the
era of mass emigration, and it was one of the last areas subjected to foreign occupation. A protectorate was established
in Morocco in 1912 (although the conquest of the country was completed only in the 1930s). The French claimed
most of the territory, Spain ruled several regions in the
north, and Tangier became an international zone. Rather
than abolishing the Alawid dynasty, the colonial authorities
Numbers, Book of
Numerology (Gematria)
Numerology (Gematria)
della Mirandola in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century, and continuing in Johannes Reuchlins De arte kabbalistica (1517), found gematria an intriguing new concept; they
sometimes identified it with the Kabbalah as a whole (see
CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM). This was the beginning of the tendency to view Jewish mysticism as based on numerology, a
concept that is not supported by the characteristics of the
Hebrew texts themselves.
J OSEPH D AN
462
Prophets; it consists of only twenty-one verses. This oracle against Edom, the nation living southeast of Judah,
excoriates the Edomites for their glee when Jerusalem was
destroyed, predicts their ruin, and looks forward to a day
when the Judean and Israelite exiles will return to reclaim
lands taken away from them by Edomites and others. Oracles against other nations occur frequently in prophetic literature (see, e.g., Isa 1423; Jer 4651; Ezek 2532), and
oracles against Edom are especially common (Jer 49:722;
Ezek 25:1214; Isa 34).
Obadiah was likely written shortly after the Babylonians
destroyed the Temple in 586 BCE. It shares with
RABBINIC ORDINATION;
ORDINATION OF WOMEN
RABBINIC
Organizations: North America. The organizational structure of the American Jewish community is informed by
the singular pluralistic nature of American society, a model
unique in Jewish history, in which multiple organizational
voices express a range of views and ideological interests,
even as they achieve consensus on core issues and concerns. The organizing principle of American Jewish communal structure is federalism: Institutions voluntarily and
contractually link themselves to each other, thereby creating partnerships that benefit the Jewish community.
The beginning of an organized American Jewish community can be dated to 1859 with the establishment of the
Board of Delegates of American Israelites. However, communal efforts at large-scale organization, in response to
pressing national and local communal needs, developed as
a result of the massive immigration from Eastern Europe
from 18801920. The earliest organizational response, the
federation (see later discussion), addressed the needs of
funding local social services. The Boston Federation of Jewish Charities (1895) paved the way, and by the turn of
the century federations of Jewish organizations representing different constituencies had been established in a number of communities. Historically important as well was Bnai
Brith, an international Jewish fraternal group with a substantial membership, founded in the United States in 1843
(see UNITED STATES: FRATERNAL SOCIETIES).
Contemporary American Jewish organizational structure
is expressed, locally and nationally, in five arenas of activity: social services, religion, public affairs and community relations, Israel and other international concerns, and
education and culture. In the social service sphere, the
local federation is the key agency, organized by contractual agreement with its member social service agencies
for the purposes of joint fundraising and allocations. Over
the years federations have become responsible as well for
communal and social planning and for coordination of social
463
services within the community. The federations are organized under an umbrella or roof agency, the United Jewish Communities (UJC) of North America, successor to
the highly effective Council of Jewish Federations and the
United Jewish Appeal, which was a fundraising arm on
behalf of Israel. UJC represents 155 federations and more
than 400 independent Jewish communities across North
America.
Denominational groupings in American Jewish religious
life include the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and
Reconstructionist movements (see entries under JUDAISM),
each with its own rabbinical association and congregational body (which also serves as the public affairs arm for
its movement). The organizational structures for the various movements include the Rabbinical Council of America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of
America for the mainstream Orthodox community; the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; the Central Conference of American Rabbis
and the Union for Reform Judaism (formerly the Union of
American Hebrew Congregations, founded in 1873 as the
first synagogue body in America); and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and the Jewish Reconstructionist
Federation.
The community relations sphere plays out on both the
local and national levels. Eleven national organizations, each
operating from a distinctive ideological base, are active in
this arena. The three defense agencies the American
Jewish Committee (founded in 1906), the Anti-Defamation
League (founded in 1913 by Bnai Brith), and the American
Jewish Congress (founded in 1918) are the most visible.
On the local level, more than a hundred Jewish community relations councils (JCRCs) monitor community activity
and provide an active grassroots presence for advocacy on
national issues.
Advocacy on behalf of Israel is a subset of the community relations sphere of activity, with the national agencies
and the JCRCs doing the work, together with a highly effective lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations, which has the mandate of
being a spokesperson to the administration on behalf of the
American Jewish community on matters related to Israel.
Ottoman Empire
Jerusalem in 1952.
On womens organizations in Europe during this period,
see BRITAIN; WOMEN, MODERN: CENTRAL EUROPE;
WOMEN, MODERN: EASTERN EUROPE.
For additional information, see relevant entries in P. E.
Hyman and D. D. Moore, eds., Jewish Women in America
(1998); P. E. Hyman and D. Ofer, eds., Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia, CD-ROM (2007); S. Reinharz and M. A. Raider, eds., Jewish Women and the Zionist Enterprise (2004); F. Rogow, Gone to Another Meeting: The
National Council of Jewish Women, 18931993 (1993); and E. B.
Simmons, Hadassah and the Zionist Project (2006).
M ARY M CCUNE
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
than the local Christians, the Ottomans preferred to repopulate newly conquered towns with Jewish settlers. They
encouraged Jews to settle in Bursa, their first important
capital (since 1326), with the expectation that Jews would
help in the citys reconstruction and economic development.
Similarly, in 1361, when the Ottomans captured Adrianople
(Edirne, in Turkish) and subsequently designated it as their
new capital, they again settled considerable numbers of Jews
in the city. Jewish settlers included not only local Romaniotes but also Jewish immigrants from abroad, mainly from
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
Oz, Amos
Oz, Amos (b. 1939). One of the most popular and widely
translated Israeli writers (see LITERATURE, HEBREW:
ISRAELI FICTION [19452009]), Amos Oz has achieved a
powerful and enduring reputation for his evocative representations of the inner and outer landscapes of the Israeli
people, his penetrating literary essays, and his unsparing
`
political criticism of his countrys policies vis-a-vis
the Palestinians. Ozs works have been translated into more than
thirty languages. His vision of the art of the novel has
been equally informed by Hebrew Modernists such as S. Y.
468
Palestine
Passover
end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, Palestinian leadership is divided and in conflict; Gaza is under the
authority of Hamas, and the West Bank is governed by the
Palestinian Authority. When or whether the elusive goal of
a viable Palestinian state will be achieved and if so, in what
form remains unclear.
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Ashkenazic Jews also prohibit a group of foods called kitniyot (from the Hebrew adjective katan or little), in addition to h.ametz. These include rice, corn, millet, and legumes
(beans, peas, lentils, seeds, and peanuts) and all their derivatives. This ban against eating kitniyot was likely an extra protective measure to make sure people would not accidentally
cross the line from non-h.ametz into h.ametz. The Ashkenazic
injunction concerns the act of consumption only (not the
owning of kitniyot), and because kitniyot are not h.ametz, there
is no obligation to destroy or sell these foods. Sephardim do
not adhere to this prohibition.
The removal of h.ametz can be especially painstaking
because even the smallest amount of h.ametz in food renders
it unacceptable for Passover, unlike other accidental mixing of prohibited foods (e.g., dairy and meat) that may be
disregarded if it involves less than one-sixtieth of the sum.
Therefore, Passover cleaning often entails serious scrubbing
and wiping clear areas and appliances used for food, as well
as exchanging dishes and cookware used all year for those
reserved for Passover.
The cleaning efforts are formalized at sunset on the 14th of
Nissan, the evening before the first seder, with bedikat h.ametz,
the search for h.ametz, performed systematically to ensure
that none is left in the house; biur h.ametz (destruction of
h.ametz), a ceremony wherein the h.ametz found is taken outside and burned the following morning; and mekhirat h.ametz,
the sale of h.ametz to a non-Jewish friend, which technically
fulfills the obligation not to own h.ametz, but stipulates that
the original owner repurchases the h.ametz at the close of the
festival.
Passover
Hallel is recited on the first and last days of the festival, and a half-hallel is recited during the intermediary days.
A special prayer (tefillat tal [the prayer of dew]) that officially marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring
is chanted in synagogue on the first day. On the intermediary Sabbath of Passover, Ashkenazic Jews read the Song of
Songs in synagogue, as it expresses Gods intimate relationship with the Jewish people, a central Passover theme.
The Christian holiday of Easter is related to Passover in
that both are springtime observances that emphasize themes
of rebirth. Christ is referred to as the paschal sacrifice in
Christian liturgical language, and some say that the Last
Supper was a Passover seder.
For further reading, see P. Steinberg, Celebrating the Jewish
Year: The Spring and Summer Holidays (2009); P. Goodman,
The Passover Anthology (1961); T. H. Gaster, Festivals of the Jewish Year (1952); I. Greenberg, The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (1993); and I. Klein, A Guide to Religious Jewish Practice
(1979).
P AUL S TEINBERG
Persia, Ancient
Menorah Association, a group that sponsored Jewish organizations on college campuses, was published in different
forms between 1915 and 1962. This sophisticated and intellectual periodical had a significant impact on American
Jewish culture. Many contributors were well-known academics, and the journals content included translations from
Persia, Ancient
Philadelphia
The main historical sources Josephus, rabbinic texts,
and the New Testament emphasize different aspects of the
Pharisees. Josephus focuses on their political involvements
and religious interests. The New Testament Gospels savage
Pharisees as falsely pious and arrogant, but also reveal a
competition between them and Jesus for popular support,
thereby partially explaining the hostility. Scattered New
Testament references, which are less hostile, confirm the
Gospels presentations of the Pharisees as zealously devoted
to Torah. Rabbinic texts post-date the Pharisees by at least
a century and reveal mixed attitudes toward them, but
generally confirm other descriptions of Pharisaic religious
views.
Josephus provides the most information (Jewish War
2:16266; Jewish Antiquities 13:28898, 40021; 17:42; 18:4
17). He describes the Pharisees sporadic involvement in
national affairs, typically through opposition to or alignment
with more powerful leaders. They fell afoul of Hasmonean
rulers John Hyrcanus (reigned 13404 BCE) and Alexander Jannaeus (reigned 10376 BCE), who supported the
rival Sadducees, but found favor under Salome Alexandra
(reigned 7667 BCE), who allowed them to persecute their
opponents. A few Pharisees opposed Rome before the war
in 6670 CE. Rabbinic and New Testament texts hint at the
Pharisees limited involvement in politics. According to the
New Testament, some Pharisees sit on councils (Acts 5:34)
and are involved in palace intrigues (BT Kiddushin 66a), but
notably, they play no role in the trial of Jesus.
Josephus focuses on the Pharisees specific religious views:
their belief in free will, an imperishable soul, and reward and
punishment after death. He also highlights their fidelity to
traditions of their fathers, teachings that clarify, expand,
and alter biblical law (see HALAKHAH) in an effort to make
ancient commandments relevant. These religious issues are
confirmed by other sources (Mark 7:3; Acts 23:8; cf. M.
Philadelphia
Philistines
Philanthropy. There is no exactly analogous word for philanthropy or charity in the Jewish lexicon. The word philanthropy, from the Greek, means love of humankind,
whereas charity, from the Latin caritas, refers to an act of
lovingkindness. Tzedakah is the operative Jewish value concept, and it is based in the root tzedek, which means righteousness or doing the right thing. People should help
those who are less fortunate because they are commanded
to do so, whether or not they have any connection to the
recipient. The twelfth-century Jewish philosopher Moses
Philistines
Photography
and technology have shaped the development of photography. Technological innovations have transformed photography from early daguerreotypes on polished silver plates, to
glass negatives, to film, and, most recently, to digital images
on computers. Equipment has varied from large-view cameras on tripods, to tiny rangefinders such as the Leica, to
the 35-mm single lens reflex with interchangeable lenses.
At first, photography was considered a scientific process,
but later artistic influences included the Pre-Raphaelites,
the Arts and Crafts movement, the Impressionists, and the
Surrealists.
From its beginnings, photography, which lacked a formal
academic structure, was a venture open to anyone regardless of age, religion, or gender. From a Jewish perspective
the field was open because halakhic authorities did not consider a photograph a graven image. The rise of photography
in the second half of the nineteenth century also paralleled
a move toward secularism in Jewish life; most early Jewish
photographers appear not to have incorporated Jewish subject matter into their work.
The daguerreotype was invented in France in 1839. This
new technology quickly traveled across Europe and was
brought to the United States by Samuel F. B. Morse.
The first Jewish American photographer, Solomon Carvalho (18151897), was born into a Sephardic family in
Russia, Jews operated photography studios and served Gentile as well as Jewish clients. As Jeffrey Shandler has noted,
photography facilitated new cultural practices. The taking of
pictures marked significant milestones in peoples lives, and
the photographs served as tokens of remembrance among an
increasingly mobile population. In addition, posing for photographs enabled subjects to fashion new images of themselves, including fantasies realized through the use of the
various props and backdrops available at photography studios.
Photographic images became increasingly important in
shaping Jewish popular culture at the beginning of the
twentieth century. New printing techniques facilitated the
mass production of picture postcards, which became widely
popular across Europe and in America. Among the vast
array of images to appear on these cards were many hundreds related to Jewish life, from portraits of famous Jewish authors to the facades of synagogue buildings, as well
as images of archetypal Jewish figures and biblical scenes.
In addition to their use in correspondence and their appeal
as collectibles, postcards engendered new kinds of cultural
interactions (Shandler).
MEDIEVAL; THOUGHT,
EARLY MODERN; THOUGHT, MODERN
Photography
Pilgrimage
REDEMPTION OF
477
Pilgrimage
Poetry: Britain
men and women of Mizrah.i (Middle Eastern) and
H
. asidim within Ashkenazic Jewry, but generally not by
other Ashkenazic Jews.
For further reading, see M. Gil, The Aliya and Pilgrimage in the Early Arab Period, in The Jerusalem Cathedra
3, ed. L. Levine (1983), 16373; E. Reiner, Traditions of
Holy Places in Medieval Palestine: Oral versus Written,
in Offerings from Jerusalem: Portrayals of Holy Places by Jewish
Artists, ed. R. Sarfati (2002), 919; E. Shoham-Steiner, For
a Prayer in That Place Would Be Most Welcome: Jews, Holy
Shrines and Miracles A New Approach, Viator 37 (2006):
36995; S. Sered, Women as Ritual Experts (1996); and W.
P. Zenner, Saints and Piecemeal Supernaturalism among
the Jerusalem Sephardim, Anthropological Quarterly 38(4)
(1965): 20117; and see TRAVEL WRITING: MIDDLE AGES
AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD.
E PHRAIM S HOHAM-S TEINER
Pinsker, Leon (Lev, or Yehudah Leib; 18211891), a doctor and expert in pathology, emerged in the last decade of
his life as the chair of the central committee of the proto
Zionist organization, H
. ovevei Zion. He was born in Tomaszow and died in Odessa; his father was a Jewish educator in Odessa and a Karaite specialist. Leon Pinskers Jewish involvements were originally liberal and integrationist.
The pogroms of 188182, however, inspired him to write
the anguished German-language pamphlet, Autoemancipation (1882). As the informal leader of Russias Jewish nationalists before the 1884 formal establishment of H
. ovevei Zion,
and then as its organizational head until his death, he sought
to achieve formal governmental recognition of the body, to
organize its fundraising, and to mediate between its religious
and nonreligious members. Much to his frustration, none of
these tasks was accomplished with unequivocal success.
Pinsker is best remembered for Autoemancipation, in which
he described the Jews as a ghostlike people without the concrete trappings of nationhood; indestructible, they would
continue to inspire unease until they found themselves a
home. For further reading see David Vital, The Origins of
Zionism (1975).
S TEVEN J. Z IPPERSTEIN
Piyyut/Piyyutim: See POETRY,
Poetry, Biblical: See BIBLE:
LITURGICAL ( PIYYUT)
POETRY
Poetry: Britain
someone who felt exilic as a Jew in England. In his autobiography, Memoirs of Other Fronts (1932), Rodker stated, In
Paris I feel English, in London a foreigner. His intense, often
imagistic poems stress alienation and the elaborate masks
that modernity compels people to wear. Pound believed
that Rodkers poetic novel Adolphe 1920 (1929) marked a
notable development from James Joyces Ulysses (1922).
Other, less influential Anglo-Jewish poets at work between
the wars include Lazarus Aaronson, A. Abrahams, Gilbert
Frankau (son of the Victorian Anglo-Jewish novelist Julia
Frankau), Louis Golding, Joseph Leftwich, Julius Lipton,
James Singer, and Humbert Wolfe.
In the wake of World War II, Anglo-Jewish poets became
more assertive. After the Holocaust, poets such as Jon Silkin
(19301997), Philip Hobsbaum (19322005), and Elaine
Feinstein (b. 1930) felt compelled to reconsider their English
and Jewish identities. The Welsh poet Dannie Abse (b. 1923)
expressed a widely held view when in White Balloon, he
wrote, Dear love, Auschwitz made me/ more of a Jew than
Moses did. Silkin wrote A Prayer Cup, which features
wine, in a figure of Christian transubstantiation, changing to three inches of the blood/ of six million. Meanwhile, Hobsbaum ironically recorded the lessons learned
at the University of Auschwitz in his poem, Professor
Grottmann Explains Everything. Feinstein, too, wrote of
feeling like someone/ who has escaped too lightly/ from
the great hell of the camps and then added, except that I
dont altogether escape (Lisson Grove).
Beginning in the 1960s, several women added their voices
to Anglo-Jewish verse. Elaine Feinstein harked back to an
important Anglo-Jewish forebear in the eponymous Amy
Levy (see LITERATURE: BRITAIN). The poem has Levy
(18611889) question Feinstein in a dream: Here, it is
my name that makes me strange./ A hundred years on, is
it still the same? Thus, Feinstein pessimistically suggests
that a hundred years on the situation of Anglo-Jewish
women poets is, indeed, the same. Among other contemporary women poets, Ruth Fainlight (b. 1931), Karen Gershon (19231993), Lotte Kramer (b. 1923), Gerda Mayer
(b. 1927), Jenny Joseph (b. 1932), and Joanne Limburg (b.
1970) merit attention.
Gershon, Kramer, and Mayer share some history because
all three poets were Kindertransport refugees from continental Europe. Much of their poetry concerns this childhood
flight from Nazism; for example, Gershons The Childrens
Exodus, Kramers Dover Harbour, and Mayers The Emigration Game Winter 1938/39. Fainlight stands in interesting contrast to Feinstein. Whereas the latter celebrates her
exilic freedom (indeed, she has written three poems with the
title and theme of Exile), Fainlight tends not to romanticize her Jewishness in this way. Rather, Fainlight presents
Jewishness as unchosen displacement (see, for instance,
Vertical), with poetry and other arts offering a safe aesthetic space where the pressure of dominant cultures may be
provisionally eased and contained (see, for example, With
David in the Nimrud Galleries, Paradise, and Green).
Exile is also a concern of Jenny Joseph. Her poem An Exile
in Devon is situated among English country lanes, a locale
in which the speaker feels very lonely. Here the poems
persona cannot relate to her insular English friend who
never has known greater danger than/ All who watch tides
and storms in a peaceful country. Yearning for a shared
Poetry,
Holocaust:
POETRY
The term piyyut first appears in Rabbinic Hebrew, indicating an awareness that these works differed in form and
idiom from biblical poetry (see BIBLE: POETRY) and the biblicizing poetry of the Second Temple period. The genre may
have its roots within Hebrew literature, perhaps as an intensified form of midrashic (prose) rhetoric; other elements,
however, suggest a complicated relationship with contemporaneous Christian liturgical poetry. Unlike biblical poetry,
piyyutim typically employ end-rhyme, quote explicitly from
textual sources, allude to midrash, and consist of complicated multi-poem forms. Piyyutim display deep familiarity
with rabbinic traditions of interpretation, and their many
rhetorical features, such as metonymy, resemble midrashic
methods of reading. Originally, piyyutim occupied the place
of statutory prayers; poems were interwoven with liturgical
formulas, as well as allusions to the weekly Torah reading
and contemporary events. As the texts of the prayers became
fixed, poems were used to frame the standardized wordings
rather than replacing them.
The earliest piyyutim (ca. fourth and fifth centuries CE)
were composed primarily for Tisha BAv and the High Holidays; these poems embellished specific liturgical moments,
such as the shofar or avodah services (see WORSHIP),
or they developed topical themes such as penitence or
mourning. In their classical period (fifth to seventh centuries CE), the majority of piyyutim adorned the blessings of
the Sabbath and festival amidah (standing prayer). These
poems assume the so-called triennial cycle of Torah readings typical in the Land of Israel and have proven critical in
reconstructing the ancient lectionary, including the haftarah
cycle. As the Babylonian (annual) lectionary became more
widespread, and the text of the amidah became standardized, piyyutim embellishing the shema (affirmation of divine
unity) and its blessings became increasingly popular. Eventually, poets throughout the Jewish world were composing for almost all liturgical occasions, including marriages
and circumcisions. As the liturgy became standardized, local
selections of piyyutim often served to distinguish various rites
from one another.
Although the Babylonian Geonim initially resisted the
liturgical variation and diversity introduced by piyyutim, over
time they came to accommodate to their extremely popular
use. In the Middle Ages, piyyutim developed along distinctive
trajectories in medieval Ashkenaz and Sepharad. Ashkenazic poetry amplified the complex styles typical of the classical piyyutim, emphasizing ornate forms, opaque allusions
to the Bible and rabbinic traditions, and clever but artificial grammatical constructions. Medieval Sephardic poets
rejected the conventions of classical piyyut in favor of a more
lyrical aesthetic and innovated by introducing Arabic meter.
In the later Middle Ages, piyyutim incorporating kabbalistic
themes (see KABBALAH) became popular in both Sephardic
and Ashkenazic prayer books.
Piyyutim are not only beautiful literary works in their own
right but they also shed light on numerous aspects of Jewish
culture through the centuries. They reveal dramatic literary
developments in Hebrew poetics and aesthetics; indicate the
complex development and experience of the Jewish prayer
service; intersect in tantalizing ways with early synagogue
Dunash ben Labrat, a Moroccan who had ventured eastward to become one of Saadia Gaons disciples, returned
to the Muslim West; in Umayyad Cordoba he developed
a Hebrew prosody based on Arabic metrics. Ben Labrat
also introduced Arabic-inspired social themes to his new
style of Hebrew verse, alongside his ongoing production of
482
In their respective ways, Bialik and Tchernikhovsky developed a future for Hebrew poetry by introducing innovative forms and language. However, both men were working with a written Hebrew that lacked the vibrancy of living
speech. In the 1920s, as the center of Hebrew poetry moved
to Palestine, with its preferred use of Sephardic pronunciation, their intricate poetic cadences, rhythms, and rhymes,
composed in the Ashkenazi pronunciation of Eastern
Europe, soon lost favor. Difficult to read and trapped within
Eastern European motifs, rather than the living landscape of
figures in experimental strains of modern and contemporary poetics. PostWorld War II poets Allen Ginsberg (1926
1997), Jerome Rothenberg (b. 1931), and Charles Bernstein
(1950) became leaders in the countercultural movements of
Beat poetry, ethnopoetics, and Language poetry.
Among American Jewish poets are many women, including Emma Lazarus (18491887), whose New Colossus is
etched on the base of the Statue of Liberty. Feminist poets
Muriel Rukeyser (19131980) and Adrienne Rich (b. 1920)
also have written on behalf of other aggrieved communities.
For example, Rukeysers 1938 Book of the Dead documents
the disastrous exposure of hundreds of West Virginia tunnel
workers to silica dust. The long poems of Charles Reznikoff
(18941976) Testimony, based on trial records concerning
mistreatment of African Americans, and Holocaust blend
historical documentation with the Modernist technique of
Objectivism. The contemporary poet Irena Klepfisz (born
1941 in the Warsaw ghetto) sets Yiddish beside English
in her poetry, which often invokes the Holocaust. Jewish
Modernists such as Moyshe-Leyb Halpern (18861932) and
Jacob Glatstein (18961971), writing in Yiddish in the first
decades of the twentieth century, also made important contributions to the experimental and innovative strains of
American poetry (see POETRY, YIDDISH).
Despite these accomplishments (and the fact that three
recent American poet laureates Louise Gluck [b. 1943],
Pinsky, and Stanley Kunitz [19052006] have been Jews),
the study of Jewish American poetry remains in its infancy.
In The Sorrows of American Jewish Poetry (in Figures
of Capable Imagination [1976]), literary critic Harold Bloom
infamously suggested that poetic practice is alien to a
Jewish sensibility. The Jew, he argued, cannot wholly
commit himself to the pragmatic religion-of-poetry, or hold
a precursor poet in god-like esteem (251, 253). Bloom
viewed as unconscionably transgressive the idea of the Jewish poet mixing allegiances and influences with a gentile
precursor. In 1994, novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick suggested that Jewish American poetry has yet to come into
its own because it depends upon its ability to generate a
shared vision of communal well being, grounded in a culturally distinct language, a new Yiddish (America: Toward
Yavneh, in What is Jewish Literature?, ed. H. Wirth-Nesher
[1999]).
Poetry, Yiddish
Poetry, Yiddish
Poetry, Yiddish. Despite the existence of fourteenthcentury Yiddish verse narratives, Yiddish poetry is best
understood as modern poetry. That is, only with the possibilities of a secular culture, as well as the political
and societal transformations associated with modernity in
Eastern Europe, could Yiddish writing emerge as a selfconsciously literary phenomenon. The most significant cultural moment for Yiddish poetry occurred roughly from
the 1880s through the 1920s.
It is an irony of Yiddish culture that a language castigated by the Jewish intelligentsia of the Haskalah as an ugly
jargon and as secondary to Hebrew could lend itself so
well to the production of poetry. Yet it has been argued
that the very properties that led to the denigration of Yiddish, such as its fusing of Germanic, Hebraic, and Slavic
components and its relative porousness to other languages,
offered poets an appealing latitude in diction and sensibility.
In addition, the development of Yiddish over hundreds of
years as the language of daily life, through which and into
which Ashkenazi Jews poured their sufferings, insights,
and joys, also made the language a responsive medium for
poetry. Yiddish writers drew on a rich vernacular repository
of idioms, proverbs, folklore, and music. It is not surprising
that many Yiddish poets wrote their first poems in other languages since their literary influences came from German and
Russian, as well as from Hebrew, which was part of Jewish
traditional education. The exhilaration of Yiddish poets as
they both discovered and enhanced the poetic power of their
own language comes through in their periodic manifestos
and essays, as well as in their poems.
Modern Yiddish poetry can be viewed as progressing
through several movements involving loosely grouped
writers in New York City, Kiev, Warsaw, and Moscow
and progressing from proletarian, labor-oriented verse into
more sophisticated phases of romanticism and Modernism
all within a matter of decades.
Sweatshop poetry, with its vivid calls to action and
images filled with anger and pathos, appealed to the urbancentered working masses. Beginning in the 1880s, these
poems flourished in New York City, where a vast number of Jewish immigrants fleeing strife in Eastern Europe
were struggling to live. Published in Yiddish newspapers (see
JOURNALISM, YIDDISH: NORTH AMERICA) and sung in
the streets, this poetry became a source of political sustenance and cultural strength at a time when labor organizing
(see UNITED STATES: LABOR MOVEMENT) and the writing of poetry seemed to go hand in hand. Significant labor
poets included Dovid Edelstadt (18661892), whose poems,
set to music, have titles such as In kampf (In Struggle) and
Vakht uf! (Awake) and urge their audience to throw off
their chains and demand their workers rights; and Morris Rosenfeld (18621923), who gained a reputation as the
voice of the sweatshop workers and whose poems were the
first Yiddish poems to be translated into English.
The proletarian impulse in Yiddish poetry was cast aside
in New York by the group Di Yunge (The Youth), the next
generation of writers who emerged in 1907 with its own
literary journal and gatherings in local cafes. These poets
pursued an aesthetic of beauty and a poetry that spoke
in the first person, rather than as, or for, a collective. Yet
many of the poets themselves differed little from their readers in the work they did to survive: Proletarian aesthetes,
Soviet Union, each with its little magazines, cafe gathering places, and literary arguments against the writers who
had so recently preceded them. It was a time of artistic ferment in all the arts, and because Yiddish poets were writing what literally could not have been dreamed of before in
a traditional Jewish context, they identified with the international avant-garde. In New York, where immigrant poets
were free to be as Jewish and as American as they chose, a
group of writers formed the group In zikh (Inside the Self,
or introspectivist), issuing a manifesto in 1919 that declared
(among other things) their independence from the necessity of having Jewish content in their poems. In contrast to
members of Di Yunge, who never fully felt at ease in America,
these younger poets knew English well, and some had even
attended college in New York. Most were attracted to the
imagism and free verse of their Anglo-Modernist contemporaries; they regarded themselves as cosmopolitans who happened to write in Yiddish, rather than as representatives of a
Jewish culture. Significant In zikh poets included A. Leyeles (born Aron Glaz; 18891966), N. B. Minkov, Yankev
Glatshteyn (Jacob Glatstein; 18961971), and Mikhl Likht
(18931953), with Tsilia (Celia) Dropkin (18871956) tangentially affiliated. Of these writers, Glatshteyn is the best
known, most translated, and most valorized as a poet of
international stature. Likht, the least translated, is deserving of twenty-first-century rediscovery because of his radical
embrace of Modernist experimentation.
The In zikh assertion of the kaleidoscopic individual psyche as a filter for experience brought them close to the
Expressionism of their colleague poets in Eastern Europe.
Yet where the New York writers wrote with excitement
about the chaos of the city in which they found themselves, the Yiddish poets in interwar Poland and the Soviet
Union actually lived in chaotic conditions that were dangerous as well as stimulating. In the new Polish state that
emerged after World War I, Jews were confronted with rising Polish nationalism and antisemitism. A Modernist aesthetic could not be the sole concern for poets in this milieu.
In Warsaw, a group of poets spearheaded by Peretz Markish (18951952) published its first journal in 1922, declaring themselves as young, happy explorers of their frightening, dark times. Dismissed by one critic as an anarchic
gang, these writers took the word as their banner and
called themselves Di Khalyastre. Their fervor is reflected in
poet Melekh Ravitshs (18931976) comment, often cited by
critics, that being a Yiddish writer in Warsaw then was to
486
Poetry, Yiddish
Pogrom
Pogrom
Poland
Jewish integration into Russian society and increased emigration, as well as enthusiasm for expanding the Jewish
presence in Palestine.
After twenty years of relative calm, a terrible pogrom
broke out on April 68, 1903 in Kishinev. Local authorities did not respond for three days while forty-seven Jews
were killed, more than four hundred wounded, and seven
hundred houses were burned; damage was estimated at
three million rubles. Public opinion blamed the reactionary
Interior Minister Viacheslav Pleve for organizing the massacre. The shock of Kishinev intensified an oppositional
and revolutionary mood among Russian Jews, and young
people began to organize armed self-defense squads. The
pogrom that erupted on September 1416, 1903, in Gomel
turned into a battle in which Zionist and Bundist units
repulsed the rioting mob. Ten Jews and eight Christians
were killed; the authorities prosecuted both the rioters and
members of the self-defense groups. The mobilization for
the Russo-Japanese war in 1904 was accompanied by fortythree mobilization pogroms; similarly, the outbreak of the
first Russian Revolution in 1905 was followed by as many
as fifty pogroms between January and mid-October 1905.
Some of these were successfully checked by self-defense
units. The publication of the Imperial Manifest promising
civil liberties and the establishment of a parliament on October 17, 1905, was followed by a massive outbreak of antiJewish violence. In late October and November 1905, almost
3,000 Jews perished in approximately six hundred pogroms,
mostly in the Ukraine region. Russian troops were active
participants in pogroms in Biaystok (June 13, 1906; seventy killed) and Siedlce (August 2629, 1906; thirty killed).
A new wave of anti-Jewish violence erupted during World
War I, when Russian units, particularly Cossacks, undertook
pogroms in Russian territory and in Austrian Galicia. During the Civil War (191820), which started after the Russian
Revolution of 1917, there were extremely bloody pogroms,
especially in Ukraine, where all the fighting armies robbed
and massacred Jews, who were alternately blamed for supporting the Bolsheviks or for being bourgeoisie. Although
the Bolsheviks struggled to quell anti-Jewish violence within
the Red Army, the atrocities performed by the Whites, by
the Ukrainian Directory army under S. Petlura, by the Polish
army, and by numerous Green bands continued uncurbed.
It is estimated that about 50,000 Jews lost their lives in the
Civil War pogroms; the most destructive was a pogrom in
Proskurov by a Ukrainian unit (February 15, 1919) in which
approximately 1,600 Jews were killed.
There were also anti-Jewish attacks immediately after
the end of World War II in Poland; the most notorious
occurred in Kielce, where a mob murdered forty Holocaust
survivors on July 4, 1946.
For further reading, see Committee of the Jewish Delegations, The Pogroms in the Ukraine under the Ukrainian Governments (19171920): Historical Survey with Documents and Photographs (1927); J. D. Klier and S. Lambroza, eds., Pogroms:
Anti-Jewish Violence in Modern Jewish History (1992); and I. M.
Aronson, Troubled Waters: The Origins of the 1881 Anti-Jewish
Pogroms in Russia (1990).
V LADIMIR LEVIN
and political influences on contemporary Jewish life developed in Poland. Russian and Ukrainian Jews, as well as
much of the Jewish population in the United States and
Poland
Poland
H
. asidism developed and spread rapidly to most areas of
the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Early H
. asidic
circles multiplied throughout Ukraine beginning in the
mid-eighteenth century. By the mid-nineteenth century
H
. asidism predominated in the Polish kingdom and had
spread into present-day Belarus, Romania, and Hungary.
H
. asidism attracted only a minority of the Jewish population
in Lithuania. In the nineteenth century the Haskalah also
made inroads among a minority of Jews, prompting H.asidim
and mitnaggedim, opponents of H
. asidism, to unite in opposition. An increasing minority of Jews, partly drawn from a
small group of economic elites, became proponents of assimilation; by the mid-nineteenth century, they sought to transform Polish Jews into Poles of the Mosaic faith. Polish
Jews took part in the Kosciuszko insurrection in 1794 and
in both nineteenth-century Polish uprisings against Russian
rule. Emancipation of Jews in the Polish Kingdom in 1862
kosher slaughtering. In 1934 Poland renounced its obligations under the Minorities Treaty, and in the second half of
489
Poland
Post-Zionism
Warsaw, Krakow,
Gdansk,
and other cities. Approximately
275,000 Jews lived in Poland in the early post-war years, a
number that fluctuated with returns and departures. Postwar pogroms, culminating with the murder of 40 Jews in
Post-Zionism
Prague
Prague
Prayer: See
Prayer: Womens Devotional. Prayer in Judaism developed as private, individual supplication among men and
women alike. Biblical prayers (see BIBLE: PRAYER LANGUAGE) are presented as spontaneous appeals to God,
with specific, direct requests. Examples of women who
pray include the matriarchs Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and
Prayer Books
Ladino; in Yemen and other Arab countries JudeoArabic). Halakhah permits a person to pray in the language
with which he or she is most familiar. As Rabbi Abraham Danzig (Poland, 17481820) wrote in H
. ayyei Adam,
his authoritative halakhic guide, Those who do not understand the Holy Tongue, along with women, should rather
pray in a language that they understand; only, they should
pray wholeheartedly (Rule 22:12). In some communities,
a female leader (firzogerin) would recite the traditional
(Hebrew) prayers in the local vernacular in the womens
section of the medieval synagogue, and the other women
gathered would repeat them after her. As early as the
thirteenth century there is evidence of women cantors
who led other women in prayer (see WOMEN: MIDDLE
AGES).
Womens lack of familiarity with Hebrew, along with the
particular needs and difficulties of their lives, created an
opportunity for liturgical creativity and for personal, private
prayer. The rich tapestry of womens prayer customs, rituals, and formulas created over the course of Jewish history
reflects different periods, different styles, and different languages. Many of these traditions were passed down from
mother to daughter within the home, without ever being
committed to writing. (Sometimes, as in the case of the
Spanish and Portuguese conversos, secrecy was of the utmost
importance.) Some of the prayers that have been preserved
in writing testify to extensive familiarity with religious texts.
Examples of women liturgists include the medieval Rabbanit
wa l-Tasab
h (The
493
Prayer Books
Sabbath, weekday, and festival prayer book, in 2007. Conservative Judaism published Siddur Sim Shalom: A Prayer
Book for Shabbat, Festivals and Weekdays in 1985; a significantly revised edition appeared in 1998. The Conservative movements first High Holiday liturgy was released in
1972; a revised version, Mah.zor Lev Shalem, appeared in
2010. The Reconstructionist Kol Haneshamah prayer book
series appeared between 1989 and 1999. As in the nineteenth century, liturgies have also been created by individuals, most notably by Sydney Greenberg and Jonathan D.
Levine (Likrat Shabbat [1971]) and Marcia Falk (The Book of
Blessings [1996]).
The many factors that have motivated this hunger for new
liturgy include the feminist critique of traditional androcentric language used to address God (see JUDAISM, FEMINIST); issues surrounding the horrors of the Holocaust and
the founding of the State of Israel; increased interest in
mysticism (see KABBALAH) and spirituality; the growing
informality of English usage; the thirst for novelty; renewed
affirmation of liturgical forms that were previously rejected;
and the growing number of Jews who lack synagogue and
Hebrew literacy, on the one hand, and those who wish to
return more Hebrew to the liturgy, on the other.
The first American Orthodox siddurim were reprints of
traditional European prayer books. This changed in 1949
with the publication of Phillip Birnbaums Ha-Siddur haShalem, followed in 1960 by David de Sola Pools Traditional Prayer Book. These siddurim did not revise the established liturgical texts but responded to modern sensitivities
by including English readings, a contemporary commentary,
and prayers for the State of Israel and the United States.
English readings are omitted in the widely used The Complete Artscroll Siddur (1984), but the text includes an extensive rubric and a less formal English translation; one edition
provides a complete transliteration of the Hebrew prayers.
These changes reflect a community that has become ritually stringent in the last thirty years while attracting greater
numbers of Jews not raised in observant households.
E RIC C APLAN
holidays of H
. anukkah and Purim. Each section of prayers
was prefaced with the pertinent laws (see HALAKHAH), and
at the end, there were special prayers and benedictions for
use in daily life (e.g., blessings to be recited before partaking of specific foods or at grace after meals [see BLESSINGS:
BEFORE AND AFTER MEALS) and for rites of passage in
the life cycle (e.g., circumcision, marriage, and burial).
As a work of literature, Rav Amrams prayer book pales in
comparison with Saadias liturgical masterpiece, composed
some time between 928 and 942. Saadias prayer book went
far beyond Rav Amrams and, for that matter, most later
prayer books in that it was not merely an arranged compilation of existing prayers. The Kitab
al-Halawat
Jami
wa
l-Tasab
h offered the worshiper a complete and systematic
introduction to the subject of liturgy, its historical evolution,
significance, and rationale. It also provided helpful notes and
comments to the service and to individual prayers, all in
Judeo-Arabic, rather than Hebrew, for easy understanding by the lay person. In addition to the required prayers,
Saadia included liturgical poems (piyyutim) by great poets of
the past, such as Jose ben Jose, as well as his own poetical
creations, which were highly regarded by later generations
and served as thematic and linguistic models for liturgical
poets of the golden age of Hebrew letters in Islamic Spain
(see POETRY: LITURGICAL [PIYYUT]; POETRY, MEDIEVAL:
MUSLIM WORLD; SPAIN, MUSLIM).
Local variations in prayer books were common until
the development of printing centralized the production of
prayer books regionally. Iberian ( Sephardi) Jews, expelled
from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1497, also imposed
their own rite or prayer practices in their new communities, leading to the virtual disappearance of the local liturgies of North Africa, the Balkans, and the entire Middle
East (except Yemen). Printed prayer books according to the
Sephardi rite, usually produced in Italy, become standard in
these countries.
Printing
Jacob Ashkenazi Gunzenhauser and his son Azriel. Probably as a result of the war between France and the kingdom of Naples, the production of Hebrew books there came
to an end in about 1492, after twenty books had been
published.
Knowledge of the history of Hebrew book production in
the Iberian Peninsula during the fifteenth century is limited, because much historical evidence was destroyed with
the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and subsequent events in Portugal in 1497. Rashis commentary on
the Pentateuch from the press of Solomon ben Moses Alkabits Halevi at Guadalajara, probably dating from 1476, is the
oldest known Spanish Hebrew printed book. Like the first
dated Italian Hebrew book, which happens to be the same
text, it is known from one copy only. Ten years later Eliezer
Alantansi was active at Hjar. His books display a high degree
of aesthetic quality. In Zamora, Samuel ben Musa printed
another commentary on the Pentateuch by Rashi, probably
in 1492, again known from one copy only.
The first Hebrew book to be printed in Portugal was
an edition of the Pentateuch, issued in 1487 at Faro from
the press of Samuel Giacon; only one copy is known. In
Lisbon Eliezer Toledano published a number of very fine
printed books. In Leiria Samuel Dortas owned a printing
shop together with his sons. He published not only Hebrew
books but also volumes in Latin and Spanish.
The first Hebrew press in the Ottoman Empire was
founded as early as 1493. The brothers Samuel and David
ibn Nah.mias, who had escaped from Spain, published Jacob
ben Ashers popular Arbaah Turim (The Four Orders of the
Code Of Law) on December 13, 1493, in Constantinople.
This was the first book in a long succession of more than
eight hundred Hebrew and Ladino publications printed in
that city up to the twentieth century.
SIXTEENTH CENTURY: After two centuries of expulsions ( England, France, Germany, and Spain), almost
the whole of Europe, with the exception of northern Italy
and the Papal States, was closed to Jews. The result was
a radical shift eastward. At the same time, the spread of
Hebrew printing continued throughout the sixteenth century; new Hebrew presses were established not only in
France, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
and the Low Countries but also in Morocco (see NORTH
AFRICA), Egypt, and the Land of Israel.
Originally, Hebrew printing in Italy was dominated by
Gershom Soncino. However, after Daniel Bomberg established his Hebrew press in Venice, Soncino was surpassed.
Bomberg invested large sums of money in his firm and published more than two hundred and twenty Hebrew works
with the help of famous Jewish scholars. His large rabbinic bibles in three editions are famous all over the world.
Thereafter, Venice became the center of Hebrew printing
for a long period. The owners of the presses were Christians, like de Farri, Giustiniani, Bragadini, Zanetti, di Gara,
Cavalli, and Grypho but the typesetters and correctors were
mainly Jews. Outside Venice, Hebrew presses were active
in Genoa, Mantua, Rome, and Bologna. The Venetian editions of the Talmud were extremely important. However, a
struggle between Giustiniani and Bragadini caused the confiscation and burning of thousands of Talmud volumes in
1554 by the Catholic Church, after which it was forbidden
to print the Talmud in Italy. Important printing houses were
Italy, and between 1474 and 1477 Abraham Conat published attractive books. The first Jewish woman mentioned
as associated with a printing press was Abraham Conats wife
Estellina. In 1482 Abraham ben H
. ayyim of Pesaro printed
the first Hebrew Pentateuch at Bologna. After 1483, members of the Soncino family became the leading printers of
Hebrew books in Italy. Joshua Solomon began to publish
separate treatises from the Babylonian Talmud in the town
of Soncino. Also working at Soncino were his nephews
Gershom and Solomon. Under pressure from the Catholic
Church, Joshua Solomon had to flee to Naples; Gershom
became an itinerant printer who established presses at Brescia, Barco; later at Fano, Pesaro, Altona, Rimini, Ancona,
and Cesena; and finally at Salonika and Constantinople. In
1494 Gershom published a vocalized Hebrew Bible in Brescia; it has become famous because Martin Luther used it as
a source for his German translation of the Old Testament
(see REFORMATION). The Soncino family published more
than one-third of all the Hebrew incunabula ever printed.
In Naples a second Hebrew press belonged to Joseph ben
495
Printing
Printing
Krakow.
H
. ayyim Shwarts and his son established a press
in Lublin associated with Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi, who
moved in 1577 to Safed to publish the first book printed in
the Holy Land. In 1562 Kalonymos ben Mordecai Jaffe set
up a printing office in Lublin that was carried on by his heirs
up to the end of the seventeenth century.
Christian printers of Hebrew books outside Italy include
and
( Haskalah), new Hebrew presses in Berlin, Konigsberg,
Breslau were established. The first Hebrew journal, HaMeassef (The Gatherer) was published in Berlin between
1783 and 1811 (see LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH).
In France, Hebrew presses became active in Metz (about
1760), Strasbourg (about 1770), and Paris (1806). Hebrew
presses existed in Britain in London and Edinburgh; in
Italy, Livorno, Pisa, and Reggio Emilia had Hebrew printing offices. Jewish printers worked in the United States,
beginning in New York City as early as 1825. At the end
of the nineteenth century, Hebrew presses were established
in every city in Canada with a substantial Jewish community, including Toronto. Yiddish and Hebrew journals were
also published in many locations (see JOURNALISM: YIDDISH; PERIODICALS: CANADA: PERIODICALS: UNITED
STATES).
There was a short typographical renaissance between the
world wars. E. Lissitzky designed splendid books in Moscow,
Kiev, Odessa, and Berlin (see ART: ILLUSTRATED YIDDISH BOOKS). The Soncino Gesellschaft in Berlin stimulated the love for fine printing; Jewish designers who
became interested in the development of new Hebrew type
faces included Rafael Frank with his Frank-Ruehl letter.
Henri Friedlander
developed a completely new type face,
Printing
For further reading see Printing, Hebrew, in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed. (2007), 16: 52940; S. Iakerson, Catalogue of Hebrew Incunabula from the Collection of the Library
of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (200405); Catalogue of Books Printed in the XVth Century Now in the British
Library: BMC Part XIII, Hebraica, compiled by A. K. Offenberg
(2004); M. J. Heller, The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book. An
Abridged Thesaurus (2004); L. Fuks and R. G. Fuks-Mansfeld,
Hebrew Typography in the Northern Netherlands 15851815
(1984, 1987); and H. Friedlaender, The Making of Hadassah Hebrew (1975); see also WOMEN: EARLY MODERN
EUROPE.
A DRI K. O FFENBERG
root k-d-sh with holiness (Gen 38; Deut 23:18, Hos 4:14; 1
Kgs 22:47). Biblical scholarship in recent years has expressed
greater skepticism about the existence or prevalence of these
practices.
Prostitution is frequently used in the Hebrew Bible as a
metaphor for Israels abandonment of its covenant and the
worship of other gods. This is evident in the expression, to
whore after other gods (Exod 34:1516; Deut 31:16; Judg
2:17), and in the allegories found in prophetic books (Hos
13; Jer 2:2025, 3; Ezek 16, 23).
In post-biblical Jewish texts, the introduction of prostitutes in the Jerusalem Temple was considered an outrageous desecration of its holiness (2 Macc 6; BT Gittin 56b).
To specify those who are off-limits for marriage to a priest,
the Talmud expands the definition of a prostitute, zonah,
to include any woman who has sexual intercourse outside
the context of marriage; female converts to Judaism along
with emancipated slave women are included in this category because it is assumed that they were previously promiscuous (BT Yevamot 61a). The Talmud imagines that professional prostitutes may be either Jewish or Gentile, but in
either case, a Jewish man must stay at least four cubits from
a prostitutes door (BT Avodah Zarah 17a). According to the
Talmud, an extravagantly expensive Gentile prostitute converted to Judaism and married a Jew because his tzitzit (ritual fringes) miraculously prevented him from having sexual relations with her (BT Menah.ot 44a).
Jewish texts from the medieval period attest to the existence of Jewish prostitutes and brothels in Jewish neighborhoods. Jewish authorities tolerated and on occasion even
subsidized prostitution in Jewish communities because it
was thought to serve a positive function in preventing the
violation of virgins and married women, a notion adopted
from Christian society.
For further reading, see E. A. Goodfriend, Prostitution,
Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992), 5:50510; J. R. Baskin, Prostitution: Not a Job for a Nice Jewish Girl, in The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism, ed. D. Ruttenberg (2009), 2935;
A. Grossman, Pious and Rebellious: Jewish Women in Medieval
Europe (2004), 13347; and Y. Assis, Sexual Behavior in
Medieval Hispano-Jewish Society, in Jewish History, ed. A.
Rapoport-Albert and S. Zipperstein (1998), 2559.
E LAINE A. G OODFRIEND
Prophets (Neviim) is the second section of the three traditional divisions of the Tanakh (see also BIBLE, HEBREW;
BIBLE: PROPHETS AND PROPHECY). The books in this division include the historical books of Joshua through Kings,
which contain narratives about rulers and prophets (often
known as Former Prophets), and books that collect the
prophecies of specific individuals (often known as Latter
Prophets). Three of these books in the Latter Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are generally designated as the
Major Prophets, because of their considerable length. The
other far shorter books in the Latter Prophets are known as
the Minor Prophets and also as the Twelve Prophets. The
books in the Prophets division of the Tanakh appear in the
following order: Joshua; Judges; 1 and 2 Samuel; 1 and
2 Kings; and Isaiah; Jeremiah; Ezekiel; Hosea; Joel;
Jericho, shows exemplary faith and foresight when she harbors Israelite spies (Josh 2, 6). Tamar poses as a prostitute
to seduce Judah for a just cause and becomes the ancestor
of David and the line of the Messiah (Gen 38). One of the
unnamed prostitutes who come before King Solomon for
justice shows unselfish compassion (1 Kgs 3).
In addition to common prostitution, modern scholars have
assumed the existence of cultic or temple prostitution
both in Israel and its neighbors. In this case, a shrine or temple receives the payment for sexual relations, either because
the prostitute was the employee of the temple or because an
individual had sexual relations in fulfillment of a vow. The
Hebrew term kadesh/kedeshah is associated with this form of
prostitution in particular because of the association of the
Proverbs
Prostitution once again came to the fore in Jewish communal concerns after the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the large-scale immigration of former Soviet citizens to
SOUTHERN
Proverbs
Pseudepigrapha
likely originated in the Temple in Jerusalem, internal references suggest that some (e.g., Psalm 80) were composed
in the northern kingdom of Israel.
It is unclear how individual psalms were used in the
Jerusalem Temple or exactly who composed them. A few
psalms, such as 118:27, bind the festal offering to the horns
of the altar with cords, incorporate explicit hints of when
they were recited. Most likely there were guilds of Levites
such as the Asaphites (see Psalms 50, 7383), who were
in charge of composing and reciting psalms (see TEMPLE
AND TEMPLE CULT). They were well versed in Israelite
poetry and ancient Near Eastern prayers, which explains
why Psalms shares so many motifs, techniques, and even
phrases found in the poetry of Israels neighbors. Yet Psalms
should not be understood only in terms of its origin. It has
had a lasting impact on Judaism: More than half of the
psalms are used as post-biblical liturgy (see WORSHIP), and
very many verses from Psalms are recontextualized in Jewish prayer language and quoted in a broad range of Jewish
literature.
M ARC B RETTLER
Christians of late antiquity and the medieval period preserved them out of largely antiquarian interests; others were
preserved in the Apocrypha, in what became the Roman
Catholic Old Testament (e.g., Wisdom of Ben Sira, Tobit,
1 Maccabees, etc.). Most of these works survive in Greek,
although in some cases they are certainly translations of
Hebrew originals. Some pseudepigraphical writings are only
extant in other languages of the early church, including Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, and Georgian.
Surveys of the pseudepigrapha typically organize them
by genre (e.g., Charlesworth). The chief difficulty with this
approach is uncertainty regarding the genre of some pseudepigrapha. An alternative, historical approach surveys the literature by compositional history (e.g., Nickelsburg). It labors
under an equally limiting impediment, namely the difficulty
of dating works that are often preserved only secondarily.
For simplicity of presentation and in spite of its evident deficiencies, this entry uses the genre approach.
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE: Apocalyptic literature is
generally defined as narrative literature in which an otherworldly being reveals heavenly secrets about a coming
new age and place. A number of Jewish pseudepigrapha fit
that definition, chief among them 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra (others include 2 Enoch, 3 Enoch, 2 Baruch, Sibylline Oracles,
Pseudepigrapha
Pseudepigrapha
(see, for example, the Aramaic Levi Document, attested in
the Dead Sea Scrolls and Cairo Genizah fragments), most
agree that the Christian composition relied on an earlier
Jewish original.
Other testaments include the Testament of Solomon, Testament of Adam, and Testaments of the Three Patriarch
( Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
THE
BIBLE
REWRITTEN,
EXPANDED,
AND
EXPOUNDED: This broad category of texts comprises a
range of multi-genre contributions to the literature of early
Judaism. Jubilees is an example of the Bible rewritten.
Dated some time in the middle of the second century BCE,
it is framed as a revelation by the angel of the presence to
Moses of events from Genesis 1 to Exodus 20. The history
covered is divided into 49-year periods (jubilees), and
it heavily rewrites the corresponding biblical account. It
does so for several purposes, among which are assigning
to the ancestral period the origin of the pure priesthood in
Levi (especially 3032) and the development of biblical and
nonbiblical laws (e.g., the requirement of a 364-day solar
calendar). It also aims to rehabilitate the stained reputations
of the ancestors in the biblical record. Thus, Jacobs negative
judgment of Levi and Simeon because of the incident
involving Dinah and Shechem is erased; rather, their zeal
is why the priesthood was assigned to Levi (30:1720; cf.
Gen 34; 49:57). It also includes an apocalypse in ch.
23 that envisions justification for those who embrace the
books agenda. This indicates that Jubilees was probably
intended as an expansive proposal for how early Judaism
should define itself going forward in the Hasmonean era.
The book, Joseph and Aseneth, exemplifies the Bible
expanded. This work explains how the devout Israelite
Moses in Deuteronomy 33 and similar works, the testamentary genre is well attested in Jewish pseudepigrapha.
The exemplars of this genre generally relate the deathbed
speech of a biblical hero in which he instructs and exhorts
his children. The Testament of Job, composed some time
after the Roman annexation of Egypt in the late first century BCE, accomplishes the hortatory objective indirectly. In
his deathbed speech, Job tells his second set of children how
he came to lose his first family as a result of his opposition to
Satans maintenance of a temple in Egypt, and that he knew
his destruction of Satans temple would bring such suffering
on him. Yet, he also knew that, if he was patient in his suffering, God would doubly reward him for his perseverance.
The work seems to argue for Jewish perseverance in the face
of severely diminished prospects as a result of the transition
from Ptolemaic to Roman rule.
A second example, the Testament of Moses, composed
some time in the first third of the first century CE, reports
Moses deathbed speech to Joshua, who is apprehensive about having to assume leadership. Moses foretells
the trials and triumphs of the people of Israel to the
days of Herod and beyond, showing that Gods promises
to Israel would prevail over any deficiencies in Joshuas
leadership, as well as the sin and punishment of Israel.
Indeed, the history Moses narrates ends with a certain
Taxo being martyred, an event that seems to precipitate
Gods final judgment against evil, which is described in a
hymn in near-apocalyptic terms. Before breaking off (only
a single incomplete Latin manuscript of the testament is
extant), Joshua expresses his abiding anxiety and Moses
reassures him of Gods steadfast commitment to keeping His
promises.
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs also has a strong
anticipatory element: Each speech from the twelve sons of
Pseudepigrapha
Psychoanalysis
discourses, apothegms, parables, proverbs) to argue for particular visions of reality. The Wisdom of Solomon, an early
Roman-era hortatory discourse by a Jew of Alexandria,
exemplifies this type of literature. Responding to the declining fortunes of Jews under Roman rule, the author calls
his audience to a deeper appreciation of their own traditions and argues for the preeminence of Gods wisdom as
an organizing principle for the communitys life. In 1:16:11
the author explains that possessing wisdom leads to righteousness, which in turn offers immortality. In 6:129:18 the
authorial voice becomes that of Solomon (although he is
not named) who describes in alternating portions his search
for wisdom and its extraordinary qualities. The remainder
of the book, chs, 1019, demonstrates from Israels history
(especially in Egypt in the days of Moses) how wisdom executes justice and mercy according to recipients righteousness (with a special emphasis on idolatry).
Some of the other wisdom works from this era include
Psychoanalysis
Ptolemies
Ptolemies
Abraham, Joseph, and Moses for their cultural achievements; the poet Philos On Jerusalem and the playwright
Ezekiels Exagoge are examples of Greek-language Jewish
poetry modeled on the Greek epic and classical tragedy,
respectively; and the writings of Aristoboulus reconciled
Jewish traditions with Hellenistic philosophy, ideas that he
supposedly taught to Ptolemy VI (reigned 180145 BCE).
D AVID M . R EIS
504
Temple and its priesthood polluted; the community therefore constituted their group as a substitute temple with every
full member living as if he were a priest officiating in the
Temple.
A large dining room with an adjacent pantry that contained more than one thousand dishes is evidence for communal meals, such as those described in the scrolls and by
the ancient Jewish historian, Josephus. Some of the Dead
Sea Scrolls might have been written in a room that de Vaux
identified as a scriptorium, or writing room; it was furnished
with plastered mud-brick tables and benches and yielded a
number of inkwells.
Many scholars have identified the inhabitants of Qumran
and the authors of the scrolls as the Jewish sect known as
the Essenes, who are described by Josephus in his second
book, Jewish War. Because archeological evidence both supports and refutes such an identification, the matter largely
comes down to how one interprets the literary evidence of
Josephus and the scrolls.
In the past two decades, some scholars have questioned de
Vauxs interpretation of Qumran as a sectarian settlement,
suggesting that the site was a villa, manor house, fort, or
God.
Later Jewish legends suggest that the queen and
Solomon had a romantic relationship ( Alphabet of Ben
Sira 2). Ethiopian traditions identify Sheba with Ethiopia;
Ethiopian Jews, the Beta Israel, are said to be descendants of
Israelite escorts who returned with Menelik, the supposed
son of the union of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and
founder of the Ethiopian royal dynasty. On the Queen of
Sheba in Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Ethiopian traditions, see J. B. Pritchard, ed., Solomon and Sheba (1972); and
J. Lassner, Demonizing the Queen of Sheba: Boundaries of Gender
and Culture in Postbiblical Judaism and Medieval Islam (1993).
K ATE F RIEDMAN
505
Qumran
Qumran
506
vav or yod used as matres lectionis (this term [Latin for mothers of reading] refers to the occasional use of certain consonants as vowels in Hebrew orthography to indicate particular
forms of words when there might otherwise be ambiguity).
In Biblical Hebrew the same word may be written in two
ways (full or defective spelling); Akiva saw the additional
letter, used only to indicate a certain vowel sound in an
alphabet without vowels, as an invitation to expand the
scope of the law. He also argued that the doubling of verbs
(the infinitive absolute form), employed in Biblical Hebrew
as an intensifier, provided the exegete an opportunity to
expand the laws application.
One of the distinctions between other exegetical systems
and rabbinic hermeneutics is that the latter lacks a consistent link between signifiers and that which is signified.
Whereas in some interpretive approaches a certain number
or color or animal will always signify the same thing, rabbinic hermeneutics allows for a word to convey one thing
in one context and another meaning elsewhere. For example, the gezerah shavah principle allows the exegete to apply
a meaning derived from one verse to another verse based on
a common word, without reference to the meaning of that
word. It is not the import of the word but simply its presence that signals to the exegete that one verse can be used
to explain the other.
This fluidity of meaning or significance allows for significant exegetical flexibility and even playfulness but it can
also make rabbinic exegesis seem imprecise and open-ended.
In aggadah, this tendency could be given free rein, but in
halakhah, such imprecision could potentially lead to anarchy. The Rabbis themselves were aware of the potential
for chaos; they declared that a sage could not create a gezerah shavah on his own, but could only transmit one that
he had learned from his teacher. The expansive nature of
hermeneutics was apparently kept in check, particularly in
the realm of legal exegesis, by the constraints of the rabbinic communitys understanding of the limits of the law.
Nonlegal exegesis was far less constrained, because it had no
prescriptive bearing on daily life.
Despite their belief in divine revelation of Torah and
their use of shared exegetical principles, the Rabbis in no
way display or insist on a monolithic view of Torah. In
fact, the Rabbis celebrated the multivocality of Scripture,
offering, validating, and preserving competing interpretations of words and verses, even when those opposing readings had an impact on law and practice. Although they proclaimed, The law follows so-and-so, the Rabbis still insisted
that opposing views could also be the words of the living
God.
Although most rabbinic exegesis focuses on the Hebrew
Bible, the Rabbis sometimes applied similar strategies to earlier rabbinic texts. The Babylonian Talmud may query the
use of inclusive terms such as all or every, asking, What
is this term meant to include? The Talmud often argues
that the Mishnahs choice of words, its word order, and the
Rabbinic Hermeneutics (methods of interpreting Scripture) are grounded in the belief that the Pentateuch was
revealed in every detail by God, who dictated its content
to Moses. Furthermore, the rabbinic approach to interpretation regards the Torah as profoundly intentional: Every
word and every letter have the potential to reveal insights
into the meaning of the text. For the Rabbis, there can be
no simple repetitions or contradictions in a divinely composed work; every apparent contradiction or doubling of a
word or story is seen as an opportunity for exegesis. Finally,
the Rabbis read the Hebrew Bible with the assumption that
every part of it is connected to and therefore may shed
light on every other part. For this reason, much of rabbinic hermeneutics relies on close and careful reading of the
biblical text.
The early Rabbis employed various strategies when reading Scripture. The most famous are referred to as the Thirteen Principles of Rabbi Ishmael, first set forth in the opening of the midrash collection Sifra. The first principle, kal
vah.omer, utilizes logical inference. If there are two situations,
one that is generally stricter and the other more lenient, a
prohibition that applies to the more lenient case can also be
applied to the stricter situation, even if there is no explicit
textual reference linking that restriction to the latter. The
remaining principles make assumptions about the relationship of words or phrases within Scripture. The most farreaching principle is gezerah shavah, which allows one to
apply a ruling explicit in one case to a second less obvious
case when the two cases use identical language, even a single common word. Others, such as kelal ufrat and binyan
av, allow the exegete to broaden or restrict the application of a rule based on the presence of specific and general terms within a verse, or to derive information about the
scope of a law in one verse from information in an adjacent
verse.
In addition to the principles associated with Rabbi Ishmael, rabbinic exegetes used other approaches. Rabbi Akiva
was known (and sometimes criticized by his colleagues) for
deriving or basing rulings on a single letter, specifically the
507
Rabbinic Hermeneutics
Rabbinic hermeneutics provided a range of exegetical strategies that are employed in halakhic and aggadic
midrashim. The kal vah.omer (literally light and heavy)
established an argument by means of a major or minor
premise: If this is true, how much more so is that true.
This form of reasoning is found in both halakhic and aggadic
midrashim. The gezerah shavah (similar laws), however, is
more common to halakhic midrashim: By means of analogy, a particular detail of a biblical law in one verse is
derived from the meaning of the word or phrase in the other.
Other hermeneutical principles that characterize halakhic
midrashim include the binyan av, through which a specific
law in one verse may be applied to all other similar cases;
kelal ufrat, perat ukelal, which applies rules of inference
between general and specific statements and vice versa; and
hekkesh, which establishes inference by analogy, whether
explicit or implicit, between two subjects (but not words)
within the same or similar contexts (see also RABBINIC
HERMENEUTICS).
Nonlegal biblical passages are often explained by means
of philological associations, including analogies based on the
use of the same word in two different verses. Word play also
takes the form of gematria (see NUMEROLOGY), whereby
the arithmetical value of Hebrew letters is used to interpret
a word or verse. In notaricon (shorthand writing) a Hebrew
word becomes an acronym in which each letter stands for
another word, which in turn forms a phrase or sentence.
In addition to word plays, midrashic literature contains
scores of stories, maxims, and parables (meshalim [sing.,
mashal]). Parables about kings are one typical narrative form.
Nearly all rabbinic meshalim have a bipartite structure: the
fictional narrative, that is the mashal proper, and its application, the nimshal, which usually concludes with a biblical
verse that serves as the mashals prooftext. Formulaic phrases
mark the two parts: mashal le, it is like, and kakh, so, too,
similarly.
Current studies in midrash reflect broad disciplinary
trends in related humanities fields. This is most apparent in
scholarship that addresses the literary and cultural aspects
of rabbinic literature. Underlying this relatively recent trend
in the study of midrash is the recognition that interpretive
texts are themselves literary works and should be examined
in light of literary motifs, themes, and structure. Moreover,
as literature they reflect beliefs, values, and customs and also
serve as cultural transmitters. Many contemporary scholars are no longer interested, for example, in how a story
about a certain Rabbi may be used in constructing his historical biography. Instead, they analyze rabbinic narratives
in terms of their literary quality. At the same time, these
texts are also regarded as artifacts that function as conveyors and mediators of rabbinic culture. The historical import
of narratives is therefore undiminished because they yield
insight into the milieu of those who recorded, transmitted,
and lived by them. Scholarship on midrash has advanced on
the heels of other fields and it has in turn contributed to the
study of the New Testament, patristic exegesis (see CHURCH
FATHERS), the Talmud, and late antique Judaism and has
made its presence felt in areas such as literary theory.
This shift in how midrash is studied may be attributed
to the fact that scholars of rabbinic literature are no longer
trained solely within the confines of rabbinical seminaries.
Advances in literary criticism, theory, and cultural studies
Rabbinic Literature: Mishnah and Talmuds. The rabbinic movement is often credited with the reinvention of
Judaism in the wake of the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. The literature of this
movement was produced orally by a network of Rabbis who
lived roughly between the final years of the Second Temple and the Islamic (Umayyad) conquests of the seventh and
eighth centuries CE. The earliest group of Rabbis, periodized
as the Tannaim (ca. 70200 CE), engaged in study practices
that produced two general types of text: midrash and mishnah. Midrash is the creative interpretation of the Tanakh,
and mishnah is the formulation of statutes that clearly and
unequivocally assert a legal requirement or theological principle. Individual midrashim or mishnayot attributed to their
authors circulated orally in tannaitic Judea and formed the
basis for discussions that transpired within disciple circles
surrounding individual Rabbis.
Around the year 200 CE, the Mishnah, a definitive collection of mishnayot arranged in six topical orders, divided
into sixty-three topical tractates, with each tractate subdivided into chapters, was compiled by R. Judah the Patriarch, a Rabbi with political authority in both the Jewish and
Roman political arenas. The Mishnah combined preexisting
mishnayot from different disciple circles, creating a legal code
that canonized multivocal debate. However, the process of
mishnaic redaction could not incorporate all prior mishnah
traditions. The opinions held by Tannaim that were excluded
from the Mishnah are called baraitot. Many of these traditions were collected in what is called the Tosefta.
The Rabbis who were intellectually active in the period
after the completion of the Mishnah in both Palestine
and Babylonia are periodized as Amoraim (ca. 200ca.
500 CE). These Rabbis continued the practice of producing midrash and mishnah-type texts within small disciple circles. Over time, the intellectual conversations in rabbinic circles metamorphosed into a single intellectual discourse that
509
Rabbinic Ordination
themselves from apparent inconsistencies. Within the history of theoretical Talmud study, this kind of reasoning has
occasionally led to pilpul, a form of question-and-answer
dialogue that can be described as more ritualistic than
substantive.
The various codes of Jewish law that were compiled in
the medieval period and in the Renaissance drew heavily on
BT as the dominant work of rabbinic literature, and particularly of rabbinic law. BT so dominated Jewish legal study that
each attempt to simplify Jewish law through the production
of a code occasioned resistance among those who preferred
the explicit multivocality of BT legal discourse. Even as codes
have become the default descriptions of Jewish law for the
masses, legal experts continue to return to BT to craft their
own responses to new crises, often through responsa literature. In this way, rabbinic literature continues to be a living
and ever expanding endeavor. See also HALAKHAH; MISHNAH; TALMUD, BABYLONIAN; TALMUD, JERUSALEM.
B ARRY W IMPFHEIMER
Rabbinic Ordination
Rabin, Yitzhak
Rabbi (2004); P. S. Nadell, Women Who Would Be Rabbis: A History of Womens Ordination, 18891985 (1998); H. Ner-David,
Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey toward Traditional Rabbinic Ordination (2000); and S. Sheridan, ed., Hear Our Voice:
Women Rabbis Tell Their Stories (1994) on womens ordination
in Britain.
P AMELA S. N ADELL
Rabin, Yitzhak
Rachel and her older sister Leah are Jacobs wives; her
story is told in Genesis 2935. Rachel is the younger daughter of Laban, the brother of Jacobs mother Rebekah. Rachel
first encounters Jacob at a well, where he falls in love with
her. Although Jacob undertakes to work for Laban for seven
years in order to marry Rachel, Laban substitutes her sister Leah for Rachel at the time of marriage. Jacob marries
Rachel shortly thereafter, in return for another seven years
of promised labor. The sisters rivalry for Jacobs affection
is magnified by Rachels long period of childlessness (see
INFERTILITY); nevertheless, she is always the beloved wife.
Frustrated by her infertility, Rachel gives her slave Bilhah
to Jacob as a surrogate mother, and Bilhah bears Dan and
Naphtali. With divine help, Rachel is finally able to conceive. Her sons are Joseph and Benjamin; she dies while
giving birth to Benjamin and is buried on the road to Bethlehem (Gen 35:1920). Although Rachel and Leah compete
against each other as co-wives of Jacob, they are united in
feeling that Laban has cheated them economically (31:14
15). Sharing in her familys trickster traditions, Rachel does
not hesitate to deceive her father about her theft of his
household gods as Jacob and his family prepare to return
N AOMI S TEINBERG
to Canaan.
Rashi
Following the success of The Goldbergs and the popularity of Eddie Cantor, NBC surveyed its audiences and found
that people responded positively to characters of a Jewish type. However, Jewish entertainers like Cantor and
Benny were still far more popular than their more overtly
Jewish counterparts. With the notable exception of The
Goldbergs, performers who specialized in Yiddish accents
generally remained minor stars in mainstream American
broadcasting.
For the sizable audience of Jewish immigrants interested
in Yiddish programming, local stations created a thriving and
creative radio culture on the margins of the mainstream.
Yiddish stations operated on a shoestring budget and struggled to stay on the air; nevertheless, they, their performers,
and their sponsors created a relatively independent arena
for broadcasting Jewishness and Jewish culture. Stations
relied on time brokers to strike sponsorship deals with
local businesses. As a result, Yiddish programs were often
sponsored by businesses like Parmet Brothers Furniture in
New York, Harry Kandels Appliances in Philadelphia, or
the oddly named Chicago Pharmacy in Los Angeles. Thus,
commercial radio became part of a delicate network of local
businesses, theaters, performers, and even charities all of
which used radio to speak to and about the communities
they served.
Most Jewish immigrants and their children listened to
both Yiddish and English programs, and their tastes and
preferences took shape around the interactions between the
two. To Jewish immigrant listeners, programs like Clara, Lu
and Em, or The Shadow may have sounded more foreign
than familiar, while shows in Yiddish like Bay tate mames
tish (Round the Family Table) and Der yidisher filosof (The
Jewish Philosopher) featured the sounds of fictionalized
Jewish familial strife. In fact, the culture of Yiddish radio
relied heavily on the direction of English radio: Yiddishspeaking audiences were listening to radio even before the
first Yiddish broadcast was made, the Yiddish press reported
on and carried listings for English radio programming, and
Yiddish-speaking radio performers copied the successful formulas of their English-speaking counterparts. Yiddish radio
and its audiences benefited from radios multilingualism,
which permitted its immigrant audience to navigate complementary relationships among their Jewish communities
and their American contexts.
Even though television came to replace radio as the primary medium of in-home entertainment during the early
1950s, Yiddish-language radio continued in large American cities like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore,
Philadelphia, and Los Angeles through the 1970s. Yiddishlanguage programs were also heard in smaller markets
like Rochester, New York; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and, in
1960, Honolulu. Yiddish programming in cities with significant Yiddish-speaking audiences like New York and Miami
adapted to changes in radio more broadly, playing more
records and reading more news, just as their English counterparts underwent similar changes. New York housed the
majority of radio stations that carried Yiddish programs and
produced more Yiddish-speaking performers than any other
city. This was mainly thanks to WEVD, the station that
speaks your language, which dedicated most of its broadcast hours to programming in Yiddish. Local businesspeople owned and operated smaller stations, which featured
Rashi
Reason
Talmud. This enterprise was not as innovative as his biblical commentary (there were precedents in Germany) but it
represented the culmination of Ashkenazi talmudic exegesis
and superseded all those that preceded it. Aimed at a more
advanced student, it became an enduring indispensable aid
to Talmud study and has since been included in almost every
printed edition of the Talmud, generally on the inner margin
beside the binding.
In addition, Rashi wrote hundreds of responsa. Most that
survive are in the areas of religious ritual and conduct. Rashi
was also an innovator in the field of Hebrew language, coining more than a thousand new words and inventing a new
system of Hebrew grammar, although the latter did not have
a lasting impact. His commentaries also preserve hundreds of
glosses in Old French, the vernacular language of his milieu,
many unattested in other sources (see FRANCE: MIDDLE
AGES).
Rashi lived at a time of great intellectual and religious ferment. The so-called twelfth-century renaissance was already
underway in France by the middle of the eleventh century, and many of its intellectual currents influenced his
yeshivah. This was also a time of religious persecution. The
First Crusade of 1096 had a profound impact on Jewish
communities in the Rhineland and surrounding areas. At
the same time Christian clerics were beginning to press
Jewish conversion to Christianity and coerce Jewish leaders to engage in religious disputations (see MIDDLE AGES:
JEWISHCHRISTIAN POLEMICS). In his biblical commentaries Rashi is consistently negative in his characterizations of Gentiles (e.g., Esau, Ishmael, and Balaam in his
Torah commentary), and in a number of his commentaries
( Isaiah, Minor Prophets, Psalms, Song of Songs) he openly
polemicizes with Christian views. He also stresses at every
turn the virtues of the Jewish people, the Land of Israel, and
the special relationship between God and Israel. As a leader,
he believed his duty was to defend his faith and provide
encouragement and ammunition for his followers in the face
of Christian hostility.
Rashis influence was immense. His Torah commentary
gained unprecedented acceptance throughout the Jewish
world; it was the first Hebrew book printed (147075) and
has been the subject of hundreds of supercommentaries and
scholarly articles (see PRINTING). It was also studied intently
by Christian scholars and translated into several languages.
The halakhic ruling in the Arbaah Turim (see JACOB BEN
ASHER) and Shulh.an Arukh (see HALAKHAH) that one may
fulfill ones obligation of reviewing the weekly Torah portion with Rashis commentary instead of Targum Onkelos has
given it near-canonical status. It is the primary commentary
Reason
Red Heifer
Red Heifer
Reformation
REFORM
entries
Reformation. Between 1517 and 1620, the Protestant Reformation split European Christendom into competing confessional churches, including Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed,
and Tridentine Catholic. It affected Jews most directly in the
Holy Roman Empire of Germany, and in Italy and Poland.
Martin Luther made Jews a central image in his writings,
symbolizing human rebellion against God. This belief permeates his anti-Jewish polemical books, most notably On the
Jews and Their Lies (1543). Traditional Catholics continued
to believe that Jews sometimes committed host desecration
and ritual murder. Apart from a few expulsions from cities
or territories, the Reformation did not ultimately affect Jewish life in the Holy Roman Empire as much as did the shift
toward princely absolutism in the later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (see COURT JEWS).
Within the Italian states, Jews experienced the Reformation through a tightening of control over their lives. In
1553, the Catholic Church introduced censorship controls
over Jewish printing and books and banned the Talmud.
These measures forced Jewish communities to introduce
their own form of pre-publication censorship. Pope Paul IV
decreed in his bull Cum nimis absurdum (1555) that henceforth Jews would be tolerated in Catholic lands only under
much stricter conditions. By the 1580s, a number of Italian towns and cities had forced their Jewish residents to
live in small, densely populated, walled ghettos, giving
them a visible yet isolated place within the community. The
Catholic Church also made conversions of Jews a higher
priority than before, and a number of Jews became Catholic
proselytes. Polish Jewry also experienced some elements of
the Catholic Reformation, notably polemical attacks and limited press controls, although the community also benefited
from increased German Jewish immigration by the end of
the sixteenth century.
In both Italy and in the Holy Roman Empire, Jews
responded to crises through appeals to the authorities,
reliance on widespread family networks, and migration
when necessary. The Reformation stimulated both Jewish
Reformation
Responsa Literature
not found in the Bible, but in rabbinic literature. Numerous, scattered statements throughout the Talmud speak of
the importance of teshuvah in a persons life, asserting that it
will bring redemption and longevity, as well as divert evil.
Moreover, the Rabbis regard teshuvah as so fundamental to
human existence that the Talmud lists it as one of the seven
things created before God created the world (BT Pesah.im
54b).
Later Jewish thinkers further elucidated the process of
teshuvah. Saadia Gaon (see THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL) claimed
that there are four stages to teshuvah: renunciation of sin,
feelings of remorse, pursuit of forgiveness, and the determination not to relapse into sin (Emunot VDeot, ch. 5). The
first attempt to systemize the ideology of teshuvah in the Jewish tradition, however, is found in Maimonides Mishneh
Torah, where he writes that repentance is always possible,
even at the moment before death (Hilkhot Teshuvah 12).
Jewish thought asserts that teshuvah at any time is considered acceptable and meritorious. However, particular importance is associated with the High Holidays, especially Yom
Kippur. Beginning with Rosh Ha-Shanah and ending with
Yom Kippur, Jews reflect on their actions in the past year,
seek forgiveness from others, and attempt to make up for
whatever wrongs they may have committed. According to
the M. Yoma 8:9, however, only Yom Kippur, as the Day of
Atonement, can effect pardon for offenses between an individual and God; therefore, one who confesses and atones on
Yom Kippur can be forgiven for sins against God. Offenses
against another person, such as assault, injury, or theft,
are not forgiven until the perpetrator pays full restitution,
begs for forgiveness, and does something to appease the
victim. Maimonides explains that, if the victim still refuses
forgiveness, the perpetrator should repeat the procedure a
second and third time, if necessary. The Rabbis believed
that teshuvah is something fundamentally important to do
before death ( Avot 2:10). Consequently, confessionals and
opportunities to repent are included throughout daily (e.g.,
tah.anun) and seasonal worship (e.g., selih.ot).
In recent times, the term used to describe one who
chooses to assume traditional Jewish ritual and moral observances is baal teshuvah or one who repents.
For further reading, see L. Jacobs, Judaism and Theology:
Essays on the Jewish Religion (2005); P. H. Peli, Soloveitchik on
Repentance (1984); and M. Strassfeld, A Book of Life: Embracing
Judaism as a Spiritual Practice (2006).
P AUL S TEINBERG
Rehoboam
Atonement for sins was no longer possible through sacrifice (see TEMPLE AND TEMPLE CULT) so they attempted to
demonstrate that nonsacrificial methods were equally effective. Thus, the most significant meditations on teshuvah are
Responsa Literature
Resurrection
Isaac Alfasi (Rif), Maimonides, and Nah.manides; and subsequently in North Africa by the Ribash, the Tashbatz, and
the Rashbash. Gershom ben Judah of Mainz (Ragmah) and
Spain.
The vast quantity of responsa collections, the large number of authors, and the diverse range of topics they address
make it extremely difficult to navigate this literature. Beginning in the seventeenth century, there were attempts to
reduce this difficulty by creating collections of responsa organized in a systematic fashion. However, these attempts were
far from comprehensive. In recent years, the Institute for
Research in Jewish Law of the Hebrew University has published an index of responsa literature, which can now be
accessed through the Responsa Project software created by
Bar-Ilan University. For further reading, see N. S. Hecht,
B. S. Jackson, S. M. Passamaneck, D. Piattelli, and A. M.
Rabello, eds., An Introduction to the History and Sources of Jewish
Law (1996).
G IDEON L IBSON
talmudic scholar) concerning both religious and general concerns, depending often on proper explanation of difficult talmudic passages, and he would respond to them in his wisdom. In time the various responsa would find their way
into literary collections. Although most responsa were written in Hebrew with smatterings of Aramaic, some were
written in other languages. For example, a noticeable percentage of responsa from the geonic period, as well as
medieval responsa written by Isaac Alfasi (also known as the
Rif; 10131103), who lived in Morocco, and Maimonides,
who lived in Egypt, were in Judeo-Arabic (Arabic written
in Hebrew letters).
Responsa literature, which originated in the period of
the Geonim, still continues today; thus, this genre covers a period of approximately 1,200 years. In every generation, prominent respondents (poskim) emerged who were
accepted locally, regionally, and even internationally as Jewish legal authorities, even though they did not represent a
formal judicial body. In early periods, responsa were given
recognition as legal rulings, particularly in cases dealing
with monetary issues. In later times, however, because of
historical circumstances and changes in Jewish communal structure, they came to be viewed more as legal opinions than as rulings. Since responsa reflect an actual reality related to specific cases, they achieved a preferred status relative to other halakhic sources, particularly in comparison to legal codes that often seemed more theoretical
than practical. As a result, when there was a contradiction
between the two, the general tendency was to follow the
responsum, although there are opinions that give preference
to legal codes (see HALAKHAH). In addition to serving as
instruments for halakhic rulings, the responsa are also an
important source for documenting Jewish history and legal
development.
Generally, the authors of the responsa responded to questions posed by both litigants and tended not to respond at
the request of only one litigant. This was in accord with
Resurrection.
518
Resurrection
Ringelblum, Emanuel
teachings of the Kabbalah held that by correctly interpreting the Torah one could glean its secret mystical teachings about the inner life of the godhead. Medieval Jewish
philosophers who had studied the philosophies of Plato,
Aristotle, and their ancient and medieval successors argued
that the claims about Gods activity in the world were either
consistent with or even superior to the metaphysical and
scientific teachings of these philosophies. Maimonides, for
example, claimed that a proper reading of the Written Torah
showed that Moses was not only the greatest prophet in
human history but also possessed great scientific and philosophical knowledge.
Modern debates about the nature of divine revelation
have been deeply affected by developments in modern
biblical scholarship, in particular the documentary source
hypothesis, which showed that the Pentateuch was likely
composed of several literary strands and only later redacted
into a single canon (see BIBLE: MODERN SCHOLARSHIP).
Most Orthodox Jews reject the conclusions of biblical scholarship or only accept those conclusions that are consistent
with the traditional belief in the unity and divinity of the
Pentateuch. However, for many Jews, the traditional notion
of revelation of the entire Written Torah as a whole has
become untenable. Nonetheless, many non-Orthodox Jewish thinkers maintain that a belief in divine revelation is
central to Judaism, even if their conception of revelation
does not conform to the traditional view. Such thinkers disagree about the extent to which a divinehuman encounter
involves a verbal communication from God and the extent to
which the biblically ordained commandments and the rabbinic legal system ( halakhah) remain binding on modern
Jews. For example, Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig
agreed that revelation consisted primarily in the revelation of the divine presence to Israel, and not the articulation of specific law. However, Buber held that every
person had to interpret what God demanded of him or
her individually, while Rosenzweig argued that observance
of the concrete laws of both the Written and Oral Torah
was the proper response to Gods commanding presence
(cf. F. Rosenzweig, On Jewish Learning [1955]). Many nonOrthodox thinkers view the biblical text as an interpretation,
and not a recording of the event of revelation, or as Abraham Joshua Heschel put it, a midrash on revelation (God
in Search of Man [1959]). Liberal Jewish thinkers have also
introduced the idea of progressive revelation: Because every
generation is capable of contributing innovative moral and
religious insights to Jewish life, the understanding of Gods
will unfolds and develops through history.
W ILLIAM P LEVAN
Ringelblum, Emanuel
opposition, a local cult in Trent developed and was legitimized in 1588. Although Simon was never canonized, his
feast (on March 24) became part of the Catholic calendar. It
was only suppressed in 1965 after the Second Vatican Council. As R. Po-Chia Hsia has shown, undoubtedly because
of the publication of illustrated broadsheets about Trent,
other accusations followed in northern Italy and the Holy
Roman Empire (Reggio, Mantua, 1478; Arena, 1479; Portobuffuola and Verona, 1480). The popularity of Simons story
also retroactively stimulated several local legends about child
murders (e.g., Lienz, 1442, recorded 1475; Rinn, 1462).
The blood accusation was sometimes conflated with
the libel that Jews desecrated the host (the communion
wafer believed to be the body of Christ). After the Protestant Reformation, which challenged the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, accusations gradually diminished in Protestant areas. In Catholic areas, however, they
continued.
Blood libels and host desecration accusations appeared
in Poland for the first time in the sixteenth century, at
the height of the Reformation, and continued through
the end of the eighteenth century. A 1756 trial in Jampol led to a Jewish diplomatic mission to Pope Benedict
XIV, who charged Cardinal Giovanni Ganganelli to write a
report about blood accusations against Jews. The future Pope
Clement XIV produced a forty-page report refuting the blood
accusations. However, the accusations did not stop, enduring in early modern Poland until 1787.
The blood libels were not just a phenomenon of the premodern period. They continued through the twentieth century, albeit in a somewhat different form. Although the
first nineteenth-century accusation surfaced in Damascus
in 1840 (see DAMASCUS AFFAIR), Europe remained the
main arena, in which a new wave of accusations and a
new debate about their validity took place in the nineteenth
and early twentieth century. The question of ritual murder
or blood libel became a subject of dispute and a proxy in
a broader struggle between Modernist and anti-Modernist
Catholic intellectuals in Europe. Yet the question became
real when new trials sprang up across Eastern and Central
Europe.
Whereas the 1840 Damascus Affair followed older patterns, including the acceptance of the ritual murder charge
by officials and a mode of investigation that involved torture, it did not have the modern characteristics of the cases
that took place in Europe in the latter part of the nineteenth century. European newspapers recorded hundreds
of accusations against Jews in the last two decades of the
nineteenth century, but not all of these cases became fullfledged trials. Six trials Kutaisi in Georgia, 1871; Tiszaeszlar, Hungary, 188283; Xanten, Germany, 189192; Polna,
Bohemia, 18991900; Konitz, West Prussia, 190001; and
Kiev, Russian Empire, 191113 (the famous Mendel Beilis
case) drew wide international attention. That the timing of
the trials coincided with the rise of political antisemitism
is not coincidental. As H. Kieval has argued, these trials employed modern methods of investigation, including
forensics. Although actual trials may not have continued
beyond the first decades of the twentieth century, the myth
NIDDAH
Romania
German, and Ottoman Jews. Nevertheless, most of the settled Jews were rather poor, as mentioned in accounts from
the late-sixteenth-century reign of Michael the Brave of
Wallachia and Moldova. It was only in the seventeenth century that the Jewish communities started playing a role in
the economy of the Danubian Principalities, as shown by the
inclusion of provisions related to Jewish converts to Christianity in the Govora Bill of Rights (1640 Wallachia) and
to the Jewish inhabitants in the Romanian Book of Learning (1646 Moldova). The visit to Iassy of prominent rabbis
Elia del Medigo and Shlomo ben Arvay in the early seventeenth century demonstrates the cultural importance of the
local community at that time. More Jewish communities
were established in Moldova throughout the seventeenth
century with the arrival of refugees from Ukraine after Bogdan Chmelnitzkis Cossack uprising and pogroms (Pia ti, Focsani, Roman, Kishinev).
tra Neamt, Soroca, Stefanes
New communities were also recorded in Wallachia (Craiova,
Targovis
te), as well as the first Jewish guild (at the turn of
Brancoveanu,
Nicholas Mavrocordat), and rulers encouraged new settlements (Oradea, Cluj, Dej, Sighet, Arad, under
Joseph II). Still, this was also the time of a first pogrom
and destruction of a synagogue (Bucharest, 1715, under
Sherban Cantacuzino); the first official ritual murder accusation (Onitcani, Moldova, 1726, under Michael Racovitza);
the imposition of excessive taxation against the Jews; and
strict control of their community life (Transylvania, 1776,
under Maria Theresa). This oscillation between privileges
and restrictions continued in the first half of the nineteenth century and culminated with the enforcement of the
Organic Regulations of both Moldova and Wallachia that
labeled the Jews as aliens and stripped them of all political
and civic rights (183132).
Despite these restrictions, Jewish immigration continued
to increase in the nineteenth century, and a number of
Jewish intellectuals joined Romanian national revolutionary movements. Jewish bankers Davicion Bally and Hillel
Manoach and painters C. D. Rosenthal and Barbu Iscovescu
provided active (including financial) support to the Revolution of 1848. However, even though the revolutionaries included Jewish emancipation among their demands
the new authorities refused to grant it. On his election as
ruler of both Moldova and Wallachia (thus achieving the
unification of the Danubian Principalities), Alexander John
Cuza gave civil and political rights to the Jews in accordance with international provisions (1865). However, these
rights were never realized, as he was forced to abdicate a few
months later. Cuza was followed by German Prince Karl von
Romania
Hungarian citizens, enjoying full and equal civil and political rights. Map 10
Despite the fact they were not Romanian citizens, many
Jews fought in Romanias Independence War of 187778.
The Peace Congress of Berlin (1878) made emancipation
of the Jews a condition of the international recognition of
Romanias independence; the Romanian authorities revised
the constitution, but only provided for the naturalization of
individual Jews. Approximately 888 Jews who had fought in
the Independence War were initially naturalized; by 1913,
only 4,668 of the 231,038 Jews living in Romania were full
citizens. Many Jews were expelled or left on their own.
About 23,000 Jews (mostly noncitizens) fought in the
Romanian Unification War of 191618 (World War I); many
were decorated for their service. The post-war unification of
Wallachia, Moldova, and Transylvania, as well as Bessarabia
and Bukovina, tripled the number of Romanian Jews. The
Constitution of 1923 finally granted Jews full and equal civil
and political rights. As a result, many Jews became involved
in political life, assuming important positions. By 1930 the
number of Jews in Romania exceeded 750,000. In addition
to the traditional Ashkenazi and Sephardic communities,
there were Neolog (see JUDAISM, NEOLOG) communities
in Transylvania. The strong Orthodox community of Sighet
is particularly well known. Important H.asidic dynasties that
originated in Romania include the Satmar and Klausenberg
communities (see also H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE). Map 10
In 1937, with the coming into office of the Goga-Cuza
government, antisemitism became state policy; by 1938,
220,000 Jews were stripped of Romanian citizenship.
In 1940, after the occupation of Bessarabia and Bukovina by the Soviet Union, Jews were accused of having sided
with the enemy, and a decree issued in August imposed a
legal status on Jews that was based on the Nazi Nuremberg
Laws. At the same time, Hungary annexed northern Transylvania with its 150,000 Jews. These Jews were deported to
Nazi death camps in the summer of 1944, and 85% perished.
In 1941, Bessarabia and northern Bukovina were retaken
by Romania; most Jewish residents of these regions were
eventually deported to Nazi death camps in Transnistria.
The Jews of Wallachia and Moldova were taken to forced
labor battalions, evacuated, and abused, but most were not
deported or exterminated. Between 280,000 and 380,000
Romanian Jews died in the Holocaust. During the communist regime, most of Romanias remaining Jews emigrated,
mainly to Israel, under an agreement with the local authorities (the ransom of the Jews). Today only 8,000 Jews still
live in Romania, most of them elderly people. About half live
in Bucharest. Nevertheless, community life continues: there
are a number of Ashkenazic Orthodox congregations; most
of the Sephardic communities disappeared after World War
II and those few remaining are now included in Orthodox
communities), with a number of active synagogues, several
museums, a Yiddish theater, a publishing house, a newspaper, a research center, and youth clubs. Valuable studies of this community include V. Neumann, The History of
Rome; Roman Empire When Jews first came into contact with Rome in the second century BCE, their response
was neutral. Thus, Daniel 11:30, reinterpreting Numbers
24:24, speaks of ships of Kittim who came against Antiochus IV and forced him to withdraw from Egypt. As the
Septuagint and the Targum make clear, the Kittim are the
Romans. The treaty between Judah Maccabee and Rome
(1 Macc 8) offers high praise for the Romans, who are
described as men of great valor and nobility, as faithful
friends of their allies, and as being governed in full harmony
by their Senate. They were also far enough away so that
Judah did not transgress Gods word when making a treaty
with them (Deut 7:12, 20:15). Yet when Pompey conquered Jerusalem in 63 BCE and desecrated the Temple,
Romes image suddenly became absolutely negative: Alien
nations ascended your altar; they trampled it proudly
with their sandals (Psalms of Solomon 2:2 [see PSEUDEPIGRAPHA]); God is asked to turn the pride of the dragon
(i.e. Pompey) into dishonor, and before long, God showed
me the insolent one slain on the mountains of Egypt (2:25
26). The Dead Sea Scrolls frequently speak of the Romans
as Kittim, swift and powerful in battle, with cunning
and treachery they behave towards all the peoples . . . like
an eagle, insatiable (1QpHab II 1213; III 56.1112). The
Roman Senate, once so praised, now becomes the house of
blame (IV 11). The Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light
against the Sons of Darkness foretells Romes final destruction in the war between light and darkness, when the Kittim
form the satanic army of Belial (1QM I 13).
After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70
CE, Josephus Flavius is alone in defending the Romans.
He argues that without Gods help they could never have
built such a huge empire (Jewish War 2:390); God stands
now on the side of Rome (5:3678). Josephus extols Roman
philanthropy and leniency in victory (5:341.372) and insists
that Titus wanted to preserve the Temple, even against the
will of the Jews (6:128). According to Josephus, Romes
actions should be understood as a fulfilment of Gods plan.
The contemporary book, Apocalypse of Ezra (see PSEUDEPIGRAPHA), sees Rome quite differently, describing it as the
eagle coming up from the sea that reigns over the whole
earth. It is the fourth beast of Daniel 7:78 that has wielded
power over the world with terror and oppression, but its end
has come; the earth shall be freed from its violence and be
refreshed again (4 Ezra 11).
Rosenzweig, Franz
apocalyptic hopes led to a much more aggressive and violent attitude toward Rome. This is documented in the apocalyptic Sefer Zerubbabel and some piyyutim (see POETRY:
LITURGICAL [PIYYUT]) closely related with it. Yet when
the situation calmed, Jewish attitudes toward Rome (in this
case, the Byzantine Empire) again became more moderate, accepting the status quo and even seeing Rome as an
instrument in Gods plan, although always full of hope that
the fourth empire would soon come to an end and give
way to Gods rule. Recent research includes M. Hadas-Lebel,
Jerusalem against Rome (2006); and M. Goodman, Jews and
Romans: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations (2007). Map 4
G UNTER
S TEMBERGER
Rosenzweig, Franz
Rothschild Family
Moon. Additional liturgy is recited on Rosh H
. odesh itself
(e.g., Hallel), representing its festive status, and mourning
and fasting are prohibited. Months of thirty days require
two days of Rosh H
. odesh, and months of twenty-nine days
require one day. Rosh H
. odesh has long been considered a
special day for women; T. Rosh Ha-Shanah 23a describes it as
a reward for Israelite womens righteousness. Some contemporary Jewish women and girls participate in Rosh H
. odesh
groups of various kinds. For further reading, see P. Adelman, Miriams Well: Rituals for Jewish Women Around the Year
(1996); and C. Diament, Moonbeams: A Hadassah Rosh Hodesh
Guide (2000).
P AUL S TEINBERG
NEW YEARS
Rosh H
. odesh, the New Moon, (literally, head of the
month) indicates the beginning of each Hebrew month. The
Bible describes Rosh H
. odesh as a semi-festival, celebrated
with special sacrifices (Num 28:1115) and the sounding of
trumpets (Num 10:10). The dates of Rosh H
. odesh were fixed
in the fourth century CE under the Patriarch (nasi) Hillel II. It is observed eleven times per year, because the 1st
of Tishri is Rosh Ha-Shanah. Observance of Rosh H
. odesh
begins the preceding Sabbath, with a special Blessing of the
524
Rothschild Family
Russia
and France also established modern schools so that Jewish young people would be able to participate in the changing economies of their cities and towns while maintaining their Jewish identities. When they realized that hospital
rooms were adorned with crucifixes and that dying patients
were visited by Christian clergy, the Rothschilds began to
build Jewish hospitals. Later, seeking to provide cleaner and
healthier housing for the urban poor, they added subsidized
housing to their roster of philanthropic projects. Rothschild
to work in the back room of the family house, which accommodated Mayers growing business. By the 1790s the focus
of the business had changed to banking, and the Rothschilds had become one of the wealthiest families of the
ghetto, conducting business all over Germany as well as in
Russia
Russia
Russia
Russia
190506. The Kishinev pogrom of 1903, in which fortyseven Jews were killed, many were raped, and much
property was destroyed, precipitated hundreds of public
demonstrations worldwide. It was argued that the Russian
government fomented such violence to press Jews to emigrate, or to deflect animosity that might otherwise be
directed at it, or to punish Jews for their political radicalism.
Certainly, pogroms reinforced Russian Jewrys mounting
sense of insecurity. However, the mass migration of some
two million Jews from the empire (one-third of all Russian
Jews) was mostly prompted by other reasons. This is clear
because the trajectory of internal migration in those years
was largely from poorer regions in the northern Pale of
Settlement (where there were few pogroms) to the more
economically vibrant southern provinces (where nearly all
pogroms erupted). Proportionately as many Jews abandoned
the economically depressed but mostly pogrom-free Galicia,
which was under Austrian rule and where Jews enjoyed
equal civic rights, as left the Russian Empire.
Mass migration was a byproduct of poverty (especially in
Lithuania and Belarus), overpopulation, post-1881 restrictions on residence, and also the sense that antisemitism was
gaining the upper hand. Moreover, the image of the United
States as a land of opportunity was fanned by publicist literature in Yiddish, cheap steamship tickets, and reports of
plentiful employment. The mass migration was mainly from
the lower middle class. Most of the poorest Jews stayed
behind, as did most of the richest and the most resolutely
pious. No doubt, there were good reasons for Jews in Russia
to believe that their future would deteriorate: The increase
in anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence, the heightened prominence of antisemitism in Russian public life, and eventually
the Mendel Beilis affair of 191113 were all widely viewed
as evidence of a dark, ever-encircling phenomenon. By the
turn of the twentieth century, probably the best known
Russian words in the West were tsar, vodka, and pogrom.
Those who sought to stem the migratory tide (and, of
course, two-thirds of the Jewish community remained in
Russia) fell into different camps. Many religious leaders
attempted to dissuade immigration because it was viewed as
disruptive and even disastrous to traditional norms. Some
Jewish intellectuals continued to insist on the prospect
for integration into Russia, although liberalism lost ground
as the century waned. After the 1905 revolution, most
great hopes for the newly established Russian parliament
were disappointed. Among the most powerfully felt political options was Jewish socialism. The Jewish Socialist Labor
Russia
Ruth, Book of
(1882). The most influential intellectual figure in the movement, even after the ascendancy of Theodor Herzl, was
the Odessa-based essayist Ah.ad Ha-Am (Asher Ginzberg),
editor of the Hebrew journal, Ha-Shiloah.. He saw Zionism as the prime mechanism for Jews to absorb western
culture without submerging their Jewish identity, and he
stressed the cultural benefits of rebuilding Jewish Palestine.
Zionism had about 100,000 devotees, but most of them
viewed it in philanthropic rather than avowedly political
terms.
The 1905 revolution opened up new possibilities for
Jewish public activity and, in turn, closed off others. Jews
could now vote for members of the new Russian parliament, or duma, but changes in electoral laws marginalized
Jews, liberals, and nearly all but the most conservative. After
1907, political parties like the Bund shrunk in size, but devotees threw much energy into educational and cultural activities, literary and ethnographic projects, and the launching
of many hundreds of modernized Jewish schools and lending libraries. Restrictions were lifted on Yiddish publishing,
which flourished in these years with dozens of periodicals.
Brilliant writers (the most famous being Isaac Leib Peretz
and Sholem Aleichem [Shalom Rabinowitz]) vied for recognition in a crowded, vibrant marketplace. To be sure, many
felt that the Russian Jewish world around them was in the
midst of decay; such themes figured prominently in Russian cultural and artistic life in general, and they are echoed
in the ethnographic and belletristic work of Semyon Ansky
(Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport), author of the most famous Yiddish play, The Dybbuk (see LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800
TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY; THEATER, YIDDISH). Ansky
was also responsible for a major ethnographic expedition
that toured hundreds of places in the Ukraine between 1912
and 1914 culling the artifacts, songs, and tales of a culture
that he believed was on the verge of disappearance.
Late imperial Russia was more and more open to Jews
of talent. Jewish-born artists, include El Lissitzsky and
Marc Chagall, occupied an increasingly visible role in cultural affairs along with newly emerging writers (see ART:
EUROPE [TWENTIETH CENTURY]; ART: ILLUSTRATED
YIDDISH BOOKS). Arguably, the finest of all Russian poets
of the 1920s was Osip Mandelstam, and the best prose writer
was Isaac Babel (see LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET
UNION [IN RUSSIAN]). In Odessa, despite a vociferously
antisemitic municipal government at the end of the nineteenth century, Jews owned two of the citys three dailies;
Jewish journalists, including the future Revisionist Zionist
leader Vladimir Jabotinsky, wrote for all three of Odessas
liberal newspapers. The Jewish backgrounds of Marxists like
Leon Trotsky did not stand in the way of their political influence. The internationalist arm of Russian Marxism,
528
Saadia Ben Joseph Gaon (882942) was the outstanding Jewish personality of the geonic period (eightheleventh centuries). His intellectual accomplishments cover
the entire spectrum of Jewish endeavors: Bible translation and Bible commentary, theology, thought, liturgy,
linguistics, chronology, calendation, poetry, polemics, and
more. Born in Fayyum, Egypt, Saadia studied in the Land of
Israel before moving to Iraq. Given his foreign origins, Saadia would not have been a natural choice to become Gaon,
the head of the Babylonian talmudical academy of Sura, but
the strength of his personality and his multiple accomplishments could not be ignored. His tenure as the head of the
academy was not untroubled, however, and his principled
stances and combative personality made for clashes with the
communal authorities.
Saadias early career was marked by polemical defenses of
Babylonian rabbinic hegemony in the following areas: (1)
the Jewish calendar (against Ben Meir, the Gaon of the
Land of Israel); (2) the divine origin of the Bible (against
the heretic Haywayhi of Balkh, usually known in Hebrew as
Hivi ha-Balkhi); and (3) the truth of the Oral Torah versus
the Karaites. It should be noted, however, that the traditional Rabbanite view of Saadia as the victor over a major
Karaite threat overemphasizes the status of Karaism in his
day. Saadias translation of the Bible into Arabic and his
rationalistic commentaries on most of its books set the standard for later Jewish understanding of Scripture. His prayer
book had a major impact on subsequent Jewish liturgy, and
his linguistic studies and poetry expanded understanding of
the Hebrew language (see POETRY, MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM
WORLD). The form of Judeo-Arabic that Saadia employed
played a major role in the standardization of usage in that
language.
Saadia is probably best remembered in the Jewish world
for his theological/philosophical book, The Book of Doctrines
and Opinions, because that is one of his few Judeo-Arabic
compositions to have been translated into Hebrew in the
Middle Ages. The structure of this book is similar to that
of Islamic theological works known as Kalam: It begins by
defending the use of reason for religious reasons, proceeds
to prove the existence of God by demonstrating that the
world was created and thus needs a Creator, continues by
discussing the nature of divine unity, and concludes with a
defense of divine justice. The book also discusses the reasons
for the commandments, free will, reward and punishment,
Saboraim
denominations of Judaism differ in their classification of
certain Sabbath prohibitions, such as whether the use of
electricity and automobiles on Shabbat constitutes lighting
a fire.
The Sabbath traditionally includes three festive meals:
dinner on Friday evening, lunch on Saturday, and another
meal before the conclusion of the Sabbath. The Friday
evening meal is preceded by the kindling of Sabbath lights
by a woman or women of the household and the recitation
of a blessing (a man may also kindle the lights and recite the
blessing if no women are present); the recitation of kiddush
over a cup of wine, and the blessing of the special Sabbath
bread (see h.allah). It is the custom to have two loaves of
h.allah at each Sabbath meal as a reminder of the double
portion of manna that God provided during Israels wilderness wanderings on the day before the Sabbath (Exod 16:22
30). Many people sing Sabbath songs (zemirot) at meals to
enhance the joyousness of the day.
Sabbath synagogue ritual includes communal worship on
Friday evening, Saturday morning, and, in traditional settings, on Saturday afternoon. Friday evening worship begins
with the Kabbalat Shabbat service, which originated in the
community of mystics in sixteenth-century Safed. Central
to Kabbalat Shabbat is the recitation of the hymn Lekha dodi
likrat kallah, penei shabbat nekabbelah (Come, my beloved, to
meet the bride, let us receive the presence of the Sabbath),
which is attributed to Solomon ha-Levi Alkabetz (ca. 1500
1580). As in this hymn, the Sabbath is often characterized
in female terms as a queen or bride (Genesis Rabbah 11:9).
Worship on Sabbath morning includes the reading of the
weekly Torah portion (see TORAH READING) and haftarah
portion. During the afternoon service, a section of the following weeks Torah reading is chanted (see WORSHIP).
Saturday afternoons are often a time for personal or communal study. The Sabbath concludes with the havdalah ritual, recited when three stars are visible on Saturday evening,
to mark the separation between the holiness of the Sabbath
and the ordinary days of the working week. An additional
Saturday evening custom, melaveh malkah (accompanying
the queen), includes a festive meal to mark the end of the
Sabbath and to prolong its joyousness for a few more hours.
Jewish fast days, except Yom Kippur, are moved forward
a day if they fall on the Sabbath; mourning rituals are postponed, and in traditional communities weddings do not take
place until after sunset on Saturday. Special Sabbaths precede or coincide with the observance of Rosh Ha-Shanah,
Yom Kippur, Tu BShevat, Purim, Passover, Tisha BAv,
and Sukkot (see e.g., SHABBAT HA-GADOL).
For further reading, see R. L. Eisenberg, The JPS Guide to
Jewish Traditions (2004); E. Ginsburg, The Sabbath in the Classical Kabbalah (1989); and A. J. Heschel, The Sabbath (1951;
rep. 2005).
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Saboraim
Safed
Sacrifice: See
531
Safed
Samael
but one were closed, and Zionist activity was eradicated.
Communal leaders (Lev Gurevich), Jewish scholars (Israel
Zinberg), and Hebrew writers (H
. aim Lensky) were arrested;
some were shot and others died in camps. On the eve of
David), led the community from 1870 until 1910. The communal leaders often represented all of Russian Jewry before
the central authorities whenever protection of Jewish interests was needed. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Saint Petersburg became a center of Jewish publishing
(mostly in Russian) and of Jewish public, political, and cultural activity. A number of Jewish Russian-language public
organizations were founded there, including the Society for
the Promotion of Enlightenment among the Jews of Russia
(OPE, 1863); the Society for Crafts and Agricultural Labor
among Jews in Russia (ORT, 1880); and the Society for Safeguarding the Health of the Jewish Population (OZE, 1912).
By 1897, the Jewish population had grown to 17,000, and
it increased to 50,000 in 1917. As a result of the February 1917 anti-monarchist revolution, Grigory Shreider, a
Jew and member of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, was
elected mayor of the city. In September 1917, Leon Trotsky
became the chairman of the Petrograd Soviet (Council) of
Workers, Soldiers, and Peasants and played a decisive role
in the Bolshevik October Revolution. The 1920s and the
beginning of the 1930s saw an influx of Jews to Leningrad
from the former Pale of Settlement; they sought education,
employment, and integration into Soviet society. During the
interwar period Jews became the largest minority in the city,
constituting 201,000, or 6% of the city population in 1939;
they were prominent as administrators, physicians, writers
and journalists, artists and musicians, lawyers, and university faculty.
During the Stalinist era, individual Jews paid for their
advances in Soviet society with the loss of any permitted
form of Jewish identity. In Saint Petersburg, all synagogues
GREECE, Map 9
Samael is one of the most common names in rabbinic literature for an evil power in the divine realms; in the literature of medieval Kabbalah, Samael is identified with the
devil himself. The name, which was probably included in
the list of the rebellious archangels in 1 Enoch (see ESCHATOLOGY: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD; PSEUDEPIGRAPHA),
is usually explained as the blind one (and so it appears in
Samael
Samuel, Books of
A different role for Samael is first alluded to in the thirteenth century in Nah.manides Commentary on the Torah (at
Lev 16), which describes him as the soul of the sphere of
Mars, the source of bloodshed and evil. Samael has a central
role in Isaac ha-Cohens Treatise on the Emanations on the
Left (first half of the thirteenth century), which describes
him as the highest emanation of the divine system of evil
powers; his counterpart is said to be Lilith. The concept of
the sitra ah.ra, the other (i.e., the left) side, in the Zohar is
based on this treatise; subsequently Samael became the common reference to the devil in kabbalistic literature and popular literature based on the Kabbalah. Often he is referred to
as the samekh-mem, the first two letters of his name, so as not
to pronounce the name in full (see J. Dan, Jewish Mysticism
[1999], 3: 25382, 367414).
J OSEPH D AN
Byzantine Empire.
The New Testament and rabbinic literature display an
ambivalent attitude toward the Samaritans. Although Jesus
forbids his apostles from missionizing to the Samaritans
(Matt 10:5), Luke highlights their superior piety and faith
(Luke 10:2937, 17:1119) and includes Samaria among
the places receptive to apostolic preaching (Acts 1:8, 8:4
25). The Talmud occasionally offers a positive evaluation
of the Samaritans, but more often emphasizes their differences: The Rabbis refuse to classify Samaritans as Israelites,
prohibit marriage with them, and underscore distinctions in
worship and ritual cleanliness practices (M. Berakhot 7:1; M.
Kiddushin 4:3; M. Nedarim 3:10; M. Niddah 4:1).
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a small
Samaritan community of under a thousand remains in the
Middle East; most live in the Israeli town of Holon and in
Kiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim, on the West Bank near the
city of Nablus.
D AVID M . R EIS
ters (35 miles) northwest of Jerusalem, strategically situated astride important trade routes. According to the Bible,
Samaria fell within the tribal territory of Manasseh (Josh
17). In the early ninth century BCE, Omri, king of Israel,
purchased the site and made it his capital (1 Kgs 16:2324).
He and especially his son Ahab fortified the site and transformed it into a cosmopolitan city that looked to Phoenicia
for its architectural style and decorative elements. Its elegant
palace was vilified in the kingdom of Judah as a house of
ivory (1 Kgs 22:39; Amos 3:15, 6:4). Excavated plaques of
ivory and semi-precious stones attest to royal opulence and
eighth-century ostraca (inscribed pot fragments) illuminate
Samarias economy.
Samaria was conquered, with the rest of the kingdom of
Israel, by the Assyrians in 721 BCE, and its population was
deported (2 Kgs 17:16). Foreigners were resettled at the site
of the destroyed capital (2 Kgs 17:2433), after which the
region fell under successive Babylonian and Persian control. Letters from the Jewish community of Elephantine in
Samuel, Books of
Sanhedrin
depression that plague him until his final day. When facing the violent lust of her brother Amnon, Tamar looks
squarely at the bleak fate of a violated woman (2 Sam 13).
Rizpah, Sauls concubine, illustrates that vengeance settles
scores while opening fresh wounds as she watches over the
dismembered corpses of her sons and other descendants of
Saul until they receive proper burial (2 Sam 21:814). David
is twice compelled to survive as a fugitive, first when he is
pursued during his youth by Saul, a father figure, and later
in life when he is threatened by his son Absalom.
R ACHEL H AVRELOCK
Sanhedrin
Schechter, Solomon
rulers. Historical sources give conflicting views of the Sanhedrin and its functions, perhaps because the Sanhedrin
took on a different character when it came under rabbinic
leadership after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70
CE. Before that time, the Sanhedrin represented more than
one point of view. The two major parties were the Pharisees
and Sadducees; according to Josephus each party had periods of ascendancy and decline, at least in Hasmonean times.
The Sanhedrin is said to have had seventy-one members.
The presiding officer was initially the high priest; in the second century BCE, power was transferred to a new hereditary
office, the Nasi (or Patriarch). The Av Beit Din (Head of the
Court) presided over the Sanhedrin when it heard criminal
cases. While the Temple stood, the Sanhedrin was said to
have met daily (except on the Sabbath and festivals) in a
special chamber, the hall of hewn stones (lishkat ha-gazit;
Sifra, Vayikra 19a; BT Sanhedrin 88b.
Some scholars believe that, after the Temples destruction, the Sanhedrin was reestablished as a center of rabbinic
jurisprudence in Yavneh and later in other locations. Its final
location was said to have been in Tiberias in the Galilee (BT
Rosh Ha-Shanah 31a, b).
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Schechter, Solomon (18471915), the important AngloAmerican scholar and religious leader, was born in Focsani,
1939
Saul was the first king of the United Monarchy of all the
Schechter, Solomon
as a people and as covenantal partners with God. He supported Zionism, convinced that the creation of a physical
and spiritual center for world Jewry would unify Jewish life
and counter assimilation and antisemitism. D AVID S TARR
semi-mythical Schindlers list, he did everything possible to ensure the transfer of 1,000 Jewish workers from
to his new factory. From October 1944 to May 1945,
Krakow
Schindler spent most of the wealth that he had made in
to save the lives of 1,098 Jews. He and his wife
Krakow
Emilie are recognized at Yad Vashem in Israel as Righteous
among the Nations for their efforts to save Jews.
For further reading, see D. M. Crowe, Oskar Schindler: The
Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story
behind the List (2004); and M. Pemper, The Road to Rescue: The
Untold Story of Schindlers List (2008); see also HOLOCAUST;
HOLOCAUST RESCUERS.
D AVID M . C ROWE
during the Holocaust, was made famous by Steven Spielbergs 1993 film, Schindlers List, based on the book by
Thomas Keneally. In the late 1930s Schindler worked as a
spy for Abwehr, the Germany militarys counterintelligence
branch, and was arrested and imprisoned in Czechoslovakia in 1938 for his activities; he was released follow
ing the Munich Agreement. Schindler arrived in Krakow,
with the desire to know and draw near to God (e.g., Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance X, 6). Some
Jews used science to defend Judaism from subversive claims
astrology, alchemy, and other occult sciences. Jewish scientists who adhered to the Aristotelian tradition emphasized
the importance of the orderly study of the sciences before
approaching metaphysical questions. Maimonides cautioned
the student for whom he wrote the Guide to study the sciences systematically, so that the truth should be established
in your mind according to the proper methods and that certainty should not come to you by accident (Guide, epistle
dedicatory [Pines trans., p. 4]). The first Hebrew translation
of a work of Aristotelian science, Meteorology (translated by
Samuel ibn Tibbon in 1210; ed. R. Fontaine [1995]), insists
that students of natural science begin with the Physics, Aristotles book on the principles of nature, and then proceed to
On the Heavens and On Generation and Corruption, before turning to the various subjects of Meteorology.
Medieval Jewish science arose at the same time as
medieval Islamic science; both were a direct result of the
translation movements from Greek and Syriac into Arabic from the mid-eighth to the end of the tenth century.
Except for certain very influential early Hebrew texts, such
as Sefer Yetzirah and Mishnat ha-Middot, whose dating cannot
be determined with certainty, Jewish and Muslim scientists
relied on Arabic translations of the major works of Greek
science and mathematics and the growing contributions of
Arabic scholars in these fields. One of the first accounts of
the beginnings of medieval Jewish science was provided in
Science and Mathematics: Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. According to an ancient myth, retold in differing versions by medieval Jews, Muslims, and Christians, science originated in ancient Israel, was mastered by Solomon
(who wrote hundreds of lost books on the sciences), and was
stolen by or passed on to the other nations. Judah Halevis
formulation asserted, In truth, the roots and principles of
all the sciences were transferred from us to the Chaldeans
first, and then to the Persians and Medians, and then to the
Greeks, and then the Romans (Kuzari II, 66). This popular myth (cf. also Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed I, 71)
reflected Jewish pride, but it also legitimized scientific study
by Jews. Despite the conviction that all truth could be found
in the Torah and in the face of rabbinic prohibitions against
the study of Greek wisdom (e.g., BT Sotah 49b, Bava Kamma
82b; cf. Menah.ot 99b), learned medieval Jews, many of them
leading rabbis, talmudists, and biblical commentators, studied the sciences. Some sought knowledge for its own sake;
for others scientific study was a religious duty connected
537
eighth-century astrologer, Mashaallah, Jewish scientists writing in Arabic made few contributions (see ASTROLOGY).
The first versatile and prolific Jewish scientists were two
twelfth-century Spanish thinkers, Abraham bar H
. iyya (ca.
10651140) and Abraham ibn Ezra (ca. 10891167); both
wrote in Hebrew. Bar H
. iyya wrote on mathematics, geometry, astronomy, astrology, and philosophy. He compiled the
first Hebrew encyclopedia of science, The Foundations of Intelligence and the Tower of Belief; among other topics, it contains sections on logic, the quadrivium and optics, the natural sciences, and divine science. Ibn Ezra, best known for
his biblical commentaries, wrote about thirty scientific treatises, most of which treat astronomy and astrology. S. Sela
has shown that, although ibn Ezras scientific writings are
for the most part reference works and textbooks for laymen,
based on his Arabic sources, he does not hesitate to explicate his sources and criticize them sharply. Both bar H
. iyya
and ibn Ezra were pioneers in the development of a scientific
Hebrew terminology.
Maimonides, who was learned and well read in all the
sciences, wrote a bit on mathematics and astronomy and a
great deal on medicine; he rooted his theology in twentyfive premises he claimed were demonstrated by Aristotle
in his books on natural science (Guide II, introduction).
Although Maimonides declared that he did not intend to
break new ground in science in his Guide (II, 2, preface), he
may have influenced the course of Hebrew science with his
recommendation in a letter to Samuel ibn Tibbon, the translator into Hebrew of the Guide, that the books of Aristotle
are the roots and principles of all the compositions on the
sciences, but they cannot be understood without the commentaries on them by Alexander of Aphrodisias, Themistius,
and Averroes. Perhaps this is why few works of Aristotle
were translated from Arabic into Hebrew, but virtually all
the commentaries on Aristotles writings by Averroes were.
Through these commentaries, Jews learned and mastered
Aristotelian natural science in Hebrew. These translations
were part of an impressive translation movement that in the
century and one-half after Maimonides death made available to Hebrew readers works on logic, natural science, and
divine science, as well as more than fifty works of Greek and
Arabic mathematics and astronomy and nearly one hundred medical and pharmacological writings (far more if one
counts Latin-to-Hebrew translations).
Hebrew encyclopedias of science were another valuable
source for scientific instruction, particularly in the thirteenth
century. Some, such as Judah ben Solomon ha-Kohens
Midrash ha-H
. okhmah (The Exposition of Wisdom), ranged
over the various subjects of logic, geometry, astronomy and
astrology, natural science, and divine science; others, like
Shem-Tov Falaqueras Deot ha-Filosofim (The Opinions of the
Philosophers), went into greater depth, but limited the subject matter to natural and divine science. The many translations of Averroes commentaries on natural science also gave
rise to a tradition of supercommentaries on these texts, the
most famous and significant of which were by Gersonides
(12881344). Gersonides carefully explicated Averroes, but
did not hesitate to criticize him and Aristotle when he disagreed with their science; he also put forward novel interpretations of his own. Thus, his study of Aristotles analysis of motion in the Physics resulted in an original nonAristotelian understanding of the concept of force and of the
H
. asdai Crescas is another creative and influential figure in the history of science; his knowledge of Aristotelian
science was based primarily on the Hebrew translations of
Averroes. As part of his revolutionary critique of Aristotelian
science, Crescas argued for the actual existence of the void
and the infinite, in opposition to the Aristotelian science of
his day, and he put forward bold new theories of space and
time. Some have contended that, with the exception of Gersonides and Crescas, Jews writing in Hebrew contributed little originality to medieval scientific inquiry. However, recent
studies have countered this generalization. For example, the
medieval Jewish students and commentators on Averroes
were not passive readers of the texts nor did they accept
blindly the principles and claims of Aristotelian natural science. Their desire to understand and explicate inevitably
gave rise to critique and innovation. The modern emphasis on creativity, however, can be misleading. What must
be noted is that the hundreds of Hebrew translations, both
from Arabic and from Latin, made it possible for Jews to
master the sciences of their day and, in some instances, to
contribute to the progress of science.
Jewish interest in science continued throughout the
medieval period and was spurred on by the Italian Renaissance. In the early seventeenth century, Jews were at the
center of scientific discovery. For example, David Gans
worked in Tycho Brahes observatory near Prague and discussed scientific questions with Tycho and Johannes Kepler.
The young Joseph Solomon Delmedigo was a student assisting Galileo in Padua. It has generally been thought that
after Delmedigo there was little Jewish interest in science
until the beginning of the eighteenth century, but recent
scholarship has shown that this view is not quite accurate.
Yet even those who point to widespread interest in scientific endeavor during this period admit that only a handful of Jews contributed substantially to science, and even
these were primarily active in the field of medicine (D. B.
Ruderman, Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in Early Modern Europe [1995], 12).
MATHEMATICS: In addition to early undated Hebrew
mathematical compositions and the twelfth-century mathematical works of bar H.iyya and ibn Ezra, the Arabic-toHebrew translation movement of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries made available an impressive list of Greek
and Arabic works of the quadrivium. Among the Greek
mathematicians translated into Hebrew were Archimedes,
Autolycus, Euclid, Eutocius, Geminus, Menelaus, Nicomachus, Ptolemy, and Theodosius. Moreover, Arab mathematicians commented on the Arabic versions of many of
these works, explicated them, and wrote their own independent treatises. Among the Arab mathematicians trans ,
lated into Hebrew were Averroes, al-Bitruj
, al-Farghan
al-Khwarizm
ibn alal-Hassar,
, ibn Aflah, ibn al-Banna,
Thabit ibn Qurra, and Zarqallu.
Muthanna,
Through these
538
Sefer Yetzirah
H
. iyya and ibn Ezra
. ODESH) and of the festivals. Bar H
each wrote books entitled Sefer ha-Ibbur (The Book of
Intercalation).
For further reading, see S. Sela, Abraham Ibn Ezra and the
Rise of Medieval Hebrew Science (2003); S. Harvey, The Medieval
Hebrew Encyclopedias of Science and Philosophy (2000); W. Z.
Harvey, Physics and Metaphysics in H
. asdai Crescas (1998); and
T. Levy,
The Establishment of the Mathematical Bookshelf
of the Medieval Hebrew Scholar: Translations and Translators, Science in Context, 10 (1997): 43151.
S TEVEN H ARVEY
diversity and ongoing change that have always characterized Jewish life. As a result, some urged a separation of
the private realm of Jewish identity from the public realm
of participation in the broader society; as Judah Leib Gordons 1862 verse put it, Be a man in the streets and a
Jew at home. Others, like S. Tchernichowsky (1899), condemned exilic piety; he invoked the God of gods, who took
Canaan by storm/ Before they bound him in phylacteries.
Before their destruction, Central and Eastern European
Jewry had developed a range of Jewish secularisms in urban
centers such as Vienna, Prague, Odessa (see RUSSIA), and
Jewish War against Rome. See APOCRYPHA; ARCHEOLOGY, LAND OF ISRAEL: SECOND TEMPLE
PERIOD; CHRISTIANITY AND SECOND TEMPLE
JUDAISM; ESCHATOLOGY: SECOND TEMPLE
PERIOD; HASMONEAN DYNASTY; HELLENISM;
PSEUDEPIGRAPHA; WOMEN, ANCIENT: SECOND
TEMPLE PERIOD and related entries.
Secularism in the contemporary Jewish world is committed to the historical and cultural survival of Jews as an ethnic group, separate from the religious beliefs and practices
of Judaism. From a secular stance, particular distinctions
among religious beliefs, practices, or feelings are irrelevant.
The ideology of modern secularism calls for a life without
recourse to scriptural authority, ecclesial property, or divine
purpose.
Some have suggested that the first secular Jew was
Benedict (Baruch) Spinoza. In fact, the economic and social
forces that have led to transformations of religious distinctions within Judaism have manifold causes. By the end of
the eighteenth century, Jews like Berr Isaac Berr (writing in 1791) would voluntarily divest themselves from
their corporation in civil and political matters, unless otherwise commanded by spiritual laws, in exchange for
legal emancipation. Similarly, the writer and poet Heinrich Heine (17971856) maintained that the baptismal
font is the ticket of admission to European culture. Many
Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Creation), the most influential work to emerge from ancient speculations concerning creation, became one of the main sources of Hebrew
Sefer Yetzirah
Serot
God, and those who follow him in this may achieve the
same mystical status.
Sefer Yetzirah is not mentioned in ancient Hebrew literature, and its terminology is original and unique (a reference to hilkhot yetzirah in Babylonian Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin is probably unrelated to this work). Jewish rationalists
and scientists in the tenth century discovered this book;
Saadia Gaon and Dunash ibn Tamim wrote detailed commentaries in Arabic, and Shabbatai Donolo wrote a commentary in Hebrew. Many rationalistic, scientific commentaries followed until the twelfth century; of these, the most
detailed was by Judah ben Barzilai of Barcelona. Late in
the twelfth century the treatise became a major source for
Jewish mystics and esoterics in Europe, kabbalists and nonkabbalists, many of whom derived their terminology from it.
Since that time, Jews and Christians alike have regarded it
as an ancient expression of Jewish mysticism. Sefer Yetzirah
was first printed in Mantua in 1562 and has been reprinted
scores of times since; it has also been translated into many
languages. In 2004 Peter Hyman published a scholarly edition with a textual commentary, English translation, and
detailed bibliography. Other studies include J. Dan, Jewish
Serot
Sepharad, Sephardim
the divine plan for all existence emerged; this is the second sefirah, h.okhmah (the divine wisdom). The actual existence of divine beings begins with the third sefirah, binah
(intelligence). These three sefirot represent, in the anthropomorphic terms of the Kabbalah, the head of the divine
figure. From binah emerged the two arms: the fourth sefirah,
h.esed (charity) on the right, and the fifth, din (justice), on
the left (also called gevurah [divine power]). The sixth sefirah, tiferet (grandeur, also called rah.amim [mercy]), united
the two ways of divine conduct of the world, representing
the divine heart. The seventh and eighth sefirot, nezah. (eternity) on the right and hod (glory) on the left, represent the
two legs. Between them is the ninth sefirah, yesod (foundation) or tzaddik (righteousness), representing the male organ.
The tenth sefirah, malkhut (kingdom) or Shekhinah (divine
residence or presence), is a separate entity; it represents the
female aspect of the divine world, the wife or the daughter,
and it is the power that is dominant in the created worlds
beneath it. It leads the hosts of angels and heavenly bodies,
as well as the physical, human world. There is also a parallel system of sefirot the emanations on the left, the sitra
ah.ra (the other side, meaning the left) which represent the
realm of evil, consisting of seven or ten sefirot, headed by
Sepharad, Sephardim (adj. Sephardi, Sephardic). Sepharad is a biblical place name (Obadiah 20) that medieval Jews
applied to their communities in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain
and Portugal) and to the culture they created. After the
expulsion of Spanish Jews in 1492 and the forced conversion of Portuguese Jews in 1497, Sephardim spread throughout the Mediterranean world, taking their distinctive
541
Sepharad, Sephardim
Sermons
542
Sermons
Sermons
attitudes about death and the afterlife (including reincarnation), as well as information about the individual being
mourned. One role of the preacher was to rebuke the congregation for its religious failures, a tradition rooted in the
biblical prophets (see BIBLE: PROPHETS AND PROPHECY).
The challenge in the sermon of rebuke was to criticize the
listeners in a manner that would not counterproductively
turn them away from the preacher and his message.
The parable or exemplum, a fixture of Jewish discourse
from biblical times, was an effective component of Jewish
homiletics. Elaborate narratives from non-Jewish literature
were occasionally mobilized for stunning rhetorical effect.
Jacob Kranz (17411804), the Maggid of Dubno, was a
preacher renowned for his ability to create parables to illustrate the most challenging points.
Beginning in the early nineteenth century, significant
changes in the status of European Jewish communities and
new movements within those communities resulted in a different style of Jewish preaching. Although the sermon was
still usually anchored in a biblical text, the center of gravity shifted from exegesis to the elucidation of a religious
theme.
With the greater integration of Jews into their surrounding society, new occasions for Jewish preaching
arose, including the coronation or death of a monarch;
government-proclaimed days of prayer or thanksgiving; the
beginning of a war, a decisive battle, and the termination
of conflict; and the passing of important new legislation. On
some of these occasions Gentile dignitaries and other members of the non-Jewish community might be in attendance.
Texts of these topical sermons were sometimes published in
pamphlet form for wide distribution.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries witnessed a flourishing of Jewish homiletical oratory. In many
American congregations, Sunday morning weekday services
and Friday evening Sabbath services became the primary
preaching occasions, with the shorter liturgy allowing more
time for the sermon. Jewish preachers frequently discussed
controversial social issues both of specifically Jewish concern
( Judaism, Reform Zionism) and of wider interest (rights of
workers, capital punishment, war and peace). Many preachers attracted worshipers to the synagogue, and excellent
preaching skills were considered a highly important qualification of an effective rabbi. The number of printed volumes of collected sermons expanded dramatically during
this era.
In recent decades, the prestige of the sermon appears to
have diminished significantly, with a preference for informal
presentations inviting congregational response. Similarly,
the time allotted to the sermon has diminished from generation to generation. Yet a new generation of women rabbis
(see RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN) has breathed
new life into the genre. It is unclear whether this will be
sufficient to generate a renaissance of the sermon.
For surveys and representative examples of Jewish sermons from the High Middle Ages to the present, see M.
Saperstein, Jewish Preaching 12001800 (1989); idem, Your
Voice Like a Rams Horn: Themes and Texts in Traditional Jewish Preaching (1996); idem, Exile in Amsterdam: Saul Levi
Morteiras Sermons to a Congregation of New Jews (2003); and
idem, Jewish Preaching in Times of War: 18002001 (2008).
M ARC S APERSTEIN
a message generally rooted in scriptural readings and bearing resonance to issues of contemporary concern. Although
written texts are the best evidence for the sermon in the
era before recordings and videotapes, they give little sense
of what actual sermons were like. This is because rabbinic
leaders in the pre-modern period delivered sermons in the
vernacular spoken by their own Jewish communities, but
recorded them for posterity in Hebrew, usually after they
had delivered the sermon.
The New Testament and rabbinic literature provide
abundant evidence for sermons delivered as a regular part
of Sabbath worship. However, rabbinic writings preserve
nothing comparable to the texts of sermons delivered by
such Church Fathers as Chrysostom, Augustine, and many
other gifted Christian preachers, which were stenographically transcribed during delivery.
The earliest texts of Jewish sermons that were written
by an individual preacher date from the thirteenth century. In form they reveal continuity with the homiletical
midrash: Beginning with a verse from the Writings section of the Hebrew Bible, they discuss various interpretations of the verse before relating it to a verse in the
weekly Torah reading (parashah). Frequently a group of
verses from the parashah are then interpreted so as to highlight a central theme. A new form for the Jewish sermon,
influenced by Christian scholastic preaching, can be documented from the late fifteenth century. It begins with
one verse from the Torah reading, followed by a passage
from the Talmud or a midrash. After an introduction, the
body of the sermon usually focuses on a topic suggested
by the opening verse. At some point, the rabbinic passage
is shown to relate unexpectedly to the verse and the topic.
This structure became dominant among the Sephardic communities of the Mediterranean basin and later in northern
Europe.
A different structure was common in the Ashkenazi communities of northern and Eastern Europe. Here, the sermon established a chain of connections in which one biblical verse or rabbinic passage led by association to another,
which led to a third, and so forth. Here the goal often seemed
more to demonstrate the knowledge and intellectual rigor of
the preacher than to investigate a specific topic.
For Jewish preachers before the nineteenth century, commentary on biblical and rabbinic texts was paramount, and
novelty of interpretation was highly valued. One striking
homiletical technique was to problematize the classical text
by raising a series of difficulties or doubts associated with
it, before resolving all of the problems in an ingenious new
way. Preachers influenced by philosophy interpreted the
classical texts in accordance with their own intellectual commitments, often presenting familiar narratives as allegories
of philosophical truths. As festivals approached, sermons
generally treated the legal and ritual requirements for proper
observance, as well as the spiritual message of the occasions.
The Sabbath preceding Passover provided an opportunity
for the preacher to review the complex laws of removing all
inappropriate foods from the house; the sermon on the Sabbath before Yom Kippur was devoted to a discussion of the
complexities of repentance and atonement.
Sermons also accompanied life-cycle events: circumcision of a son, marriage, and death. Eulogies, an especially important preaching occasion, provide evidence for
543
Shabbat Ha-Gadol
Sharansky, Nathan
Sabbath directly preceding Passover. One possible reason for its special designation is that the haftarah read on
that day speaks of the the awesome [gadol], fearful day of
the Lord ( Malachi 3:23) when the messiah will appear.
Another suggestion is that the Israelites fulfilled Gods orders
to have each Jewish household select a lamb (an animal
worshiped by the Egyptians) to be used in the paschal sacrifice on the Sabbath before the exodus from Egypt on the
14th of Nissan. The decision to make this sacrifice was the
Israelites first initiative as a liberated people. A third possibility is that in many communities the rabbi gives a lengthy
sermon on Shabbat ha-Gadol, perhaps the grandest of the
year, to discuss the many laws and practices of the festival.
P AUL S TEINBERG
Shabbetai Zevi (16261676) was the most notorious Jewish messianic claimant in the Early Modern period. Born in
the bustling commercial city of Smyrna (present-day Izmir)
on the western coast of the Ottoman Empire (what is now
Sharansky, Nathan (b. 1948 as Anatoly Borisovich Scharansky) was a human rights activist and a prisoner of conscience in the Soviet Union and, as a resident of Israel since
1986, was elected Chairman of the Executive of the Jewish
Agency for Israel in June 2009.
A native of Donetsk, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), Sharansky graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and
Technology with a degree in computer science. After being
denied a visa to Israel in 1973, he gained recognition as
a spokesperson for Soviet Jewry and the Moscow Helsinki
Watch Group. He was arrested in 1977, convicted in 1978
of treason and spying on behalf of the United States, and
sentenced to thirteen years imprisonment and forced labor.
His wife Avital organized a campaign for his release that
gained international attention (see SOVIET UNION: JEWISH
MOVEMENT, 19671989).
Sharansky was released in 1986 in exchange for two
Soviet spies and immigrated to Israel. He was elected president of the Zionist Forum, an organization of former Soviet
activist groups, in 1988. In 1995 he created Yisrael BAliyah, a
political party devoted to helping Israel absorb Soviet immigrants. Yisrael BAliyah won seven Knesset seats in 1996, and
Sharansky became minister of industry and trade. He served
as minister of the interior from 1999 to 2000 and as minister
of housing and construction and deputy prime minister from
2001 to 2003. In early 2003, his party merged with Likud
(see ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL PARTIES), and Sharansky was given ministerial responsibilities for Jerusalem
and Diaspora affairs. He resigned from government service
in May 2005 in opposition to Ariel Sharons removal of
Jewish settlements from Gaza. Since 2009, Sharansky has
served as the Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel. Sharanskys books include the memoir, Fear No Evil (1988);
The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome
Tyranny and Terror (2006), co-written with Ron Dermer; and
544
Sharansky, Nathan
Shechem
During the time of the Second Temple, the Sadducees
and the Pharisees debated the exact date to celebrate
Shavuot. The argument concerned an ambiguity in Leviticus 23:1516 about when to begin counting the omer (see
OMER, COUNTING OF). The Sadducees argued that counting should begin the day after the Sunday after the first night
of Passover. The Pharisees, whose interpretation was ultimately accepted, contended that the counting should begin
on the second day of Passover. Simultaneously, the Rabbis were debating exactly when the Torah was revealed.
After centuries of discussion, the 6th of Sivan was celebrated as both Shavuot and the day on which the Torah was
given, Zeman Matan Torateinu (Season of the Giving of our
Torah).
Shavuot observances follow those of festivals, including
restrictions from work. Orthodox and Conservative Jews
outside the Land of Israel traditionally observe the diasporic
two-day extension of sacred days and therefore observe two
days of Shavuot; Reform Jews observe Shavuot for one day
(see entries under JUDAISM). The Torah reading for the
day is the Ten Commandments. The book of Ruth is also
read in synagogue (on the second day in the Diaspora)
because it connects to themes of the harvest and accepting
faith in Torah, and because Ruth is the great-grandmother
of King David whom, the Rabbis say, was born and died on
Shavuot.
545
Shechem
Shekhinah
Jewish mysticism, twelfth- and thirteenth-century kabbalists believed that the Shekhinah was the divine bride who
united with her spouse, the sefirah Tiferet, in a celestial
bridal chamber. Halakhically sanctioned physical intercourse
between a male mystic and his wife on earth, particularly
on Sabbath eve, was understood as a particularly effective
means of fostering both divine and mystical union.
In sixteenth-century Safed, mystics instituted the Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony welcoming the Sabbath bride. It
was here that Solomon Alkabetz wrote the liturgical poem,
Lekha dodi likrat kallah (Come my beloved to meet the bride),
which has been associated with this ritual ever since. Isaac
Luria further enlarged on human marital union in his kabbalistic system as a means to effect devekut (divine union)
between the masculine and feminine aspects of God (see
KABBALAH, LURIANIC). Moreover, he and his students
believed that it was necessary to perform each commandment with the intention ( kavannah) of uniting God with
the Shekhinah, as a way to achieve harmony in the cosmos
( tikkun olam).
Although medieval Jewish mysticism conceived of the
Shekhinah as feminine, it is important to note that medieval
Jewish attitudes about the inferior position of women played
a major role in her kabbalistic conceptualization. The Zohar
describes the Shekhinah as a passive vessel lacking any distinct personality (1:181a, among other references). Consequently, the Shekhinah is like a revolving sword with the
potential for both good and evil (Zohar 1: 53b, 221b, 242a;
2:27b; 3:19b). When she is described in positive terms,
she is often gendered as male, as the sefirah Malkhut or
David; when she is under the sway of excessive judgment or
the demonic other side, she remains female (see LILITH;
SAMAEL; SEFIROT).
The feminine Shekhinah remains a vibrant religious symbol among many contemporary Jews. H
. asidism adapted
earlier mystical understandings of the Shekhinah into its
theology and practices. Some Jewish feminists have incorporated the Shekhinah into Jewish liturgy (see JUDAISM,
FEMINIST). The Jewish Renewal movement, founded on
aspects of both H
. asidism and feminism, emphasizes the role
of the Shekhinah in worship and ritual (see JUDAISM: JEWISH RENEWAL). In fact, the enduring symbol of the feminine Shekhinah has even crossed religious boundaries and
been reconceived in New Age spirituality.
For further reading, see A. Green, Bride, Spouse, Daughter: Images of the Feminine in Classical Jewish Sources,
in On Being a Jewish Feminist, ed. S. Heschel (1983); idem,
Shekhinah, the Virgin Mary, and the Song of Songs: Reflections on a Kabbalistic Symbol in Its Historical Context, AJS
Review 26 (2002): 152; M. Idel, Sexual Metaphors and
Praxis in the Kabbalah, in The Jewish Family, ed. D. Kraemer
(1989); S. Koren, Kabbalistic Physiology: Isaac the Blind,
Nahmanides, and Moses de Leon on Menstruation, AJS
Review 28 (2004): 31739; idem, Shekhinah as Female Sym
bol, Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd ed. (2006); P. Schafer,
Mirror
of His Beauty: Feminine Images of God from the Bible to the Early
Kabbalah (2002); G. Scholem, Shekhinah: The Feminine Element in Divinity, in On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead,
ed. J. Chipman (1991); E. Wolfson, Through a Speculum That
Shines (1994); and C. Weissler, The Meanings of the Shekhinah in the Jewish Renewal Movement, Nashim 10 (2006):
5383.
S HARON K OREN
Shema
Shtetl
(see ROSH H
. ODESH [Num 10:10; Ps 81:4]); celebrations
praising God (2 Sam 6:15; 1 Chron 15:28; Ps 98:6, 150:3);
and the designation of a new king (1 Kgs 1:34).
Details of sounding the shofar, distinguishing between
the use of long blasts (tekiah) and a series of short blasts
(teruah), appear in Numbers 10:110; these blasts were
expanded in rabbinic times with the addition of an undulating sound of three broken notes (shevarim). Isaiah 27:13 predicts that the sounding of the rams horn will gather those
dispersed in Assyria and Egypt and bring them to worship
in Jerusalem; midrashic legends associate the sound of the
shofar with messianic redemption and the resurrection of
the dead (see Plate 7).
In contemporary worship, the shofar is sounded in the
synagogue on Rosh Ha-Shanah, the first day of the seventh month (Lev 23:24; Num 29:1), and at the end of
the concluding Neilah service on Yom Kippur (Lev 25:9).
The shofar is sounded only during the day and not on the
Sabbath.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Shtetl
Sicily
Sicily
Sivan
himself made a critical contribution toward that goal. Contemporaries described Silver as a stubborn, charismatic,
proud, and militant leader. He identified with the Republican Party, but opposed the Cold War; he struggled for individual rights, social justice, and freedom of speech and acted
to combat unemployment and in support of workers rights.
With the 1948 establishment of the State of Israel, Prime
Minister David Ben-Gurion, a long-standing rival, ousted
Silver from most of his official positions in the Zionist movement and the Jewish Agency. Recent research includes a
special issue of the Journal of Israeli History 17:1 (1996) and
Z. Segev, The Jewish State in Abba Hillel Silvers Overall
World View, American Jewish Archives 56 (2004): 94127.
Z OHAR S EGEV
American Zionist leader. Despite his Orthodox background, Silver attended Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was ordained a Reform rabbi (see
JUDAISM, REFORM: NORTH AMERICA) and received a
doctorate. In 1917, with his appointment as rabbi of Tiferet
Israel, an important Reform congregation in Cleveland,
Ohio, he entered Jewish public life. He became chairman
of the Zionist Emergency Committee and, in 1945, president
of the Zionist Organization of America. As one of the three
leaders of the Zionist movement after its 22nd Congress,
he set forth the Zionist position during the discussions preceding the 1947 United Nations Partition Resolution (see
ISRAEL, STATE OF: FOUNDING). Silvers rise to leadership
in the 1940s and 1950s, a critical period for Jewish existence
in modern times, constituted a significant change in American Zionism and the American Jewish community.
Silver created a new model for American ethnic politics. He welded broad sectors of American Jewry into a
political force struggling to establish a Jewish state, and he
Sobibor
Sobibor
was a Nazi death camp located about sixty-five
In and outside of Jewish social service agencies, American Jews were deeply involved in the transition of social
work to a scientifically trained profession, as the field gradually came to rely on specialized experts trained in psychology and casework. During the Depression, a growing cadre
of professionals with knowledge of social inequities laid the
groundwork for shifting some social welfare responsibilities
from religious and ethnic communities to city, state, and federally supported agencies.
Since 1914, overseas aid has also been an important focus
of American Jewish social agencies fundraising and energies. American Jews experiences with immigration proved
crucial to their assistance to displaced victims of World War
II. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (founded in 1881 by
East European Jews) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (founded in 1914 by Jacob Schiff and
other well-established German Jews) provided funds, trained workers, and helped rescue and resettle European Jews.
Within the United States, Jews have wrestled with the
question of Jewish content in social work training. The
Graduate School of Jewish Social Work, open from 192440,
combined technical training with Jewish learning. Today,
several Jewish-sponsored institutions sponsor social work
training schools. Yeshiva Universitys Wurzweiler School of
Social Work recently dropped the word Jewish from its
Jewish Social Work Forum to attract a more diverse pool of
contributors, even as it retained its commitment to reflecting Jewish social work interests. Despite the secularist pull,
sectarian Jewish institutions, with their focus on intracommunal needs, family services, poverty, and refugees (abroad
and at home), continue to serve as important focal points
of Jewish affiliation and group identity for social workers,
board members, donors, and volunteers.
M ARJORIE N. F ELD
Social Work: United States. Before the 1880s, when institutionalized social work began to displace traditional modes
of relief, American Jewish institutions offered social services
to their own communities. The roots of this arrangement lay
in American traditions of voluntarism and self-help, Jewish
traditions of philanthropy and mutual obligation, and the
hostility and missionary tactics that often greeted Jews when
they relied on non-Jewish social services.
The massive immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe at
the beginning of the twentieth century called into question
the efficacy of these traditional arrangements; at the same
time, charity organization societies and other institutions
were emphasizing individualized service, interagency planning, and social reform. A new generation of pre-suffrage,
college-educated women extended maternalist notions of
womens duty into activist work on behalf of the new urban,
immigrant, industrial workers. Among these were many
Jewish women, including members of the National Council of Jewish Women (see ORGANIZATIONS, WOMENS:
NORTH AMERICA), who worked specifically with Jewish
immigrants, and Lillian Wald, who opened the Henry
Street Settlement House on New York Citys Lower East
Side to provide health care to all local residents. Women
and men worked to combat poverty and illness in sectarian and nonsectarian settings. They provided vocational
guidance, small loans, direct relief, milk stations, summer
camps, mental health services, elderly care, and orphanages. These involvements often opened the door to other
commitments, including public health and peace work, as
well as campaigns for the rights of immigrants, labor (see
UNITED STATES: LABOR MOVEMENT), women, and civil
rights (see UNITED STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT).
The diversity of the Jewish community in terms of nation
of origin, social class, and ideology (including Zionism)
initially made the centralization of Jewish social services
impossible. New York Citys Kehilla was a short-lived centralization experiment, which established the School for
Jewish Communal Work (191619). By 1920, many American Jewish communities had federations, which raised and
disbursed funds to various agencies and later led communities in social planning (see ORGANIZATIONS: NORTH
AMERICA). Jewish social workers could choose to join Jewish professional societies and contribute to Jewish social
work journals and conferences.
Solomon
ha-Zafirah. Like many supporters of the Haskalah (Jewish enlightenment), early OPE leaders saw Yiddish as one
of the central reasons for the intellectual backwardness of
Russias Jews.
Approved in 1867, the Odessa OPE branch envisioned
the total transformation of Jewish society. Eager to attain
full integration and equal rights, they put their hopes in a
translation of the Hebrew Bible into Russian, which they
hoped would have the same effect in Russia that Moses
the books of Kings and Chronicles (the latter relies heavily on the former). Kings depicts Solomon, the tenth son of
David, as an unlikely successor. Amidst the chaotic power
struggles that characterize the end of Davids reign, Solomon
is represented as passive, chosen to be king rather than
choosing to seek the throne. He attains his ascent, however, with the support of a powerful coalition, including his
mother, the court prophet Nathan (see BIBLE: PROPHETS
AND PROPHECY), and leaders of the priesthood and the
military (1 Kgs 1), who obtain the blessing of the enfeebled David (only in Chronicles is Solomon elected by God).
As such, Solomons succession may be seen as a coup over
Adonijah, Davids eldest remaining son.
The book of Kings describes Solomons reign as Israels
golden age of prosperity. He creates an efficient bureaucracy
and enters into political and economic agreements with
neighboring nations (most notably Egypt and Phoenicia)
that enrich Israel and expand its influence. He also embarks
on a series of building projects, culminating in the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In addition, Solomon
receives wisdom from God for which he becomes renowned
worldwide (see especially 1 Kgs 3:1628, 10).
Nonetheless, Solomon and his kingdom fall from their
glorious heights, ultimately leading to the dissolution of
the United Monarchy after his death. According to Kings,
Solomon causes this fall by his introduction of illicit religious
practices, brought by his many foreign wives. Chronicles, in
contrast, scrupulously avoids criticism of him, although its
emphasis on Davids role in planning the Temple may be an
implicit criticism of Solomon (Brueggemann).
Regarding the historicity of Solomon, the biblical texts
appear to derive from some apparently authentic sources
(for example, 1 Kgs 4:119; see also the citation of the
Book of the Acts of Solomon in 1 Kgs 11:41). Other
elements, such as the frequent use of symbolic numbers
and the story of the Queen of Sheba, reveal that the narrative had aims other than historical. Further, the extent
and prosperity of the United Monarchy may be exaggerated. Despite the purported majesty of Solomons kingdom,
no extant extrabiblical sources of the tenth century mention him or an Israelite monarchy. Recent research additionally suggests that some building projects attributed to
Solomon were instead ninth-century products of the northern kingdom of Israel (Finkelstein and Silberman). Elsewhere in the Bible, Solomon stands for the pinnacle of
human wisdom (outside of some critical traditions; see Neh
13:2327 and perhaps Deut 17:1420). Ecclesiastes, Song
of Songs, parts of Proverbs (see BIBLE: WISDOM LITERATURE), and the Wisdom of Solomon (see APOCRYPHA)
are traditionally attributed to Solomon. Scholarly consensus,
however, finds no credible historical connections between
the king and these books. In post-biblical tradition, Solomon
becomes a writer of psalms in the Psalms of Solomon (see
PSEUDEPIGRAPHA). A noncanonical psalm found among
the Dead Sea Scrolls (11QPsApa ) additionally provides the
earliest attestation of what became a vibrant complex of
Solomonic traditions namely Solomon as exorcist and
practitioner of esoteric or magical arts which was further developed in the Testament of Solomon (see PSEUDEPIGRAPHA) and Sefer ha-Razim (Torijano; see MAGIC).
For further reading, see W. Brueggemann, Israels Ironic
Icon of Human Achievement (2005); I. Finkelstein and N. A.
551
Solomon
Song of Songs
Soloveitchik, Joseph B. (19031993) was one of the greatest talmudists of the twentieth century, a prominent Jewish philosopher, and a leader of Orthodoxy (see JUDAISM,
ORTHODOX: MODERN ORTHODOX), especially in North
America. Born in Pruzhan, he taught Talmud for more than
four decades in New York City at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary, affiliated with Yeshiva University.
He simultaneously served as the chief rabbinic figure in
Boston, commuting weekly between the two cities. A brilliant orator, The Rav influenced numerous leaders of
American Orthodox Judaism. As a result of the Holocaust,
he broke from many traditionalist rabbis and family tradition
and became a strong supporter of religious Zionism, serving as honorary president of Mizrachi, the religious Zionist
movement.
Soloveitchiks talmudic method was that of the Brisker
school, which implemented a mode of conceptual analysis
pioneered by his grandfather, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of
Brisk (18531918). He held a PhD in philosophy from the
University of Berlin; in addition to his mastery of classic
Jewish sources, he was broadly erudite in philosophy, Christian theology, science, and world literature. Soloveitchik
especially engaged the writings of Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Hermann Cohen, Soren Kierkegaard, Rudolf Otto, and
Max Scheler. His use of such material set him apart from
many other Orthodox rabbinic authorities and greatly fortified a brand of Orthodoxy generally known as Modern
or Centrist that embraces general culture. Soloveitchiks
emphasis was on religious phenomenology and anthropology. Dominant themes in his work include dialectic, loneliness, suffering, and the power of reason in the study
of halakhah. His two best known works are Halakhic Man
(1944 [Hebrew]; trans. L. J. Kaplan, 1983), a depiction of
the orientation of the halakhic scholar in neo-Kantian terms,
and The Lonely Man of Faith (1965, 2006), an existentialist essay that depicts religious life as an oscillation between
mastering nature and relating to God in a covenantal
community.
D AVID S HATZ
Soloveitchik, Joseph B.: Religious Thought. Soloveitchiks view of Judaism emphasizes the centrality of normative action (halakhah) and its study. Halakhic Man offers
a phenomenology of this ideal human type by comparing
it to scientific cognitive man and mystical homo religiosus:
It highlights the intellectual rigor, quantitative orientation,
and this-worldliness that halakhic man shares with the
former and contrasts it with the otherworldliness, qualitative orientation, and subjectivity characteristic of the latter.
Despite the importance of halakhah and its study, recent
scholarship has demonstrated that Halakhic Man is not a selfportrait; Soloveitchik himself allowed more room for religious yearnings than Halakhic Man would.
U-Vikkashtem mi-Sham (And You Shall Seek; published
in Hebrew in 1978 but drafted in the 1940s) explores the
human relationship with God. He emphasizes the interrelationship between how human beings seek God in a wide
variety of inquiries and experiences and how God confronts
human beings through revelation and commandment. At
552
Song of Songs
South Africa
Sororities: See
AMERICA
South Africa
institutions of South African Jewry. Many of these institutions were modeled along British lines: South African Jews
were officially represented by a Board of Deputies and ministered to by a chief rabbi. Although initially scornful of the
lax and decorous Orthodoxy of their Anglo-Jewish counterparts, the Litvak community gradually adopted many of
these same features. The Reform movement did not arrive in
South Africa until 1933 and met substantial resistance (see
JUDAISM: REFORM). In the first decade of the twenty-first
century, it has still made only limited inroads into a community that is still overwhelmingly affiliated with Orthodox
congregations.
The decades between the world wars were deeply unsettling for South Africa and its Jewish community. Economic
distress in the 1920s and 1930s led to a significant increase
in vocal antisemitism. The Quota Act of 1930 all but closed
South Africas doors to immigrants from Lithuania, although
the act did enable the entry of about 6,000 German Jewish
refugees between 1933 and 1939. Spurred on by a ragtag assortment of organizations and extremists with fascist
sympathies, the major Afrikaner political parties co-opted
the Jewish Question as a central plank for political mobilization. Although the Jewish community enthusiastically
supported the governments war effort, feelings about the
Allied cause among the Afrikaner establishment were at
best ambivalent and often hostile. Unsurprisingly the election victory of the leading Afrikaner political party in 1948
shocked South African Jewry. Although the National Party
quickly abandoned its antisemitism and sought rapprochement, the Jewish community long remained nervous of the
new government. This lingering apprehension underpinned
the communitys official neutrality to the governments policy of apartheid. The Board of Deputies strictly adhered to its
traditional political neutrality into the 1980s.
For the most part, Jews limited their opposition to
apartheid to support of rival political parties. Although the
majority probably accepted the racial status quo, a significant
minority became prominent in liberal and radical opposition politics. Heirs to an immigrant radical political tradition,
they moved from trade union organization (and sometimes
Spain, Christian
grammatical modes. Yet, beginning in the thirteenth century there was a distinct shift toward the cultural and intellectual trends of northern Europe. The Jewish centers of
Maimonides. In the end, the Sephardic tradition of accommodation and amplification won out, and Kabbalah took
its place alongside philosophical and talmudic study in the
Hispano-Jewish academies.
Throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, religious tensions between Jews and Christians manifested
themselves in polemical literature, public disputations (see
MIDDLE AGES: JEWISHCHRISTIAN POLEMICS), and sporadic outbreaks of violence. Yet, such confrontation did little
to alter the long-standing intercultural bonds and intracommunal factionalism that continued to characterize the daily
life of most Jews. In 1391, however, this enduring paradigm
of Iberian Jewish society suffered an unprecedented
Spain, Christian
Spain, Muslim
rupture. During the spring and summer of that year, Christian preachers helped ignite an outbreak of anti-Jewish riots
that swept over the region. These attacks resulted in the
murder of approximately one-third of Iberian Jewry and
the forced conversion of another third. Intense missionary
activity in the decades following the attacks augmented the
numbers of these New Christians, or conversos, and permanently altered the relationship between Iberian Jews and
Christians. No social or religious mechanisms existed to facilitate the integration of the conversos into Christian society or
to prevent their contact with Iberian Jewry. As a result, the
fate of the Jews became bound up with that of the conversos over the course of the fifteenth century. Municipal and
regional councils increasingly vigorous attempts to restrict
Jewish rights were closely tied to the calumny that Jewish
blood made the conversos resistant to true Christianization
and to the growing sentiment that the Jews actively fostered
heresy among the New Christians. This latter accusation was
made official by the Spanish Inquisition and motivated the
decision of monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella to expel their
Jews in 1492. In 1498 the Catholic monarchs successfully
lobbied neighboring Navarre to expel its Jews as well, but
their efforts to exert similar influence over Portugal produced very different results. Seeking to retain this valuable
new community, King Manoel I chose to ignore the troubled
history of the Spanish New Christians and in 1497 forcibly
converted all of the Jews in Portugal. This momentous decision extended the debate over the conversos religious identity and further complicated their relationship to both the
Christian and Jewish communities.
Despite the decline in political fortunes during the fifteenth century, Jewish intellectual life continued to flourish and to display strong signs of Christian influence. Jewish
preachers and moralists followed closely the arguments and
methodological developments of their Christian counterparts, noting with envy the respect and honor that they were
able to command. The last generation of Jews born in Iberia
boasted a number of significant poets, philosophers, kabbalists, and exegetes. Among these exiles, Joseph Karo represents the continued vitality of Sephardic legal codification
and theosophical Kabbalah. His great legal compendium,
Beit Yosef, and its more popular digest, the Shulh.an Arukh
(see HALAKHAH), represent a culmination of the medieval
Hispano-Jewish religious program. Karos work became the
rock on which much of Jewish society was established for
centuries to come.
For further reading, see J. Ray, The Sephardic Frontier: The
Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia (2006);
Y. Baer, A History of the Jews in Christian Spain (1961); and B.
Gampel, A Letter to a Wayward Teacher, in Cultures of the
Jews, ed. David Biale (2002). Maps 6, 7
J ONATHAN R AY
were subject populations under both Muslims and Christians, sometimes serving as cultural and political mediators
between warring and competing dynasties and regimes. As a
result of the diverse religious and ethnic mosaic that comprised Andalusia, a shared culture that was noted for its
sophistication, originality, and brilliance emerged. So dazzling was the civilization of the Caliphate of Cordoba and its
successor states that al-Andalus is frequently depicted as a
lost paradise in Arabic as well as Hebrew literature. As the
Christian reconquest of Spain advanced in the twelfth century, both Jews and Muslims lamented the loss of Muslim
Spain in romantic and nostalgic terms.
The Muslim invasion of Spain in 711 represented a welcome respite for the Jews after decades of persecution and
forced conversion under Visigothic Christian kings. Jews
who had fled to North Africa returned and reverted to
Judaism, finding the dynamic Umayyad dynasty of Cordoba
eager to exploit the skills of its many minorities in its newly
conquered province. By the ninth century, Muslim Spain
formed an integral part of a vast medieval Muslim commercial nexus that extended from the Atlantic Ocean all the way
to Central Asia and the Indian Ocean. Jews of far-flung communities across the Mediterranean were united by trade and
shared values, as Muslim civilization, cemented by the Arabic language, spread through these far-flung territories.
Jewish cultural development in Spain drew its inspiration from at least two sources. On the one hand, medieval
Andalusian Jews strengthened their cultural and economic
ties with Jewish communities in neighboring North Africa,
Muslim Sicily, Palestine, Egypt, and Babylonia ( Iraq).
Through their correspondence with the ancient talmudic
centers in Baghdad ( Sura and Pumbedita) and their leaders ( Geonim), the Jews of Spain shared in the emergent
rabbinic culture that would become the patrimony of much
of world Jewry. At the same time, as the Jewish commercial
and intellectual leadership came into contact with a worldly
Arab elite, the Jews of Spain were profoundly influenced
by local cultural developments. Arab culture was influenced
by the courtly traditions of the court in Baghdad, which, in
turn, drew heavily from older Persian models. At the same
time, Arabic poetic models recalled the motifs of ancient preIslamic Arabian poetry. Andalusian Jews were exposed to
both of these trends through their contacts in court circles,
and they, too, were keenly interested in philology and linguistics, poetry and literature, and the ancient traditions
of philosophy and science that now circulated in Arabic
translation.
The Judeo-Arabic tradition flourished until the midtwelfth century. This tradition blended the special interests
of Muslims, such as jurisprudence, philosophy, and theology, with Jewish rabbinic and exegetical traditions (see
BIBLICAL COMMENTARY). Adapting the forms and motifs
of the courtly Arabic literary traditions that they imbibed in
the cultural centers of Cordoba, Granada, and Seville, Jews
fashioned a unique poetic corpus that was both secular and
religious; it was written in a rare Biblical Hebrew. This combination of the secular and religious, as well as the enormous
range of interests and areas of inquiry, has been the hallmark
of Sephardic civilization.
In the early tenth century, the ruling Umayyad prince
Abd el-Rahman III announced his independence from the
Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad and declared himself Caliph
Spain, Muslim
Spinoza, Baruch
of Cordoba. His dazzling court housed entertainers, scholars, experts in the sciences, artists, and architects, as well as
a council of physicians, in which a learned Jew, H.asdai ibn
Shaprut, soon came to the attention of the ruling monarch.
An excellent physician who was gifted in languages, H
. asdai
performed vital fiscal and diplomatic services for the Muslim ruler. At the same time, H
. asdai launched Spanish Jewry
on an independent cultural and political course, surrounding
himself with Hebrew poets and patronizing Judaic scholars.
He also supported and defended beleaguered Jewish communities abroad, encouraged the emergence of a domestic
school of rabbinic scholarship in Andalusia, and communicated with the Jewish king of the Khazars in the Crimea.
H
. asdai is often credited with launching a renaissance in
Jewish learning in Spain and of setting Andalusian Jewry
on the path of cultural independence from the rabbinic center in Iraq. He is also invoked as the prototype of Sephardic
leadership. Soon, several cities in Spain emerged as magnets
for poets and scholars, and the Hebrew academy of Lucena
rivaled the talmudic academy of Cordoba. Patrons included
the poet-statesman-warrior Samuel ibn Naghrela ha-Nagid.
By the mid-tenth century, Muslim Spain had emerged as
the home of a new and exciting Hebrew poetry. Imitating
their Muslim counterparts in both poetic form and content
and drawing on the linguistic studies of their North African
co-religionists, Hebrew poets in the employ of Jewish
courtiers began to emerge from anonymity. Among their
many themes were songs on wine, the wine party, and
friendship (see POETRY, MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM WORLD).
Philosophical musings and scientific observations were
skillfully interwoven in their poetic verses. At the same
time Hebrew poets wrote liturgical poetry that continues
to adorn the Hebrew prayer book and High Holiday
ritual (see POETRY, LITURGICAL [PIYYUT]). Among the
most famous of the hundreds of poets were Solomon ibn
Gabirol, Samuel ibn Naghrela (Samuel ha-Nagid), Moses
ibn Ezra, Abraham ibn Ezra, and Judah Halevi. The legacy
of the Jews in Muslim Spain also extended into science
and philosophy, astronomy and astrology, grammar, and
linguistics.
The golden era of Jewish life in Muslim Spain was shortlived. The Caliphate of Cordoba collapsed in 1006, and
Andalusia was beset by devastating civil war. Jews fled Cordoba, hoping to find refuge and patronage in the small successor Berber kingdoms that flourished in eleventh-century
Spain. The courts of the successor states (known as the taifa
kingdoms) continued to pursue the earlier brilliant secular
culture in Malaga, Badajoz, Saragossa, Granada, and more
than a dozen other regional petty kingdoms. Yet the territory under Islamic rule on the peninsula was steadily contracting. After the fall of Toledo to Christian armies in 1085,
Spanish Muslims hastily invited the Almoravid Berbers of
Morocco to assist in stemming the tide of Christian victories. In the atmosphere of mounting religious warfare
and the First Crusade (see MIDDLE AGES: CRUSADES),
the Almoravids introduced harsh discriminatory legislation
against Christians and Jews in their kingdom. As a result,
the exodus of the Jews from Muslim to Christian Spain commenced. The Almoravids, in turn, were replaced in the midtwelfth century by the still more fervent and fundamentalist
Muslims, known as the Almohads, who invaded Spain in
114647. Their campaigns were based on a fierce and zeal-
Spinoza, Baruch
halakhic structure that developed from them lost their raison detre. Consequently, latter-day Jews are not obliged to
observe them. Or, as one contemporary document describes
Spinozas views on this matter, the Law is not true.
Finally, Spinoza denies that there is any metaphysically
or morally interesting sense in which the Jews are Gods
chosen people (see ELECTION). There are no differences
among human beings in which one group might take any
special pride: All are equally a part of nature. The only sense
in which the Jews, for a time, enjoyed a particular divine
vocation was during the era of ancient Israelite kingship,
when they enjoyed the good fortune of a secure and wellordered polity for an extended period of time. Yet, this polity
was not the supernatural result of some special divine favor,
but only the natural consequence of wise laws.
S TEVEN N ADLER
yeshivot. Moreover, the entrepreneurial history of American Jews also plays a role, when Jewish team owners
and boxing promoters and managers, particularly in the
early decades of the twentieth century, are included in discussions of how immigrants and their children emerged
from poverty through initiative in high-risk entertainment
industries (see SPORTS: UNITED STATES entries).
Contemporary Jewish union organizers and sports agents
are likewise part of Jewish involvement in American sports.
They have protected and enhanced the rights and salaries of
athletes; their victories for their clients have transformed the
economics of these popular attractions. As members of the
media, Jews are also major players in the evolution of sports
within American popular culture; their reporting, photography, and involvement in radio and television sportscasting,
559
Sports: Israel
commentary, and production have helped shape sports journalism and enhanced popular interest in these pastimes.
Those hostile to Jews have exploited the long-standing
Jewish involvement in these off-the-field activities to allege
Jewish control of American sports, and some have also
resorted to more invidious characterizations of Jews as corruptors of athletics pastimes. Auto manufacturer Henry Ford
articulated the most outrageous group censure when he
blamed the infamous 1919 Black Sox baseball scandal on
a Jewish conspiracy (see SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL). In recent times, unfocused anger has often been
directed at Jewish sports agents who are portrayed as controlling athletic labor unrest, even though they do not play
the game.
Yet, the ever-increasing tolerance accorded Jews in contemporary America may also be reflected through the experience of sports. Most notable, perhaps, is the willingness of
the majority of American sports fans to accept the High Holidays as occasions when most Jewish athletes put their religion ahead of obligations to teammates.
Indeed, the conflicting demands of sports and religious
practice are emblematic of Judaisms encounter with America. Of all the challenges to personal and religious identity that America posed to immigrant Jews and their children, none was more daunting than athletics. For most
elders, sports and recreation remained a worthless frivolity,
even if they offered health benefits. In contrast, the immigrants children clearly understood that participation in athletics and some degree of knowledge about and enthusiasm for professional sports were fundamental American
activities. Battles over the centrality of sports were a major
source of intergenerational conflict. For many parents, practices and games on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Jewish
Sports: Israel
Sports: Israel
western boycott. For decades, results were poor but enthusiasm high. In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Yoel Sela and Eldad
Amir (sailing), who were headed for a certain medal but
declined to sail on the last day of the competition because
it coincided with Yom Kippur, were hailed for upholding
Jewish tradition over winning. After that, however, winning became a national obsession, and increased funding
and training finally brought the desired results. Israels first
medals came in the 1992 Barcelona games, when Yael Arad
and Oren Smadja won silver and bronze medals, respectively, in judo. Only one Israeli has ever won a gold medal:
windsurfer Gal Friedman (whose first name means wave)
at the 2004 Athens games. Another windsurfer, Shahar
Zubari, has won a bronze, as have kayaker Michael Kalganov and judoka Arik Zeevi. These athletes also excelled at
world and European championships, as did sailors Shimshon
Brukman, Eytan Friedlander, Zefania Carmel, and Lydia
Lazarov.
Tennis, too, has produced world-class performers: Shlomo
Glickstein, Amos Mansdorf, Anna Smashnova, and Shahar
Peer were ranked at various times since the 1980s among the
worlds top twenty players. In track and field, such achievements were rare, with the exception of sprinter David Tabak
in the 1950s and Esther Roth-Sahamorov, who ruled Israeli
track for two decades, starting in the late 1960s. Her finest
moment came in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where she
placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles, four years after her
coach, Amitzur Shapira, was murdered at Munich. In the
1990s, pole vaulter Alex Averbuch shone.
Mens soccer, Israels most popular sport, originated during late Ottoman rule. The Palestine Football Association
was established in 1928, and a league comprising British,
Jewish, and Arab teams debuted in 1932. Although there
was not yet a state, a national team was formed in 1934; its
first games were pre-World Cup defeats to Egypt, 41 and
71. The 1956 pre-Olympic tournament with the Soviet
Union was a historic milestone for soccer and the nation.
The games galvanized the identification of Soviet Jewry with
the young state and were seen as both a call to open the
gates to immigration and a part of the millennium-long battle against the goyim (nations), as expressed by popular poet
Natan Alterman (see POETRY, MODERN HEBREW). The
two losses did not alter these views. The national teams
greatest successes came in a six-year span. It won the Asian
Nations Cup (1964), reached the 1968 Olympic tournaments quarterfinals, and in the 1970 Mundial played to ties
with Sweden and with Italy, the finalist. In the new millennium, the national team and the youth team have achieved
respectable results, and Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv
have done well in European tournaments. Israels top footballers have become cultural icons, with goalie Yaakov
Chodorov, and Mordechai Spiegler, Eyal Berkovich, Chaim
Revivo, and Yossi Benayoun (the latter three played well in
the English and Spanish leagues) leading the way.
Basketball, second only to soccer in popularity, has been
the most successful sport, with its greatest achievement
the silver medal won in the 1979 European Championship
of Nations. In Israels first two decades, the league was
ruled by the Hapoel and Maccabi teams of Tel Aviv, but
since the late 1960s, Maccabi has won all but two championships, at one point having twenty-three consecutive
undefeated seasons. Bolstered by the best local players, new
561
Sports: Israel
Sports, United States: Basketball. In 1891 Dr. James Naismith devised the game of basketball for the Young Mens
Christian Association (YMCA) school in Springfield, Massachusetts, as an athletic indoor winter activity. Among the
first known Jewish players was Frank Basloe (18871966),
an immigrant from Hungary, who grew up playing basketball in Herkimer, New York. Basloe made his mark on the
sport as an organizer and promoter of professional barnstorming teams (190323) and later as an executive with
several leagues. Beating the bushes for talent, Basloe raised
teams that traveled the northeast quadrant of the country, challenging locals wherever Basloe could secure facilities and helping popularize the game. Basloe, who used basketball profits to capitalize a real estate business, endowed
Herkimers public library and helped found its synagogue.
Much Jewish basketball history took place in New
York City and Philadelphia, where universities had eagerly
adopted the sport because of its modest spatial demands at
a time when Jewish enrollments were increasing. As with
collegiate football, Jewish Ivy League students sometimes
pursued basketball to counter antisemitic stereotypes. The
first known Jewish intercollegiate player, Henry Hart Elias at
Columbia University (190103), was elected team captain as
a senior. Another Columbia student, Samuel Melitzer, was
the first Jewish player named to an All-American basketball team (1909). New York University, City College of New
York, St. Johns University, and Long Island University all
became intercollegiate basketball powers with Jewish players on their rosters.
In Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn),
Villanova University, and Temple University produced
notable Jewish players and coaches. Michael Saxe starred
on Penns first Ivy League championship team in 1908 and
became Villanovas first head coach (192126). Emanuel
Menchy Goldblatt, a Penn All American in 1927, was a ball
handler known for his stalling ability, an important element
of the game before the introduction of the shot clock. Goldblatt was founding basketball coach and athletic director at
Philadelphia Textile Institute (now Philadelphia University).
563
league founders. David Stern became the NBAs chief executive in 1984. Under his leadership, pro basketball has gained
international prominence and a domestic marketing apparatus that is the envy of other sports.
Two Jewish NBA pioneers, a player and an owner-coach,
both of whom would be inducted into the Basketball Hall of
Fame, were crucial figures in the early success of the league.
Adolph Dolph Schayes was perhaps the most accomplished Jewish player of the 1950s. A star at NYU (1944
48), he was drafted a year before the NBA consolidation by
both the New York Knicks (BAA) and the Syracuse Nationals
(NBL). Schayes stunned hometown fans by choosing Syracuse. During fifteen NBA seasons, he was a twelve-time
East Division All-star and four-time all-NBA forward, and
he led the league in free throws twice and rebounds once,
scoring 18,434 career points and averaging 18.2 per game.
In 195455, he gave Syracuse its only NBA championship,
sinking two free throws in the final seconds of the final
game against the Fort Wayne Pistons, who had led by 17
at the half. The team left Syracuse in 1963 for Philadelphia,
replacing the Warriors, which Gottlieb had moved to San
Francisco. Schayes became head coach of the new Philadelphia 76ers, winning NBA Coach of the Year honors in 1966.
His son, Danny Schayes, an All American at Syracuse University, played in the NBA from 1981 to 1999. During that
time, the number of Jewish players in the league declined.
In 1986, when Ernie Grunfeld retired from the New York
Knicks, Danny Schayes was the only Jewish player in the
NBA. Others would follow, but no more than a handful.
Lester Harrison formed the NBL Rochester Royals in 1945,
appointing himself coach. The Royals were NBL champions
in their first two seasons and, after consolidation, won the
1951 NBA championship. Harrison racially integrated the
NBL in 1946, signing two African American players: Pop
Gates, who had played for the all-black Harlem Rens, and
Dolly King (Long Island University). Among several Jewish
players he signed were Jack Dutch Garfinkel, originator
of the look away pass, and William Red Holzman, who
later coached the New York Knicks to NBA championships
in 1970 and 1973. Making their impact as coaches rather
than players, Harrison and Holzman signaled the direction
that Jewish involvement in the sport was taking.
Of the many Jewish NBA coaches, none was more successful than Arnold Red Auerbach, the Brooklyn-born
son of Russian immigrants. A fair collegiate player, he
never turned professional. However, as coach of the Boston
Celtics (195066), he built the NBAs greatest dynasty,
winning nine league championships. Retiring from coaching with a record of 938479, he remained the Celtics
general manager and president, shaping teams that added
seven more league titles. Like Holman and Harrison, Auerbach opposed segregation in basketball, drafting and signing
Chuck Cooper, the NBAs first African American player in
1950, and hiring Bill Russell, the NBAs first African American coach, in 1966.
For further reading, see F. Basloe (with D. G. Rohman),
I Grew up with Basketball: Twenty Years of Barnstorming with
Cage Greats of Yesterday (1952); P. Berger, Heroes of Pro Basketball (1968); P. Levine, Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sport and
the American Jewish Experience (1992); G. B. Kirsch, O. Harris, and C. E. Nolte, eds. Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports in
the United States (2000); S. A. Riess, Sports and the American
Jew (1998); and J. Rosin, Philly Hoops: The Sphas and Warriors
(2003).
D AVID M ARC
Sportscasters
Johnny Most, whose unmistakably raspy voice announced Boston Celtics basketball games on radio and television from 1953 to 1990, was mentored by Glickman
in the 1940s. The grandson of the German Jewish anarchist philosopher, Johann Most, Johnny Most developed
into a quintessential home-team partisan, shamelessly rooting for the Celtics and denigrating opponents, a sportscasting style Glickman abhorred. In the 1960s, Glickman hired
Marv Albert (Marvin Philip Aufrichtig) as his statistician
and helped guide Albert to a career as a leading national
play-by-play announcer in professional basketball and
hockey.
Sam Balter, born in Detroit, was an All-American basketball player at UCLA (192729) and then a member of the
Universal Pictures basketball team, which was selected to
represent the United States at the Berlin Olympic Games
in 1936. The only Jewish American to win a gold medal at
the Nazi-hosted Olympics, Balter refused to appear at the
awards ceremony with Adolph Hitler. Balter was the voice
of southern California sports before the region had major
league teams, serving as a play-by-play announcer for the
Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels baseball teams and
the Los Angeles Stars basketball team, as well as for UCLA
collegiate football and basketball (194552). He achieved a
national following as host of One for the Book, the first radio
sports commentary program, which aired on the Mutual
network for eighteen years. Balter appeared in dozens of feature films and television programs as Hollywoods archetypal
sportscaster.
Mel Allen (Melvin Allen Israel) was born in Birmingham,
Alabama, the son of Russian immigrants. Admitted to the
University of Alabama at fifteen, he began his career as a student, calling Crimson Tide football games on radio; he continued to cover football through much of his life, including
fourteen Rose Bowl games. However, Allen was best known
for his baseball work, serving as principal radio and television play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees
(194964) and for twenty-four All-star games and thirteen
World Series. He also hosted the first baseball highlights program on television, This Week in Baseball. A master of understatement, Allen greeted even the most spectacular home
run with his signature phrase, Well, how about that? In
1978, he received the Ford Frick Award, Major League Baseballs highest honor to a nonplayer.
Howard Cosell (Cohen) is remembered by many as a
color commentator on American Broadcasting Corporations
(ABC) Monday Night Football telecasts during the 1970s. He
was a brash, vociferous attorney-turned-broadcaster, and
some thought the persona he projected bordered on stereotype. Earlier in his career, Cosell helped expand the role of
the sportscaster from objective describer to advocacy journalist. This was especially true in boxing, the one sport in
which Cosell served as a play-by-play announcer. He was
alone among sportscasters in supporting Muhammad Ali
when the boxing establishment stripped him of the heavyweight championship in response to political pressure, and
Cosell did not hesitate to denounce poor officiating, something now expected of announcers. Suzyn Waldman, a
former actress and singer, was one of the first female playby-play announcers in Major League Baseball, joining the
Yankees in 1994, and she has since become a color commentator. Waldmans readiness to show emotional responses
Sportscasters
Sukkot
heritage of Jerusalem with that of the Greek philosophical tradition (see THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL). His subsequent
studies of medieval Jewish thinkers such as Judah Halevi
and above all Maimonides were marked by an emphasis on
the esoteric character of their writing and the necessity of
reading between the lines to arrive at their true intentions.
In his own far from transparent writings on these thinkers,
Strauss seems to have intimated that Maimonides may not
have been at bottom a believing Jew at all, but a philosopher who upheld rabbinic Judaism primarily for political
reasons. Strausss essays in Persecution and the Art of Writing
and his introductory essay to Shlomo Pines authoritative
translation of the Guide of the Perplexed have sparked ongoing controversies over the nature of Maimonides secret
teaching.
Strausss own theological position has itself been a subject
of much controversy. He made perfectly clear his belief that
Jerusalem and Athens (Greek philosophy) present incompatible claims to our allegiance. Jerusalems claim, he
repeatedly stated, remains intact and eternally irrefutable
even after the onslaught of the Enlightenment-bred criticism of religion. In a number of his later essays, he eloquently and admiringly reiterated the message emanating
from Jerusalem as the call to live in obedient love of the
Creator of the universe. He identified the creative tension
between Jerusalem and Athens as the vital nerve of western civilization and recommended that every one of us can
be and ought to be either the one or the other, the philosopher open to the challenge of theology, or the theologian
open to the challenge of philosophy (Progress or Return?
The Contemporary Crisis in Western Civilization, Modern
Judaism 1[1] [1981]: 1745). None of these statements, however, have erased the suspicion that Strauss himself made
his own personal decision in favor of Athens. Both his preponderant focus on the great thinkers of the western philosophical tradition and the testimony of some of his closest
students have strengthened such suspicions. Yet the case is
not closed. The very title of Kenneth Hart Greens study of
Strausss Jewish thought (Jew and Philosopher: The Return to
Maimonides in the Jewish Thought of Leo Strauss [1993]) reflects
the fact that Strauss can still be read as a thinker whose own
fundamental allegiance was truly dual in nature.
A LLAN A RKUSH
569
Sukkot
Summer Camping
Summer Camping. Organized summer camping is a distinctly American phenomenon. Three periods of development in the history of Jewish summer camping in North
America can be identified.
American Jewrys earliest encounters with the American camping movement were direct outgrowths of the
Settlement, Fresh Air, and other social reform initiatives
that arose during the last decade of the nineteenth century (see SOCIAL WORK: UNITED STATES). Camp Lehman
(renamed Camp Isabella Freedman), established in 1893 by
the Jewish Working Girls Vacation Society of New York,
may have been the first Jewish camp in the United States.
Jewish reformers wanted to establish settlement camps
specifically for the children of Jewish immigrants. The Educational Alliance in New York founded a camp in 1901 that
was incorporated as Surprise Lake Camp in 1902. In Cleveland, a committee of the United Jewish Charities established
the first of many Fresh Air Camps in 1904. The National
Council of Jewish Women founded Camp Wise (1907) for
needy children, mothers, and babies. In addition to the
Jewish camps that were sponsored by social welfare organizations, a host of privately owned camps cropped up during the first few decades of the twentieth century. Although
these camps were privately owned, many of their founders
were progressive thinkers who embraced the ideals that had
inspired the pioneers of American camping.
The second phase was the emergence of educational
camps or camps with an explicitly Jewish mission. In the
early years of the twentieth century, many Jewish leaders
began to contemplate new and innovative means to improve
and strengthen Jewish education in America and to counter
assimilation. Efforts to acculturate and Americanize East
European immigrants had been so effective that many Jews
were drifting away from Jewish life and religious practice.
Jewish educator Samson Benderly (18761944) insisted that
a revitalized Jewish educational system could be effective
in safeguarding the future of Jewish life in America if it
Sulam, Sarra Copia (ca. 15921641; also Sara Copia Sullam) was a Jewish writer, poet, and patron in early modern Venice who cultivated a circle of Christian men of
letters who gave her lessons in literature and philosophy
in exchange for financial backing and intellectual camaraderie. She began a correspondence with the Genoese
monk Ansaldo Ceba` after reading his drama, LEster. She
also maintained relations with Leon Modena, who also
wrote a play in Italian about Esther and dedicated it to her.
Gradually, Copia Sulams Christian friends turned against
her. Baldassare Bonifacio, a poet, priest, and legal scholar,
published a treatise, On the Immortality of the Soul, in
which he claimed that Copia Sulam did not believe in this
570
Summer Camping
Synagogue Sisterhoods
Sura was the original location of the preeminent Babylonian rabbinic academy (yeshivah) of the geonic era; it was
founded by Rav, one of the two leaders of the first generation of Amoraim in Babylonia. The place name continued
to be applied to the academy when it was relocated to Baghdad, sometime in the ninth century (see AMORAIM; GAON,
GEONIM, GEONIC ACADEMIES; PUMBEDITA).
Synagogue
synagogues, and the needy of the community (see ORGANIZATIONS, WOMENS: UNITED STATES). Even when
there was sentiment against women earning money outside
the home, there was never a norm that Jewish womens
activities should be limited to the domestic realm. In fact,
voluntary activity on behalf of the community was encouraged, particularly in arenas considered womens spheres in
American society, such as education, culture, and areas of
religion apart from ritual. The predominant model in synagogues and elsewhere was separate mens and womens
groups.
571
Synagogue Sisterhoods
Synagogues, Ancient
Synagogues, Ancient. Synagogues flourished throughout
the Land of Israel during the Roman and Byzantine periods, continuing well into Islamic times. The centrality of
local communities as sites of Torah study and the development of private associations during the Hellenistic period
provide some context for this development.
By the first century CE at the latest, Jewish synagogues
existed in the Land of Israel and the Roman Diaspora. The
clearest archeological evidence for early synagogues is a
monumental Greek inscription recovered in Jerusalem that
relates that a certain Theodotos, son of Vettenos the priest
and synagogue leader (archisynagogos), son of a synagogue
leader, and grandson of a synagogue leader, built the synagogue for the reading of the Torah and studying of the commandments and as a hostel with chambers and water installations to provide for the needs of itinerants from abroad,
which his fathers, the elders, and Simonides founded.
A number of buildings from the later part of the Second
Temple period in the Land of Israel have been identified as synagogues. These include structures uncovered at
Gamla, Masada, Herodium, and recently at Modiin, Kiryat
Sefer, and Jericho. Each of the buildings at Gamla, Masada,
and Herodium is a large meeting room surrounded by
benches. Philo of Alexandria describes the synagogues of
the Essenes as having such benches (Every Good Man Is Free,
lines 8182). The building at Gamla, constructed after 40
BCE, is a large, freestanding rectangular structure (16 20
meters) built on the citys western side next to the city
wall. The main entrance was on the west, with an exedra
and an open courtyard in front. The center of the hall was
unpaved and surrounded (except for the main entrance) by
stepped benches. The synagogue of Masada was built during
the First Jewish War of 6674 CE. Located on the northwestern casement wall, the room is rectangular in shape
(15 12 meters); benches with four tiers were built on three
sides of the room. On the fourth side, at the northwestern
end of the building was a large, protruding room (measuring 3.6 5.5 meters), within which fragments of the biblical books of Deuteronomy and Ezekiel were discovered.
The room at Herodium was also fitted with benches during the First Jewish War. On the basis of the similarities
between these benches and those at Masada, some scholars
have identified this room as a synagogue.
Archeological evidence for synagogues during the two
centuries following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE
is sparse, although rabbinic literature provides ample evidence for synagogues for this period. Tannaitic writings,
reflecting the late first through the early third centuries,
provide information about synagogues within communities
that were under rabbinic influence. M. Megillah 3:2 assumes
that synagogue buildings were not so clearly distinguished
that they could not be converted for use for another communal or industrial purpose. M. Nedarim 9:2 relates that
a private house could be transformed into a synagogue, a
parallel with Christian house synagogues, as well as the
third-century Dura Europos synagogue in Syria and synagogues elsewhere in the Diaspora. Sources discuss a synagogue in Alexandria that bore similarities to the Jerusalem
Temple (T. Sukkah 4:6), whereas T. Megillah 3:2123 suggests that the ideal synagogue, like the Tabernacle/Temple,
should be built at the high point of the town, its doors
open to the east. The interior of the synagogue was to be
Synagogues, Ancient
Synagogues, Ancient
directed toward a scrolls box (teva) that was set on the wall
aligned with Jerusalem. This literary testimony indicates that
synagogues were a common feature on the Palestinian landscape by the third and fourth centuries CE.
More than one hundred synagogues from the fourth
through eighth centuries are known from archeological evidence. Three basic types of synagogue buildings or basilicas
have been discovered in the Land of Israel: the broadhouse,
longhouse, and Galilean. The principle of sacred orientation
may be observed in all three types, and platforms supporting
Torah shrines were placed on the Jerusalem-aligned wall in
the vast majority of cases. From the fifth century onward,
longhouse basilicas often incorporated an apse. Broadhouse
synagogues have been discovered at Khirbet Shema in the
Upper Galilee and at Eshtemoa and Khirbet Susiya in the
Mount Hebron region of Judea. A Torah shrine was placed
on the broad wall, aligned with Jerusalem.
Longhouse basilicas, generally dating to the fifth and sixth
centuries, consisted of an atrium, sometimes a narthex, and
a nave, the focal point of which was a Torah shrine set on a
platform (bimah) on the Jerusalem-aligned wall. The Torah
shrine (called an aronah or beit aronah in inscriptions and
literary sources) was sometimes flanked by seven-branched
later, the zodiac wheel includes both the signs and personifications of each month, clearly labeled with the Hebrew
name of the month. The chariot of Helios appears, but Helios
himself does not. At Ein Gedi the names of the months and
zodiac signs appear in a long textual inscription, but they
are not illustrated. These varying designs reflect the different attitudes held by various communities to possibly idolatrous imagery. The zodiac at Naaran was defaced by iconoclasts (as were images at Khirbet Susiya and other sites)
during the early Islamic period, reflecting changing Jewish attitudes toward visual representations, most likely in
response to Muslim aniconism within mosques (see ISLAM
AND JUDAISM). Biblical scenes that appear in synagogue
mosaics include the binding of Isaac ( akedah) at Beth Alpha
and Sepphoris; the angels visit to Abraham and Sarah and
Synagogues, Ancient
In Worlitz,
the Duke of Anhalt-Dessau sponsored a synagogue (178990) in an English garden setting that resembled an ancient round temple; the architect even called it
the Temple of Vesta. This classical style can also be seen
at Luneville,
France (178588) and frequently in the 1820s
in Vienna (1826, Seitenstettentempel); Wroclaw, Poland
(1820s, White Stork Synagogue); Obuda, Hungary (1821);
and elsewhere.
S AMUEL D. G RUBER
Synagogues, Wooden
gardens and greenery in the synagogue experience. Windows onto gardens and wooded areas, as at the 1989 Jewish
Center of the Hamptons by Norman Jaffe (East Hampton,
New York), are increasingly common (see ECOLOGY).
In the first decades of the twenty-first century important
new synagogues continue to be built that combine the traditions of rationalism and expressionism and also adapt the
forms pioneered by the modern masters.
For further reading, see K. Elman and A. Giral, eds. Percival Goodman: Architect, Planner, Teacher, Painter (2001); S.
D. Gruber, American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and
Jewish Community (2003); A. Kampf, Contemporary Synagogue
Art: Developments in the United States, 19451965 (1966); C. H.
Krinsky, Synagogues of Europe (1985); R. Stephan, ed., Eric
Mendelsohn, Architect 18871953 (1999); and E. Van Voolen
and A. Sachs, eds., Contemporary Architecture and Jewish
Identity (2004).
S AMUEL D. G RUBER
Institute of Polish Architecture in Warsaw. It is this documentation that partially survived Nazi destruction and was
published by Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka in a series of
landmark books beginning with Wooden Synagogues (1957
and 1959).
The construction system of most wooden synagogues
combined a squared, stacked-log wall system of ancient
Slavic origin with a technically advanced, early modern rooftrussing system that typically sheltered a unique, domed
wooden cupola above the prayer hall. This curved, tentlike cupola was typically hung from the roof structure and,
because of its technical and stylistic sophistication, was probably designed by regional architects employed by the Polish
ruling class. This interior cupola combined Baroque styles
related to monumental Polish civic buildings and churches
with regional traditions of wood construction to produce
the uniquely Jewish interior space of the small town synagogue. Surprisingly, this unique aspect of the wooden synagogues was not derivative of the masonry synagogues found
in larger towns throughout these regions. The wooden synagogues were almost certainly built by non-Jewish craftsmen
(Jews were generally excluded from the building trades)
under the direction of regional master builders.
The interiors of these synagogues were dominated by
an elaborate octagonal central bimah (elevated platform
used for Torah reading) and a monumental multitiered
ark ( aron ha-kodesh; storage cabinet for the Torah scroll or
scrolls) set along the western walls. Although directly related
to wooden monumental architecture of the Baroque period,
especially church altars, the ark and bimah followed distinctive Jewish stylistic models that had developed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and were found throughout
the Ashkenazic Diaspora.
By the beginning of the eighteenth century, the prayer
hall of the small town wooden synagogue was commonly
built alongside a group of subordinate rooms and structures.
Typically the auxiliary structures surrounding the prayer
hall included an entrance hall, beit midrash (house of study),
meeting rooms, a womens gallery, and possibly a school.
Later in the nineteenth century, as the Jewish community grew, these functions were often transferred to neighboring buildings. A typical exterior expansion to the small
town synagogue was the erection of a second-floor womens
gallery above the entrance that replaced a first-floor gallery.
This change in location may have reflected the influence
of traditions from the larger towns. Such expansions can
be recognized in exterior photographs by the presence of
exterior stairs on the front of the synagogue that women
used to attend services while men continued to use the main
entrance to the prayer hall on the first floor.
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the typical wooden
synagogues from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
was their common pattern of liturgical wall paintings. In
synagogues from the oldest central Ukrainian regions, colorful, elaborate paintings covered the entire walls and ceiling of the prayer hall. The dominant visual elements of
the paintings were large painted tablets with portions of
daily prayer. Typically these prayers were painted with black
Hebrew letters on brilliant white backgrounds and were surrounded by elaborately painted architectural surrounds with
columns and arches following the precedent of book art and
Hebrew illuminated manuscripts. The remaining surfaces of
Synagogues, Wooden. Wooden synagogues were constructed continuously in Eastern Europe from the earliest
period of Jewish settlement beginning in the fourteenth or
fifteenth centuries until their almost complete destruction
by the Nazis beginning in 1939. Unlike the synagogues in
almost every other country of the Jewish Diaspora, which
followed the existing forms of local and regional architecture, a distinctive type of wooden synagogue architecture
emerged in the Jewish communities in the small towns or
Synagogues, Wooden
Szold, Henrietta
In the first millennium BCE, the Phoenicians, who lived
in an area stretching from northern Canaan to southern
Syria and inland to the mountains of Lebanon, were the
dominant ethnic group. Less a unified nation than a collection of independent city-states (Arwad, Byblos, Sidon,
and Tyre), Phoenicia had a seafaring mercantile economy
with trading connections throughout the region, including with the Israelite monarchies. In the Hellenistic era,
after the death of Alexander the Great, Syria came under
the rule of the Seleucids, whose capital city was Antioch.
In the mid-second century BCE, Seleucid Syria lost control of Jerusalem and much of the Land of Israel to the
the interior were filled with ensembles of animal and vegetative motifs following highly stylized patterns typical of
wooden synagogues throughout Eastern Europe.
Although early scholars sometimes attributed these paintings to the work or influence of local vernacular sources,
the wooden synagogue paintings were actually the works
of highly trained Jewish artists who occasionally signed
and dated them. These artists probably worked in guild-like
associations and produced a uniform liturgical art that was
remarkably consistent in wooden synagogues throughout
Eastern Europe. The most famous examples of wooden synagogue paintings to be photographed before their destruction were located in the towns of Gwozdziec, Chodorow,
Jablonow, and Michalpol in the Podolia region of south central Ukraine. This regional style spread throughout Eastern
Europe and was even imported to Germany. In the 1730s, a
well-documented artist from Brody in Ukraine, Eliezer Sussman, painted the walls of at least seven synagogues including, in 1735, the ceiling of the Horb Synagogue, which is
preserved at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Although complex and exotic to a modern observer,
these paintings actually followed consistent patterns of layout, motif, and liturgical reference. The paintings demonstrate the influence of sources outside of Poland, including Sephardic/ Ottoman, Baroque, and Western European
decorative arts motifs. They also reveal an older stratum of
Ashkenazi Rhineland sources, particularly animal symbolism and architectural motifs of medieval origin. These paintings indicate a surprisingly multicultural and cosmopolitan
development not usually associated with the small Polish/
Ukrainian town or shtetl. See Plate 9 for similar imagery.
This artistic tradition flourished in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries; the practice ended in the early nineteenth century, although the paintings were generally preserved. This change in the character of the small town
synagogue is generally attributed to the changes in Jewish communities of Eastern Europe during the Early Modern period, such as the advent of the Haskalah, the rise
of H
. asidism, and increasing industrialization and urbanization. Recent research includes T. C. Hubka, Resplendent Synagogue: Architecture and Worship in an EighteenthCentury Polish Community (2003).
T HOMAS C. H UBKA
Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City after pledging that she would not pursue a rabbinic diploma. There she
fell in love with the scholar Louis Ginzberg, whose works
she translated and edited; she suffered a severe emotional
crisis when Ginzberg married a younger woman. A turning
point came after a trip to Palestine with her mother in 1909.
In 1912, with associates from her womens Zionist study circle, Szold formed the daughters of Zion and became its
first president; in 1914, this group became Hadassah. Led
by Szold, Hadassah established a nurses settlement in Palestine; this program was followed by innovative contributions
to the health and welfare of both Jews and Arabs, including
clinics, dispensaries, hospitals, infant welfare stations, and
other services oriented to women and children.
Szold went to live in Palestine in 1920; except for occasional visits to the United States, she remained there for the
rest of her life. In 1927, she was appointed to the threemember Palestine Zionist Executive. In 1931, elected to the
Szold, Henrietta
Szold, Henrietta
welfare of the Yishuv and her moral and intellectual leadership of the American Zionist womens movement made her
a beloved, even legendary, figure in her lifetime. At once a
visionary and a practical administrator, Szold gave American
Jewish women an enduring public role and public Jewish
identity in Zionism (see also, ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE
MOVEMENT).
Recent research includes, B. R. Shargel, Lost Love: The
Untold Story of Henrietta Szold (1997); B. Kessler, ed., Daughter of Zion: Henrietta Szold and American Jewish Woman (1995);
and S. Reinharz and M. Raider, eds., American Jewish Women
and the Zionist Enterprise (2005).
J OYCE A NTLER
581
Amoraim, rabbinic scholars and teachers who were intellectually active in both Palestine and Babylonia from ca.
200ca. 500 CE. The Amoraim, like their predecessors, the
582
Talmud, Babylonian
Talmud, Babylonian
responsa, mostly legal rulings posted to distant Jewish communities, rely almost exclusively on the BT. Post-geonic
responsa down to the present continue this practice of discussing legal issues within the framework of the BT sugyot in
which they arise. Since the geonic period, vocational scholars have been more interested in the halakhic sugyot of the
BT, even though the BT consists of roughly equal amounts of
halakhah and aggadah and this material is not differentiated
within the text.
Composed orally, the BT was studied orally into the geonic
period, when it began to be transcribed. The earliest written
text witness of the Bavli is an eighth- or ninth-century Cairo
Talmud, Babylonian
Talmud, Jerusalem
Talmud, Jerusalem (Yerushalmi, abbreviated in this volume as JT). This Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the
Land of Israel or the Palestinian Talmud (and sometimes
abbreviated at PT), is the commentary on the Mishnah of
the Amoraim living in the Land of Israel. From the period
of the Geonim until early modernity, the JT was also known
as gemara dvnei maarava (the learning of the people of the
West), gemara dvnei eretz Yisrael (the learning of the people
of the Land of Israel), as well as more briefly, talmud eretz
Yisrael and talmud dmaarava.
The JT is organized according to the orders of the Mishnah
and is divided into tractates, chapters, and halakhot (discussions of an individual mishnah or parts thereof). There is no
JT to chapters 2124 of Tractate Shabbat, chapter 3 of Makkot,
Tractates Avot and Eduyyot, all of order Kodashim, and most
of order Tohorot, except for chapters 13 of Niddah. Scholars consider it unlikely that the JT ever included Kodashim
and Tohorot, and attempts to reconstruct the missing portions of Shabbat, Makkot, and Niddah have proven flawed.
Manuscript evidence suggests that even at an early stage the
JT did not cover these mishnaic orders and chapters.
The JT explicates mishnayot and beraitot, presents
Talmud (BT) and was relatively neglected before the nineteenth century. Numerous textual problems render the JT a
challenging subject of study; they were likely both cause and
effect of its marginalization. Elucidating the text and establishing accurate readings in the JT are consequently important concerns of academic scholarship. Contemporary academic scholarship also studies the JTs literary features and
Talmud
Talmud Study: Modern Approaches. For many generations, the study and analysis of the talmudic corpus, especially the Babylonian Talmud, was one of the most prestigious religious vocations in traditional Jewish societies.
In nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, influential forces,
Tannaim
Yeshivah was therefore instituted as an absolutely independent institution, dedicated exclusively to the theoretical
study of the Talmud. It was owned and administered by the
Rosh Yeshivah, the dean, who was responsible for the spiritual
development and material needs of his students. Methodological innovations were not visible or intended at first, but
they soon developed in this rigorous environment.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Rav Chaim
Soloveitchik, a brilliant scholar from Brisk, who taught for
several years in the Volozhin Yeshivah, developed an original method of studying the Talmud. Rav Chaim Soloveitchik
was not interested in the literal hermeneutics of the Talmud
or in complex comparative and harmonistic studies of topics
(sugyot) in the form of casuistic argument (pilpul). Instead, he
preferred to take a single topic and to break it down into its
basic analytical components to understand how these different elements interacted in constituting a specific sugyah and
later giving rise to a single prescribed action or law. Although
this method was not itself entirely unprecedented, the systematic way in which Rav Chaim Soloveitchik applied it
and the technical language he created for it, such as hakirah
(inquiry), h.iluk (distinction), and dinim (underlying principles), were new. Rav Chaim Soloveitchiks method was further developed by his sons, Yitzhak Zev of Brisk and Moshe
Soloveitchik, and by his grandsons, of whom the most
famous was Joseph B. Soloveitchik of Boston, and by other
more faithful disciples, such as Baruch Ber of Kaminitz (N.
Solomon, The Analytic Movement: Hayyim Soloveitchik and His
Circle [1993]). Although many challenged this new method,
seeing it as far too synthetic an approach to the complexity of talmudic literature, it nonetheless spread quickly in
the yeshivah world and paved the way for further methodological debates and modification. One such was promoted
by Rabbi Shimon Shkop of Telz, who suggested that sevarah
(natural and unaided logic), more than revelation, was the
ground for monetary laws in Judaism.
During the twentieth century, the Talmud was studied in
academic settings as well. The new generation of scholars
H. Albeck, J. N. Epstein, S. Lieberman, and E. A. Orbach
who came to academia after being exposed to the new and
radical methods developed in the yeshivot, preferred a critical
and historical approach to the Talmud. Previous generations
of academic Talmud scholars had paid little if any attention
to the rich and diverse manuscript tradition of the entire talmudic corpus or to how the historical process of redaction
and editing shaped the tradition itself. In recent years, with
the publication of a variety of critical editions, scholars are
better able to identify different layers and previous forms of
the various sections of the talmudic corpus; greater authority is now attached to the Stammaim, the anonymous editors and redactors of the Babylonian Talmud (see TALMUD,
BABYLONIAN). For contemporary approaches to academic
Talmud study, see C. E. Fonrobert and M. S. Jaffee, eds.,
The Cambridge Companion to the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature
(2007).
C HAIM M EIR N ERIA
carry on the lineage of the deceased and inherit his property. Onan refuses to fulfill his levirate duty and is killed by
God. Fearful that Tamar is the cause of his elder sons deaths,
Judah denies her his last son, Shelah. To obtain her rights,
Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and becomes pregnant by Judah. Although Judah initially condemns Tamar
for playing the harlot, he ultimately acknowledges her
righteousness. Tamar gives birth to twins, Perez and Zerah;
through Perez, she is an ancestress of King David (Ruth
4:12, 1822; 1 Chron 2:4). Biblical tradition praises Tamar
for her faithfulness to the principle of levirate marriage.
N AOMI S TEINBERG
Judah ha-Nasi and his sons in the early third century (see
MISHNAH). Since ibn Daud, the Tannaim have generally
been counted as five generations, perhaps in conscious symmetry with the five pairs (zugot) leading up to Hillel and
Shammai.
The most important Tannaim before 70 CE are Gamaliel
the Elder and Simon ben Gamaliel; other scholars of the
period are frequently mentioned collectively as the houses
Tannaim
Targum
and passed on his knowledge to students by his continually repeated recitation. A kind of walking library, he was
despised by many Rabbis because of his purely mechanical
knowledge: The magician mutters and does not know what
he is saying. The tanna teaches and does not know what he
is saying (BT Sotah 22a). Despite such criticisms this office
remained in existence until geonic times because it was so
closely connected with the rabbinic ritual of learning and the
Oral Torah.
For further reading, see J. Neusner, ed., Dictionary of
Ancient Rabbis. Selections from The Jewish Encyclopaedia (2003);
C. Hezser, The Social Structure of the Rabbinic Movement in
Roman Palestine (1997); and G. Stemberger, Introduction to the
S TEMBERGER
Talmud and Midrash (1996).
G UNTER
Targum (pl. targumim) is the Aramaic word for translation and refers especially to the Aramaic translations of the
Bible. During the Second Temple period, Hebrew ceased to
be the spoken language of the Jewish people; it was replaced
by Greek (in the Hellenistic Diaspora), Aramaic (in its various dialects in the Land of Israel and Babylonia), and
Mishnaic Hebrew. There was thus a need for a translation
that would accompany the public reading of sacred scriptures, thereby preventing them from becoming an incomprehensible and fossilized heritage of the past. This translation was especially needed after rabbinic preaching charged
the biblical texts with new aggadic and halakhic interpretations that had to be transmitted to the masses. The
need for this mediator between scriptures and the people was especially urgent in the synagogues and in the
schools in which the younger generation was educated.
In addition to Greek translations of the Bible such as the
Septuagint, quite a few Aramaic texts preserve the synagogue activity of the meturgemanim (translators), which
took place in the first seven centuries CE, until the Muslim conquest of the Middle East. The most famous translations are the translation of the Pentateuch attributed to
a certain Onkelos (who is believed to have lived in the
Land of Israel in the first to second centuries CE) and the
Targum to the Prophets composed by his contemporary,
Jonathan ben Uziel. These two Targumim were also used by
the Babylonian Rabbis and eventually were accepted as the
authoritative translations of the biblical texts, thus achieving a great sanctity. Other Targumim that were created in
the Land of Israel, such as the Targum Yerushalmi to the
Pentateuch, did not enjoy such a status, but they also testify
to the ways in which the vitality of the sacred scriptures was
maintained.
The Targumim incorporated many aggadic and halakhic
traditions words of rebuke or consolation, folk elements,
and theological issues into the biblical text, constructing
new interpretations to suit the ears and needs of new generations. Often this meant that they drew away from the
simple meaning of the text or inserted long additions that
might sometimes overshadow the biblical source. The variegated traditions that were embedded in these translations
frequently have a didactic tone; thus, they stress the importance of Torah study or prayer, extol biblical ancestors, or
vividly describe the end of days (see ESCHATOLOGY: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD). They also emend apparent anthropomorphic descriptions of God and publicize new rabbinic
halakhah (legislation). From this perspective the Targumim
587
Targum
should also be seen as mediators between the elite rabbinic class and ordinary Jews.
New languages spoken by the Jewish people from the seventh century onward, such as Arabic (see JUDEO-ARABIC)
and later Yiddish, displaced the Aramaic Targumim. Their
use gradually declined but they continue to be used as aids
for understanding the biblical text and a resource for scholarship. For further reading, see J. W. Bowker, The Targums
and Rabbinic Literature (1969).
A VIGDOR S HINAN
IMMIGRATION BEFORE 1948) which was constituted primarily of immigrants from Nazi Germany. In these years
Tel Avivs White City was developed by architects who had
been trained in the International or Bauhaus style. These
four thousand or more buildings within a concentrated area,
the worlds largest grouping of structures in this Modernist
style, are characterized by asymmetry, functionality, and
simplicity; the White City was named a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 2004.
Tel Aviv served as Israels center of government until the
end of 1949 when the capital was established in Jerusalem.
However, as of 2009, nearly all national embassies continue
to be located in the Tel Aviv area. Much of Jaffas Arab
population (approximately 70,000 of a total population of
100,000 in 1948) left the city during the developing tensions
at the end of the British Mandate period and the conquest
of the city by Haganah and Irgun forces on May 14, 1948
(see ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY
BODIES). The present Arab population of Jaffa is estimated
at 10,000 out of a total population of 80,000. Tel Aviv and
Jaffa were combined under one municipal government in
1950. For recent research, see the collected articles in Israel
Studies 14(3) (2009). Map 14
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Sephardim and H.asidim wind them clockwise. Jewish mystics (see KABBALAH) inscribed the word Shaddai
(Almighty) on the tefillin, both in writing and in their modes
of winding and knotting. Women are not obligated to put
on (lay) tefillin, but some have chosen to do so in various times and places according to rabbinic (BT Eruvin 96a)
and medieval sources (Grossman). Some rabbinic authorities
have permitted this practice (Solomon ben Aderet [Rashba];
Jacob ben Meir Tam [Rabbeinu Tam]) or allowed it with
the stipulation that women should not recite the blessing
since they are not obligated to observe this commandment
( Maimonides); others have tried to discourage it (Shulh.an
Arukh; Moses Isserles [Rama]; see HALAKHAH). In the contemporary era, the practice is increasing among women, particularly in Conservative and Modern Orthodox forms of
Tel Aviv is the second largest city in Israel with a total population (with neighboring Jaffa) of nearly 400,000 and an
area of twenty square miles (51.8 square kilometers). It is
the economic center of Israel, as well as a popular tourist
and cultural destination. Situated on Israels Mediterranean
coastline, Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 as a new Jewish
city, north of the ancient port city of Jaffa, which had a predominantly Arab population. The name, which means hill
of spring, is derived from Ezekiel 3:15: And I came to the
exiles at Tel Aviv; it was also the title of the Hebrew translation by Nah.um Sokolow of Theodor Herzls visionary novel
about a Jewish state, Altneuland. Tel Aviv gained municipal
status in 1934 and saw a dramatic increase in population
during the 192939 Fifth Aliyah (see ISRAEL, STATE OF:
588
Temple, Second
Jews, such as Larry Davids character in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000present), as well as shows that have turned classic Jewish stereotypes inside out by embracing them, such
as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (1999) and the Comedy Central movie The Hebrew Hammer (2003). Nevertheless, some portrayals of Jewish characters still periodically
provoke controversy, and frank depiction of Jewish ritual
observance is still extremely rare on Americas airwaves.
Recent years have seen a significant surge in scholarly
attention to images of Jews in television. Two especially
valuable studies are D. Zurawiks The Jews of Prime Time
(2003) and V. Brooks Something Aint Kosher Here: The Rise
of the Jewish Sitcom (2003). Although this scholarly attention reflects in part a growth in television studies in general, it also seems to indicate a greater awareness of the role
that depictions of Jews on television play in defining Jewish
American culture.
H ENRY B IAL
a base from which to consolidate political power in a quasiindependent Judean state. Likewise, a century later, Herod
the Greats massive remodeling project to transform the Second Temple from an obscure provincial sanctuary into a
world-class shrine (completed in 19 BCE) was a major part
of his concerted efforts to cement his standing within Jewish
society, as well as to integrate Jerusalem into the emergent
Roman imperial system. The Hasmonean usurpation of the
high priesthood and its perquisites proved a profound ideological irritant that contributed decisively to the formation
of a range of sectarian groups that competed for influence
over Jewish religious practice in general and the sacrificial
cult in particular. These sectarian movements, including the
Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Dead Sea Scrolls sect generally identified as the Essenes, loom large in both ancient and
modern accounts of the tensions that characterized Judean
political and social life throughout the late Second Temple
period.
The recurrent conflicts that mark the history of the Second Temple reflect its abiding centrality to the organization and functioning of Jewish society and religion. Equally
significant, therefore, are the deep structural continuities
in cultic practice, spatial arrangement, and ritual personnel. Throughout its history, the Second Temple was devoted
to the worship of YHWH alone, and its priesthood became
increasingly assertive in claiming that it was the sole authorized locus for sacrifice and its attendant rituals, notwithstanding the existence at various times during this period of
other Yahwist shrines (i.e., the temples at Elephantine and
Leontopolis in Egypt as well as the Samaritan temple on
Mount Gerizim). Encompassing both preparatory purifications and a regular sequence of sacrificial actions, the elaborate system of vegetable and especially animal offerings
enacted in the Temple was understood to maintain the presence of God and thus Gods protection and blessing
within the Temple and its community.
The Temple was organized into concentric zones of
increasing holiness, from the entrance and exit gates in the
southern wall of the Temple platform to a series of courtyards (for Gentiles, women, ordinary Jews, and priests), to a
holy place (heikhal), and finally to the holy of holies at the
heart of the shrine itself (devir). Set off from each other by a
complex system of barriers and screens, these spaces served
distinctive functions in the operation of the cult; each was
accessible to progressively restricted classes of people based
on criteria of ethnicity (Jew/Gentile), gender (male/female),
and caste (high priest/priest/laity). The Aaronite priesthood
itself was divided into high priests (kohanim) and simple
priests (Levites). As a source of great prestige and power,
membership in the priesthood through genealogical descent
was subject to intense scrutiny and often proved a matter of
contentiousness. Thus, the Temple epitomized, in both symbolic and concrete ways, the hierarchical divisions internal
to Jewish society as well as the relationship of Jews to the
surrounding non-Jewish world.
For further reading, see J. R. Branham, Penetrating the
Sacred: Breaches and Barriers in the Jerusalem Temple,
in Thresholds of the Sacred, ed. S. Gerstel (2006), 624; S. J.
D. Cohen, The Temple and the Synagogue, in The Cambridge History of Judaism 3: The Early Roman Period, ed. W.
Horbury, W. D. Davies, and J. Sturdy (1999), 298325; E.
S. Gruen, Diaspora: Jews Amidst Greeks and Romans (2002);
Temple, Second
Diaspora Jews.
In all periods, the Jerusalem Temple cult consisted of a
ritual system revolving around regular sacrifices (see WORSHIP) and the production of sacred literature. Both aspects
were governed by the Jerusalem priesthood (kohanim)
that claimed descent from Aaron. They were assisted by
the Levites, members of the tribe of Levi who were not
direct descendants of Aaron. In the pre-exilic period, this
priesthood remained largely sponsored by the royal Davidic
family, similar to the Beth El priesthood in the north that
was a client group of the northern kings. The Temple itself
was a physical representation of the divine cosmos, and the
Davidic king was its chief functionary, symbolizing his and
YHWHs interconnected relationship as sovereigns of the
heavens and earth (see also 2 Sam 7; Ps 2). The regular practice of sacrifice within the Temples precincts maintained the
devotional dialogue between the nation and its God, and
many of the ritual texts in the book of Leviticus (especially
116) provide some insight into how these sacrifices and
related rituals were conducted. It was through the workings
of the Temple cult that sin could be expiated, guilt forgiven,
fertility and security maintained, and sacred doctrine taught.
Yet, the Temple cult was not universally accepted. The
Israelite public (mostly the northern tribes, although likely
some southerners as well) apparently denounced Solomons
Temple shortly after that kings death (1 Kgs 12:16), and
many of the prophets express condemnation of its priesthood, systems of ritual, and mythic traditions (see BIBLE:
PROPHETS AND PROPHECY; AMOS, etc.). In the late
eighth century BCE, the prophet Micah publicly declared
that, because it supported injustice, the Temple mount in
Jerusalem would be demolished (3:12), a threat remembered a century later when Jeremiah condemned those
who thought that the mere existence of the Temple and
its ongoing cultic infrastructure would save them from the
effects of their sins and transgressions (7:115, 26:179).
This critique continued into the post-exilic period. Although
some prophets supported the Temple and its functionaries
( Haggai; Zechariah), others pointed out its flaws ( Isaiah
5666; Malachi), and this tension persisted between various
Jewish sects well into the Roman period. The final destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE vindicated those critical
of Temple-based groups, although the Temple and its practices remained an important ideological fixture in the later
writings of rabbinic Judaism, which fostered hopes of an
eventual rebuilding of the Temple in the distant future.
For further reading, see I. Knohl, The Sanctuary of Silence
(1995); J. Milgrom, Leviticus 116 (1991); B. C. Ollenburger,
Zion, City of the Great King (1987); and M. Fox et al., Texts
Temples and Traditions: A Tribute to Menahem Haran (1996).
M ARK L EUCHTER
Ten Commandments
Theater: Britain
Theater: Britain
Theater: Europe
can pull out any play or film from my canon that is not
Jewish in its view of life and all its tragic-comic aspects.
P ETER L AWSON
emancipation and assimilation, beginning in the late eighteenth century. Jews became increasingly active as actors,
directors, and theater managers, while also writing plays
in the languages of their native countries. In nineteenthcentury France, Adolphe dEnnery (18111899) wrote
more than two hundred plays, vaudevilles, and melodra
mas; Ludovic Halevy
(18341908), nephew of the com
poser Jacques Fromental Halevy,
wrote comedies, farces,
and libretti (mostly in collaboration with Henri Meilhac);
` (18411909) penned verse-dramas and
and Catulle Mendes
libretti. By and large, these works were in the popular
style of their day, depicting the conventions and pleasures of bourgeois society. Occasionally they addressed Jew`
ish concerns or featured Jewish characters, as in Mendes
Les M`eres ennemies (1882). In the later nineteenth century,
`
Albin Valabregue
(18531937) was a prolific French dramatist and dramatic critic, and Sarah Bernhardt (18441923)
rose to international fame as the leading romantic French
actress of her day, often called la belle juive. She fol
lowed in the footsteps of Eliza Rachel Felix
(18211858;
known as Rachel), the leading classical actress of midnineteenth-century France. The most prominent theater
personality of Jewish origin on the contemporary French
scene is Arianne Mnouchkine (b. 1939), one of Europes
Orkeny
(19121979) was known for plays combining modern style with folkloristic elements. Polish writer and critic
Wilhelm Feldmann, author of Sady Boze, became a leading
figure in Polish literature of the late nineteenth century.
593
Theater: Europe
Theater: Israel
Jewish participation in German theater. Yet, many interesting productions in twenty-first-century Germany and Austria are the work of Jewish directors, who often address the
Holocaust in their stagings. Some, such as Hungarian-born
director and playwright George Tabori (19142007) or Peter
Zadek (19262009), were born before the Holocaust; others
such as Jossi Wieler and Arie Zinger were born afterward.
A NAT F EINBERG
Yiddish theater or Jewish theater in other languages. However, with the growing awareness of Israels cultural diversity, beginning in the wake of the 1967 Six Day War and
reaching a peak with the influx of immigration from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, theater in Russian and Arabic, as well as theater in Yiddish, Amharic ( Ethiopia), and
Moroccan Judeo-Arabic, also became part of Israels cultural milieu. At the end of the first decade of the twenty-first
century, Arabic is the mother tongue of a little more than
20% of Israels population(see DEMOGRAPHY).
The first Hebrew performances in the Land of Israel took
place in schools, beginning in 1889, with pupils performing
for their parents and teachers. These performances, which
served as a tool for teaching the Hebrew language, were frequently steeped in the Zionist ideology that provided the
impetus for Jewish settlement and the establishment of a
secular Jewish, later Israeli, culture. The theater in Israel has
always served as a significant expression of this culture, as
well as an extremely important form of entertainment.
Beginning in 1905, with an influx of immigrants with
theater backgrounds or aspirations, a number of semiprofessional theaters were established, primarily in Jaffa,
but also in Jerusalem and other places. These theaters
performed Hebrew translations of plays from contemporaneous European repertoires (e.g., Ibsen, Chekhov, Haupt`
mann, and Moliere).
They also featured plays by Yiddish
playwrights like Sholem Aleichem, Jacob Gordin, and Dovid
Pinski, whose depictions of Jewish life in the shtetl had a
strong appeal for local audiences, most of whom had left this
experience behind. However, these productions did not lead
to a full professionalization of the Hebrew theater or to any
significant production of Hebrew dramatic writing. During
World War I, theatrical activities stopped, more or less completely. Although audiences yearned for theatrical depictions
of life in the new country, such a repertoire did not develop
for quite a long time.
The first fully professional theater performing in Hebrew
was founded in Moscow in 1917 by a group of actors led
by Menachem Gnessin (18821951), Hanna Rovina (1889
1980), and Nahum Zemah (18871952). Zemah, in particular, had already performed at one of the Zionist congresses before he successfully formed a Hebrew-language
594
Theater: Israel
Theater: Israel
theater collective. The collective received professional training under Constantin Stanislavski, the leader of the famous
Moscow Art Theater, and it was incorporated as the Biblical Studio within the network of ethnic theaters that
had gained official support as a result of the Bolshevik revolutionary spirit. The members of the collective referred to
themselves as Habimah, Hebrew for the stage. This term
not only referred to the theatrical stage as such but also was
the word for the elevated area in the synagogue where
Torah reading traditionally took place. The first performance for which the Habimah theater became world famous
was The Dybbuk, a play written in Yiddish by Ansky (see LITERATURE, YIDDISH; THEATER, YIDDISH) that was translated into Hebrew by the national poet Hayyim Nahman
Theater: Israel
their 1959 production, The Connection, whose documentarylike, spontaneous quality explored new approaches to performance. In the 1960s, the group pioneered works based
around improvisation and collective creation, working outside the United States for an extended period. Joseph
Chaikin (19352003) founded the Open Theater in 1963,
a company that explored new means of play creation and
acting through a theater stripped of all but its essentials. In
1968, critic and practitioner Richard Schechner (b. 1934)
defined these and other new companies as environmental
theater; partly taking his cue from their work, he went on
to shape the emerging field of Performance Studies.
ARTISTIC DIRECTORS: Although many Jews were instrumental in founding theaters in the post-war period, a few
names stand out. In 1950 Zelda Fichandler (b. 1924) cofounded Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and served as
its artistic director for more than forty years, giving impetus to the nations growing regional theater movement.
In New York City, Joseph Papp (19211991) founded the
Shakespearean Theater Festival in 1954, which eventually
became the New York Shakespeare Festival, which in turn
gave rise to the Public Theater, arguably the citys leading
contemporary not-for-profit company and one with a long
track record of creating important new work. Herbert Blau
(b. 1926) co-founded both San Franciscos Actors Workshop (1952) and New Yorks short-lived Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center (1965); as a director and theorist, he
has been instrumental in bringing nonrealistic and avantgarde plays and practices to the American theater. Robert
Brustein (b. 1927) is another leading figure in the regional
theater scene, founding both Yale Repertory Theater (1966)
and Cambridges American Repertory Theater (1979). Emily
Mann (b. 1952) is well known for her documentary theater pieces; she is also an accomplished director and, since
1990, artistic director of Princetons McCarter Theater. Born
Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), among other plays; yet there
are few Jewish characters or Jewish references in the fortyodd plays he wrote with various co-authors. Lillian Hellman
(19051984), from a New Orleans Jewish family, based the
villainous characters of The Little Foxes (1939) on her relatives, but expunged any suggestion of Jewishness.
No major American Jewish playwright has written exclusively about Jewish characters. However, over the course
of the twentieth century, a canon of mainstream American
plays by Jewish authors has emerged in which Jews take
center stage and are confronted with issues facing them in
real life. The great subject of this drama was the tension
between Old World tradition and New World opportunity,
a matter of urgent concern to members of all ethnic groups,
in America and elsewhere.
This tension is dramatized explicitly, not to say blatantly,
in The Jazz Singer (1925) by Samson Raphaelson (1894
1983), a Broadway hit starring George Jessel and later a
famous movie starring Al Jolson, whose life story it parallels. The hero faces a stark choice: to be a cantor like
his father, who has thrown him out of the house for his
dirty music from the sidewalks, or a jazz-singing Broadway star. As so often happens in American Jewish drama,
the conflict between heritage and opportunity is played out
in an intensely emotional generational conflict (see also
FILM: UNITED STATES). Elmer Rice (18921967) declared
that his Jewish origin was a matter to which I have paid
no attention, but his Street Scene (1929)includes a Jewish
family among the variegated residents of a New York tenement. In Counsellor-at-Law (1930), Rice once more depicts a
teeming, multiethnic New York, but this time his protagonist (first played by Paul Muni, originally from the Yiddish
theater) is a powerful Jewish lawyer, a hard-nosed immigrant boy who has worked his way up from poverty through
native ability and unrelenting drive, only to be deserted by
his fastidious wife and nearly destroyed by a malicious rival,
both old-stock WASP Americans. Like so many characters
in American Jewish plays, the protagonist of Counsellor-atLaw shows no interest whatever in Judaism as a religion;
strikingly, American Jewish drama is almost entirely about
secular Jews.
The Group Theater (193140), whose members left a permanent mark on American drama and film, never defined
itself as a Jewish institution, but there was something characteristically Jewish in its combination of left-wing idealism,
endless disputation, and intense emotionalism on and off the
stage. Two of its three directors were Jewish, as were many
of its actors (including several Yiddish theater veterans) and
a number of its playwrights, notably John Howard Lawson
(18941977), author of Success Story (1932); Sidney Kingsley
(19061995), who wrote Men in White (1933); and Clifford
Odets (19061963). A minor actor with the company, Odets
became the standard-bearer of Depression-era radical political theater when his one-act agit-prop play Waiting for Lefty
(1935) galvanized its first audience into shouting Strike!
Strike!, along with the actors. Lefty was followed just weeks
later by Awake and Sing!, the classic American Jewish family
play; literary critic Alfred Kazin wrote joyfully of watching my mother and father and uncles and aunts occupying
the stage . . . by as much right as if they were Hamlet and
Lear. Odets play depicts the struggle between the two rival
imperatives that competed to fill the vacuum left by the
weakening of Orthodox tradition. Bessie, the mater familias, stands for the Yankee dollar, for success for self and
family; Jacob, her father, stands for the Marxist revolution that seemed so bright with promise to so many Jews
and to others at the time. Later plays by Odets include Paradise Lost (1935), a less successful Jewish family play full of
Depression malaise, and Golden Boy (1937) about an Italian
American youth (who might easily have been a Jew), who
must choose between becoming a violinist or a prize fighter;
it thus dramatizes another conflict between a higher calling and the lure of money and possessions. After the Group
Theater dissolved, Odets, not himself immune to material
success, spent most of his working life in Hollywood.
The most eminent of all Jewish playwrights is unquestionably Arthur Miller (19152005), although some critics reject
him as an American Jewish writer. Miller wrote that early
in life he struggled to identify himself with mankind rather
than one small tribal fraction of it, and certain critics have
argued that in his masterpiece, Death of a Salesman (1949),
he covered up the Jewishness of the Loman family in the
interests of a false universality. Only in his preface to the
fiftieth-anniversary edition of Salesman did he acknowledge
the Lomans as Jews light-years away from religion or community that might have fostered Jewish identity. Millers
sense of himself as a Jew was complicated and changed
over time. In After the Fall (1964), Incident at Vichy (1964),
and Playing for Time (1985), he wrestles with the Holocaust,
which has cast a long shadow over American Jewish drama.
In The Price (1968), he created his most charming comic
character, an aged Jewish secondhand furniture dealer and
dispenser of heavily accented wisdom. Broken Glass, written
in 1994 but set in 1938, depicts a Brooklyn matron so traumatized by the news of Nazi horrors that she loses the ability to walk, while her husband eats himself up with his own
ambivalence about his Jewishness. Written when Miller was
seventy-eight, it was his first full-length play since his student days to focus on American Jews whose Jewish identities were explicitly at the center of their plight.
Neil Simon (b. 1927) wrote a succession of Broadway
comedies that brought him immense popularity. His characters, in plays like Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The
Odd Couple (1965) are fast-talking, wisecracking, middleclass New Yorkers all characteristics frequently associated with Jews but they are not explicitly Jewish. Like
Miller, Simon seemed to be more at ease in confronting Jewish circumstances and responses directly as he grew older.
The three semi-autobiographical plays of his Brighton Beach
trilogy Brighton Beach Memoirs (1982, 1983), Biloxi Blues
(1984, 1985), and Broadway Bound (1986) are about the
escape of a young writer from the narrow limitations of his
Jewish family into the wider world. Lost in Yonkers (1991)
explores the indirect effects of Nazi tyranny on several generations of an American Jewish family.
In the first half of the twentieth century, American Jewish
drama showed Jewish characters trying to establish themselves as Americans; after World War II, however, a number
of playwrights suggested that the unprecedented prosperity
and acceptance that American Jews were enjoying entailed
losses as well as gains. The Tenth Man (1959) by Paddy
Chayefsky (19231981) focuses on a Jewish lawyer who is
cured of the dybbuk of lovelessness by a ritual exorcism
in a shabby synagogue; in Grown Ups (1981) by Jules Feiffer
(b. 1929), a bright young Jewish reporter leaves his wife and
quits his job at the New York Times in an explosion of futility. Sight Unseen (1991, 1992) by Donald Margulies (b. 1954)
depicts a famous Jewish painter from Brooklyn who looks to
a former Gentile lover to discover what is missing from his
life. The heroes of all three plays are talented, successful
young men who find themselves somehow adrift.
A different response to post-war middle-class Jewish prosperity was the embrace of nostalgia for an imagined past.
Most of the leading composers of American musicals, including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Richard
Rodgers, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim, were
Jews who had little interest in explicitly Jewish themes. In
the mid-1960s, however, Joseph Stein (19122010) wrote
the book, Sheldon Harnick (b. 1924) wrote the lyrics, and
Jerry Bock (19282010) composed the music for Fiddler on
the Roof (1964), directed by Jerome Robbins (19181998).
Adapted from stories of Eastern Europe shtetl life by Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem (see LITERATURE, YIDDISH:
1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY), this enduringly successful musical reminded millions of Jews where their forebears had come from, and it provided the Gentile world with
a sympathetic idea of what it meant to be a Jew. The Producers (2001), with book, lyrics, and music by Mel Brooks
(b. 1926) (with an assist on the book by Thomas Meehan)
completed the story, in a way, by gleefully reducing Hitler to
a figure of fun.
In the last two decades of the twentieth century, American Jewish playwrights mainly expressed a rueful and comic
acceptance of the complexity of middle-class American Jewish life. Alfred Uhry (b. 1936) wrote two shrewd plays, Driving Miss Daisy (1987) and The Last Night of Ballyhoo (1997),
about well-established southern Jews of German descent. In
contrast, Donald Margulies wrote several keenly perceptive
plays about lower-middle-class Brooklyn Jews. After two
whimsical hits, A Thousand Clowns (1965) and Im Not Rappaport (1985), Herb Gardner (19342003) wrote the powerful Conversations with My Father (1992), about a saloonkeeper haunted by conflicting feelings about his Jewish
identity. In Isnt it Romantic? (1981, 1983) and The Sisters
Rosensweig (1992), Wendy Wasserstein (19502006) wrote
empathically about Jewish women and their personal and
generational struggles. Surprisingly, David Mamet (b. 1947),
a major American playwright and a zestful polemicist on
Jewish issues, has written only a few brief minor stage works
on these issues, notably in the three one-act plays collectively entitled The Old Neighborhood (1997).
The most important American play of the 1990s was inarguably Angels in America (1991, 1992), subtitled A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, a massive double-length drama
by Tony Kushner (b. 1956). Several of its characters are
Jews, including two historical figures, Roy Cohn and Ethel
Rosenberg. In describing the play, Kushner said, Judaism
isnt what the play is about, but Im Jewish and it took me
by surprise that it wound up being all over the play. Angels
in America begins with the funeral of an elderly immigrant
Jewish woman. You can never make the crossing that she
made, says the rabbi to the congregation, but In you that
journey is. In the first decades of the twenty-first century, it
seems safe to assume that some remnant of that journey will
be part of the continuing psychic DNA of American Jewish
drama.
599
Theater, Yiddish
Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment. The movements proponents (maskilim) urged fellow Jews to become less insular,
to integrate more fully into European society, and to benefit
from secular thought. Despite fierce resistance from religious
Jews, the Haskalah ultimately paved the way toward new
forms of religious expression and a new orientation toward
the non-Jewish world. Two Berlin maskilim of the 1790s
who took a strong interest in drama and wrote important
Yiddish dramatic satires were Aaron Halle-Wolfssohn and
Isaac Euchel. Euchel was the author of Reb Henokh, oder vos
tut men damit? (Reb Henokh, or What Can Be Done with It?),
and Wolfssohn wrote Leichtsinn und Frommelei (Frivolity and
False Piety). Important later maskilic plays include Serkele by
Solomon Ettinger (18001856); Avrom Ber Gottlobers 1839
Der dektukh (The Bridal Veil); Der ershter yidisher rekrut in rusland (The First Jewish Recruit in Russia) by Israel Aksenfeld
(17871866); and Di takse (The Tax) by S. Y. Abramovich
(18361917), best known as Mendele Mokher Seforim (see
LITERATURE, YIDDISH).
Soon after assembling his first troupe in Jassy, Romania,
in 1876, Avrom Goldfaden (18401908) began writing
burlesques and full-length comedies, including Di kishefmakherin (The Sorceress) and Der fanatic, oder di tsvey Kunileml (The Fanatic, or the Two Kuni-Lemls), lampooning
religious fanaticism. Before long, Goldfadens company had
rivals, one led by Joseph Lateiner (18531935) and the
other by Moyshe Hurwitz (18441910). Other playwrights
who would contribute to the foundation of the professional repertoire were Nokhem-Meyer (Shomer) Shaykevitch (18491905) and Yoysef-Yude Lerner (18471907).
The pogroms following the 1881 assassination of Tsar
Alexander II helped spark a Jewish emigration from Russia.
As a result, Yiddish theater companies were created or
expanded in Eastern European cities outside the Russian
600
Theater, Yiddish
Theology
Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Baltimore, among others). Israel, home to countless native Yiddish speakers, was
prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah to historical challenges to covenantal theology such as war and exile (see
BIBLE: PROPHETS AND PROPHECY). The prophets consider such events in light of a theology of reward and
punishment according to which loss of divine favor is a
result of human deviations from covenantal practice and
obligation. Prophetic theology also develops expectations of
divine redemption and covenantal renewal at some future
time (see ESCHATOLOGY: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD). A
related Land of Israel/ Temple theology, or theology of
Zion, is expressed in the Psalms and historical writings
of the Hebrew Bible. This theology identifies the Land of
Israel and the Jerusalem Temple as sacred meeting places
601
Theology
Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs (see also BIBLE: WISDOM LITERATURE), and Song of Songs, draw a connection between
the divine order expressed within nature and the social
norms incumbent on both Jews and Gentiles. Wisdom literature incorporates covenantal theology into this larger context of the divine order.
RABBINIC THEOLOGY: Rabbinic texts ( Mishnah,
reason to inquire into the divine nature. The Book of Doctrines and Opinions, by Saadia Gaon offers one of the first
systematic Jewish accounts of the link between a God available to analysis by human reason and a God of tradition
whose revelation exceeds human understanding. Influenced by Aristotle, Maimonides work presents a rigorous
philosophico-theological investigation into the unity of God.
In negative theology, an aspect of this inquiry, both positive
and negative claims concerning God are declared beyond
human understanding, while the true, unparalleled nature
of God is continuously pointed to but never reduced to
human propositions.
EARLY MODERN PERIOD: Mysticism presented an
altogether new set of paradigms for Jewish theology (see
KABBALAH). The well-known kabbalist Isaac Luria (1534
1572) described God as Ein Sof (without end) infinitely
unknowable, on the one hand, and as generative of emanations or sefirot through which this same God creates the
world, on the other.
In the seventeenth century the work of Baruch Spinoza
(16321677) sent shock waves through Jewish intellectual
circles. Spinoza challenged biblical and medieval claims concerning the transcendence of God over creation by positing
an identity between God and substance (The Ethics). However, modern Jewish thought has not sustained Spinozas
overturning of divine transcendence, and even thinkers
as philosophically inclined as Moses Mendelssohn (1729
1786) and Hermann Cohen (18421918) reassert the
Jewish commitment to the transcendence of God while
maintaining the close connection between divine perfection
and human theoretical and practical reason.
MODERN APPROACHES: Twentieth-century Jewish theology renewed the focus on the biblically-based model of
covenantal theology. Whereas Martin Bubers I and Thou
recovers the biblical account of divine calling and human
response, Franz Rosenzweigs The Star of Redemption is alone
in restoring the twofold emphasis on divine love and command as the central elements in the divinehuman relationship. Deeply concerned with tackling Gods relationship
to the suffering of the Jewish people during the Shoah,
post-Holocaust Jewish theologians like Eliezer Berkovits
and Elie Wiesel use the covenantal model as their baseline for coming to terms with the depth of evil expressed
in the Holocaust (see also HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL
RESPONSES). Although some post-Holocaust theologians
like Emil Fackenheim and Richard Rubenstein reject the
validity of a covenantal theology in the wake of the Shoah,
Jewish thinkers in America have enriched the covenantal
account of Jewish theology. Both Abraham Joshua Heschel
(God in Search of Man) and Joseph B. Soloveitchik (The Lonely
Man of Faith) emphasize Gods desire for the living response
of the Jewish community to acts and expressions of divine
love and divine command. More recently, David Novak has
further developed Jewish covenantal theology and applied it
to the challenge of contemporary multiculturalism.
Late-twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century Jewish
theology has also been marked by the development of
Jewish feminist theology (see JUDAISM, FEMINIST). Both
Judith Plaskow (Standing again at Sinai) and Rachel Adler
(Engendering Judaism) reconsider classic Jewish conceptions
of God through the lens of womens narrative, secondary
legal status, and liturgical experience.
R ANDI R ASHKOVER
ghetto for elderly and privileged Reich Jews, but Adolf Eichmann later transformed it into a special show camp to dispel rumors about the Final Solution.
To maintain this facade, Eichmann, who kept an office
at Theresienstadt, allowed the ghettos large community of
scholars, writers, musicians, and artists a certain amount
of creative freedom to study, write, and compose. In 1944,
Joseph Goebbels propaganda office produced a film, Theresienstadt: Ein Dokumentarfilm aus dem judischen
Siedlungsgebeit
the eternality of the universe, the lack of personal providence, and Averroes double truth became increasingly rare.
Most sixteenth-century Jewish thinkers were conservative,
claiming the superiority of revelation over reason; they
produced homiletical and theological treatises that made
use of philosophical language and style without substantive
philosophical content. As a result, concepts and terminology
acquired new meanings, entirely different from their original connotations.
Spanish exiles enriched the Mediterranean basin with
their spiritual creativity and their organizational talents
gathering writings into public libraries, broadening the
scope of study and teaching, and so forth. Their rational style also influenced Ashkenazic thought. Philosophical
trends persisted into the sixteenth century, but they encountered conservative opposition. For instance, a sharp dispute
erupted in the early sixteenth century around Shem Tov
ibn Shem Tovs Sefer ha-Emunot (Book of Religious Beliefs)
written at the end of the fourteenth century), which is
a major attack on philosophy. Moses Alashkar adopted a
classic rationalistic stance in this controversy, countering
Shem Tovs arguments thoroughly in his Hassagot (Critical
Notes), first printed in 1553. The wanderings of this
sage from Spain to North Africa, Greece, Egypt, and
Italy, too, was a center for thinkers hostile to philosophy and its authority. Isaac Abravanel, Jeh.iel of Pisa (d.
ca. 1574), and Judah Moscato (d. ca. 1593), who wrote a
comprehensive commentary on Judah Halevis The Kuzari,
attacked philosophers and disparaged their achievements.
Nevertheless, Judah Abravanel, Isaacs son, also known as
Leone Ebreo, wrote the Dialoghi dAmore (Dialogues of Love),
a treatise with definite philosophical traces. This sixteenthcentury work is built as a dialogue between Sophia, who
presents rational thought as the supreme value and the
source of cosmic processes, and Philo, for whom the driving cosmic force is love. The philosophical stance is based
on Aristotle and on Averroes commentary, and even Abravanels description of love adopts a philosophical style.
Samuel Saul Siriro (d. 1655), a disciple of Saadia ibn
Danan, who was active in Morocco (see NORTH AFRICA),
wrote a book of homilies that combines a literal interpretation of aggadah and medieval thought. Siriro argued that
miracles were meant to strengthen the faith of the masses,
but perfect individuals do not need miracles because they
attain knowledge of God through study. However, Siriro
did not advocate the detailed curriculum carefully specified
by medieval philosophers that included the study of logic,
the life sciences, physics, and so forth. Rather, he depended
on rabbinical homilies, emptying them of their philosophical contents while preserving their frame and style. Siriro
painstakingly explained his perception of miracles, offering extensive support for the view that the perfect individual can bring them about. Contrary to Abraham ibn
Ezra, who said that miracles can only occur through the
individuals conjunction with the supernal worlds, Siriro
claimed that the image of God within human beings endows
them with the ability to perform miracles. Siriros homilies
also make superficial use of the narrative-midrashic contents of the Zohar, but not its kabbalistic teachings. Siriro
cited philosophical texts, from Maimonides Guide of the Perplexed through Gersonides commentary on the Torah, and
also alluded to fifteenth-century scholarly literature, such as
Abraham Bibagos Derekh Emunah (The Path of Faith). Thus,
Siriros homilies point to a detachment from the content of
medieval philosophy while preserving its style.
In Ashkenaz, Judah Loew, the Maharal of Prague (d.
1609), deliberately used a semi-philosophical scholarly style
in his prose, giving readers the impression of confronting
a rationalist body of work that required such terminology,
although its contents were unswervingly opposed to rationalism. For instance, a central claim in the essay Tiferet Israel
(The Splendor of Israel), which is devoted to the superiority of the Torah, is that technical and practical action are
essentially preferable to abstract thinking. Loew devoted
many discussions to the seemingly rational argument that
the practice of the commandments is superior to any intellectual pursuit, insisting that the order of the world rests
on spiritual rules and laws. Thus, cosmic laws demonstrate
that religious practice, rather than intellectual study, leads to
perfection.
Moses Isserles, known as the Rema (d. 1572), wrote a
long essay on the reasons for the commandments in general and for the Temple service in particular. He relied
on medieval rationalist works, particularly on Maimonidean
and post-Maimonidean treatises such as Albos Sefer haIkkarim (Book of the Principles of Faith). Although Isserles was an extremely conservative thinker, the prominent
Ashkenazi sage Solomon Luria still attacked him for his
exaggerated recourse to rationalism. Like Loew, Isserles also
drew on the kabbalistic corpus and offered scholarly formulations of mystical approaches.
By the seventeenth century, the philosophical content
and style of the Middle Ages, still present in sixteenthcentury writings, had disappeared almost entirely. Exceptions were still evident in Italy, including the work of Leon
(Judah Aryeh) Modena, who was critical of Kabbalah.
Maaseh Tuviah, a medical compendium by Tuviah Ha-Cohen
Thought, Medieval
revelation (which referred to the beliefs of religious traditions). The apologetic and polemical activity of medieval
Jewish philosophy gave Jews an arena of intellectual
equality with the more dominant religions of Islam and
Christianity. Jewish philosophers were particularly challenged by the contrast between the methodology of philosophy and that of the Bible and Talmud. As they shifted from
narrative theology to a systematic exposition of ideas, these
thinkers also reflected on the truth value of human reason
and inquiry in relation to divine revelation. The understanding of God that religious philosophers adapted from Greek
thinkers led them to reconsider the use of anthropomorphic
language in the Bible and Talmud.
Jewish philosophers often contended that philosophy was
actually the wisdom alluded to in Proverbs and other traditional texts that is, philosophy was initially developed by
Jews but then lost because of the tribulations of the exile.
Jewish philosophers justified their activity by contending
that they were recovering and restoring the original tradition that had been subsequently distorted by the Greeks. The
claim that philosophy was native to Judaism and not a foreign import was augmented by the idea that philosophical
endeavors helped fulfill commandments such as knowing
God.
Jewish thinkers included Kalam theologians, Neoplatonists, Aristotelians, and those who had qualified reservations about (or completely rejected) Aristotelian philosophy. The subject matter of medieval Jewish philosophy
comprised physics and other sciences, metaphysics, ethics,
and politics. Jewish philosophy was shaped by and
affected Islamic philosophy, influenced the development of
Yemen as well.
For further reading, see R. Bonfil, Rabbis and Jewish Communities in Renaissance Italy (1993); B. D. Cooperman, ed.,
Jewish Thought in the Sixteenth Century (1983); and I. Twersky and B. Septimus, eds., Jewish Thought in the Seventeenth
Century (1987).
D OV S CHWARTZ
Thought, Medieval
Thought, Medieval
mover, who had knowledge of and concern for individuals. The biblical portrayal of a covenantal community serving God though adherence to specific commandments was
not easily reconciled with a universal virtue-based ethics
and claims that human felicity (eudaemia) could be attained
through the intellectual apprehension of abstract knowledge. Aristotelian emphasis on reason led to a view of faith
as cognitive and propositional, rather than an expression of
loyalty to and relationship with God. Moreover, the notion
of the attainment of individual intellectual excellence led
to the conclusion that the afterlife related to the perfection
of the human soul, rather than to physical resurrection and
the politics of national restoration.
Thought, Medieval
Thought, Medieval
All agree that a major focus of Maimonides philosophical project involves a philosophical hermeneutic of the Bible
and rabbinic literature centered on a vigorous repudiation
of idolatry, understood as false ideas about God (in addition to the worship of other deities). The Guide may be
understood as a major rereading of scripture; it reinterprets
any terms that might be understood to describe God or the
actions of God in anthropomorphic ways. Maimonides also
held that no positive attributes can be predicated of God,
for such descriptions might impinge on the unity of God. To
preserve this central idea, all positive terms, such as existence, life, power, will, and knowledge, had to be avoided
when speaking of divinity. Maimonides contends that identical language may be used in relation to God and human
beings, but the similarity is exclusively verbal, not essential.
Negative attributes imply a philosophical agnosticism: Nothing can be known concerning the true being of God. The
question of the predication of attributes to divinity was a
distinctive and central issue in medieval Jewish philosophy.
The Aristotelian tradition continued in Yemen, North
Africa, Spain, and, particularly, in Italy and southern
join reason and revelation. Considered one of the significant figures in the development of Kabbalah, Nah.manides
occasionally incorporates philosophical concepts into what
he accepts as the mystical teachings of antiquity. Although
identified as a critic of Maimonides, their relationship is
actually complex. In an effort to moderate the developing
criticism of Maimonides, Nah.manides counseled the rabbis
of Provence to revoke their ban on the philosophical portions of the Mishneh Torah and only to prohibit study of the
Guide. One of his key teachings is that divine providence is
evidenced through hidden miracles performed for the pious
(differing from Maimonides focus on the intellectual elite).
Nah.manides also accepts that necessary processes dominate
the natural world and apply to Gentiles, unexceptional Jews,
and even to the Jewish people as a whole.
During the last century of Spanish Jewish life, an intellectually sophisticated and theologically conservative group of
thinkers, led by H
. asdai Crescas, offered a sustained critique
of the naturalism and intellectual elitism of earlier Jewish Aristotelians. After the anti-Jewish riots of 1391, subsequent large-scale conversions to Christianity, lax observance
of commandments, and a tendency to see Judaism as an
expression of universal philosophical ideas, Jewish thinkers
articulated an approach to Judaism that would reclaim its
distinctiveness, assert the particular significance of the commandments, and affirm the importance of Jewish peoplehood. They also were influenced by Christian theologians
who rejected philosophical naturalism, reasserted the importance of faith over intellect, and claimed that willful decisions for God were more religiously significant than rational reflection about the divine. Avner of Burgos (Spain, ca.
1270ca. 1347), who converted to Christianity at a mature
age, was another determinist thinker.
Crescas primary student was Joseph Albo (d. 1444);
his Sefer ha-Ikkarim (Book of the Principles of Faith) also
explores the dogmas of Judaism. Albo limits the essential
Jewish principles of faith to three: the existence of God, revelation, and divine justice (linked to the idea of immortality). All this was part of an effort by the intellectual leaders
and members of the community to articulate a set of beliefs
and behaviors that would provide spiritual strength, security, and solidarity for a beleaguered people.
The influence of Crescas extended through Abraham
Bibago (d. ca. 1489), Abraham Shalom (d. 1492), and Isaac
Arama (ca. 14201494), all of whom sought to reinvigorate Judaism by emphasizing faith as a willful act extending beyond the limitations of reason. They stressed spiritual
closeness with the divine and ultimate salvation through the
practice of the commandments. The translation of Aristotles Ethics into Hebrew led to a growing respect for philosophical ethics. The increased influence of Kabbalah is also
felt during this period, with philosophers respectfully introducing some mystical ideas into their writings. They all
argued against dissident Jewish intellectuals and disputed
core Christian beliefs while speaking respectfully of the culture of Christian faithfulness.
Isaac Abravanel (14371508) was a prolific commentator and author who also should be considered among this
group of medieval thinkers. In addition to his extended commentary to the Bible, he composed works on cosmology,
providence, and messianic redemption. In his Rosh Amanah
(Head of Faith), Abravanel contends that were Judaism to
606
Thought, Medieval
Thought, Modern
The Berlin Haskalah founded by Mendelssohn was succeeded by the Haskalah in Austrian Poland ( Galicia) in
the 1820s and in parts of the Russian Pale of Settlement
( Vilna and elsewhere) soon after. The outstanding figure of
the Galician Haskalah is Nah.man Krochmal (17851840),
who created an original philosophy of the cycles of Jewish
history. The Russian maskilim defended the integrity of
Judaism and brought scenes from the biblical past to life in
their novels and other works. They were also critical of the
backwardness of Jewish education and the rigidity of traditional rabbis. Major figures included Isaac Baer Levinsohn
(17881860), Abraham Mapu (18081867), Judah Leib
Gordon (18301892), Moses Leib Lilienblum (18431910),
and Peretz Smolenskin (18421885; see also LITERATURE,
HEBREW: HASKALAH).
In German-speaking lands, the Berlin Haskalah found its
continuation in efforts to modernize the liturgy, the most
direct expression of Jewish faith and hope (see WORSHIP).
Universalistic and utopian dimensions were to be emphasized, whereas prayers that called for the ingathering to the
Holy Land in the days of the messiah, reestablishment of the
Davidic dynasty, and rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple
were downplayed as contradictory to the aims of emancipation. In the 1820s the Wissenschaft des Judentums, the movement for the scientific study of Judaism, began to develop
under the leadership of Leopold Zunz (17941886). Modern historical knowledge of Judaism was to be the basis for
a conception of historical progress that would demonstrate
that Judaism was a thoroughly up-to-date religious option.
Research uncovered lost works of Jewish literature and philosophy, leading to a great appreciation of what came to
be called the golden age of medieval Sephardic Jewry, a
model of a sophisticated Judaism that German Jewry could
emulate. The new historiography led to sweeping accounts
of the saga of the Jewish people through many centuries,
epitomized by the writings of Heinrich Graetz (18171891)
and even one early espousal of Jewish national revival
Rome and Jerusalem (1861) by Moses Hess (18121875).
During the first half of the nineteenth century, a range
of views developed as to how much Judaism needed to be
changed to fit the spirit of the times. Samson Raphael
Hirsch (18081888), the founder of what is called NeoOrthodox Judaism (see JUDAISM, ORTHODOX: MODERN
ORTHODOX), agreed that Jews should modernize their
secular way of life, but insisted on loyalty to the Torah
and the commandments as supernatural revelation. Rabbinic synods in the 1840s brought together German rabbis who felt that some changes were necessary but disagreed as to exactly what they should be. The exponent
of the reform position in his scholarly work was Abraham Geiger (18101874); Samuel Holdheim (18061860)
was one of the more extreme reformers (see JUDAISM,
REFORM: GERMANY). Zacharias Frankel (18011875)
advocated a Positive-Historical Judaism that preserved traditional modes of worship and upheld continuity of the
Zionism.
require a set of creedal propositions, Maimonides principles would be sufficient. However, the entire body of 613
Thought, Modern
Thought, Modern
Thought, Modern
Tisha BAv
religiously unobservant, but appreciative of the inner religious impulse; his I and Thou focused on the intersubjective
encounter in the here-and-now with others, including God
as the Eternal Thou.
The most recent phase of modern Jewish thought took
shape after World War II. A central issue was the implications of the Holocaust. Some reiterated that the suffering of the innocent has been a theme of Jewish thought
at least since the biblical book of Job and the midrash
(Michael Wyschogrod [b. 1928], Eliezer Berkovits [1908
1992], and Emil Fackenheim [19162003]), whereas others
argued that the religious implications of the Holocaust mandated new theologies (Richard Rubenstein [b. 1924], Irving
Greenberg [b. 1933]).
Contemporary Jewish thought has moved in different
directions. The academic study of Judaism and of the Jewish experience has achieved a high level of recognition that
the proponents of Wissenschaft des Judentums only dreamed
of, and a new generation of scholars has produced meticulous studies in almost every aspect of Jewish life. So far,
few philosophies of Judaism have taken up the reconciliation of religious faith with modern science and historiography (to be sure, that is the case with general philosophy as
well). The predominant tendency has been a reappraisal of
elements of Judaism that Jewish Modernists had previously
neglected. Emmanuel Levinas (19061995), the most internationally recognized Jewish philosopher of the last decades
of the twentieth century, made the primacy of ethics the
starting point of his philosophy, but kept his phenomenology separate from his readings of talmudic texts.
An increasing appreciation of traditional Judaism is heralded in a series of works of poetic power by Abraham
Joshua Heschel (19071972), who evoked the spirituality
of the lost world of pious East European Jewry and the
pathos of a God who cared passionately about human life.
As a result of the scholarship of Gershom Scholem and others, Jewish mystical writings found a new respectability and
have been examined for complex ideas of divine creativity.
Thinkers who have found spiritual insight in the H
. asidic
masters include Martin Buber and Arthur Green. Contemporary Jewish thinkers have also drawn on midrashic
and halakhic literature for insights on social and technological change, including challenges in bioethics and
609
Tisha BAv
Torah Reading
Torah. The word torah can be understood broadly as teaching or instruction. Torah sometimes designates the first of
the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the
Five Books of Moses or the Pentateuch. The Torah contains
the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy.
Yet Jews have also used the word Torah to refer to the
entire body of Hebrew scriptures as Gods revelation to the
people of Israel. It is in this context that Written Torah
refers to the entire Bible and Oral Torah designates the
voluminous rabbinic literature that grew up around the
Written Torah. This Oral Torah (see BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO 1800; RABBINIC LITERATURE: MISHNAH AND TALMUDS), which was decisive
for Jewish life, came to assume the sanctity and inviolability of the written word. The Rabbis taught that both components of divine revelation were delivered to the people
of Israel at Mount Sinai through the mediation of Moses
and subsequently passed down through later prophets and
other recognized authoritative figures (M. Avot 1). Rabbinic
Judaism understands these two sources of divine instruction to be coexistent and equally essential.
Torah also refers to the Torah scroll, the handwritten,
rolled parchment document used in synagogue ritual, on
which the Five Books of Moses are inscribed. As the symbolic representation of divine revelation, the Torah scroll is
treated with the utmost respect and veneration (see CEREMONIAL OBJECTS; TORAH READING).
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Torah Reading. The center of liturgical activity in the
synagogue on the Sabbath and festivals is the communal reading from the Hebrew Bible. This reading comprises a portion from the Pentateuch, which is read continuously in a fixed cycle on Sabbaths and in a segmented
way on the festivals and other specific days, such as
days of fasting or the first days of the Hebrew months
( Rosh H
. odesh). On the Sabbath and festivals, selected
chapters from the Prophets (see BIBLE: PROPHETS AND
PROPHECY; PROPHETS [NEVIIM]) attuned to the Torah
readings are added ( Haftarah). On Sabbath afternoons, on
Mondays, and on Thursdays, the first part of the following
610
Torah Reading
Tosafists
weekly unit is read. This custom dates to the Second Temple period (according to some traditions it can be traced to
the book of Nehemiah, chapter 8), an era when divinely
revealed scriptures began to be perceived as the most important channel of communication between human beings and
God. In that era, sacrifices, prophecy, and dreams the three
most important venues of communication in the biblical
period ceased to play as important a role in Judaism.
Instead, gathering for reading Gods words, explaining them,
and looking for their relevance to the ever-changing circumstances of life took place in the newly established institution
of that time, the synagogue.
Our knowledge about Torah reading comes mainly from
Spain, where they were important for Jonah ben Abraham of Gerona, Nah.manides, and other thirteenth-century
Spanish scholars.
The tosafist method was based on close readings of the
talmudic text and Rashis commentary. The Tosafists raised
internal linguistic questions and called attention to inconsistencies (along with verifications of the correct text of the
Talmud itself), followed by an analysis of parallel passages in
the Babylonian Talmud and a wide range of other halakhic
and aggadic sources. They resolved contradictions by use of
the dialectical method and according to fixed methodological principles. In addition, they also considered the implications of apparent inconsistencies for Jewish law and custom. Because the Talmud was the source of halakhic decision making (see HALAKHAH), it was necessary to resolve
all forms of contradictions or inconsistencies, conceptual or
linguistic, within the talmudic corpus, so that the Talmud
could remain the ultimate arbiter of Jewish law and life.
Thirteenth-century French Tosafists also produced
halakhic works and rulings. Moses of Coucys Sefer Mizvot
Gadol and the pesakim (decisions) of Jeh.iel of Paris are
two examples of this shift. Nonetheless, the tosafist study
hall at Evreux (in Normandy) continued to issue different
forms of Tosafot comments, including the Tosafot Shitah, a
presentation of the talmudic sugya with various explanations
and tosafist discussions. Some scholars have suggested that
this format was in response to the trial (and burning) of
the Talmud around 1242 in Paris, after which the need
to preserve remaining texts of the Talmud (and Rashis
commentary) became more acute. Others see this development as an effort (inspired perhaps by the teachings of the
German Pietists [see MIDDLE AGES: H
. ASIDEI ASHKENAZ])
to tone down the complex dialectic of the twelfth century in
order to focus on the simple meaning of the talmudic text
and its relevance for Jewish law ( halakhah).
Although northern French Tosafists typically produced
glosses to the text of the Talmud and to Rashi, twelfthcentury German Tosafists, such as Eliezer ben Nathan
(Raban) of Mainz and his grandson, Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi
(Rabiah), composed free-standing works presenting both talmudic comments and legal decisions and rulings. German
Tosafists
Tosefta
genres that had not been fully used previously (see POETRY,
MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE). A number of Tosafists
were also interested in Jewish magic and mysticism, especially hekhalot literature (see MYSTICISM: HEKHALOT AND
MERKAVAH LITERATURE). Much of the data for tosafist
involvement in these and other disciplines are found in
manuscripts and will become clearer and better known as
these texts are studied and published. For further reading,
see E. Kanarfogel, Peering through the Lattices: Mystical, Magical, and Pietistic Dimensions in the Tosafist Period (1992).
E PHRAIM K ANARFOGEL
Tosefta
Tourism
Zionism in Israel). In some cases, especially in contemporary Jewish tourism to Eastern Europe, these voyages are
often linked to genealogical research done on the internet;
in the case of North African Jewish immigrants, Old Country
tourism is often combined with pilgrimages to saints tombs,
visits to ancestral homes and to tombs of family members,
and sightseeing and shopping. These visits are an important source of capital, both economic and social, for small
remaining local Jewish communities. Such tourism also supports certain threatened cultural forms, such as Andalusian
music, which is less popular among contemporary Moroccan Muslims. Through such tours, perceptions of center and
periphery, Diaspora and homeland, may be altered, sometimes in ways not foreseen by organizers or travelers. Thus,
Israeli travelers seeking their North African roots in Morocco
may come to find that they are far more Israeli than they
thought (A. Levy, Homecoming to the Diaspora: Nation and
State in Visits of Israelis to Morocco, in Homecomings: Unsettling Paths of Return, ed. F. Markowitz and A. H. Stefansson
[2004], 91108).
For those seeking their ancient heritage, such as golden
age Jewish Spain or the ghetto of Venice, memory is
replaced by culture and history. In such places, the small
local Jewish communities play little role in the development
or narration of Jewish tourist sites. Tours also take place to
sites of first Jewish immigration, such as in visits to Ellis
Island or the Lower East Side in New York City. Here, the
narratives told at the sites may adapt themselves to tourist
expectations, while the present surroundings are likely to
disappoint those seeking a frozen past painted in nostalgic
hues. Jewish tour sites are promoted by a substantial literature, ranging from tourist bureau pamphlets to Jewish travel
guides to large coffee-table books. Media products, such as
Fiddler on the Roof or Schindlers List, are also instrumental in
shaping the Jewish tourist map and visitors expectations of
heritage sites (see FILM: UNITED STATES).
Another destination is exotic Jewish communities,
which combine the lure of the other with the connection
H
. asidic leaders encouraged mass pilgrimages of their followers to visit rebbes during the festivals. Hilulot (celebrations) at cemeteries, which commemorate the anniversary
of the deaths (ascent of the souls) of the righteous, were
common, especially in North Africa; these mass gatherings
were also important times for cementing communal ties.
JEWISH RESORTS AND EXCURSIONS: The mass migrations of Jews to Western Europe, the United States, and
Israel in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the intensive urbanization of Jewish populations; the increase in
leisure time and disposable income; the institution of paid
vacations; and the greater ease of international travel created new tourism practices. These included visits to spas,
ski resorts, or summer retreats that became ethnic vacation enclaves. Hotels and restaurants were built that catered
to the religious or cultural needs of Jewish publics by supplying kosher food, synagogues, and, occasionally, ritual
baths, as well as Passover seders and Jewish-oriented lectures and entertainment. The best known of these North
613
Tourism
music. Many of these sites are promoted by national governments and local entrepreneurs in order to attract income
from Jewish tourists; in some cases, developing Jewish heritage sites may broadcast a distancing from past antisemitism
to a larger constituency. Alternatively, these sites may seek
to recast the countrys past as more tolerant or multicultural
than it actually was, providing present groups fostering such
values with a greater historical authority. Thus, local actors
come to reshape their own heritage through touristic representations of Jews and Judaism (see R. E. Gruber, Virtually
Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in Europe [2002]).
TRAVEL TO ISRAEL: Among the most important contemporary Jewish touristic practices are visits to Israel by Jews
Treblinka
tion. Among them are the letters of the famous rabbi (and
Tu BShevat
Tu BShevat
Turkey
Donmeh,
pseudo-converts to Islam who maintained Jewish
identity and traditions in secret (see SABBATEANISM:
OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY).
During the Crimean War (185356), Jews who were
fleeing the war zone took refuge in the Ottoman Empire.
Throughout the nineteenth century, and especially after
1875, as the empire was contracting, giving rise to new
nation-states in the Balkans, considerable numbers of Jews,
together with even larger numbers of Muslims, migrated
Romaniote Jews, because Byzantium and other Greekruled lands were known by the Jews as Romania, the land
of the Romans, and they developed customs now known
as minhag Romania (see GREECE). The first Ottoman Jews
were thus the continuation of the sizable Greek-speaking
Jewish communities in pre-Ottoman Asia Minor. Archeological evidence (found in Ephesus, Pergamon, Smyrna, and
Sardis) shows that the first signs of Jewish life in Asia Minor
date to the fourth century BCE, which makes the Jewish
community of Turkey one of the oldest in the world.
The first Jewish colony to be mentioned in Turkish history
proper was in Bursa, a city located in a province that has
been the cradle of a number of civilizations and religions,
from the pre-Christian era to the present. After his conquest
of the city in 1324, Orhan, the second sultan of the newly
founded Ottoman state, permitted the Jews to build their
first synagogue, Etz ha-H
. ayyim, which has been in use ever
since. Before that, under Byzantine rule, Jews had not been
allowed to exercise their religion freely. Encouraged by more
tolerant rule, many Jews migrated to the Ottoman lands
toward the end of the fourteenth century and throughout
the fifteenth century; Karaites, as well as Jews expelled
from Hungary, France, Sicily, Venetian-ruled Salonika,
and Bavaria, found refuge there.
In the mid-fifteenth century, after taking Constantinople
(1453), Sultan Mehmet II issued an official invitation for
Jews to settle in the empire. A great influx of Jews arrived
during the reign of Mehmets successor, Beyazid II (1481
1512), after the 1492 expulsion from Spain. The Spanish
Jews settled chiefly in Constantinople, Salonika, Adrianople,
Nicopolis, Jerusalem, Safed, Damascus, and Egypt and
in Bursa, Tokat, and Amasya in Anatolia. Jews did not
settle in Izmir until the mid-sixteenth century. Soon after
their arrival at the end of the fifteenth century, Sephardic
Jews became the largest Jewish community in Ottoman
lands. They outnumbered both the Romaniote Jews and the
Turkey
Tzimtzum
S ENAY
(1992).
B ULENT
TWELVE
EUROPE
618
H
. asidim in these communities belonged to H
. abad. In the
multinational and vibrant urban centers in the south, Jews
were modernized and highly acculturated; they constituted
30% of town and city dwellers. Zionism had a significant
influence, especially in the south, whereas Jewish socialist
parties (the Bund and Poalei-Zion, among others) were relatively weak.
Lithuania; Ashkenazi immigration continued until the midseventeenth century. Jews settled in towns under royal
protection where they engaged in local and international
trade, served as tax collectors, and established industries.
After the Lublin Union of 1569, when Poland and Lithuania became one state, Polish colonization of the eastern
Ukraine began. Lands were distributed among Polish magnates who established private towns and villages and invited
Jews to fulfill various managerial functions. Jews administered large landholdings and villages, collected taxes from
the Ukrainian peasantry, leased inns and mills, and produced and sold alcohol. The close connections between
Jews and the Polish landlords proved especially harmful during the Chmelnitzki uprising of 164849, when
much of the Jewish population of the eastern and central
Ukraine was killed or fled. Jewish settlements in right-bank
Ukraine (west of the Dnieper River) were revived relatively
quickly but left-bank Ukraine, under the control of Russia,
remained closed to Jews until the end of the eighteenth
century.
Jewish economic roles continued unchanged during the
eighteenth century, although their prosperity diminished
significantly. Jews were often targets of the haidamak antiPolish bands, which destroyed many communities; especially notorious was the slaughter in Uman in 1768. In
the first half of the 1700s, there were clandestine groups
of adherents of Shabbatai Zevi; the area became the center of the Frankist movement in the mid-eighteenth century. H
. asidism originated in right-bank Ukraine where the
z in
movements founders, Israel Baal Shem Tov (Miedzybo
Podolia) and Dov Ber the Maggid of Miedzyrzecz (Volhynia), and their followers resided.
In the first partition of Poland in 1772, the areas of Rus
Czerwona were annexed by Habsburg Austria and became
known as eastern Galicia. The Russian Empire annexed
right-bank Ukraine in the second partition of 1793. According to the 1764 census, there were approximately 120,000
Jews in the Ukrainian lands annexed by Austria and around
130,000 in the Ukrainian lands annexed by Russia. Thus,
619
Ukraine
When the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, an independent Ukrainian state was established with its capital in
Kiev; Jews were granted national autonomy, and a ministry for Jewish affairs was created in the Ukrainian government. However, the autonomy was short-lived, and the
Civil War of 191820 that took place on Ukrainian territory
brought with it an extremely high level of anti-Jewish violence. All the fighting armies but especially the White army
of General Anton Denikin, the Simon Petlura army of the
Ukrainian Peoples Republic, and numerous Green bands
of various atamans (Cossack leaders) perpetrated perhaps
as many as 1,500 pogroms in which approximately 50,000
Jews were murdered.
Between 1919 and 1939 the western part of contemporary Ukraine (Galicia and parts of Volhynia) was part
of Poland, whereas the rest became the Ukrainian Soviet
Socialist Republic of the USSR. Jewish social and economic
life in the Polish territories remained unchanged, and Jewish
religious communities were officially recognized. Although
Jews had full citizenship rights, the Polish regime grew
increasingly discriminatory, aiming to minimize the Jewish
role in the economy and to restrict the numbers of Jews in
universities and in the state service. At the same time, Jewish culture as well as Jewish politics of various kinds (Zionist,
socialist, Orthodox) flourished.
In Soviet Ukraine the Soviet authorities deliberately
destroyed the traditional Jewish socioeconomic structure
and religious institutions, while rapid urbanization and significant upward mobility took place. In the 1920s, left-wing
Jewish culture blossomed in Ukraine, but it was liquidated
by the authorities toward the end of the 1930s. Until the late
1930s the authorities supported Yiddish as the national language of Jews: in 1931 there were more than one hundred
Jewish local soviets (governing councils) operating in Yiddish, Yiddish state schools, and courts of justice with Yiddishlanguage procedures. Three Jewish national regions Kalinendorf, Novozlatopol, and Stalindorf existed in 1930.
There were one hundred and sixty-two agricultural colonies
in these regions involving 200,000 Jews. Because of emigration to major Soviet centers, the Jewish population in
Ukraine declined from 1,750,000 in 1926 to 1,533,000 in
1939.
With the outbreak of World War II, the USSR annexed
western Ukraine from Poland in 1939 and northern Bukovina from Romania in 1940, thus acquiring large Jewish populations (1,056,000 and 282,000, respectively) and
and Czernowitz,
important Jewish centers such as Lwow
which had never previously been under Russian rule. Soviet
authorities nationalized private property and prohibited
Jewish political, religious, and cultural activities. Nazi Germany occupied Ukraine in the summer and autumn of 1941
and its easternmost regions in the summer of 1942. Even
before the arrival of German units, Ukrainian nationalists
in eastern Ukraine began the mass murder of Jews. The
advancing German army and Einsatzgruppen C and D murdered the majority of Jews in eastern Ukraine by the end
of 1941 (the well-known mass murder of 35,000 Jews took
place in Babi Yar near Kiev on September 2930, 1941).
In western Ukraine, Jews were concentrated in ghettos and
sent to death camps during 1942 (see HOLOCAUST: CAMPS
AND KILLING CENTERS; HOLOCAUST: GHETTOS). Only
in the zone occupied by Romania (Transnistria), especially
and 1910, Jews from Eastern Europe established approximately seventy planned farming settlements in the United
States. A major impetus came from Am Olam (Eternal People), a Russian Jewish organization that aimed to solve
the Jewish problem through establishment of socialist,
agrarian colonies in North America. Members believed
that an abnormal Jewish occupational profile fueled
United States: Civil Rights Movement. African Americans consider two triumphant moments as centerpieces of
the American civil rights movement: the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August, 1963, and the protest
march from Selma to Birmingham, Alabama, in February,
1965. These events are scarcely less iconic for the American
Jewish community. Rabbi Joachim Prinz, who had fled Nazi
622
United States: Community Centers. Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) are an example of an American Jewish
institution that has reinvented itself in response to changing communal needs. Founded in the 1850s as social clubs
for German Jewish immigrants, they were first known as
Young Mens and Young Womens Hebrew Associations
(YM/YWHAs). Strongly influenced by the YMCA movement, they aimed to counteract assimilatory forces by providing a comfortable space within which young adult Jews
could mingle. By the 1880s there were YM/YWHAs in New
York City, Chicago, and St. Louis. Their programs encompassed athletics, literary societies, social events, religious services, holiday celebrations, and some limited social services.
Social welfare functions became central between 1880
and 1920 when the Ys were transformed from social clubs to
settlement houses that helped support and Americanize tens
of thousands of Jewish immigrants from East Europe. Similar to Jane Adams Hull House in Chicago, centers such as
the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side of Manhattan held English-language and citizenship classes as well
as lessons in deportment, fashion, and cooking. By the middle of the twentieth century when the post World War II
United States: Demography. From the beginning of Jewish settlement in the mid-seventeenth century in what is
today the United States until the late twentieth century, the
number of Jews has risen steadily. Changes in the size of
the American Jewish population were determined mostly
by the interplay between natural increase on the one hand
and the migratory balance on the other; primary relationships with non-Jews in mixed families did not directly cause
quantitative gains or losses because only the assignment of
religious identity to their offspring had this effect. Jewish
demographic evolution was not evenly spread throughout
the period; what mainly affected the pace of increase was
the number of new immigrants. Immigration also played a
significant role in the sub-ethnic composition of Sephardic
and Ashkenazic Jews, as well as in the nativity structure of
foreign-born versus American-born Jews.
Any assessment of the demography of American Jews is
dependent on the nature and quality of information sources,
and it is further affected by the definition of group identity.
624
Central Europe already outnumbered their Sephardic counterparts in America, and over the next two centuries the percentage of Ashkenazic Jews in the American Jewish population continued to grow. Although Jewish immigration
never stopped, by the early nineteenth century the proportion of native-born Jews had increased substantially (see
UNITED STATES: IMMIGRATION).
The Jewish population was 15,000 in 1840, 150,000 in
1860, and approximately one-quarter of a million in 1880.
This rate of increase was 15% higher than that of the
American population as a whole, with most of the growth
being attributable to large-scale immigration from Germanspeaking (Central) Europe. Although the new arrivals
settled disproportionately in New York, these years were
characterized also by spatial dispersion throughout the continent. The paramount reasons for this internal movement
were economic in nature and included the establishment of
new markets and the search to exploit new opportunities.
In the process, Judaism also spread to become a nationwide religion, and the foundations for Jewish institutions
and organized activities were laid.
No doubt the most meaningful demographic change for
American Jews was the mass immigration of two million
United States: Economic Life. At the turn of the twentyfirst century, about 44% of all American Jewish men worked
in professional occupations, and another 23% earned their
living in management positions. Moreover, 40% of the married men in these two occupational categories had wives
who also worked in professional or managerial occupations.
As a consequence, some two-thirds of American Jewish families had occupations that placed them comfortably in the
upper middle class, and only 2% lived in households below
the poverty line. Young Jewish adults are entering these
same occupations at about the same rate as their parents,
suggesting that this level of economic security is likely to
persist for some decades into the future.
The economic life of American Jewry was not always this
prosperous. At the turn of the twentieth century, in the middle of the period of mass Jewish migration from Eastern
Europe and Russia, most American Jewish men more
than 80% were in blue-collar occupations; about a quarter
of these blue-collar employees worked in crafts occupations
and the rest as operatives and unskilled laborers. Their earnings were correspondingly low, mainly because these occupations were at the low end of the wage distribution but
also because the American economy had yet to experience
the large increase in worker productivity that would characterize the twentieth century. Jewish women from these
poor families typically worked until marriage and sometimes
afterward as well, but most withdrew from the labor force
once they began having children.
The transformation of the male Jewish labor force from
one dominated by low-paid blue-collar workers to one with
626
limited Jewish opportunities, Jews left their towns and villages in larger numbers. Some migrated to the Black Sea
port of Odessa, where they dominated the grain trade to
the Mediterranean. However, far larger numbers resettled
in northern cities like Warsaw, Vilna, and Minsk where
many found work in the new mass-production clothing factories, most owned by Jews. Pogroms, primarily in Moldavia and Ukraine between 1903 and 1906, induced many
more Jews to emigrate, but economic upheavals underlay the political horrors. Between 1881 and 1924, with a
lengthy hiatus during World War I, perhaps 2.3 million Jews
from Eastern Europe arrived in the United States, comprising
about 10% of the total foreign influx. About 75% of Jewish
immigrants arrived from Russia, 4% from Romania, and
approximately 19% from the lands of the Habsburg AustroHungarian Empire, especially Galicia. Unlike their predecessors from German lands, Jews were the largest group to
leave Russia, followed by Poles and Finns.
In addition, from 1880 through 1914, about 90,000 Jews
arrived in Canada, and the trickle continued at 4,000 annually throughout World War I. Most settled in Ontario, especially Toronto, but several thousand moved to the prairie
hub of Winnipeg. Between 1892 and 1914, 90,000 Jews also
arrived in Argentina. The Baron Maurice de Hirsch Fund
and its affiliates, as well as the Argentine government, subsidized twenty thousand or more so they might be located on
cooperative farms. Some managed to acquire their own land,
but most relocated to Buenos Aires. Unlike in Canada or the
United States, however, more than 40% of these immigrants
left the country, most for North America, perhaps because of
the instability of an economy that depended on agricultural
exports.
The migration from Central Europe in the midnineteenth century had consisted primarily of single people but the mass exodus from Eastern Europe was mainly
made up of young families, usually linked through brothers,
sisters, and in-laws. The need to accommodate traditional
religious values and to be near places of industrial employment led East European Jews to settle in congested urban
enclaves. There, distinctive Jewish neighborhoods permitted the establishment of a culture that featured both observance of Orthodox Judaism and Bundist socialism. New
York City in the 1890s became the capital of Yiddish theater and Yiddish publishing (see JOURNALISM, YIDDISH:
NORTH AMERICA) and by 1930 held more than two million
Jews, a number unprecedented in history. Smaller groups,
still in the hundreds of thousands, settled in industrial cities
like Philadelphia and Chicago, whose Jewish communities were as large as those of Odessa or Vienna. Enclaves of
500 to 1,000 Jews, mostly small storekeepers and their families, were established in small cities throughout the Midwest.
Contingents of 3,000 or more Jews, including Sephardim
from Rhodes and the Sea of Marmora, settled along the
Pacific Slope in Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles.
In 1924 the U.S. government drastically curtailed legal
immigration through the imposition of national origins quotas. Jews who still desired to immigrate, if permitted to
do so by their country of origin, had to wait until the
number assigned them by American consuls became eligible. During the Nazi years and the severe Depression in
the United States, thousands desiring to enter were unable
to do so.
Starting in 1965, when the United States began to liberalize its immigration laws, Jews again became a small proportion of millions of newcomers. Thousands of young Israelis,
some with professional skills, organized a family-based transit between the two countries, a migration that persists. In
the immediate aftermath of the Iranian Revolution of 1979,
more than 300,000 persons, including more than 30,000
Jews in family groups, fled to the United States. After the
collapse of the Soviet Union, at least 100,000 Jews emigrated from Russia. Although the Russians settled primarily
in the New York area, most of the Iranians and many of
the Israelis felt more comfortable in the salubrious climate
of southern California. These communities play distinctive
roles in cultural and political life in Los Angeles, which is
now American Jewrys second city.
Relevant studies include J. Bodnar, The Transplanted: A
History of Immigrants in Urban America (1985); W. Nugent,
Crossings: The Great Transatlantic Migrations, 18701914 (1992);
D. M. Swetschinski, Reluctant Cosmopolitans: The Portuguese
Jews of Seventeenth Century Amsterdam (2000); A. Barkai,
Branching Out: German-Jewish Immigration to the United States,
18201914 (1994); M. Rischin, The Promised City: New Yorks
Jews, 18701914 (1962); G. Tulchinsky, Taking Root: The
Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community (1993); H. Avni,
Argentina and the Jews: A History of Jewish Immigration (1991);
S. Feher, From the Rivers of Babylon to the Valleys of Los
Angeles: The Exodus and Adaptation of Iranian Jews, in
Gatherings in Diaspora: Religious Communities and the New Immigration, ed. R. S. Warner and J. G. Wittner (1998); and S. J.
Gold, The Israeli Diaspora (2002).
W ILLIAM T OLL
walked off the job. Although the strike ended without official union recognition, it won higher wages and improved
conditions and established a precedent for collective bargaining. A few months later, 60,000 cloak makers struck, leading
to the establishment of the Protocol of Peace, a pioneering agreement that set up a structure for mediating disputes
in the industry. Between 1910 and 1914, furriers, millinery
workers, and mens tailors also engaged in large strikes that
strengthened their unions. In 1914 the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (the ACWA) was founded as a militant alternative to the United Garment Workers, which had
been formed in 1891 for workers in the mens ready made
clothing industry, and soon outstripped the older union in
size and importance.
A number of other institutions contributed to the success of the labor movement. The Forverts (Jewish Daily Forward) appeared in 1897 and within a decade became the
most widely read Yiddish daily newspaper in the world and
the largest socialist daily in the country (see JOURNALISM,
YIDDISH: NORTH AMERICA). Not only did it serve as the
most prominent voice of the Jewish labor movement but it
also offered material support to unions and striking workers.
Founded as a radical workers mutual aid society in 1892,
the Workmens Circle ( Arbeter Ring) reorganized itself as a
multibranch fraternal order in 1900. Led by socialists, it provided its members with medical and death benefits, a venue
for social interaction, and a forum for cultural development.
It also supported members when they were on strike and
provided material aid to striking unions. By the 1920s, it
sponsored a network of Yiddish childrens schools and summer camps, a theater group, a tuberculosis sanatorium, and
other institutions (see US: FRATERNAL SOCIETIES).
The success of the Jewish labor movement, in turn, contributed to the success of the Socialist Party in the 1910s. In
1914 the Lower East Side sent socialist labor lawyer Meyer
London to Congress. Other socialists represented workingclass Jewish districts on the New York City Board of Aldermen, in the New York State legislature, and on the municipal
bench. In the 1920s, factional fighting between Communist
Party members and noncommunists (mainly socialists and
anarchists) nearly wrecked the ILGWU, especially in the
wake of a disastrous communist-led cloak makers strike in
1926. The ACWA fared better, beginning its experiments in
new unionism by taking a leading role in regulating conditions in the mens clothing industry, building a cooperative
housing project, and establishing a bank.
In the 1930s, the labor movement emerged stronger than
ever, even as it drew closer to the American mainstream.
The ILGWU, under noncommunist leadership, took advantage of the New Deals pro-labor policies after 1933. By
the end of the decade, it and the ACWA each claimed
hundreds of thousands of members, making their leaders,
David Dubinsky (18921982) and Sidney Hillman (1887
1946), two of the most powerful labor leaders in the country. The rejuvenated ILGWU followed the example of the
ACWA in providing services for members, including a summer resort. It even sponsored Pins and Needles (1937), a
commercially successful musical revue. Both unions helped
form the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), but the
ILGWU soon returned to the American Federation of Labor
(AFL). Seeking a path to political respectability, many of
the Jewish unions and labor leaders helped establish the
United States: Military Chaplaincy. The rabbinical chaplaincy of the U.S. armed forces is one of the most significant
examples of pan-denominational cooperation in American
Jewish history. It demonstrates American Jewrys full participation and acculturation into American society, while also
illustrating American Jewrys perpetuation of cultural and
religious distinctiveness within a largely Christian society.
Although the American military chaplaincy dates to the
chaplain and officer in 1917; he was followed by twentyfour others serving in the Army and Navy. Along with distributing ritual items including Bibles and mezzuzot, the
rabbis created a uniquely multidenominational JWB prayer
book.
In 1941, in response to the military build-up preceding
United States: Political Involvement. Except for the colonial period and the early years of the Republic, when Jewish
voting rights were restricted and Jews could not hold office,
Jews in the United States have enjoyed full political rights. In
the early nineteenth century, Jews, concentrated in Atlantic
port cities, generally supported the party of Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans.
The Jewish percentage of the population remained small
until the arrival of immigrants from Central Europe in the
mid-nineteenth century (see UNITED STATES: IMMIGRATION). Subsequently Jewish involvement in civic affairs was
active, but tended to be at the local level, especially in small
towns in the west, where many Jews were merchants (see
UNITED STATES, WESTERN). On the eve of the Civil War
(see UNITED STATES: CIVIL WAR), sectionalism typically
dictated Jewish partisan identification. In the south, Jews
were Democrats, and they supported the Confederacy (see
UNITED STATES, SOUTHERN). In the north, they affiliated with the Whig Party and later the new Republican
Party. In their quest for acceptance, southern Jews generally
supported slavery. Although the majority of northern Jews
were not abolitionists, some were fervent critics of slavery.
Judah P. Benjamin (18111884) was the first Jewish senator, elected from Louisiana in 1853. An ardent states rights
advocate and defender of slavery, Benjamin served the Confederacy as Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. When the Confederacy surrendered, he fled to
England.
The stresses of the Civil War provoked antisemitism, generally expressed in allegations of treachery and charges of
633
important figures in the construction of an activist American foreign policy and a strong national defense.
Nevertheless, except for 1980, when Jews turned against
President Jimmy Carter on issues related to his policies
toward Israel, the economy, and the Iranian hostage crisis,
Jews have voted overwhelmingly Democratic in all presidential elections since 1932, and they have become an
influential and key constituency group within the party.
Only in local and statewide elections, on specific financial
or public policy issues, have significant numbers of Jews
cast votes for centrist Republican candidates. Despite economic advancement, social acceptance, and suburbanization, American Jews, more than any other religious and
ethnic group, remain consistently liberal. They vote for
Democratic candidates in national elections on questions of
civil liberties, civil rights, and social justice for the disadvantaged. Except for those who are religiously traditional, a
group that is increasing in size and influence, Jews strongly
support the separation of church and state, public education, and abortion rights. They continue to be disproportionately involved in politics as generous campaign contributors, political fundraisers, and informed and frequent
voters; in large urban states, they form a critical group
within the electorate. In recent decades, Jews have been
elected to state and national office in increasing numbers. In
2000, Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-.Connecticut) was the
vice-presidential candidate on the Democratic presidential
ticket.
For further reading, see M. Dollinger, Quest for Inclusion:
Jews and Liberalism in Modern America (2000); L. S. Maisel,
Jews in American Politics: Essays (2003); and M. E. Staub, Torn
at the Roots: The Crisis of American Liberalism in Postwar America
(2002).
A RLENE L AZAROWITZ
IMMIGRATION). Since then, Sephardim have been a significant minority of American Jews.
For further reading, see A. Ben-Ur, Sephardic Jews in America (2009); E. Faber, A Time for Planting: The First Migration,
16541820 (1992); J. Sarna, American Judaism (2004); and
R. Brilliant and E. Smith, eds., Facing the New World: Jewish
Portraits in Colonial and Federal America (1997).
M ICHAEL R. C OHEN
Argentina, Columbia, Venezuela, and other Latin American countries in the late 1990s bolstered the adult Hispanic
Jewish population of south Florida to more than 15,000 persons. South Florida is also home to more than 22,000 Israeli
adults.
Three Jewish entrepreneurs started the first Century Village development in West Palm Beach in 1967, developing the concept of the large planned retirement community
that has since spread throughout south Florida and attracted
many Jewish full or part-time residents. About 275,000
elderly Jews live in the area. Snowbirds, who spend three
to seven months in Florida and the remainder of the year in
the northeast or midwest, form more than 10% of the population. Explosive growth in the Jewish population occurred
636
United States, Southern. Jews settled early and extensively in the American south, although rarely in large numbers. Generally welcomed, Jews influenced the souths society and economy beyond their numbers.
In colonial days, Jews settled on the southern coast as
early as 1585, and communities formed in fledgling port
cities. Trading networks linked Jewish traders to Newport,
Rhode Island, and to New York City, to the Caribbean,
and to London (see BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN). In 1733, Londons Bevis Marks congregation sponsored the immigration of forty-two poor, mostly Sephardic
Jews to Savannah; these settlers organized a synagogue,
Mickve Israel, in 1735. Jews had arrived in Charleston in
1695, and in 1749 founded Kahal Kadosh (holy congregation) Beth Elohim. Baltimore had a Jewish cemetery by
1786, and Richmond Jews organized Beth Shalome congregation in 1789. Charlestons Jewish community of seven
hundred was the nations largest in 1820.
Although Maryland and North Carolina included religious
requirements for citizenship in their state constitutions, Jews
gained acceptance in those states. In 1775 Francis Salvador
became the first American Jew elected to public office when
he took a seat in the South Carolina Provincial Congress.
David Emmanuel served as governor of Georgia in 1801. In
1845 David Yulee became Floridas first senator, and Judah
P. Benjamin was elected to the Senate from Louisiana in
1852. Philanthropist Judah Touro (17751854) resided in
New Orleans.
Jews followed the nations expansion into the southern heartland. With the German immigration in the midnineteenth century (see UNITED STATES: IMMIGRATION),
Jewish peddlers and merchants created commercial networks from Baltimore and Cincinnati along rivers, canals,
roads, and railways. By 1860, cities like Louisville and New
Orleans had Jewish populations of 2,000, and the Baltimore
community had grown to 8,000. Alsatian and Bavarian Jews
migrated up the Mississippi from New Orleans.
German Jews arrived as the south was developing a distinct regional identity in response to abolitionism. Jews
owned and traded slaves, but not significantly. Their slaveholding was typical of their class and place as an urban people. When the Civil War came (see UNITED STATES: CIVIL
WAR), several thousand Jews fought for the Confederacy,
and rabbis sermonized in support of states rights. Judah P.
Benjamin served in the Confederate cabinet.
In forming congregations, southern Jews followed tradition, first organizing benevolent societies and purchasing burial grounds. Charlestons Hebra [h.evrah] Gemilut
Hasadim Society of 1784 and its Hebrew Orphan Society of
1801 were the first such societies in America. As communities grew and prospered, these societies evolved into congregations. The Gemilath Chesed of Atlanta, founded in 1860,
became the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation, later known
as The Temple. Memphis dedicated a cemetery in 1847,
637
endorsed desegregation and northern Jews were disproportionate among white activists, southern Jews spoke quietly,
fearing a white backlash. In the 1950s, racial extremists
bombed synagogues, most notably The Temple in Atlanta.
Southern Jews remained linked to global Jewry through
affiliates of Bnai Brith and the National Council of Jewish
Women (see ORGANIZATIONS: NORTH AMERICA; ORGANIZATIONS, WOMENS: NORTH AMERICA). With its German and Reform heritage, the south is often described as
non- or anti-Zionist, but important Zionist leaders, including Louis Brandeis of Louisville and Henrietta Szold of
Baltimore, emerged from the region. Zionist societies were
established in six southern states by 1900, and Hadassah
counted twenty-four chapters in 1933. By 1913, Atlanta,
Baltimore, Dallas, Little Rock, Memphis, and New Orleans
had organized Jewish federations. In the early twenty-first
century, the Jewish Federations of North America has fiftysix affiliates in the south.
Whether southern Jewry reflects a unique culture that differs from the American Jewish mainstream is a contentious
topic. Eli Evans in The Provincials: A Personal History of Jews
in the South (rev. ed., 2005) and Alfred Uhry in his play,
Driving Miss Daisy, portray a culturally distinct people. Local
and regional Jewish heritage societies have proliferated, and
Jewish museums featuring local history can be found in a
half-dozen cities. In 1976, a Southern Jewish Historical Society was organized, and an Institute for Southern Jewish Life
located near Jackson, Mississippi, serves regional communities. Day schools, high schools, summer camps, Jewish Community Centers, and academic Jewish studies programs have
proliferated.
As a region once noted for its racial and economic backwardness was transformed into the prosperous Sunbelt,
Jews, like other Americans headed southward. Communities in Sunbelt cities have grown exponentially, while
those in agrarian small towns have languished. Almost onequarter of Americas Jews now reside in the south. Atlanta
holds some 100,000 Jews, and the south Florida communities of Miami and Boca Raton-West Palm Beach rank among
the nations largest, although they are culturally northern
(see UNITED STATES: SOUTH FLORIDA). A core of selfidentifying southern Jews with generational roots in the
region persists, but the larger number comprises relative
newcomers who migrated to the south to retire, to enjoy
the lifestyle, or to find economic opportunity. For further
reading, see M. I. Goldberg and M. Ferris, eds., Jewish Roots
in Southern Soil: A New History (2006).
L EONARD R OGOFF
United States, Western. Providing the catalyst for western settlement, the California Gold Rush of 1849 coincided
with heightened Jewish immigration to the United States.
The growing economy drew both men and women from the
eastern United States, Poland, Britain, Central Europe,
and France. All joined in creating diverse Jewish communities in the west. Like the well-known Levi Strauss, who
arrived in California in 1853, many Jews became merchants,
selling necessities to miners and settlers. By the 1870s, Californias Jewish population numbered more than 20,000,
more than any other state outside of New York. These first
settlers established a strong, diverse community that provided the framework for all that followed. After the rush,
Jewish immigration slowed, but never stopped; at the end
638
Urban Life
including Sephardic, H
. abad, and secularist. Los Angeles
became the center of western Jewish life in the twentieth
century and is home to premier institutions, among them
Urban Life. No aspect of human activity has been as significant in the shaping of modern Jewish history as urban life. In
the relatively free and open atmosphere of the modern cities
that emerged in Europe and America in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, Jews were strongly influenced by and
influenced the currents of political, social, economic, and
cultural change that arose in the wake of the French and
Industrial Revolutions.
Jewish communities could already be found in the developing cities of medieval Europe. In the early modern era,
Jews played an important role in the economic growth
of cities, although they were generally restricted in their
mobility, their professions, and their places of residence.
With their emancipation in Western and Central Europe
in the nineteenth century, individual Jews found new
opportunities for individual advancement in major capitals
like Berlin, Paris (see FRANCE: 17891939), London (see
BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN), and Vienna.
Urban Jews tended to gravitate toward those businesses
and professions that were increasingly in demand among the
growing European middle class, such as ready-made clothing and retailing and the liberal professions of law, education, and medicine. They were also active in movements of
political change and in the Modernist cultural movements
that flourished in cities. Although most governments no
longer placed restrictions on where they could live, Jews in
urban areas continued in large part to socialize with and live
among other Jews.
As Jews slowly integrated into Western and Central
European society, the relative openness of urban life led
to changes in both individual and collective thought and
behavior. Traditional Jewish observance loosened its hold on
young men and women, and movements of religious reform
arose that sought to find a balance between commitment
to Judaism and participation in the larger world. Influenced
by secularizing tendencies that were increasingly evident
in European cities, some Jews created new forms of collective identity that rested on cultural and ethnic ties rather
than religious observance. As a result, Jewish communities
became increasingly pluralistic and decentralized.
In Eastern Europe, the pace of Jewish urbanization in the
nineteenth century was far slower, due in large part to the
many restrictions placed on Jews by tsarist regimes. Nevertheless, small circles of young intellectuals who had managed to escape the Russian Pale of Settlement took advantage of the opportunities offered them in cities like Odessa,
Urban Life
Urban Life
New York City, where they developed their own distinctive social, economic, and cultural life. After World War II,
the lure of new economic opportunities, affordable housing, and quality education for their children led American Jews to move to the suburbs. By the 1970s, American
Jews were migrating beyond the suburbs to the exurbs, as
well as to new urban and suburban communities in western, southwestern, and southeastern states (see UNITED
STATES, SOUTHERN; UNITED STATES, WESTERN).
Jewish urban concentration led to a backlash in the
late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In Germany and
France, the association of Jews with urban life was a central theme of a new and virulent antisemitism, especially
among more traditional elements of the lower middle class
who viewed the modern city as a center of moral corruption and decay. Within the Jewish community, newly created Zionist movements condemned what they regarded
as the parasitic and physically debilitating nature of urban
Jewish life and preached the virtues of agricultural labor in
640
Reformation Italy.
In 1541, visiting Levantine Jewish merchants complained
to the Venetian government that they did not have sufficient space in the Ghetto Nuovo. Because of their importance in trade with the East, the government assigned them
the Ghetto Vecchio, which was also walled up with a gate
at each end. In the following decades, many New Christians ( conversos) who had left Spain and Portugal settled in
Venice. The government usually did not concern itself with
the origin and background of those New Christians as long
as they resided as Jews in the ghetto. In 1589, in response
to the serious decline in Venetian maritime commerce, the
government issued a ten-year safe-conduct charter allowing both Levantine Jewish merchants and New Christian
merchants from the Iberian Peninsula to settle in Venice
as Venetian subjects. Euphemistically referring to the New
Christian merchants as Ponentine, meaning western Jews,
rather than as New Christians, the government required
641
Vienna
642
Vienna
Vilna (Wilno in Polish, Vilnius in Lithuanian) was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1325 and of the
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic from 194091; it has
been the capital of independent Lithuania since 1991 (see
BALTIC STATES). Jewish Vilna was celebrated for its scholarship, its Hebrew and Yiddish literature and press, its religious creativity, and its political activism.
An organized Jewish community existed in Vilna by 1568,
and by the late eighteenth century, the city was a hub
of Torah study. The rabbinic leader Elijah ben Solomon
Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon, and his followers
influenced developments in both halakhah and Kabbalah.
The Gaons H.asidic opponents also maintained a strong
presence in the city. In the 1800s, Vilna was simultaneously a center of the Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment)
and of traditional yeshivot, including one established by
the Musar movement. Despite this vibrant Jewish activity,
643
New York Citys Lower East Side, she first witnessed urban
poverty and the lack of health services for the poor. In 1893,
Wald and a colleague established residence in an immigrant
neighborhood and founded the Nurses Settlement. Relying
on her nursing and settlement movement connections, Wald
enlisted the funding and friendship of financier and philanthropist Jacob Schiff, who introduced her to the citys elite
networks.
Walds institution grew into the Henry Street Settlement
House, which offered visiting nursing, as well as citizenship
classes and amateur theater. She campaigned for parks, playgrounds, and school lunch programs and pioneered public
school nursing and classes for disabled students. Completely secular and at times criticized for the lack of Jewish
content in her work, Wald contributed to the increasing
secularization and professionalization of social work and
nursing. Alongside other political progressives, she linked
her local efforts to broader reform campaigns for labor (see
UNITED STATES: LABOR MOVEMENT), womens, immigrant, and civil rights (see UNITED STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS;
for global anti-militarism; and for public health. Her intimate
relationships with women continued to sustain her after her
retirement in 1933. The two institutions she founded, Henry
Street Settlement House and the Visiting Nurse Service of
New York, continue to serve the needs of all New Yorkers.
M ARJORIE N. F ELD
H
. asidim, mitnaggedim, and maskilim (see HASKALAH) at
the outset of the 1800s became a largely H.asidic population as the century progressed, with an increasing minority of Polonized (acculturated) Jews. This latter group controlled the kehillah, the communal government, in the last
decades of the century. Beginning in 1868, an influx of Jews
from the Russian interior, so-called Litvaks, deepened internal Jewish divisions.
PolishJewish relations fluctuated with political and economic conditions. Anti-Jewish riots occurred in 1790 and
1805, but Warsaw Jews also took part in the 1794
Kosciuszko insurrection and in nineteenth-century Polish
uprisings against Russian rule. The city was the center of
a Polish-Jewish brotherhood beginning in 1861, yet relations deteriorated in the late 1860s and 1870s and two Jews
were killed in a pogrom that began on Christmas Day,
1881. The industrializing city subsequently became a center of Jewish politics, particularly between 1905 and 1914.
Warsaw became a Yiddish literary center in the 1880s and
was the heart of the Yiddish literary world by the mid-1890s
(see LITERATURE, YIDDISH). Five-sixths of Warsaw Jews
reported Yiddish as their native language at the beginning of
the twentieth century. Map 11
During World War I, 80,000 Jewish refugees arrived in
Warsaw, even as Jews confronted worsening economic conditions. Interwar Warsaw Jewry, numbering 333,300 in
1931, experienced increased antisemitism and impoverishment in the 1930s. However, Jewish cultural and political
life flourished in the capital of newly independent Poland
with two mass-circulation Yiddish journals, Polish- and
Hebrew-language periodicals, and a vibrant Yiddish theater
Warsaw, which became the capital of Poland in the sixteenth century, was a major center of Jewish life in the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Warsaws earliest known Jewish community, established in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century, probably consisted of no
644
Warsaw
Wiesel, Elie
(see THEATER, YIDDISH). By 1926 more than four hundred synagogues and prayer houses operated, including the
Great Synagogue, built in 187678 by Polonized Jews.
On the eve of World War II, approximately 60% of War district, adjasaw Jews lived in the northwest Muranow
cent Grzybow,
and nearby areas, which had been predominantly Jewish since the late nineteenth century. Another
8% lived in right-bank Praga, whereas a small number of
Jewish bankers and industrialists lived in Warsaws most
prestigious districts.
Persecution of Jews began soon after the 1939 Nazi
invasion that began World War II. In November 1940, the
Nazis established a ghetto in which as many as 445,000
Jews, including small-town refugees, were confined. Beginning July 22, 1942, 265,000 ghetto residents were sent to
entrepreneurial grandfather and father served as contractors to the Russian government, and her husband, H
. onon
Wengeroff, became a successful banker. The Epsteins were
strict in their religious observance; they were mitnaggedim,
upholders of traditional rabbinic Judaism and opponents
of H
. asidism. Paulines father was an early enthusiast of
the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) in Eastern Europe
and encouraged his daughters in their study of German,
the language Pauline chose decades later for her memoir.
The first edition of Memoiren einer Grossmutter, published in
1913 when Pauline was in her seventies, depicted the life
of a privileged and pious Jewish family in the 1840s. It
describes in detail the observance of the Jewish holy days
and festivals in her parental home. After this volumes
unexpected success, Wengeroff expanded her portrait of traditional Jewish family life into a far more substantive and
complex autobiography detailing her problematic marriage
and her bitterness over her childrens conversions. It was
published in 1919 as the second edition of Memoiren. Translations include Memoirs of a Grandmother: Scenes from the Cultural
History of the Jews of Russia in the Nineteenth Century, Vol. One,
trans., intro., S. Magnus (2010); and B. D. Cooperman, ed.
and introduction, Rememberings: The World of a Russian-Jewish
Woman in the Nineteenth Century (2000). See also WOMEN,
MODERN: EASTERN EUROPE.
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Weizmann,
Auschwitz, where his mother and younger sister were murdered. He and his father were later taken to Buchenwald,
where his father was killed. After the war Wiesel was moved
to France with other orphans. There, he studied philosophy and literature at the Sorbonne and Jewish texts with a
private tutor and mentor. His writing reflects an amalgamation of secular and religious traditions. In 1956, he moved to
Wengeroff, Pauline Epstein (18331916), whose autobiography, Memoiren einer Grossmutter (Memoirs of a Grandmother), is an important source on Jewish life in
nineteenth-century Russia, was born in Bobruisk into
the upper economic echelon of Russian Jewry; her
645
Wiesel, Elie
French. Night (1958) presents Auschwitz through the memory of a religious young mans struggle not simply for physical survival, but with a God whose silence ruptures his faith
in the Jewish covenant and continuity. The first of a trilogy, Night, was followed by Dawn (1960) and The Accident
(1961), which contemplate the ethics of violence and the
will to live in the aftermath of the Holocaust. In The Town
beyond the Wall (1962) a Holocaust survivor who returns to
his native town confronts the disturbing indifference to the
deportation of Jews; The Gates of the Forest (1964) and A Beggar in Jerusalem (1970) expand on topics introduced in Night
through the reflections of a Jewish child survivor whose
experiences have damaged his capacity for communion with
God and with other people.
In Wiesels oeuvre, mystical and mysterious storytellers
help negotiate the gap between despair and faith. He also
retells stories about biblical characters (Messengers of God
[1975], Five Biblical Portraits [1981]), the Talmud and other
classic Jewish texts (Sages and Dreamers [1991]), along with
H
. asidic rebbes and mystical figures (Souls on Fire [1972];
Four Hassidic Masters [1982]; Somewhere a Master [1982]). Several themes run through all of Wiesels writing, regardless
of genre: the nature of God and faith, the human and the
Jewish relationship with God, the place of evil in human
existence, and the possibility of ethics and human good in
a post-Holocaust world. In the late 1990s, Wiesel published
two volumes of memoirs, All the Rivers Run to the Sea (1994)
and And the Sea Is Never Full (1996).
Wiesel has been active against persecution and genocide
globally, speaking out on behalf of Soviet Jewry in the
1960s and 1970s, and later on behalf of blacks in apartheid
Wisdom of Ben Sira, also known as Ecclesiasticus, is a sapiential instruction that was written, according to Sira 50:27,
in Jerusalem in the second century BCE by a Jewish scribe
named Jeshua ben Eleazar ben Sira (see also APOCRYPHA;
BIBLE: WISDOM LITERATURE). Wisdom of Ben Sira is not
canonical in Judaism, but is cited more than eighty times in
Wissenschaft
Bible is a document produced mainly by male elites, including priests, prophets, sages, and courtiers, and its contents
were directed largely toward adult males of ancient Israel
and Yehud, the post-exilic community in the Land of Israel
(see BABYLONIAN EXILE). Its gender language thus reflects
646
Judah: Bathsheba, Michal, the Abigail who is Davids second wife, the Tamar who is Davids daughter, Athaliah who
reigned as queen (2 Kgs 11), and Huldah the prophet (2 Kgs
22:1420). As with the women of Genesis, the interest in
lineage accounts for most of the attention to female figures
of the monarchic period; still, in both instances, the narratives provide a glimpse into the lives of women in privileged
contexts. Finally, Naomi (see RUTH) and Esther have commanding and perhaps heroic roles in biblical novellas.
UNNAM ED WOM EN: In addition to the named women,
unnamed female figures as individuals or as groups are
mentioned more than eight hundred times in the Hebrew
Genesis, Numbers, and 1 Chronicles represent male lineages reflecting ancient Israels male-based kinship structures. Even so, among the hundreds of male names in 1
Chronicles 19 are also the names of forty-seven women.
Their presence serves to highlight the men with whom they
are linked; however, occasionally it is a function of their own
importance, as is the case for Zeruiah and Abigail, sisters of
men) lived in agrarian settlements; their daily existence centered on the myriad tasks required for survival in a world
in which virtually all of a familys foodstuffs, clothing, and
other basic commodities were produced in the household.
Womens lives were thus embedded in the economic functions of their self-sufficient households, and their religious
and social lives were also integrally related to family life.
Indeed, senior women in a family held managerial roles,
organizing and supervising the labors of children and other
family members. Elite women, including female relatives
of the royal, priestly, and military bureaucracies and wives
of well-to-do landowners, had the assistance of servants or
slaves. Yet, the roles of most women as wives, mothers, and
daughters were subsumed into the productive activities of
their households.
Some Israelite women also engaged in professional
activities. Unlike household life, which is largely invisible
in the Hebrew Bible, many (but perhaps not all) extrahousehold community functions for women are known
from biblical texts. The one mentioned most frequently
is that of prostitute, a profession occurring in virtually
every culture. Biblical texts discourage sex-for-hire in several ways, such as not allowing the earnings of a prostitute
to be used for a Temple donation (Deut 23:18) and by forbidding fathers to exploit their daughters by profiting from
their sexuality (Lev 19:29). In addition, priests, but not others, are forbidden from marrying prostitutes (Lev 21:7, 14).
However, the Bible never explicitly proscribes prostitution,
and two biblical heroes, Tamar (Gen 38) and Rahab (Josh
2), act as prostitutes and are not condemned.
Women also practiced crafts or trades that were often
outgrowths of their household activities. Groups of women
weave fabrics for the Tabernacle (Exod 35:26). Young
women are conscripted to work in the royal precincts as
bakers, cooks, and perfumers (1 Sam 8:13). The well-todo woman of Proverbs 31 markets garments she produces
(31:13, 24); the discovery of seals (used in commercial transactions) inscribed with womens names further suggests the
presence of Israelite businesswomen. Women are even said
to have been construction workers in the post-exilic period
(Neh 3:12).
Community service included leadership roles. Deborah
is prominent among the judges, perhaps the only one of
these military heroes who also adjudicates (Judg 4:45).
Also on the national level are royal women (e.g., Jezebel
and Athaliah) who, by virtue of their class, exercise political power. A few ( Solomons mother Bathsheba and Asas
mother Maacah) are designated queen mother (ge bra ),
probably the title of a female court functionary. Unnamed
but no less significant are the two wise women whose
sagacity, knowledge of traditional sayings, and psychological acumen play a national role (2 Sam 14:120, 20:1422);
other such women likely existed but go unmentioned.
Communications in biblical days were carried out by
couriers, such as the servant girl bearing messages between
Jonathan and David (2 Sam 17:17). However, people usually dispatched messengers of the same gender, such as
the girls conveying dinner invitations for Woman Wisdom
(Prov 9:34). These messengers were important personnel,
responsible for conveying the exact words of their employers
and then returning with an accurate response. The female
649
such work provided women with the opportunity for creativity, self-expression, and the positive regard of those they
served.
Scholarship on this topic includes A. Brenner, The Israelite
Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical Narrative
(1985); M. I. Gruber, Women in the Ancient Levant,
in Womens Roles in Ancient Civilizations: A Reference Guide,
ed. B. Vivante (1999), 11552; and C. Meyers, T. Craven,
and R. S. Kraemer, eds., Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of
Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament (2000);
see also ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE;
WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATONS .
C AROL M EYERS
the late ancient period lived not only in Palestine but also
in Babylonia, as well as in Jewish Diaspora communities
throughout the Hellenistic world; their lives were regulated by the norms of a common Judaism of which we
know next to nothing. The vast body of rabbinic literature, which was composed by Jews in the first five or six
centuries of the Common Era, formulated new approaches
to Jewish womens lives and behavior. The foremost rabbinic composition is the Mishnah, which was published in
Palestine ca. 200 CE. It became an authoritative text in subsequent eras, not least because it served as the thematic
framework and provided the content for discussion and
expansion in both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds.
The Mishnah is divided into six orders, one of which is
called Women (Nashim). The existence of a separate order
devoted to women (with no parallel division devoted to
men) indicates the androcentric character of the document.
The Mishnah is about Jewish men and, as Jacob Neusner has
shown, the ways in which they must act to assert their Jewishness. Authority over women and their orderly transfer
from one male authority figure to another is one of these
areas of male concern.
The order Nashim is divided into seven tractates: Yevamot (Levirate Widows [see MARRIAGE, LEVIRATE]), Ketubbot ( Marriage Contracts), Nedarim (Vows), Nazir (Nazirite
Vows), Sotah ( Adultery), Gittin ( Divorce Documents) and
Kiddushin ( Betrothals). At least two of these tractates
(Nedarim and Nazir) are not devoted to women at all.
Jacob Neusner has suggested that Nashim is not really about
women but rather about their relations to men and about
how the latter exert control over them. Judith Romney
Wegners work supports his conclusions, which are further substantiated by the existence of another tractate in
the Mishnah, Niddah, that is devoted to a uniquely feminine topic menstruation. This tractate is not found in
Nashim, but is situated in the order Tohorot (Purities), probably because its main themes are the ways in which a menstruating woman can transmit a state of ritual impurity to a
man (see PURITY).
The entire order of Nashim and Tractate Niddah have complementary tractates in the Tosefta, as well as commentaries in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds. There
are no commentaries on the other tractates in Tohorot in
either Talmud, likely because most issues relevant to ritual
purity in Judaism ceased to be operative after the destruction
of the Second Temple, but the belief that a menstruating
650
human light. Later rabbinic midrashim, such as Genesis Rabbah, Leviticus Rabbah, and Lamentations Rabbah, and even significantly late documents such as the Tanh.uma are, as Galit
Hasan-Rokem has demonstrated, an excellent resource for
the portrayal and reflection of real women and their exploits
and achievements.
For further reading, see J. R. Baskin, Midrashic Women: Formations of the Feminine in Rabbinic Literature (2002); C. Fonrobert, Menstrual Purity: Rabbinic and Christian Reconstructions
of Biblical Gender (2000); G. Hasan-Rokem, Tales of the Neighborhood: Jewish Narrative Dialogue in Late Antiquity (2003);
J. Hauptman, Rereading the Rabbis: A Womans Voice (1997);
T. Ilan, Integrating Women into Second Temple History (2001);
idem, Silencing the Queen: The Literary Histories of Shelamzion
and Other Jewish Women (2006); G. Labovitz, These are the
Labors: Constructions of the Woman Nursing Her Child
in the Mishnah and Tosefta, Nashim 3 (2000): 1542; T.
Meacham, An Abbreviated History of the Development of
the Jewish Menstrual Laws, in Woman and Water: Menstruation in Jewish Life and Law, ed. R. Wasserfall (1999), 2339; J.
Neusner, A History of the Mishnaic Law of Women IV (1980); I.
Rosen-Zvi, Measure for Measure as a Hermeneutical Tool in
Early Rabbinic Literature: The Case of Tosefta Sotah, Journal of Jewish Studies 57 (2006): 26986; and J. R. Wegner,
Chattel or Person: The Status of Women in the Mishnah (1988).
T AL I LAN
commandments (see H
. ANUKKAH AND WOMEN).
Second Temple Jewish politics was characterized by religious splintering that led to the creation of many sects.
Women were probably present and active in most of these
religious/political groups. Philo relates the active membership of women in a local Jewish sect, the Therapeutai, who
retreated from the world to engage in contemplation and
worship (De Vita Contemplativa [The Contemplative Life]).
The New Testament reports the presence of women in the
group that followed Jesus and assigns them a vital role in
the founding of Christianity after the crucifixion (e.g., Matt
28:110; Luke 23:5524:11). It is now generally accepted
that the Dead Sea sect also counted females among its members, and it is likely that even the Pharisees and the Zealots
welcomed women. It was during this period that the reign
of the only legitimate queen in Jewish history, Shelomzion
(Salome) Alexandra (ruled ca. 7667 BCE), occurred. She
succeeded her husband, the Hasmonean ruler Alexander
Jannaeus, and sources suggest that her reign was one of
peace and prosperity.
For further reading, see T. Ilan, Integrating Women into Second Temple History (2001); idem, Jewish Women in Greco-Roman
Palestine: An Inquiry into Image and Status (1994); idem, Silencing the Queen: The Literary Histories of Shelamzion and Other
Jewish Women (2006); J. E. Taylor, Jewish Women Philosophers of First Century Alexandria: Philos Therapeutae Reconsidered (2003); and C. Wassen, Women in the Damascus Document
(2005).
T AL I LAN
New Testament gospels, which represent the Jesus movement a Jewish Second Temple sect are also a valuable
resource. In addition, documentary collections of inscriptions and papyri demonstrate the changing status of women
in marriage, divorce, and other aspects of Jewish life.
The marriage contract ( ketubbah), which regulates the
financial relationship between husband and wife, emerged
during the Second Temple period, as indicated both by a
group of Persian-period Jewish papyri from Elephantine,
Egypt, and the apocryphal book of Tobit (7:13). Thereafter, the marriage contract, which is not mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible, is attested both by documentary evidence
and the Mishnah (see M. Ketubbot and also T. Ketubbot 12:1;
JT Ketubbot 8:11, 32bc; BT Ketubbot 82b).
Although the Hebrew Bible allows a husband to divorce
his wife, this issue was apparently hotly debated in the Second Temple period. The Dead Sea Scrolls recognize divorce,
but not remarriage thereafter (for both partners; CD IV 20
1; 4Q271). Jesus rejected the concept of divorce altogether
(e.g., Mark 10:1112), but a modified version of this opposition is found in Matthew (5:32; 19:9), which allows divorce
in cases of adultery. According to the New Testament (Mark
10:23), the Pharisees recognized a liberal interpretation of
divorce, albeit unilateral divorce that is, it could be only
initiated by the husband. Yet at least one reference in the
writings of Josephus (Antiquities 15.25960) and at least one
document (XHev/Se 13) from the early second century CE
suggest that Judaism also knew of wife-initiated divorce.
Incest regulations were also debated during this era.
Although the incest laws enumerated in the Bible (Lev 18)
are quite detailed, they do not mention some relationships.
Gracia
Inquisition was established in that same year, Dona
resolved to move elsewhere, taking care to move slowly to
preserve the maximum amount of their fortune. Ultimately,
the family ended up in Constantinople (see OTTOMAN
Gracia supported numerous scholars
EMPIRE) where Dona
and rabbis and aided in the publication of scholarly works.
Because of her connections, wealth, mobility, and foresight,
Gracia managed to escape the reach of the InquisiDona
tion. However, many other crypto-Jewish women were not
so fortunate.
As the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions became
obsessed with discovering unfaithful New Christians,
women were particularly at risk, because they played a crucial role in perpetuating Judaism in this period. Without
communal institutions or leadership, the home became the
sole source of Jewish continuity, and women were central
in preserving Jewish domestic rituals, especially the dietary
laws and Sabbath observance. Such practices were always
dangerous, because servants often testified to the Inquisition about their employers judaizing activities. Numerous crypto-Jewish women were arrested and tortured, and
many sacrificed their lives as martyrs for their faith in the
course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
ITALY, 16001800: At least two Jewish women in
seventeenth-century Italy became distinguished published
writers in Italian. Devora` Ascarelli translated Hebrew liturgical poetry into rhymed Italian, presumably for use by
female worshipers. Her Abitacolo degli oranti (The Abode of
the Supplicants), completed in 1537 and published in 1601,
may be the earliest published Jewish literary work written
by a woman. The most accomplished Jewish woman of this
period in terms of education and literary productivity was
the writer and poet Sarra Copia Sulam (15921641). A
member of a wealthy and prominent family in Venice, she
married Jacob Sulam, a local Jewish leader. She formed a
salon of mostly Christian men of letters for whom she provided financial support, as well as intellectual friendships
that later soured. Another talented woman of this period
was the professional singer known as Madama Europa
. ayyim Hameln.
Esther and her husband were the court jewelers to Frederick I of Prussia and the leading family in the Berlin Jewish
community. Esther worked actively alongside her husband
and successfully carried on their business after her husbands death. Like many Court Jews, Liebmanns fortunes
depended on the favor of the ruler. After the death of Frederick I and the accession of Frederick William I in 1713,
Esther Liebmann was put under house arrest and released
only after she had paid the king a substantial fine.
and Ines,
a twelve1499 to 1502, Mari Gomez
of Chillon
year-old from Herrera, inspired a renewal of Jewish observance, with special emphasis on fasting, based on their predicting of the imminent arrival of Elijah, heralding messianic redemption in the Land of Israel. The Inquisition
was burned at the
quickly extinguished this movement: Ines
More than anything, R. Eleazar reveres his wife for facilitating the spiritual activities of the men of her household; the
reward he invokes for Dolce at the conclusion of his lament
(based on Proverbs 31:1031) is to be wrapped in the eternal life of Paradise, a tribute to her deeds on which so many
depended.
For further reading, see J. R. Baskin, Dolce of Worms:
The Lives and Deaths of an Exemplary Medieval Jewish
Woman and Her Daughters, in Judaism in Practice, ed. L.
Fine (2001), 42937; E. Baumgarten, Mothers and Children:
Jewish Family Life in Medieval Ashkenaz (2007); S. D. Goitein,
A Mediterranean Society. 5 vols. (197888); A. Grossman, Pious
and Rebellious: Jewish Women in Medieval Europe (2001; trans.
2004); R. L. Melammed, Sephardi Women in the Medieval
and Early Modern Periods, in Jewish Women in Historical Perspective, ed. J. R. Baskin (1998); E. Taitz, S. Henry, C. Tallan,
The JPS Guide to Jewish Women (2003).
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Russian Empire, but thereafter their paths diverged considerably. Growing up in towns or villages with small, traditional Jewish communities, Jewish women before 1750
generally married in their late teens or early twenties and
raised fairly large families, while helping their husbands run
a business at home or in the marketplace. Young Jewish girls
learned household and economic skills from their mothers; most could read Yiddish and some learned Hebrew or
secular subjects with tutors in the home, but usually they
received little formal instruction.
The first Central European Jewish woman we know about
from her own writings is Glikl bas Judah Leib (17471824),
of Hameln, who wrote a memoften referred to as Gluckel
657
study of Yiddish language and Jewish history. The Workmens Circle also maintained summer camps (see SUMMER
CAMPING), choruses, and dramatic societies and sponsored
lectures. The years 192026 marked the high point for membership, followed by a subsequent decline as a result of
restrictive U.S. immigration laws. Despite efforts to avoid a
rift over communism, thousands of pro-communist members left the order and created a rival group, the International Workers Order, in 1929.
Worship
Rome in 70 CE.
Temple worship on behalf of the entire nation revolved
around morning and evening offerings by the priests of a
sheep or goat, the tamid, accompanied by a meal offering and
a libation. An additional or musaf offering of the same sort,
as well as other animal offerings specific to the day, marked
most holidays. The priests (kohanim), descendants of Moses
brother Aaron, were assisted by Levites, also members of
the tribe of Levi. Jewish households, both in the Land of
Israel and the Diaspora, paid annual taxes to support sacrificial worship. Generally, portions of sacrificed animals fed
the priests or formed the heart of a communal meal for those
making offerings. Individuals also brought occasional sacrifices according to their means to cleanse themselves from
sin or impurity or as a special mark of thanksgiving. Daily
offerings included wine, fine flour, and agricultural products. Male Jews were expected to attend the Temple for the
three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot (Weeks),
and Sukkot; most, however, attended infrequently (see also
TEMPLE AND TEMPLE CULT).
By the late Second Temple period, the synagogue (Greek
for gathering place; Hebrew, beit kenesset, with the same
meaning) emerged as the center of local Jewish communal
life, both in the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. Similar institutions, often called associations or colleges, were normal
parts of the social, political, and religious structure of GrecoRoman society.
RABBINIC PRAYER: The Rabbis, the leaders of rabbinic
Judaism, shaped the foundations of contemporary Jewish
liturgy. Their fundamental prayer structures appear in the
Worship
Worship
Gaon, Rav Amram bar Sheshna, to a Spanish Jewish
communitys request that he detail the annual order of
prayers (see RESPONSA). Local variations were common
until the development of printing centralized the production of prayer books regionally. Iberian ( Sephardi) Jews,
expelled from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1497, also
imposed their own rite or prayer practices in their new
communities, leading to the virtual disappearance of the
local liturgies of North Africa, the Balkans, and the entire
Middle East (except Yemen). Printed Sephardi-rite prayer
books, usually produced in Italy, become standard in these
regions.
Today most Jews pray either according to the Sephardi
rite (minhag sefarad), often in a version deeply influenced
by mystical teachings, or according to the Ashkenazi rite of
Central and Eastern Europe (minhag Ashkenaz). Ashkenazi liturgy contains a subgroup of rites adopted by the
eighteenth-century H
. asidic movements in imitation of the
sixteenth-century Safed mystic, Isaac Luria; these rites
have Sephardi elements (nusakh sefarad). Yemenite and
some Italian Jews also preserve their historical rites.
IM PACT OF M ODERNITY: Reform Judaism, which
began in early-nineteenth-century Germany (see entries
for JUDAISM, REFORM), initiated a variety of liturgical
changes; Reform Jews tended to discard ritual garb like
the tallit and tefillin and, in America, mens head coverings.
In America, family seating also became the norm. Various
prayers were reworded for both theological and political reasons, virtually eliminating the Temple-centered cluster of
ideas that had driven the liturgys initial construction.
Responses to Reform in Western Europe and North America established the map of Jewish liturgies persisting today.
Those rejecting change froze their practice, including elements that were purely customary; others compromised
to varying degrees. Modern Orthodoxy (see JUDAISM,
ORTHODOX: MODERN ORTHODOX) eliminated poetic
additions to the service except for on the High Holidays
and adopted the vernacular sermon, but maintained all
other prayers. Conservative Judaism (see JUDAISM, CONSERVATIVE) retained most traditional prayers, but made
subtle changes, usually based on some historical precedent.
Thus, references to Temple sacrifices became memories of
the past and not prayers for the future; some prayers for
peace voiced universal hopes. Some Conservative congregations added instrumental music to Sabbath services and
occasional vernacular prayers.
The rise of political Zionism, the destruction of European
Jewry in the Holocaust, and the founding of the State of
weekday petitions collectively call on God to fulfill the messianic promise of restoring Jewish sovereignty in the Land of
Israel, complete with a Davidic monarch and a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. The Talmud teaches that Rabban Gamliel
called for adding another petition, a nineteenth benediction,
known as the birkat ha-minim, the malediction of the sectarians (BT Berakhot 28b29a).
Less is known about the origins of the rest of rabbinic
liturgy. At some point, the pre-rabbinic synagogues reading
of scripture became a cyclical reading of the entire Torah
( Pentateuch/Five Books of Moses), accompanied by thematically appropriate prophetic passages ( haftarah). Housing for the Torah scroll, required for the liturgical proclamation of the text, became an architectural feature of the
Jerusalem-facing wall of the synagogue. By the late first
millennium, elaborate Torah scroll processions and liturgies
for moving it from the ark to the reading desk and back
became standard. The Torah has come to embody or channel
divine holiness, accessible in every synagogue and not just in
the Jerusalem Temple. Consequently, prayers requesting
divine blessings for healing, the well-being of the community, local rulers, and the deceased, are recited near the
scroll. Medieval mystics understood the opened scroll and
the opened ark to be gateways to Heaven (see KABBALAH).
The shema and its blessings are also a rabbinic liturgical element. These consist of three biblical passages (Deut
6:49, 11:1321; Num 15:3741) surrounded by rabbinic
blessings. The shema is an affirmation of divine unity; its
name is simply the first word of the first verse, Hear!
Recitation of the shema twice daily follows the command,
in Deuteronomy 6:7, to speak these words when you lie
down and when you rise up; it was probably originally a
home ritual, recited at bedtime and on arising. Deuteronomy 6:8 commands that these words should be bound on
ones person on ones arm and between the eyes ( tefillin)
and Deuteronomy 6:9 commands their writing on the doorposts and gates of ones house ( mezuzah). According to
Numbers 15:3840, Jewish males are commanded to tie
fringes (tzitzit) on the corners of their garments as a constant
reminder of their relationship with God. Traditional Jews
wear this fringed tallit all day as an undergarment and in
shawl form for morning prayers. Two blessings precede the
shema, and one follows it in the morning; two follow it in
the evening. The prior blessings speak of God as creator of
the world who expresses love for Israel by revealing Torah.
The subsequent blessing evokes Gods work in redeeming
Israel from Egypt. Later thinkers recognized these three
themes of divine creation, revelation, and redemption as
the core of Jewish theology. The fourth evening blessing
speaks of Gods protection through the night. The shema
and its blessings gradually merged with the amidah into a
single rabbinic prayer service that takes place three times
each weekday: shah.arit (morning), minh.ah (afternoon), and
maariv or arvit (evening); the afternoon service consists primarily of the amidah.
M EDIEVAL DEVELOPM ENTS: Rabbinic leaders, especially in Babylonia, but also in the Land of Israel, began
to ensure that their liturgical systems were standardized
during the period of the Geonim (ca. 6001038). The
first formal Jewish prayer book (siddur; pl. siddurim, from
seder, the Hebrew word for order) the Seder Rav Amram
Gaon (ca. 875) was the response of the Babylonian
664
Worship
Writings (Ketuvim)
665
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority, was founded in Jerusalem by the Israeli
government in 1953. It is now an extensive center for documentation, research, education, and commemoration of the
Yemen
Yeshivah (pl. yeshivot), from the Hebrew root y/sh/v meaning to sit, is a school or academy devoted to the advanced
study of classical Jewish texts.
Central Europe in the Middle Ages and became the primary language of most Jews living in Eastern Europe in
early modern and modern times; it is also known in its western forms as Judeo-German. See LITERATURE, YIDDISH:
FROM ITS BEGINNINGS TO 1700; LITERATURE, YIDDISH:
FROM 1800 TO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY; LITERATURE, YIDDISH: YISHUV; as well as relevant entries under
JOURNALISM, POETRY, and THEATER.
Yiddish Dictionaries.
New York City. Later, a number of dictionaries paired literary Yiddish with Hebrew, Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian,
Polish, English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and
Esperanto. Before World War II and shortly thereafter, dictionaries mainly helped Yiddish speakers learn other languages. In recent decades, they more often serve the needs
of students of the language and propagate the norms of
Standard Yiddish. The most significant dictionaries include
Harkavy (1928); Uriel Weinreich, Modern Yiddish-English
English-Yiddish Dictionary (1969); the Yiddish-Yiddish Groyser
verterbukh fun der yidisher shprakh (ed. Yudel Mark [1961
80], as yet incomplete); the Russko-evreiskyi (idish) slovar (ed.
M. A. Shapiro [1984]); and the Dictionnaire Yiddish-Francais
(ed. Y. Niborski [2002]). Dictionaries of specialized terminologies, rhyming and spelling dictionaries, and lexicons of
Yiddishs Semitic component also exist.
K ALMAN W EISER
JERUSALEM
667
Yom Ha-Atzmaut
Yom Ha-Atzmaut
Festival, and the awarding of the Israel Prize. The day before
Yom Ha-Atzmaut is Yom Ha-Zikaron (Day of Remembrance) in memory of Israeli soldiers who died in battle. Rituals and liturgy to commemorate Yom Ha-Atzmaut are still
being shaped; no formulations have yet achieved universal
acceptance.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
Yom Ha-Shoah in Israel. It begins at sundown with a ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. At ten oclock the next
morning, sirens sound for two minutes and people throughout Israel stand in silence.
Many Diaspora communities observe Yom Ha-Shoah
with synagogue worship and special communal programs
and vigils. Ritual and liturgy to address the specific theological and historical resonances of the Holocaust are still being
formed; one custom is to light a twenty-four-hour yahrzeit
candle. Some Orthodox Jews choose to commemorate the
victims of Nazi genocide on traditional mourning days, such
as Tisha BAv and the 10th of Tevet, rather than on Yom
Ha-Shoah.
E LIZABETH S HULMAN
669
Zealots
Zionism
and shamelessness and for their participation in the worship of Baal. Drawing on language from Genesis, Zephaniah warns that God, in a reversal of creation, will destroy
mankind from the face of the earth (1:3), a reference
that also evokes the flood. The prophet goes on to excoriate other nations of the region, warning them of the day
of anger that will soon overtake them for their haughtiness, for insulting and jeering at the people of the Lord
of Hosts (2:10). The book ends on a note of consolation
(3:819) for the remnant of Israel who seek God and obey
Gods commandments and who need fear misfortune no
more (3:15). Repentance will annul the divine judgment,
and God will soothe with his love those long disconsolate
(3:17); the prophet promises, At that time I will gather
you/And at that time I will bring you [home] (3:20). Then,
Judah will be renowned and famous/Among all the peoples on earth/When I restore your fortunes/Before their eyes
(3:20).
Scholars are divided as to when this book was written.
Many believe that the concluding prophecy of consolation
was written after the Babylonian Exile, but that earlier
sections may have originated in Josiahs reign, before
his religious reforms that occurred ca. 622 BCE. For further reading, see A. Berlin, Zephaniah: A New Translation
with Introduction and Commentary (1994); and M. A.
Sweeney, Zephaniah: A Commentary (2003); see also BIBLE:
PROPHETS AND PROPHECY.
J UDITH R. B ASKIN
Zionism
Zionism
Jewish past. Zionism echoes the age-old messianic expectation of a restoration of the Jews to the Land of Israel,
but departs from tradition by affirming that the Jews can
emancipate themselves from exile without awaiting explicit
and manifest support from God for the launching of such
an operation. It likewise replaces the eschatological vision
of a Jewish kingdom governed in accordance with divine
law with the effort to construct a state along fully modern
lines. Dismissing these innovations as heresies, the very man
who named the movement turned wholly against it after his
return to Orthodox Judaism (see JUDAISM, ORTHODOX).
Yet an important segment of religious Jewry has also played
a part in the political Zionist movement from its beginnings
to the present, and many secular forces within the movement remain thoroughly imbued with quasi-messianic aspirations.
Although there were some resourceful nineteenthcentury Orthodox thinkers who endeavored to undermine
traditional quietism from within and can justly be regarded
as precursors of Zionism, the true parents of the movement
were secularized, more or less assimilated intellectuals who
were activated not by a fresh understanding of Gods wishes
but by a new conception of the Jewish peoples needs.
The increasingly desperate situation of the Jewish masses
in Eastern Europe and the reemergence of antisemitism
in the west convinced Leon Pinsker, Theodor Herzl, and
many others that the Jewish problem could be solved only
through the reconstitution of the Jews as a normal nation
in a territory of their own: Herzl expressed this idea in The
Jewish State (1896). For most proponents of this belief, the
optimum location for the fulfillment of such an endeavor
was their ancestral homeland.
Zionism before Herzl, known as Palestinophilism and
led by the Russian physician Pinsker, achieved only very
limited success. At the first congress of the World Zionist
Organization in 1897, convened by Herzl and held in the
Swiss city of Basel, the new organization prudently refrained
from declaring its intention of creating a state and called only
for the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in
Ottoman Palestine, and political Zionists, who gave priority to diplomatic endeavors to obtain effective control
of the entire land, diminished in the aftermath of Herzls
death in 1904. Chaim Weizmann and others developed a
synthetic Zionism that stressed the importance of both
paths. They fostered the development of Jewish Palestine
(the Yishuv) in the years before World War I and achieved
a crucial success in 1917, with the British issuance of the
Balfour Declaration recognizing the right of Jews to establish their national home there. Only the Revisionists, established in 1925 and led by Vladimir Jabotinsky (18801940),
found the League of Nations-sanctioned British Mandate
over Palestine to be essentially unsatisfactory. They continued to demand the rapid creation of a Jewish state that
would include not only the territory demarcated in the early
1920s as Palestine but also what became known as TransJordan (present-day Jordan) by force, if necessary.
Zionism
Zionism: France
Zionism: France
Zohar
and raised money for the Yishuv (Jewish settlement) in
Palestine. However, Zionism did not capture the imagination of many American Jews before the second decade of
the twentieth century because many Jews, particularly of
Central European descent, believed that support of Zionism jeopardized their status as American citizens. This question of dual loyalty required resolution before Zionism could
appeal to American Jews.
A watershed moment in Zionist history occurred when
Louis Brandeis became chairman of the Federation of
American Zionists (FAZ) in 1914. Brandeis called on Zionists to stop debating ideas and to start recruiting new members and raising funds. FAZ membership grew, and by
1918 chapters had formed in every major American Jewish community. American Zionism was also strengthened
through the work of Zionist organizations affiliated with FAZ
such as Hadassah, socialist Zionists, and religious Zionists
( Mizrachi).
Brandeis finally resolved the conflict between Zionism and
American identity by arguing that Palestine offered an opportunity to create an egalitarian, democratic society along
the model of Jeffersonian ideals. All Americans had dual
loyalties, Brandeis argued, and this was only a problem if
these loyalties conflicted, which was not the case for American Zionists. Brandeiss focus on the practical on helping
European Jews settle Palestine provided a clear purpose for
American Zionists who had no desire to leave their country. Brandeis himself seemed to embody the idea that one
could be both a good American and a Zionist when President
Wilson appointed him to the Supreme Court in 1916.
Eventually, Brandeiss indifference to the religious aspects
of Zionism left a void that was filled by Chaim Weizmann,
his successor in the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).
Weizmanns support came from Jews of Eastern European
background who saw him as the embodiment of yiddishkeit
(Jewishness). Although the 1920s and 1930s were not a
good time for Zionism, as Britain weakened its commitment to the Balfour Declaration and Hitler rose to power,
World War II and subsequent post-war prosperity galvanized
America Zionism as a new and more militant leadership took
over. With European Zionism destroyed, America and Palestine became the centers of world Zionism.
In post-war America, the ZOA under Rabbi Abba Hillel
Silver became the greatest ally of the Yishuv in its fight for
independence. American Zionists also played a central role
in helping convince President Harry S. Truman to recognize
Israel when it declared independence in 1948. Ironically, this
moment also marked the beginning of the decline of American Zionism as the new state began to speak for itself and
most American Jews continued to evince little interest in
moving to Israel. Still, support for Israel has continued to
serve as a rallying point for many of the diverse segments
of American Jewry (see ORGANIZATIONS: NORTH AMERICA). For further reading, see M. Urofsky, American Zionism
from Herzl to the Holocaust (1975); and M. Raider, The Emergence of American Zionism (1998).
R ACHEL G ORDAN
Levy
Bing, a member of the Jewish school committee in
Nancy, and later of the Paris Consistory, stressed the importance of Jewish children learning the Hebrew language by
predicting its role in a future unification of the world, with
World Zionist Organization and sought international support for the creation of a state, the French Jewish establishment opted for emancipation, rather than Zionism, as a goal
for world Jewry, although some prominent French Jews did
join the movement. Nor did the French Jewish establishment support political Zionism at the end of World War I.
president of the Alliance Israelite Universelle,
Sylvain Levi,
went so far as to advise the Foreign Ministry to prevent representatives of French Zionism from speaking at the 1919
peace conference. Claiming that French Zionism was not
French at all, but reflected only the views of foreign Jews in
France, he argued that a Jewish national homeland would
endanger the status of Jews elsewhere by raising the notion
of dual loyalty. In that year, the Central Consistory (see
FRANCE: CONSISTORIES, 18061939) even determined to
make a declaration of war against Zionism.
The Jewish press, in contrast, responded positively to the
1917 Balfour Declaration, and French Jews were more
influenced by Zionism than the stance of its official institutions might suggest. By the 1930s the Consistories recognized the power of Zionism to encourage Jewish identity and
so minimized their opposition. Eventually, with the growing
refugee problem, it became more acceptable for Consistory
members and rabbis to support Zionist activity. For more on
this topic, see P. E. Hyman, The Jews of Modern France (1998).
P HYLLIS C OHEN A LBERT
Zohar
Zunz, Leopold
Germany. Zunz was educated at the Samsonsche Freischule in Wolfenbuettel, which during his attendance was
profoundly reformed by Samuel Meyer Ehrenberg. After
completing his studies at a local high school Zunz taught
at the Samsonsche Freischule between 1810 and 1815. In
1815 he began his studies at the recently established University of Berlin, where his most influential teachers were
the classicists Friedrich August Wolf and August Boeckh.
They inspired his interest in philology, the main area of his
future research. His ground-breaking essay of 1818, Etwas
uber
die rabbinische Litteratur(On Rabbinic Literature), can
675
INDEX OF NAMES
Aaron:
Abecassis,
Eliette: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE;
LITERATURE: FRANCE
Abel: ADAM; CAIN AND ABEL; EVE; JACOB
Aberlin, Rachel: WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Abernathy, Ralph: UNITED STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Abigail: DAVID; WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL
REPRESENTATIONS
Abihu: LEVITICUS, BOOK OF
Abimelech: JUDGES, BOOK OF; SHECHEM
Aboab, Immanuel: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Abraham: AMMON; ARABIA; ART: LATE ANTIQUITY; BETH EL;
BIBLE: ANCESTRAL NARRATIVES; BIBLE: NARRATIVE
LITERATURE; CIRCUMCISION; COVENANT; DEUTERONOMY,
BOOK OF; ETHICS, SEXUAL; FOLKTALES; GENESIS, BOOK
OF; GOD; GOLEM; HAGAR; HEBRON; HITTITES; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: ART; HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL
RESPONSES; ISAAC; ISHMAEL; ISHAMEL: RABBINIC
TRADITIONS; ISLAM AND JUDAISM; ISRAEL, LAND OF;
JERUSALEM: BIBLICAL AND RABBINIC SOURCES; JOB:
RABBINIC TRADITIONS; LOVE; MARTYRDOM;
MESOPOTAMIA AND ANCIENT ISRAEL; MOAB; PHILO OF
ALEXANDRIA; PSEUDEPIGRAPHA; PTOLEMIES;
REVELATION; SAMAEL; SARAH; SHECHEM
Abraham bar Hiyya: AMORAIM; ASTROLOGY; SCIENCE AND
.
MATHEMATICS: MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN
PERIOD
Abraham ben David of Posquieres
`
(Rabad): FRANCE, SOUTHERN:
MIDDLE AGES; ISAAC THE BLIND; MONEY LENDING:
MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Abraham ben Garton: PRINTING
Abraham ben H
. ayyim of Pesaro: PRINTING
Abraham ben Isaac: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE
AGES
Abraham ha-Levi: PRAGUE
Abraham ibn Daud: SABORAIM; TANNAIM; THOUGHT,
MEDIEVAL
Abraham ibn Ezra: See IBN EZRA, ABRAHAM
Abraham of Kalisk: ZALMAN, SCHNEUR BEN BARUCH
677
INDEX OF NAMES
Adler, Rachel: AESTHETICS; JUDAISM, FEMINIST; THEOLOGY;
THOUGHT, MODERN
Adonijah: BATHSHEBA; DAVID; SOLOMON
Adorno, Theodor: AESTHETICS; FRANKFURT AM MAIN;
HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; HOLOCAUST LITERATURE:
POETRY
Agadati, Baruch: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Agnon, S. Y.: ADULTERY; GALICIA; HOLOCAUST LITERATURE:
POETRY; LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION;
LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV, 18801948; MEMOIR
AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW; OZ, AMOS
Agosn, Marjorie: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Agranat, Simon: ISRAEL, STATE OF: JUDICIAL SYSTEM
Agrippa: HASMONEAN DYNASTY; HEROD AND HERODIAN
DYNASTY
Aguilar, Grace: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN;
GRATZ, REBECCA; LITERATURE: BRITAIN; LITERATURE:
WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA);
WOMEN, MODERN: BRITAIN AND NORTH AMERICA
Aguinis, Marcos: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Ahab: ASSYRIA; BIBLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND
PEACE; ELIJAH: BIBLICAL AND POST-BIBLICAL TRADITIONS;
HOSEA, BOOK OF; ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF; KINGS, BOOKS
OF; SAMARIA
Ahad Ha-Am: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT; KAPLAN,
.
MORDECHAI M.; RUSSIA; THOUGHT, MODERN; ZIONISM
Ahashuerus: ART, LATE ANTIQUITY: IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL
AND THE DIASPORA; DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF; ESTHER,
BOOK OF; GARDENS
Ahaz: ASSYRIA; EDOM; HEZEKIAH; KINGS, BOOKS OF
Ahaziah: AHAB
Ahijah: SHILOH
Ah.imaaz ben Paltiel: ITALY
Ahinoam: DAVID; TAMAR (2 SAMUEL)
Akhenaten: EGYPT AND ANCIENT ISRAEL
Akhmatova, Anna: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Akiva ben Joseph, R.: AVOT DE RABBI NATAN; BAR KOKHBA;
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; FOLKTALES; LOVE; MARTYRDOM;
MISHNAH; MYSTICISM: HEKHALOT AND MERKAVAH
LITERATURE; OMER; RABBINIC HERMENEUTICS;
REDEMPTION; SONG OF SONGS, BOOK OF; TANNAIM;
TOSEFTA; TRIBES, TEN LOST; WOMEN, ANCIENT: RABBINIC
JUDAISM
Aksenfeld, Israel: THEATER, YIDDISH
Aksenov, Vasily: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Alantansi, Eliezer: PRINTING
Al-Hariri: LITERATURE, HEBREW: MEDIEVAL SPAIN
Alashkar, Moses: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Albalag, Isaac: THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Albeck, H.: TALMUD STUDY: MODERN APPROACHES
Albert, Marv: SPORTSCASTERS
Albo, Joseph: CRESCAS, H.ASDAI BEN ABRAHAM; THOUGHT,
MEDIEVAL
Alcalay, Yehuda ben Shlomo Hai: LITERATURE, LADINO
Alcott, Amy: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: WOMEN
Alderman, Naomi: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Aldrophe, Alfred: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH
CENTURY
Aleskovsky, Naomi: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Alexander the Great: ALEXANDRIA, ANCIENT; ARCHEOLOGY,
LAND OF ISRAEL: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD; HELLENISM;
JERUSALEM: BIBLICAL AND RABBINIC SOURCES; NEAR
EAST, ANCIENT; PERSIA, ANCIENT; PSEUDEPIGRAPHA;
PTOLEMIES; SELEUCIDS
Alexander Jannaeus: HASMONEAN DYNASTY
Alexander, John: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
Alexander, Joseph: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
678
INDEX OF NAMES
Anielewitz, Mordechai: HOLOCAUST: ROLE OF GENDER;
MUSEUMS
Anissimov, Myriam: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE;
LITERATURE: FRANCE
Anker, Danny: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: TELEVISION
Ansky (An-Ski), Semyon: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY;
DYBBUK; FILM: YIDDISH- LANGUAGE; LITERATURE: RUSSIA
AND SOVIET UNION (IN RUSSIA); LITERATURE, YIDDISH:
1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY; MUSEUMS; RUSSIA;
THEATER, YIDDISH; VILNA
Antigonus: HASMONEAN DYNASTY; HEROD AND HERODIAN
DYNASTY; PTOLEMIES; SELEUCIDS
Antin, Eleanor: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Antin, Mary: LITERATURE: UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900);
LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH
AMERICA); LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
Antiochus IV Epiphanes: DANIEL, BOOK OF; HASMONEAN
DYNASTY; MACCABEES, BOOKS OF; MARTYRDOM; ROME,
ROMAN EMPIRE; SELEUCIDS; TOBIADS; WISDOM OF BEN
SIRA, BOOK OF
Antiochus VII Sidetes: HASMONEAN DYNASTY
Antipater: HASMONEAN DYNASTY; HEROD AND HERODIAN
DYNASTY
Anton, Maggie: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION; LITERATURE:
WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA)
Antonelli, Alessandro: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Antoninus Pius: JEWISH WAR, SECOND
Antschel, Paul See CELAN, PAUL
Apollonius: TOBIADS
Appelfeld, Aharon: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION;
LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION; MEMOIR AND
LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Aquila: BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS
Aquinas, Thomas: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Arad, Yael: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Arafat, Yasser: ISRAEL, STATE OF: ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT,
1948 2010; ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT; RABIN,
YITZHAK
Arama, Isaac: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES TO
1800; THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Aranha, Oswaldo: BRAZIL
Arbatova, Mia: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Arbus, Diane: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Archelaus: FRANCE: MIDDLE AGES; HEROD AND HERODIAN
DYNASTY
Archipova-Grossman, Valentina: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE
ISRAEL
Ardon, Mordecai: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART; ART,
ISRAELI; PLATE 24
Ardutiel, Shem Tov: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE
Arendt, Hannah: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Argov, Zohar: MUSIC, POPULAR
Arieli, Yehoshua: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Arikha, Avigdor: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Aristoboulus: HELLENISM; PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA; PTOLEMIES:
IMPACT ON JEWISH CULTURE AND THOUGHT
Aristobulus: HASMONEAN DYNASTY
Aristobulus II: HASMONEAN DYNASTY
Aristotle: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES; GERSONIDES;
LOVE; MAIMONIDES; REVELATION; SCIENCE AND
MATHEMATICS: MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN
PERIOD; THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN; THOUGHT,
MEDIEVAL
Arlt, Roberto: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Armelin, Antoine: SYNAGOGUES, EUROPE: MEDIEVAL TO
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
679
INDEX OF NAMES
Avneri, Uri: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Avnet, Jon: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: TELEVISION
Avrech, Robert J.: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Ayrton, Edith: ZANGWILL, ISRAEL
Azariah: APOCRYPHA
Azriel: KABBALAH
Azulai, H
. ayim Joseph: TRAVEL WRITING: MIDDLE AGES AND
EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Azulay, Jom Tob: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Baal Shem Tov, Israel ben Eliezer: BAAL SHEM; DOV BER OF
MIEDZYRZECZ; ETHICAL WILLS; FOLKTALES; H
. ASIDISM:
EUROPE; HESCHEL, ABRAHAM JOSHUA; KABBALAH;
NAH.MAN BEN SIMH.A OF BRATSLAV; UKRAINE; ZALMAN,
SCHNEUR BEN BARUCH
Bab, Julius: THEATER: EUROPE
Babai ben Lotf: IRAN
Babel, Isaac: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND
SOVIET UNION (IN RUSSIAN); RUSSIA
Bachman, Lev: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Bacon, Francis: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Bacon, Yehuda: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Baeck, Leo: AESTHETICS; HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL
RESPONSES; JUDAISM, REFORM: GERMANY; LEO BAECK
INSTITUTE; THOUGHT, MODERN
Bagritsky, Eduard: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Bah.ia ben Asher: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES TO
1800
Bahia ben Joseph ibn Pakuda: ASCARELLI, DEVORA;
` LOVE;
.
MUSAR MOVEMENT; THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Bailly, Pascale: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Baizerman, Saul: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Bak, Samuel: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Baker, Jesse: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Bakst, Leon: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Balaam: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; JETHRO; JOB: RABBINIC
TRADITIONS; MAGIC; NUMBERS, BOOK OF
Balak: BALAAM
Balaban, Avraham: LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI
FICTION
Balanchine, George: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Balas, Alexander: HASMONEAN DYNASTY
Balfour, Arthur: BALFOUR DECLARATION; BRITAIN: EARLY
MODERN AND MODERN; BRITISH MANDATE OVER
PALESTINE; ISRAEL, STATE OF: FOUNDING OF THE MODERN
STATE
Bally, Davicion: ROMANIA
Baltard, Victor: SYNAGOGUES: FRANCE
Balter, Sam: SPORTSCASTERS
Bamberger, Dov: JUDAISM, ORTHODOX: ULTRA-ORTHODOX
Banchik, Pedro: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Bankier, Abraham: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS; SCHINDLER,
OSKAR
Bar Kappara, R.: AMORAIM; TANNAIM; TOSEFTA
Bar Kokhba, Simon: JERUSALEM: BIBLICAL AND RABBINIC
SOURCES; JEWISH WAR, SECOND
Bar Moshe, Itzhak: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH
.I
Bar-Zohar, Michael: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Bara, Theda: CELEBRITIES; FILM: UNITED STATES
Barak: DEBORAH
Barak, Aharon: ISRAEL, STATE OF: JUDICIAL SYSTEM
Barak, Ehud: ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS;
ISRAEL, STATE OF: ARABISRAELI CONFLICT, 19482010
Barash, Asher: LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV, 18801948
Barbie, Klaus: LATIN AMERICA
Bardin, Shlomo: SUMMER CAMPING
Barnay, Ludwig: THEATER: EUROPE
Barnes, Peter: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
680
INDEX OF NAMES
Bellow, Saul: CHICAGO; HOLOCAUST LITERATURE;
LITERATURE: UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900); LITERATURE,
YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Belmont, August: BANKING AND BANKING HOUSES
Ben-Ami, Jacob: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE
Ben Aych, Gil: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE;
LITERATURE: FRANCE
Ben-David, Amon: ART, ISRAELI
Bendavid, Lazarus: HASKALAH
Ben David, Mordecai: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Ben Ghiat, Alexander: JOURNALISM, LADINO (OTTOMAN
EMPIRE); LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Ben-Ami, Tami: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Ben-Ezer, Ehud: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Ben-Gal, Nir: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Ben-Gurion, David: BRITISH MANDATE OVER PALESTINE;
EINSTEIN, ALBERT; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
TELEVISION; ISRAEL, STATE OF: FOUNDING OF THE
MODERN STATE; ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES; ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL
PARTIES; JERUSALEM, 19481967; MEMOIR AND LIFE
WRITING: HEBREW; MUSEUMS; SILVER, ABBA HILLEL;
WEIZMANN, CHAIM; YOM HA-SHOAH
Ben-Yehuda, Eliezer (Perelman): HEBREW: MODERN REVIVAL;
LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV, 18801948
Ben-Yehuda, Hemdah: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN
WRITERS, 18822010; LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV,
18801948
Ben-Zion: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Ben-Zvi, Yitzhak: BEN-GURION, DAVID; ISRAEL, STATE OF:
MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY BODIES; YOM HA-SHOAH
Benabou,
Marcel: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE;
LITERATURE: FRANCE
Benayoun, Yossi: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Benderly, Samson: EDUCATION, NORTH AMERICA: HEBREW
COLLEGES; EDUCATION, NORTH AMERICA: SUPPLEMENTAL
SCHOOLS; SUMMER CAMPING
Benedict, Ruth: ANTHROPOLOGY
Benigni, Roberto: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II);
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Benjamin: CHRONICLES, BOOKS OF; ISRAELITES: TRIBES;
JOSHUA, BOOK OF; RACHEL; TRIBES, TWELVE
Benjamin al-Nahawendi: KARAISM
Benjamin of Rome: PRINTING
Benjamin of Tudela: ETHIOPIA; PILGRIMAGE; ROMANIA;
TRAVEL WRITING: MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN
PERIOD
Benjamin, Judah P.: UNITED STATES: AFRICAN AMERICAN
JEWISH RELATIONS; UNITED STATES: CIVIL WAR; UNITED
STATES: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT; UNITED STATES,
SOUTHERN
Benjamin, Marina: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH.I
Benjamin, Walter: BERLIN; HOLOCAUST LITERATURE;
HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION; LITERATURE: CENTRAL
EUROPE; SCHOLEM, GERSHOM
Benny, Jack: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION;
COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; ENTERTAINMENT; FILM:
UNITED STATES; RADIO: UNITED STATES
Bentley, Muriel: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Benveniste, Immanuel: PRINTING
Benveniste, Joshua: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Benveniste, Sheshet ben Isaac: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE
AGES
Benveniste, Vidal: LITERATURE, HEBREW: MEDIEVAL SPAIN;
POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Ber, Baruch: TALMUD STUDY: MODERN APPROACHES
Ber of Bolechow: FAMILY AND MARRIAGE: EARLY MODERN
PERIOD
Berkewicz,
Ulla: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Berkoff, Steven: THEATER: BRITAIN
Berkovich, Eyal: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Berkovich, Miki: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Berkovits, Eliezer: AESTHETICS; GOD; HOLOCAUST:
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES; THEOLOGY; THOUGHT,
MODERN
Berkson, Isaac B. and Libbie S.: SUMMER CAMPING
Berle, Milton: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION;
COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; ENTERTAINMENT; FILM:
UNITED STATES
Berlewi, Henryk: ART: ILLUSTRATED YIDDISH BOOKS
Berlin, Adele: BIBLE: POETRY
Berlin, Irving: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL; THEATER:
UNITED STATES; THEATER, UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Berlin, Judah (see also Jost Liebmann): COURT JEWS
Berlin, Saul: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Berman, Jakub: COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Berman, Joanna: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Berman, Saul: JUDAISM, ORTHODOX: MODERN ORTHODOX
Berman, Shelley: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS
Bermant, Chaim: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Bernal, Mestre: JAMAICA
Bernard, Barney: ENTERTAINMENT
Bernays, Isaac: HIRSCH, SAMSON RAPHAEL
Bernays, Jacob: COHEN, HERMANN
Berne, Joseph: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE
Bernhar, Thomas: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Bernhardt, Sarah: THEATER: EUROPE
Bernini, Gian Lorenzo: SYNAGOGUES, EUROPE: MEDIEVAL TO
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Beruriah: WOMEN, ANCIENT: RABBINIC JUDAISM
Bernstein, Berl: THEATER, YIDDISH
Bernstein, Charles: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Bernstein, Leonard: THEATER: UNITED STATES; THEATER,
UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Bernstein, Theresa: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Berr, Berr Isaac: SECULARISM
Berr, Michel: JUDAISM, REFORM: FRANCE; ZIONISM: FRANCE
Bertonoff, Deborah: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Best, Werner: DENMARK; HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Bezalel: ARK OF THE COVENANT
681
INDEX OF NAMES
Bezem, Naftali: ART, ISRAELI; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
ART
Bezmozgis, David: LITERATURE: CANADA
Bialik, Hayyim Nahman: ART, ISRAELI; LITERATURE, YIDDISH:
1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY; MEMOIR AND LIFE
WRITING: HEBREW; POETRY: UNITED STATES; POETRY,
MODERN HEBREW
Bibago, Abraham: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN; THOUGHT,
MEDIEVAL
Bichovsky, Elisheva: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS
Bielski Partisans: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM;
HOLOCAUST RESISTANCE
Bier, Susanne: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II);
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Bilhah: ISRAELITES: TRIBES; JACOB; LEAH; RACHEL; TRIBES,
TWELVE; WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Biller, Maxim: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; LITERATURE: CENTRAL
EUROPE; LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Bimko, Fishl: THEATER, YIDDISH
Binder, A. W.: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Blum, Leon:
FRANCE: 17891939
Blum, Moshe: ISRAEL, STATE OF: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Blume, Peter: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Blumenfeld, Yitzhak: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Blumenthal, N.: YIZKOR BOOKS
Blumenthal, Oscar: THEATER: EUROPE
Bluwstein, Rachel: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS,
18822010; POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Boas, Franz: ANTHROPOLOGY; UNITED STATES: HIGHER
EDUCATION
Boaz: ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY; MARRIAGE,
LEVIRATE; RUTH, BOOK OF
Bock, Geoffrey: EDUCATION, NORTH AMERICA:
SUPPLEMENTAL SCHOOLS
Bock, Jerry: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Bohme,
Jakob: BUBER, MARTIN
Bohne, Sammy (Cohen): SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Bois, Curt: THEATER: EUROPE
Roberto: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Bolano,
Bolotowsky, Ilya: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Boltansky, Christian: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Bomberg, Daniel: PRINTING
Bonafed, Solomon: LITERATURE, HEBREW: MEDIEVAL SPAIN;
POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Bonifacio, Baldassare: SULAM, SARRA COPIA
Booth, Charles: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN
Borchardt, Rudolf: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Borer, Tamar: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Boreysho, Menakhem: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH
Borges, Jorge Luis: FILM: LATIN AMERICA; LITERATURE: LATIN
AMERICA
Borkovsky, Joshua: ART: ISRAEL
Born, Friedrich: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Borne,
Ludwig: ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH CENTURY;
LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Borofsky, Jonathan: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Borofsky, Philip: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Borokhov, Ber: ZIONISM
Borowitz, Eugene: THOUGHT, MODERN
Borowski, Tadeusz: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
Bosco, Monique: LITERATURE: CANADA
Bostwick, Henry (Lifschiftz): SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASEBALL
Botta, Mario: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Bouganim, Ami: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Boukhobza, Chochana: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Bouman, Elias: SYNAGOGUES, EUROPE: MEDIEVAL TO
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Bourke-White, Margaret: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940;
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Bouwmeester, Louis Frederik Johannes: THEATER: EUROPE
Box, Bobby: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Boxer, Barbara: SAN FRANCISCO; UNITED STATES: POLITICAL
INVOLVEMENT
Boyarin, Jonathan: ANTHROPOLOGY
Brahe, Tycho: SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS: MIDDLE AGES
AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Brahm, Otto: THEATER: EUROPE
Brahms, Helga Sanders: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
FILM
Brand, Joel: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Brandeis, Louis Dembitz: BOSTON; BRITISH MANDATE OVER
PALESTINE; JUDAISM, REFORM: NORTH AMERICA;
SUMMER CAMPING; UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS; UNITED
STATES, SOUTHERN; ZIONISM: UNITED STATES
Brandes, Edvard: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA; THEATER:
EUROPE
Brandes, George: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA; THEATER:
EUROPE
Brandon, Moses Hoheb: CARIBBEAN
Brandstadter,
Mordechai David: LITERATURE, HEBREW:
HASKALAH
Brandwein, Naftule: MUSIC, POPULAR
Braque, Georges: ART, ISRAELI
Braudes, Reuven Asher: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Brauer, Erich: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Brazovsky, Shalom Noah: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL
RESPONSES
Brecht, Bertolt: ART, ISRAELI; BENJAMIN, WALTER
682
INDEX OF NAMES
Brenner, Joseph Haim: ARABS: REPRESENTATIONS IN ISRAELI
LITERATURE; LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV,
18801948; MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Breuer, Isaac: JUDAISM, ORTHODOX: ULTRA- ORTHODOX
Breuer, Josef: PAPPENHEIM, BERTHA
Brice, Fanny: CELEBRITIES; COMEDY AND COMEDIANS;
ENTERTAINMENT; FILM: UNITED STATES; RADIO: UNITED
STATES; THEATER: UNITED STATES
Bril, Jehiel: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Brill, Joel: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Brod, Max: HABSBURG EMPIRE; KAFKA, FRANZ
Broder, Henryk: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Brodkin, Karen: ANTHROPOLOGY
Brodsky, Joseph: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN); LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Brody, Tal: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Brgger, Suzanne: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Brokhes, Zalmen: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: THE YISHUV
Bromberg, Ellen: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Bronstein, Lev Davidovich: TROTSKY, LEON
Brookner, Anita: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Brooks, Mel: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; ENTERTAINMENT;
FILM: UNITED STATES; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
TELEVISION; THEATER: UNITED STATES; THEATER, UNITED
STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Browne, Edward B. M.: UNITED STATES, SOUTHERN
Bruder, Dora: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Bruce, Lenny: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; ENTERTAINMENT
Brukman, Shimshon: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Brunner, Arnold: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Brunner, Emil: SOLOVEITCHIK, JOSEPH B.
Bruno, Giordano: ABRAVANEL FAMILY
Brunschwieg, Leon:
JEWISH STUDIES: FRANCE (NINETEENTH
CENTURY)
Brustein, Robert: THEATER: UNITED STATES
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Brynych, Zbynek:
Brysk, Alison: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Buber, Martin: AESTHETICS; ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH
CENTURY; BERKOVITS, ELIEZER; BIBLE: NARRATIVE
LITERATURE; BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS;
FACKENHEIM, EMIL LUDWIG; FRANKFURT AM MAIN;
GERMANY; GOD; HESCHEL, ABRAHAM JOSHUA;
HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES; ISRAEL, STATE
OF: PEACE MOVEMENT; LEVINAS, EMMANUEL;
LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE; LITERATURE, YIDDISH:
1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY; NAH
. MAN BEN SIMH.A OF
BRATSLAV; PAPPENHEIM, BERTHA; REDEMPTION;
REVELATION; ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ; RUBENSTEIN,
RICHARD L.; SCHOLEM, GERSHOM; THEOLOGY; THOUGHT,
MODERN
Buber, Salomon: BUBER, MARTIN
Bublick, Gedaliah: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Bueno de Mesquita, Abraham: CARIBBEAN
Bukiet, Melvin Jules: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION;
LITERATURE: UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900)
Buloff, Joseph: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH
Bunche, Ralph: UNITED STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Burla, Yehuda: LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV,
18801948
Burman, Daniel: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Burns, George: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION;
COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; ENTERTAINMENT; FILM:
UNITED STATES; RADIO: UNITED STATES
Burns, Richard: POETRY: BRITAIN
Burstein, Michael: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Bush, George W.: UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Buxtorf, Johann: CHRISTAIN HEBRAISM
Buzaglo, Haim: FILM: ISRAEL
Celine,
Louis-Ferdinand: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Chabon, Michael: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION;
LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS; LITERATURE: UNITED
STATES (SINCE 1900)
Chagall, Bella: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH
Chagall, Marc: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY; ART:
ILLUSTRATED YIDDISH BOOKS; ART, ISRAELI; CHAGALL,
BELLA ROSENFELD; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART;
RUSSIA; PLATE 14
Chaikin, Joseph: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Chaillet, Pierre: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Chalfi, Rachel: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS,
18822010
Chaney, James: UNITED STATES: AFRICAN AMERICAN JEWISH
RELATIONS; UNITED STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Chaplin, Charles: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Charles, Gerda: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Chaucer, Geoffrey: GHETTO; RITUAL MURDER ACCUSATION
Chayefsky, Paddy: THEATER, UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Chayim of Volozhin: TALMUD STUDY: MODERN APPROACHES;
VILNA GAON
Chekhov, Anton: OZ, AMOS
Chelouche, Yosef Eliyahu: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE
MOVEMENT
Chetrit, Sami Shalom: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
683
INDEX OF NAMES
Cordovero,
Cortazar,
Julio: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Cortissoz, Royal: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Cosell, Howard: SPORTSCASTERS
Costa-Gavras: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Coughlin, Charles: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE: UNITED STATES
Cover, Robert: JUDAISM, FEMINIST
Cowen, Sir Frederic Hyman: JAMAICA
Cozen, Samuel: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Cranz, August: MENDELSSOHN, MOSES
Cremieux,
Adolphe: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939;
FRANCE: 17891939; NORTH AFRICA
Crescas, Hasdai ben Abraham: MIDDLE AGES: JEWISH
.
CHRISTIAN POLEMICS; SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS:
MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD; THOUGHT,
MEDIEVAL
Croci, Pascal: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS
Cromwell, Oliver: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN;
MENASSEH BEN ISRAEL; MENDELSSOHN, MOSES; UNITED
STATES: IMMIGRATION
Cross, Frank Moore: BIBLE: NARRATIVE LITERATURE
Curtis, M. B.: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Cusi, Meshullam: PRINTING
Cygielman, Victor: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Cyrus the Great: BABYLONIAN EXILE; EZRA AND NEHEMIAH,
BOOKS OF; ISAIAH, BOOK OF; PERSIA, ANCIENT
Czarny, Norbert: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Czerniakow, Adam: HOLOCAUST DIARIES; HOLOCAUST:
GHETTOS; HOLOCAUST RESISTANCE
Czynski, Jan: ZIONISM: FRANCE
Da Costa, Uriel: AMSTERDAM
FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Da Silva, Antonio Jose:
DAlemand, Antoine: SYNAGOGUES, EUROPE: MEDIEVAL TO
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Dambrot, Irwin: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Dan: ETHIOPIA; ISRAELITES: TRIBES; PSEUDEPIGRAPHA;
RACHEL; TRIBES, TEN LOST; TRIBES, TWELVE
Danel: BIBLE: NARRATIVE LITERATURE
Daniel: AFTERLIFE: HEBREW BIBLE AND SECOND TEMPLE
PERIOD; ART: LATE ANTIQUITY; BEL AND THE DRAGON;
DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF; ESCHATOLOGY: SECOND
TEMPLE PERIOD; JOB, BOOK OF; MARTYRDOM; MESSIAH;
RESURRECTION
Daniel al-Kumisi: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES TO
1800; KARAISM
Daniel, Yuly: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Danielsson, Carl Ivan: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Danzig, Abraham: PRAYER: WOMENS DEVOTIONAL
Danziger, Itzhak: ART, ISRAELI; PLATE 23
Dapiera, Meshullam: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Dapiera, Solomon: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Dari, Moses: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM WORLD
Darius I: HAGGAI, BOOK OF; PERSIA, ANCIENT
Darius II: ALEXANDER THE GREAT
`
Darmesteter, Arsene
and James: JEWISH STUDIES: FRANCE
(NINETEENTH CENTURY)
Darmon, Paule: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Darwin, Charles: BIBLE: MODERN SCHOLARSHIP;
PSYCHOANALYSIS
Darwishe, Salman: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH
.I
Dassa, Dani: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Daud ibn Marwan: THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
David: AMORAIM; ANOINTMENT; APOCRYPHA;
ARCHEOLOGY, LAND OF ISRAEL: ANCIENT TIMES TO
PERSIAN PERIOD; ARK OF THE COVENANT; ART: LATE
684
INDEX OF NAMES
GOD; SPINOZA, BARUCH
Descartes, Rene:
Dessoir, Ludwig: THEATER: EUROPE
Dessler, Eliyahu: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
DeVaux, Roland: QUMRAN
DeWette, Wilhelm: DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF
Deutsch, Ernst: THEATER: EUROPE
Deutsch, Naomi: NURSING: UNITED STATES
Deutscher, Isaac: COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Deutschlander, Leo: SCHENIRER, SARAH
Dever, William: CANAAN, CANAANITES
Di Castro, Angelo: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Diaghilev, Serge: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Diamant, Anita: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION; LITERATURE:
WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA)
Diamant, Dora: KAFKA, FRANZ
Dickens, Charles: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS
Dienemann, Max: JONAS, REGINA
Digby, Kenelm: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND
MODERN
Dilthy, Wilhelm: BUBER, MARTIN
Dimov, Osip: THEATER, YIDDISH
Dinah: ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY; JOB: RABBINIC
TRADITIONS; LEAH; PSEUDEPIGRAPHA; SHECHEM; TRIBES,
TWELVE; WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Dinar, Baruch: FILM: ISRAEL
Dine, Jim: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Dineson, Jacob: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Dinur, Yehiel: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Dio Cassius: JEWISH WAR, SECOND
Dischereit, Esther: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY
EUROPE
Disney, Walt: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION
Disraeli, Benjamin: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN;
CELEBRITIES
Dix, Otto: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Dizengoff, Meir: MUSEUMS
Dmytryk, Edward: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Doblin,
Alfred: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Dohm, Wilhelm von: MENDELSSOHN, MOSES
Dolce of Worms: PRAYER: WOMENS DEVOTIONAL; WOMEN:
MIDDLE AGES
Domecq, Alcina Lubitch: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Domin, Hilda: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Donadille, Francoise and Marc: HOLOCAUST
RESCUERS
Donat, Alexander: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Donin, Nicholas: MIDDLES AGES: JEWISH CHRISTIAN
POLEMICS
Donnolo, Shabbetai: BYZANTINE EMPIRE; MEDICINE; POETRY,
MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE; SEFER YETZIRAH
Doran, Silvia: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Doron, Shay: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Dorfman, Ariel: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Dorfman, Carolyn: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Dorfman, David: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Dortas, Samuel: PRINTING
Dositheus: SAMARITANS
Dostrovski, Yaakov: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES
Dov Ber of Mie
dzyrzecz: H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE; KABBALAH;
MAIMON, SALOMON; UKRAINE; ZALMAN, SCHNEUR BEN
BARUCH
Dov Ber of Lubavitch: H
. ABAD; H.ASIDISM: EUROPE
Dovlatov, Sergey: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Drach, Michel: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Draigor, Anat: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Dreyer, Carl: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
David of Makow:
H.ASIDISM: EUROPE
David, Larry: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: TELEVISION; TELEVISION: UNITED
STATES
Davidson, Avram: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Davidson, Jo: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Davidson, Melech: LITERATURE: CANADA
Davis, Al: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
Davis, Arthur: ZANGWILL, ISRAEL
Davis, Jacob: FASHION
Davis, Moshe: SUMMER CAMPING
Dawison, Bogumil: THEATER: EUROPE
Dayan, Assi: FILM: ISRAEL
Dayan, Moshe: ISRAEL, STATE OF: DIASPORA RELATIONS;
ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY BODIES;
MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
De Goncourt, Edmond: ANTISEMITISM: France, 17891939
De Grousillier, Hector: ANTISEMITISM: France, 17891939
De la Parra, Samuel Haim: CARIBBEAN
De la Torre, Raul:
FILM: LATIN AMERICA
De Sica, Vittorio: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
De Winter, Leon: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY
EUROPE
Deborah (Judges): BETH EL; ISRAELITES: TRIBES; ISRAELITES:
RELIGION; JUDGES, BOOK OF; TRIBES, TWELVE; WOMEN,
ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS; WOMEN, ANCIENT:
ISRAELITE
Deborah (GENESIS): WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL
REPRESENTATIONS
Simon: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Debre,
Dedi: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Dekal, Zvi: ISRAEL, STATE OF: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Delakova, Katya: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Nelcya: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Delanoe,
Delaunay, Robert: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Delbo, Charlotte: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Delilah: JUDGES, BOOK OF; WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL
REPRESENTATIONS
Delmedigo, Joseph Solomon: MEDICINE; SCIENCE AND
MATHEMATICS: MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN
PERIOD
DEnnery, Adolphe: THEATER: EUROPE
Demetrius: HELLENISM
Derenbourg, Joseph and Hartwig: JEWISH STUDIES: FRANCE
(NINETEENTH CENTURY)
685
INDEX OF NAMES
Dreyfus,
Einhorn,
Drumont, Edouard:
ANTISEMITISM; ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE,
17891939
Dryfoos, Orvil: JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE)
DuPlessis, Rachel Blau: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Dubinsky, David: UNITED STATES: LABOR MOVEMENT
Dublon, Else: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Dubno, Solomon: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES TO
1800
Dubnow, Simon: COUNCIL OF FOUR LANDS and COUNCIL OF
LITHUANIA; THOUGHT, MODERN
Duchamp, Marcel: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Duckwitz, Georg Ferdinand: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Dudley, Jane: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Dunash ben Labrat: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES
TO 1800
Dunash ibn Tamim: ASTROLOGY; GRAMMARIANS AND
LEXICOGRAPHERS; SEFER YETZIRAH
Duncan, Isadora: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL;
DANCE: UNITED STATES
Dupeyron, Francois: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Duran, Profiat: MIDDLE AGES: JEWISH CHRISTIAN POLEMICS
Duran, Solomon ben Simon (Rashbash): RESPONSA LITERATURE
Durkheim, Emile: ANTHROPOLOGY; JEWISH STUDIES: FRANCE
(NINETEENTH CENTURY); KAPLAN, MORDECHAI M.
Durlacher, Gerhard L.: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY
EUROPE
Dushkin, Alexander M. and Julia: SUMMER CAMPING
Dyer, Richard: CELEBRITIES
Dymshits, Mark: SOVIET UNION: JEWISH MOVEMENT,
19671989
Ebner, Ferdinand: BUBER, MARTIN
Edelstadt, Dovid: POETRY, YIDDISH
Edelstein, Yuli: SOVIET UNION: JEWISH MOVEMENT,
19671989
Eden, Anthony: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN
Ederle, Gertrude: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: WOMEN
Edvardson, Cordelia: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Edwards, Ralph: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: TELEVISION
Egidio di Viterbo: CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM
Efrat, Benni: ART, ISRAELI
Efrati, Moshe: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Ehrenburg, Ilya: JEWISH ANTI-FASCIST COMMITTEE;
LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN RUSSIAN)
Ehrenkrantz, Dan: JUDAISM, RECONSTRUCTIONIST
Ehrenreich, Shlomoh Zalman: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL
RESPONSES
Ehud: BIBLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND PEACE
Eichelbaum, Samuel: LATIN AMERICA
Eichmann, Adolph: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; HOLOCAUST;
HOLOCAUST: CAMPS AND KILLING CENTERS; HOLOCAUST
EDUCATION: NORTH AMERICA; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: TELEVISION; HOLOCAUST RESCUERS;
HOLOCAUST TRIALS; LATIN AMERICA; LITERATURE,
HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION; THERESIENSTADT; VIENNA
Eicke, Theodor: HOLOCAUST: CAMPS AND KILLING CENTERS
Eidlitz, Leopold: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Eilberg, Amy: RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN
686
INDEX OF NAMES
Ellstein, Abe: THEATER, YIDDISH
Elte, Harry: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Elzas, A.: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Emden, Jacob: ABORTION
Emmanuel, David: UNITED STATES, SOUTHERN
Engel, Fritz: THEATER: EUROPE
Englander, Nathan: LITERATURE: UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900)
Enoch: ESCHATOLOGY; METATRON; MYSTICISM: HEKHALOT
AND MERKAVAH LITERATURE; PSEUDEPIGRAPHPA
Ephraim: ISRAELITES: TRIBES; JACOB; JOSEPH; SHILOH;
TRIBES, TEN LOST; TRIBES, TWELVE
Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY:
MIDDLE AGES TO 1800
Ephraim of Regensburg: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE; TOSAFISTS
Ephrem: CHURCH FATHERS: ATTITUDES TO JEWS AND
JUDAISM
Epicurus: EPIKOROS
Epiphanius: GNOSTICISM; SEPTUAGINT
Eppel, Asar: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Eppstein, Jacob: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Epstein, Charlotte: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: WOMEN
Epstein, Henry Moses: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
Epstein, Jacob: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Epstein, J. N.: TALMUD STUDY: MODERN APPROACHES
Epstein, Yitzhak: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Erdman, Harley: ENTERTAINMENT
Erekat, Saeb: ISRAEL, STATE OF: ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT
(1948 TO 2010)
Ernst, Jimmy: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Erter, Yitzhak: HASKALAH; LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Esau: ANTISEMITISM; EDOM; GENESIS, BOOK OF; ISAAC;
JACOB; JOB: RABBINIC TRADITIONS; LOVE; RASHI;
REBEKAH; ROME, ROMAN EMPIRE
Eshed, Eli: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS
Eshel, Ruth: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Eshkol, Levi: BEN-GURION, DAVID; ISRAEL, STATE OF:
MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY BODIES; ISRAEL, STATE OF:
POLITICAL PARTIES; MEIR, GOLDA
Eshkol, Noa: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Essman, Susie: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS
Esther: ANOINTMENT; APOCRYPHA; ART: LATE ANTIQUITY;
DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF; FIVE SCROLLS; FOLKTALES;
INDIA; LITERATURE, LADINO; PERSIA, ANCIENT; PURIM;
WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENATIONS
Ettinger, Solomon: THEATER, YIDDISH
Ettlinger, Jacob: HIRSCH, SAMSON RAPHAEL
Etzioni-Halevy, Eva: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION;
LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH
AMERICA)
Euchel, Isaac: HASKALAH; LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH;
MENDELSSOHN, MOSES; THEATER, YIDDISH
Eusebius: PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
Evans, Eli: UNITED STATES, SOUTHERN
Eve: ADAM; ALPHABET OF BEN SIRA; AVOT DE RABBI NATAN;
CAIN AND ABEL; ETHICS, SEXUAL; EVIL AND SUFFERING;
GENESIS, BOOK OF; LILITH; SAMAEL; WOMEN, ANCIENT:
BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Eve, Nomi: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Evergood, Philip: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Eytan, Rachel: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS,
18822010
Ezekiel: AFTERLIFE: HEBREW BIBLE AND SECOND TEMPLE
PERIOD; ART: LATE ANTIQUITY; BABYLON, BABYLONIA;
BAR KOKHBA; DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF; HOSEA, BOOK
OF; INCENSE; ISRAELITES: RELIGION; JERUSALEM:
BIBLICAL AND RABBINIC SOURCES; MYSTICISM, ANCIENT;
Farberb
ock,
Max: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Farer, Louis: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Farjeon, Benjamin: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Farkas, Mihaly:
Farrakhan, Louis: UNITED STATES: AFRICAN AMERICAN
JEWISH RELATIONS
Fassbinder, Rainer Werner: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
DRAMA; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Faurisson, Robert: HOLOCAUST DENIAL
Fautrier, Jean: ART, ISRAELI
Favier, Auguste: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Fefer, Itsik: JEWISH ANTI-FASCIST COMMITTEE
Feierberg, Mordecai Zeev: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING:
HEBREW
Feierstein, Ricardo: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Feiffer, Jules: THEATER, UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Beda Docampo: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Feijoo,
Fein, Leonard: PERIODICALS: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE)
Feinman, Dina: THEATER, YIDDISH
Feinman, Sigmund: THEATER, YIDDISH
Feinstein, Diane: SAN FRANCISCO
Feinstein, Elaine: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; POETRY: BRITAIN
Feiwel, Berthold: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Feld, Eliot: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Feldenkrais, Moshe: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Feldman, Zev: MUSIC, POPULAR
Feldmann, Wilhelm: THEATER: EUROPE
Felic,
Eliza Rachel: THEATER: EUROPE
Fellig, Arthur: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; PHOTOGRAPHY
Felsenthal, Bernhard: CHICAGO; JUDAISM, REFORM: NORTH
AMERICA
Ferber, Edna: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Ferdowsi: JUDEO-PERSIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Feuchtwanger, Lion: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE; THEATER:
EUROPE
Feuerbach, Ludwig: BUBER, MARTIN
Feuerverger-Meiri, Meir: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL
RESPONSES
Fibich, Felix: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Fichandler, Zelda: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Ficino, Marsilio: KABBALAH
Ficowski, Jerzy: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: POETRY
687
INDEX OF NAMES
Frankel,
Foa, Eugenie:
LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Folman, Ari: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS
Ford, Alexander: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Ford, Henry: ENTERTAINMENT; FILM: UNITED STATES;
JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH LANGUAGE);
SPORTS AND AMERICANIZATION; SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASEBALL
Forman, Zadik: LITERATURE, LADINO
Forster,
Ludwig von: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH
CENTURY
Fosse, Bob: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Fould, Benot and Achille: FRANCE: 17891939
Fourier, Charles: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Fox, Everett: BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS
Fox, Michael: EGYPT AND ANCIENT ISRAEL
Fox, William: FILM: UNITED STATES
Fraenkel, David: GOD; MENDELSSOHN, MOSES
Franck, Adolphe: FRANCE: 17891939; JEWISH STUDIES:
FRANCE (NINETEENTH CENTURY)
Franck, Henri: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Frank, Anne: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY;
HOLOCAUST DIARIES; HOLOCAUST DOCUMENTATION;
HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
DRAMA; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM;
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: TELEVISION; MUSEUMS
Frank, Eva: FRANK, JACOB AND FRANKISM; MYSTICISM,
WOMEN AND; WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Frank, Hans: HOLOCAUST DOCUMENTATION
Frank, Jacob: ANTINOMIANISM; HASIDISM: EUROPE;
.
KABBALAH; MYSTICISM, WOMEN AND; UKRAINE; WOMEN:
EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Frank, Leo: UNITED STATES: SOUTHERN
Frank, Edith, Margot, and Otto: FRANK, ANNE; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Frank, Rachel (Ray): RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN;
UNITED STATES, WESTERN
Frank, Robert: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; PHOTOGRAPHY
Frankau, Gilbert: POETRY: BRITAIN
Frankau, Julia: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; POETRY: BRITAIN
Frankel, Ellen: JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Frankel, Jacob: UNITED STATES: MILITARY CHAPLAINCY
Fremont,
John Charles: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940;
PHOTOGRAPHY
Fresco, David: JOURNALISM, LADINO (OTTOMAN EMPIRE)
Freud, Sigmund: EGYPT AND ANCIENT ISRAEL;
ENTERTAINMENT; HABSBURG EMPIRE; LITERATURE:
CENTRAL EUROPE; MEDICINE; PAPPENHEIM, BERTHA;
PSYCHOANALYSIS; VIENNA
Fried, Avraham: MUSIC, POPULAR; MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Fried, Hedi:
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Friedan, Betty: UNITED STATES: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Friedland, Sally-Anne: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Friedlander,
David: HASKALAH; MENDELSSOHN, MOSES
Friedlander, Eytan: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Friedlander, Lee: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Friedlander,
Moritz: GNOSTICISM
Friedman, Benny: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
Friedman, Bruce Jay: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS
Friedman, Carl: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Friedman, Debbie: CANTOR, CANTORATE: HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT; MUSIC, POPULAR; MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Friedman, Gal: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Friedman, Kinky: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Friedman, Marty: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Friedman, Richard E.: BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND
TRANSLATORS
Friedman, Robert: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Friedman, Thomas L.: JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE)
Friedmann, Mira: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS; LITERATURE:
POPULAR FICTION
Friedsel, Louis: THEATER, YIDDISH
Frisch, Efraim: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Fromm, Erich: ANTHROPOLOGY
Fromm, Herbert: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Froot, Dan: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Froschauer, Christoph: ART: ILLUSTRATED YIDDISH BOOKS
Fry, Varian: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Fuchs, Leo: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE
Fuenn, Samuel Joseph: HASKALAH
Fuentes, Carlos: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Fug, Semyon: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Fuller, Jake: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Funn,
Shmuel Yosef: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
688
INDEX OF NAMES
Garfield, John: FILM: UNITED STATES
Garfinkel, Jack Dutch: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Garfunkel, Baruch Mordecai and Moses: FASHION
Gary, Romain: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II);
LITERATURE: FRANCE
Gat, Eliahu: ART, ISRAELI
Gat, Emanuel: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Gates, Pop: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Gavron, Jeremy: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Gechtman, Gideon: ART, ISRAELI
Geffen, Aviv: MUSIC, POPULAR
Geffen, Tobias: UNITED STATES, SOUTHERN
Geiger, Abraham: CHOSENNESS; FRANKFURT AM MAIN;
GERMANY; HIRSCH, SAMSON RAPHAEL; GOD; JUDAISM,
REFORM: GERMANY; THOUGHT, MODERN; WISSENSCHAFT
DES JUDENTUMS
Gelbart, Larry: ENTERTAINMENT
Gelber, N. M.: YIZKOR BOOKS
Gens, Jacob: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Gentry, Eve: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Gerchunoff, Alberto: LATIN AMERICA; LITERATURE: LATIN
AMERICA
Gerlier, Pierre-Marie: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Gernsheim, Helmut: PHOTOGRAPHY
Erno:
COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Gero,
Gershom ben Judah of Mainz: COMMERCE: MEDIEVAL AND
EARLY MODERN EUROPE; DIVORCE: HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT; GERMANY; MARRIAGE AND MARRIAGE
CUSTOMS; MARTYRDOM; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE; RASHI; RESPONSA LITERATURE; WOMEN: MIDDLE
AGES
Gershon, Karen: KINDERTRANSPORT; LITERATURE: BRITAIN;
POETRY: BRITAIN
Gersht, Yehudah Layb: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Gershuni, Moshe: ART, ISRAELI
Gershwin, George: THEATER: UNITED STATES; THEATER,
UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Gershwin, Ira: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Gersonides (Levi ben Gershon): ASTROLOGY; BIBLICAL
COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES TO 1800; FRANCE,
SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES; SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS:
MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD; THOUGHT,
MEDIEVAL
Gerz, Jochen: HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS
Gessner, Solomon: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Getter, Tamar: ART, ISRAELI
Geva, Avital: ART, ISRAELI
Geva, Zibi: ART, ISRAELI
Giacon, Samuel: PRINTING
Giardino, Vittorio: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS
Gideon, Jerubaal: COURTS
Gies, Miep: FRANK, ANNE
Gikatilla, Joseph: KABBALAH; ZOHAR
Gilboa, Amir: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Gilgamesh: MESOPOTAMIA AND ANCIENT ISRAEL
Gillman, Neil: GOD; THOUGHT, MODERN
Gillman, Sid: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
Ginsberg, Allen: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Ginzberg, Asher: See AH
. AD HA-AM
Ginzberg, H. L.: JUDAISM, CONSERVATIVE
Ginzberg, Louis: JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY; JUDAISM,
CONSERVATIVE; SZOLD, HENRIETTA
Giordano, Ralph: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Giradoux, Jean: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Girsdansky, Joseph Gid: SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASKETBALL
Girsdansky, Max: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Gitai, Amos: INFERTILITY
689
INDEX OF NAMES
Golinkin, Mordechai: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Goller, Izak: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Goloboff, Mario: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Golomb, Eliyahu: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES
Golub, Leon: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: ART
Gomer: WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Goodman, Allegra: LITERATURE: UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900);
LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH
AMERICA)
Goodman, Andrew: UNITED STATES: AFRICAN AMERICAN
JEWISH RELATIONS; UNITED STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVMENT
Goodman, Benny: CHICAGO
Goodman, Percival: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Goodman, Ruth: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Goodrich, Frances: FRANK, ANNE; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Gorbachev, Mikhail: SOVIET UNION: JEWISH MOVEMENT,
19671989
Gordin, Jacob: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE; LITERATURE:
POPULAR FICTION; SECULARISM; THEATER, YIDDISH
Gordon, Aharon David: GARDENS; ISRAEL, STATE OF:
ECOLOGY; KOOK, ABRAHAM ISAAC
Gordan, David: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Gordon, David: HASKALAH
Gordon, Judah Leib: HASKALAH; LITERATURE, HEBREW:
HASKALAH; SECULARISM; THOUGHT, MODERN; WOMEN,
MODERN: EASTERN EUROPE
Gordon, Samuel: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Goring,
Hermann: HOLOCAUST
Goskind, Shaul and Itzhak: FILM: YIDDISH LANGUAGE
Goth, Trudy: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Gotheiner, Zvi: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Gotlieb, Phyllis: LITERATURE: CANADA
Gottheil, Richard J. H.: FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES: NORTH
AMERICA
Gottlieb, Adolph: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; ART,
AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Gottlieb, Eddie: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Gottlieb, Lynn: JUDAISM, FEMINIST
Gottlieb, Mauryey: ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Gottlober, Avrom Ber: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH;
THEATER, YIDDISH
Gottwald, Norman: TRIBES, TWELVE
Gouri, Haim: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION; LITERATURE,
HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION; POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Govrin, Michal: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; LITERATURE,
HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS, 18822010
Grade, Chaim: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Graetz, Heinrich: AESTHETICS; COHEN, HERMANN; JEWISH
PUBLICATION SOCIETY; MARX, KARL; THOUGHT, MODERN;
WISSENSCHAFT DES JUDENTUMS
Graham, Martha: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL;
DANCE: UNITED STATES
Granach, Alexander: THEATER: EUROPE
Granovsky, Alexander: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE; THEATER,
YIDDISH
Grant, Linda: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; LITERATURE: WOMEN
WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA)
Grant, Ulysses S.: PERIODICALS: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE); UNITED STATES: CIVIL WAR; UNITED STATES:
POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT; UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Gratz, Michael and Barnard: UNITED STATES: AMERICAN
REVOLUTION
Gratz, Rebecca: LEESER, ISAAC; LITERATURE: WOMEN
WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA); NURSING:
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Grunzweig, Emil: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Grynszpan, Herschel: HOLOCAUST; KRISTALLNACHT
Guberman, Igor: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Gucci, Matteo: SYNAGOGUES, EUROPE: MEDIEVAL TO
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Guimard, Hector: SYNAGOGUES: FRANCE; SYNAGOGUES:
TWENTIETH CENTURY
Gumpertz, Aron: MENDELSSOHN, MOSES
Gunzburg,
Mordecai Aaron: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH;
690
INDEX OF NAMES
Hannah:
Halevy,
Betzalel Saadi: JOURNALISM, LADINO (OTTOMAN
EMPIRE)
Halevy,
Jacques Fromental: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS
(EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA); THEATER: EUROPE
Halevy,
Joseph: ETHIOPIA; JEWISH STUDIES: FRANCE
(NINETEENTH CENTURY)
Halevy,
Ludovic: THEATER: EUROPE
Halevy,
Shmuel Saadi: JOURNALISM, LADINO (OTTOMAN
EMPIRE)
Halkin, Hillel: ISRAEL, STATE OF: DIASPORA RELATIONS
Halkin, Simon: LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV, 18801948
Halle-Wolfssohn, Aaron: THEATER, YIDDISH
Halpart, Samuel: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Halpern, Israel: COUNCIL OF FOUR LANDS and COUNCIL OF
LITHUANIA
Halprin, Anna: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Hamburger, Cao: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Hamburger, Michael: POETRY: BRITAIN
Hameiri, Avigdor: LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV,
18801948
Hammerstein, Oscar I: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Hammerstein, Oscar II: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Hammurabi: LAW: ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND HEBREW
BIBLE
Hamon, Moses: OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Hamor: DINAH
Hampton, Christopher: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
H
. ananiah ben H
. ezekiah, R.: EZEKIEL, BOOK OF
H
. ananiah ben Teradion, R.: MARTYRDOM
691
INDEX OF NAMES
Hirsch,
Hocker,
Karl: HOLOCAUST DOCUMENTATION
Hod, Nir: ART, ISRAELI
Hodes, Stuart and Linda Margolis: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Hofmannsthal, Hugo von: BUBER, MARTIN; LITERATURE:
CENTRAL EUROPE
Hoffmeier, James: EGYPT AND ANCIENT ISRAEL
Hoffmeister, Adolf: HOLOCAUST: GHETTOS
Hofshteyn, Dovid: ART: ILLUSTRATED YIDDISH BOOKS; JEWISH
ANTI-FASCIST COMMITTEE; POETRY, YIDDISH
Hogah: WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Hoheisel, Horst: HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS
Holberg, Ludvig: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Holdheim, Samuel: JUDAISM, REFORM: GERMANY; THOUGHT,
MODERN
Hollander,
Felix: THEATER: EUROPE
Holland, Agnieszka: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Holliday, Judy: FILM: UNITED STATES
Holman, Nat: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Holzer, Rochl: THEATER, YIDDISH
Holzman, William Red: SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASKETBALL
Homburg, Herz: PRAGUE
Honigmann, Barbara: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE;
LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Hophni: SAMUEL, BOOKS OF
Horkheimer, Max: FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Horn, Dara: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Horn, Shifra: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS,
18822010
Horowitz, Beila: PRAGUE
Horowitz, Chaim: BARAITA DE-NIDDAH
Horowitz, Isaiah ben Abraham Ha-Levi: FRANKFURT AM MAIN;
KABBALAH, LURIANIC
Horowitz, Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah: PRAYER: WOMENS
DEVOTIONAL; WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE
HOLOCAUST RESCUERS; HUNGARY
Horthy, Miklos:
Horwitz-Walecki, Max: COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Hosea: ASSYRIA; DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF; JEREMIAH,
BOOK OF
Hoshaiah, R.: TOSEFTA
Rudolf: HOLOCAUST; HOLOCAUST TRIALS
Hoss,
Howe, Irving: LITERATURE: UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900)
692
INDEX OF NAMES
Hoz, Dov: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY
BODIES
Hrebejk, Jan: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Hugh of Lincoln: RITUAL MURDER ACCUSATION
Hughes, Langston: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Hughes, Sarah: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: WOMEN
Hughes, Ted: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Huldah: JOSIAH; WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL
REPRESENTATIONS
Hume, David: BERKOVITS, ELIEZER
Humphrey, Doris: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Huna, R.: AMORAIM; EXILARCH
Hundertwasser, Friedensreich: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
ART
Hurvitz, Yair: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Hurwitz, Haikl: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
Hurwitz, Moyshe: THEATER, YIDDISH
Hurwitz, Sheftl: WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Hussein, King of Jordan: ISRAEL, STATE OF: WARS (19561967);
ISRAEL, STATE OF: ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT (19482010)
Hyrcanus II: HASMONEAN DYNASTY
Ibn Ezra, Abraham: ASTROLOGY; BIBLICAL COMMENTARY:
MIDDLE AGES TO 1800; CHRISTAIN HEBRAISM; ELDAD
HA-DANI; GERSONIDES; GRAMMARIANS AND
LEXICOGRAPHERS; ISAIAH, BOOK OF; ISLAM AND
JUDAISM; KIMH.I FAMILY; KROCHMAL, NACHMAN; LOVE;
NAH.MANIDES; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE;
SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS: MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY
MODERN PERIOD; SHEKHINAH; SONG OF SONGS, BOOK OF;
SPAIN, MUSLIM; THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Ibn Ezra, Moses: LITERATURE, HEBREW: MEDIEVAL SPAIN;
POETRY, MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM WORLD; SPAIN, MUSLIM
Ibn Gabirol, Solomon: LOVE; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM
WORLD; SPAIN, MUSLIM; THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Ibn Nah.mias, David and Samuel: PRINTING; TURKEY
Ibn Tibbon, Jacob ben Makhir: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE
AGES
Ibn Tibbon, Judah: ETHICAL WILLS; FRANCE, SOUTHERN:
MIDDLE AGES; KIMH
. I FAMILY
Ibn Tibbon, Moses: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES
Ibn Tibbon, Samuel: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES;
SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS: MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY
MODERN PERIOD
Idelsohn, Abraham Z.: MUSIC, POPULAR; MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Ilf, Ilya: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Imar, Vivian: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Immanuel of Rome: ITALY; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE; POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Immendorff, Jorg:
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Imrani: JUDEO-PERSIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Ingber, Judith Brin: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Iranaeus: GNOSTICISM
Irving, David: HOLOCAUST DENIAL; HOLOCAUST TRIALS
Isaac: ABRAHAM; ART: LATE ANTIQUITY; BIBLE: ANCESTRAL
NARRATIVES; DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF; EDOM; ESAU;
GENESIS, BOOK OF; GOD; HAGAR; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATIONS: ART; ISLAM AND JUDAISM; ISHMAEL;
ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY; JACOB; LOVE;
MARTYRDOM; PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA; PSEUDEPIGRAPHA;
REBEKAH
Isaac bar Sheshet (Ribash): RESPONSA LITERATURE
Isaac ben Abba Mari: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES
Isaac ben Abraham: KABBALAH; KARAISM
Isaac ben Asher: TOSAFISTS
Isaac ben Eliakim: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: BEGINNINGS TO 1700
Isaac ben Jedaiah: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES
693
INDEX OF NAMES
Jacob ben Elazar: LITERATURE, HEBREW: MEDIEVAL SPAIN;
POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Jacob ben Jakar: RASHI
Jacob ben Meir Tam (Rabbeinu Tam): MIDDLE AGES: H
. ASIDEI
ASHKENAZ; MARTYRDOM; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE; RASHI; RESPONSA LITERATURE; TEFILLIN;
TOSAFISTS
Jacob ben Nethanel ha-Cohen: PILGRIMAGE
Jacob ben Reuben: MIDDLE AGES: JEWISH CHRISTIAN
POLEMICS
Jacob ben Solomon: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Jacob Isaac of Lublin: H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE
Jacob Isaac of Przysucha: H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE
Jacob of London: ENGLAND: MIDDLE AGES; POETRY,
MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Jacob, Max: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Jacobi, Lotte: PHOTOGRAPHY
Jacobs, Joseph: ZANGWILL, ISRAEL
Jacobs, Monty: THEATER: EUROPE
Jacobsohn, Siegfried: THEATER: EUROPE
Jacobson, Gershon: JOURNALISM, YIDDISH: NORTH AMERICA
Jacobson, Howard: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Jacobson, Israel: JUDAISM, REFORM: GERMANY
Jacobson, Simon: SCHNEERSON, MENACHEM MENDEL
Jacoby, Alfred: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Jael: BIBLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND PEACE;
DEBORAH; ISRAELITES: RELIGION; JUDGES, BOOK OF;
WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Jaffe, Kalonymos ben Mordecai: PRINTING
Jaffe, Moshe: HOLOCAUST RESISTANCE
Jaffe, Norman: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Jais, Alan: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Jakobovits, Tobias: PRAGUE
Jakubowska, Wanda: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
James: APOCRYPHA; CHRISTIANITY AND SECOND TEMPLE
JUDAISM
Jankev ben Isaac Ashkenazi: WOMEN: EARLY MODERN
EUROPE
Janowski, Max: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Janowsky, Oscar: UNITED STATES: COMMUNITY CENTER
MOVEMENT
Japheth ben Eli ha-Levi: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE
AGES TO 1800; KARAISM; THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Jaroslow, Risa: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Jason of Cyrene: APOCRYPHA; MACCABEES, BOOKS OF
Jefferson, Thomas: UNITED STATES: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT;
UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Jedaiah Bedersi ha-Penini: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE; FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES; THOUGHT,
MEDIEVAL
Jefet ben Eli: KARAISM
Jeh.iel ben Jekutiel: TALMUD, JERUSALEM
Jeh.iel ben Joseph of Paris: MEIR BEN BARUKH OF
ROTHENBURG; MIDDLE AGES: JEWISH CHRISTIAN
POLEMICS; TOSAFISTS
Jeh.iel of Pisa: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Jehoahaz: JOSIAH
Jehoiachin: BABYLONIAN EXILE; EZEKIEL, BOOK OF; KINGS,
BOOKS OF
Jehoram: EDOM
Jehoshaphat: BIBLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND PEACE;
ELISHA
Jehosheba: WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Jehu: ASSYRIA; ELISHA; ISRAELITES: KINGSHIP; KINGS, BOOKS
OF
Jenkins, Margaret: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Jephthah: BIBLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND PEACE;
JUDGES, BOOK OF; LITERATURE, LADINO
694
INDEX OF NAMES
Judah ben Asher: ASHER BEN JEHIEL; JACOB BEN ASHER
.
Judah ben Baba, R.: MARTYRDOM
Judah ben Isaac: TOSAFISTS
Judah ben Jacob: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Judah ben Kuraish: GRAMMARIANS AND LEXICOGRAPHERS
Judah ben Nathan: RASHI
Judah ben Samuel: NUMEROLOGY (GEMATRIA)
Judah ben Solomon ha-Kohen: SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS:
MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Judah ben Tabbai: RESPONSA LITERATURE
Judah ha-Nasi (the Patriarch): HALAKHAH; MISHNAH;
PATRIARCH; RABBINIC LITERATURE: MISHNAH AND
TALMUDS; ROME, ROMAN EMPIRE; TANNAIM
Judah ibn Mosconi: BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Judah ibn Shabbetai: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE
Judah Romano: ITALY
Judah the Pious: BAAL SHEM; FOLKTALES; GOLEM;
NUMEROLOGY (GEMATRIAH); PILGRIMAGE; POETRY,
MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE; MIDDLE AGES: H
. ASIDEI
ASHKENAZ
Judith: APOCRYPHA; HANUKKAH AND WOMEN; WOMEN,
.
ANCIENT: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD
FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Jusid, Juan Jose:
Justin, Eva: ROMA
Justin Martyr: CHURCH FATHERS: ATTITUDES TO JEWS AND
JUDAISM; GNOSTICISM
Justinian I: BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Kadar, Jan: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Kadishman, Menashe: ART, ISRAELI
Kafka, Franz: HABSBURG EMPIRE; LITERATURE: CENTRAL
EUROPE; LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION;
THEATER: BRITAIN
Kahana-Carmon, Amalia: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN
WRITERS, 18822010
Kahane, Arthur: THEATER: EUROPE
Kahanoff, Jacqueline: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH
.I
Kahn, Annette: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Kahn, Madeline: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS
Kahn, Florence Prag: SAN FRANCISCO; UNITED STATES,
WESTERN
Kahn, Julius: SAN FRANCISCO
Kahn, Sharon: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Kahn, Tobi: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Kahn, Zadoc: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939; JEWISH
STUDIES: FRANCE (NINETEENTH CENTURY); JUDAISM,
REFORM: FRANCE
Kaledin, Sergei: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Kalganov, Michael: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Kalish, Isaac: H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE
THEATER: EUROPE
Kalisky, Rene:
Kalonymus Family: KABBALAH; MIDDLE AGES: H
. ASIDEI
ASHKENAZ
Kalonymus ben Kalonymus: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES
Kaminer, Isaac: HASKALAH
Kaminer, Vladimir: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE;
LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Kaminska, Ida: THEATER, YIDDISH
Kaminsky, Stuart: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Kanafani, Ghassan: ARABS: REPRESENTATIONS IN ISRAELI
LITERATURE
Kanar, Tsvi: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
Kandinsky, Wassily: ART: ISRAEL
Kane, Klondike (Harry Cohen): SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASEBALL
Kaniuk, Yoram: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION;
LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION
695
INDEX OF NAMES
Kant, Immanuel: AESTHETICS; AUTONOMY AND HETERONOMY;
BUBER, MARTIN; COHEN, HERMANN; GOD; KROCHMAL,
NACHMAN; MAIMON, SALOMON; THOUGHT, MODERN
Kantor, Tadeusz: THEATER: EUROPE
Kanovich, Grigory: SOVIET UNION: JEWISH MOVEMENT,
19671989
Kaplan, Aryeh: BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS
Kaplan, Chaim: HOLOCAUST DIARIES
Kaplan, Mordecai M.: BAT MITZVAH; BERKOVITS, ELIEZER;
CUSTOM (MINHAG); GOD; INTERFAITH DIALOGUE: UNITED
STATES; ISRAEL, STATE OF: DIASPORA RELATIONS;
JUDAISM, CONSERVATIVE; JUDAISM,
RECONSTRUCTIONIST; MENORAH ASSOCIATION;
THOUGHT, MODERN; UNITED STATES: COMMUNITY
CENTER MOVEMENT
Kaplan, Rose: NURSING: UNITED STATES
Kaplowitz, Ralph: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Kara, Avigdor: PRAGUE
Kara, Joseph: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES TO 1800;
RASHI
Karavan, Avraham: ISRAEL, STATE OF: LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECTURE
Kardiner, Abram: ANTHROPOLOGY
Kardon, Dennis: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Karmel, Ilona: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
Karmel-Wolfe, Henia: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
Karni, Yehuda: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Karo, Joseph: BULGARIA; CORDOVERO, MOSES; HALAKHAH;
ISSERLES, MOSES; LITERATURE, LADINO; OTTOMAN
EMPIRE; RABBINIC ORDINATION; SAFED; SHULH
. AN ARUKH;
SPAIN, CHRISTIAN; TURKEY
Kashmann, Truda: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Kashua, Sayed: ARABS: REPRESENTATIONS IN ISRAELI
LITERATURE
Kass, Deborah: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; PLATE 20
Kassovitz, Peter: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Kastner, Israel: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES
Kastner, Rudolf: H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE
Katchor, Ben: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS; LITERATURE:
POPULAR FICTION
Katin, Miriam: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS
Kattan, Naim: LITERATURE: CANADA
Katz, Alex: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Katz, Reuven: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Katz, Shmulik: ISRAEL, STATE OF: KIBBUTZ MOVEMENT
Katz, Jacob: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Katzenellenbogen, Phineas: FAMILY AND MARRIAGE: EARLY
MODERN PERIOD
Katzir, Yehudit: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS,
18822010
Katznelson, Berl: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Katzenelson, Itzhak: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
Kaufman, George S.: THEATER: UNITED STATES; THEATER,
UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Kaufman, Irving: ENTERTAINMENT
Kaufman, Judah: ENCYCLOPEDIAS
THEATER: UNITED STATES
Kaufman, Moises:
Kaufman, Shirley: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
Kaufmann, Isidor: ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH CENTURY;
PLATE 12
Kaufmann, Ezekiel: THOUGHT, MODERN
Kaye, Danny: FILM: UNITED STATES
Kaye, Nora: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Kayserling, Meyer: COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER
Kazakov, Yaakov: SOVIET UNION: JEWISH MOVEMENT,
19671989
Kazan, Elia: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Kertesz,
Imre: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; LITERATURE:
CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Keshet, Yehudit Kirstein: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Kesselman, Wendy: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Kessler, Daniel: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Kest, Itamar Yaoz: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Kesten, Hilde: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Keturah: ABRAHAM; BIBLE: ANCESTRAL NARRATIVES;
GENESIS, BOOK OF
Keyser, Ephraim: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Kharik, Izi: POETRY, YIDDISH
Kholmyansky, Alexander: SOVIET UNION: JEWISH MOVEMENT,
19671989
Khuli, Jacob: LITERATURE, LADINO
Kiefer, Anselm: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Kierkegaard, Sren: HESCHEL, ABRAHAM JOSHUA;
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA; SOLOVEITCHIK, JOSEPH B.
Kift, Roy: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Kimchi, Alona: LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION
Kimhi, David: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES TO
.
1800; CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM; EZEKIEL, BOOK OF;
GRAMMARIANS AND LEXICOGRAPHERS; KIMH
. I FAMILY;
PRINTING
Kimhi, Joseph: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES; KIMHI
.
.
FAMILY; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE; MIDDLE
AGES: JEWISH CHRISTIAN POLEMICS
Kimhi, Moses: KIMHI FAMILY
.
.
King, Alan: FILM: UNITED STATES
King, Dolly: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
King, Martin Luther, Jr.: HESCHEL, ABRAHAM JOSHUA; UNITED
STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
King, Phil: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
King, Ruchama: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Kingsley, Sidney: THEATER, UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara: ANTHROPOLOGY
Kirstein, Lincoln: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Kishon, Ephraim: FILM: ISRAEL
Kissinger, Henry: UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Kister, Menahem: AVOT DE RABBI NATAN
Kitaj, R. B.: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: ART
Klasmer, Gabi: ART, ISRAELI
Klatzkin, Jakob: ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Klausner, Joseph: ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Klee, Paul: ART: ISRAEL; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Klein, A. M.: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; LITERATURE: CANADA
Klein, Georg: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Klein, William: PHOTOGRAPHY
Kleinstein, Rami: MUSIC, POPULAR
Klemperer, Victor: BERLIN; HOLOCAUST DIARIES
Klepfisz, Irena: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; LITERATURE:
WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA);
LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY;
POETRY: UNITED STATES
696
INDEX OF NAMES
Klepper, Jeffrey: MUSIC, POPULAR
Klimt, Gustav: HOLOCAUST REPARATIONS AND RESTITUTION;
HOLOCAUST TRIALS
Kline, Herbert: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Klionsky, Marc: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Klopstock, Frederick: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Knoblauch, Dieter: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Kobrin, Leon: THEATER, YIDDISH
Kohler, Kaufmann: CHICAGO; CHOSENNESS; THOUGHT,
MODERN
Kohner, Hanna Bloch: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
TELEVISION
Kohut, Alexander: JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Koidonover, Aaron Samuel ben Israel (Maharshak): FRANKFURT
AM MAIN
Koidonover, Zvi Hirsch: FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Kolben, Amir: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Kollek, Teddy: JERUSALEM: SINCE 1967
Kolton, Batia: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS; LITERATURE:
POPULAR FICTION
Kompert, Leopold: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Koner, Pauline: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Kook, Abraham Isaac ha-Kohen: JUDAISM, ORTHODOX:
MODERN ORTHODOX; MESSIANISM: MODERN
APPROACHES; SPORTS: ISRAEL
Kook, Tsevi Yehudah: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES;
KOOK, ABRAHAM ISAAC; MESSIANISM: MODERN
APPROACHES
Kopman, Benjamin: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Kops, Bernard: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA;
LITERATURE: BRITAIN; POETRY: BRITAIN; THEATER:
BRITAIN
Korah: INCENSE
Korczak, Janusz: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Korn, Rachel: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
Kornfeld, Paul: THEATER: EUROPE
Kortner, Fritz: THEATER: EUROPE
Kosinski, Jerzy: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Koskas, Marcos: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Koster, Serge: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Kotik, Yekhezkel: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH
Koufax, Sandy: CELEBRITIES; SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASEBALL
Koussevitzky, Moshe: CANTOR, CANTORATE: CONTEMPORARY
Kovner, Abba: HOLOCAUST RESISTANCE; POETRY, MODERN
HEBREW; VILNA
Kovner, Avraham Uri: HASKALAH; LITERATURE, HEBREW:
HASKALAH
LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Kozer, Jose:
Kracauer, Siegfried: BENJAMIN, WALTER
Kramer, Lotte: POETRY: BRITAIN
Kramer, Stanley: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Kranz, Jacob: SERMONS
Krasa,
Hans: HOLOCAUST: GHETTOS
Krasner, Lee: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; PLATE 17
Kraus, Gertrud: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Kraus, Karl: HABSBURG EMPIRE; THEATER: EUROPE
Kreisel, Henry: LITERATURE: CANADA
Kreitman, Esther Singer: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING:
YIDDISH
Krich, Rochelle: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Krochmal, Nachman: GALICIA; HABSBURG EMPIRE;
HASKALAH; LEVINSOHN, ISAAC BAER; LITERATURE,
HEBREW: HASKALAH; THOUGHT, MODERN; ZUNZ,
LEOPOLD
Kruk, Herman: HOLOCAUST DIARIES
Kruger, Barbara: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
THEATER: EUROPE
Lasky, Jesse: FILM: UNITED STATES
Lateiner, Joseph: THEATER, YIDDISH
Latte, Haim: ISRAEL, STATE OF: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Lavater, Caspar: MENDELSSOHN, MOSES
Lavrov, Piotr: AH.AD HA-AM
697
INDEX OF NAMES
Sylvain: JEWISH STUDIES: FRANCE (NINETEENTH
Levi,
CENTURY); ZIONISM: FRANCE
Levi, Tikva: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Levi-Agron, Hassia: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Levi-Strauss,
Claude: ANTHROPOLOGY
Levin, Dania: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Levin, Hanoch: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Levin, Meyer: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Levin, Mona: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Levin, Robert: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Levinas, Emmanuel: DREYFUS AFFAIR; ETHICS, RABBINIC;
GOD; HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES; JUDAISM;
MESSIANISM: MODERN APPROACHES; THOUGHT, MODERN;
ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ
Levine, Jack: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: ART
Levine, Jonathan D.: PRAYER BOOKS: UNITED STATES
Levine, Judah Leib: HASKALAH
Levine, Norman: LITERATURE: CANADA
Levine, Myra: NURSING: UNITED STATES
Levinsohn, Isaac Baer: HASKALAH; RUSSIA; THOUGHT,
MODERN
Levinthal, Helen: RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN
Levinthal, Bernard: PHILADELPHIA
Levita, Elijah Bokher: CHRISTAIN HEBRAISM; LITERATURE,
YIDDISH: BEGINNINGS TO 1700; LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800
TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Levy, Amy: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN;
LITERATURE: BRITAIN; LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS
(EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA); POETRY: BRITAIN
Levy,
Clara: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Levy, Clifton Harby: JEWISH SCIENCE
Levy, Dani: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Levy, Isaac: PHILADELPHIA
Levy, Marv: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
Levy,
Michel and Calmann: FRANCE: 17891939
Levy, Nathan: PHILADELPHIA
Levy-Bruhl,
Lucien: ANTHROPOLOGY; JEWISH STUDIES:
FRANCE (NINETEENTH CENTURY)
Lewald, Fanny: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Lewandowski, Louis: CANTOR, CANTORATE: HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT; MUSIC, RELIGIOUS; MUSIC, SYNAGOGUE
Lewis, Jerry: FILM: UNITED STATES
Lewisohn, Alice: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Lewisohn, Irene: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Lewisohn, Ludwig: LITERATURE: CANADA; LITERATURE:
UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900)
Lewitsky, Bella: DANCE: UNITED STATES
LeWitt, Sol: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; HOLOCAUST
MEMORIALS
Leyb, Mani: POETRY, YIDDISH
Leyb-Halpern, Moyshe: POETRY: UNITED STATES; POETRY,
YIDDISH
Leyeles, A.: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY; POETRY, YIDDISH
Leyvik, H.: POETRY, YIDDISH
Liberman, Aaron: HASKALAH
Libeskind, Daniel: HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS
Libicki, Miriam: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS
Libin, Zalmen: THEATER, YIDDISH
Lichtenberg, Bernhard: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Lichtenstein, Bernard: FASHION
Lichtenstein, Morris: JEWISH SCIENCE
Lichtenstein, Rachel: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Lichtenstein, Roy: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Lichtenstein, Tehilla: JEWISH SCIENCE
Lieb, Charles: JUDAISM, RECONSTRUCTIONIST
698
INDEX OF NAMES
Lieben, Salomon Hugo: PRAGUE
Lieberman, Edith and Harold: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
DRAMA
Lieberman, Joseph: UNITED STATES: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Lieberman, Saul: JUDAISM, CONSERVATIVE; TALMUD STUDY:
MODERN APPROACHES; TOSEFTA
Liebermann, Max: ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH CENTURY;
BERLIN; LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Liebmann, Esther Schulhoff Aaron: COURT JEWS; WOMEN:
EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Liebmann, Jost (Judah Berlin): COURT JEWS; WOMEN: EARLY
MODERN EUROPE
Liebowitz, Annie: PHOTOGRAPHY
Leibovitz, Karen: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Liebrecht, Savyon: ARABS: REPRESENTATIONS IN ISRAELI
LITERATURE; LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS,
18822010; LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION
Liepmann, Heinz: THEATER: EUROPE
Lifshits, Y. M.: YIDDISH DICTIONARIES
Likht, Mikhl: POETRY: UNITED STATES; POETRY, YIDDISH
Lilien, Ephraim Moses: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY;
ART: ISRAEL; LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE; PLATE 21
Lilienblum, Moses Leib: HASKALAH; LITERATURE, HEBREW:
HASKALAH; MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW;
THOUGHT, MODERN
Lilienthal, Max
Lilith: ALPHABET BEN SIRA; SAMAEL; SEFIROT; SHEKHINAH
Limberg, Joanne: POETRY: BRITAIN
Lin, Hilla Lu-Lu: ART, ISRAELI
Lincoln, Abraham: ART, AMERICAN: TO 1940; UNITED STATES:
CIVIL WAR; UNITED STATES: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT;
UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Lind, Jacov: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Lindheim, Irma Levy: RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN
Lion, Eugene: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Lipchitz, Jacques: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY;
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART; PLATE 15
Lipkin, Semyon: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN); LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Lippmann, Walter: JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE)
Lipschits, Oded: ARCHEOLOGY, LAND OF ISRAEL: SECOND
TEMPLE PERIOD
Lipstadt, Deborah: HOLOCAUST DENIAL; HOLOCAUST
TRIALS
Lipton, Julius: POETRY: BRITAIN
Lipton, Seymour: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Lispector, Clarice: FILM: LATIN AMERICA; LATIN AMERICA;
LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Liss, David: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Lissitzky, El: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY; ART:
ILLUSTRATED YIDDISH BOOKS; RUSSIA; PLATE 13
Littauer, Lucius: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
Littauer, Nathan: FASHION
Littell, Jonathan: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Litvinoff, Emanuel: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; POETRY:
BRITAIN
Litwack, Harry: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Livneh, Yitzhak: ART, ISRAELI
Llosa, Mario Vargas: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Loeb, Isidore: JEWISH STUDIES: FRANCE (NINETEENTH
CENTURY)
Loesser, Frank: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Loew, Judah ben Bezalel (Maharal): EDUCATION OF BOYS:
MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN; GOLEM; HABSBURG
EMPIRE; PRAGUE; THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Loew, Marcus: FILM: UNITED STATES
Loewe, Frederick: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Lukacs,
Georg: COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Luke: SAMARITANS
Lumbroso, Joseph: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Lumet, Sidney: FILM: UNITED STATES; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: FILM
Lunel, Armand: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Luria, Isaac: BREAKING OF THE VESSELS; CORDOVERO,
MOSES; DYBBUK; FOLKTALES; H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE;
KABBALAH; KABBALAH, LURIANIC; MESSIANISM: EARLY
MODERN; SAFED; NUMEROLOGY (GEMATRIA); THEOLOGY;
TURKEY; TZIMTZUM; WORSHIP
Luria, Solomon: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Lusitanus, Amatus: MEDICINE
Lustig, Arnost: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Luther, Martin: CONVERSION: EARLY MODERN PERIOD;
GERMANY; PRINTING; REFORMATION
Lutski, Simh.ah Isaac: KARAISM
Lutz, Carl and Gertrud: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Luxemberg, Rosa: COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Luzzatto, Moses Hayyim: KABBALAH; MUSAR MOVEMENT
.
Luzzatto, Samuel David: HASKALAH; ISAIAH, BOOK OF;
LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Luzzatto, Simone: ITALY
Lyell, Charles: BIBLE: MODERN SCHOLARSHIP
Lynn, Henry: FILM: YIDDISH LANGUAGE
Lysimachus: SELEUCIDS
Maacah: TAMAR (2 SAMUEL); WOMEN, ANCIENT:
ISRAELITE
Maccabee, Eleazer, John, Jonathan, Simon: HASMONEAN
DYNASTY; MACCABEES, BOOKS OF
Maccabee, Judah: HANUKKAH; HASMONEAN DYNASTY;
.
MACCABEES, BOOKS OF; ROME, ROMAN EMPIRE
Machir: TRIBES, TWELVE
Madsen, Kenneth: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Madison, James: UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Magnes, Judah L.: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; BUBER,
MARTIN; ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Magnin, Edgar: UNITED STATES, WESTERN
Mahlah: WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Mahler, Gustav: HABSBURG EMPIRE; VIENNA
Mahr, Eric: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Maimon, Salomon: CRESCAS, HASDAI BEN ABRAHAM; DOV
.
BER OF MIEDZYRZECZ; FAMILY AND MARRIAGE: EARLY
MODERN PERIOD; KROCHMAL, NACHMAN; MEMOIR AND
LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
699
INDEX OF NAMES
Maimonides,
700
INDEX OF NAMES
Meidner, Ludwig: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY;
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Meilhac, Henri: THEATER: EUROPE
Meinecke, Friedrich: ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ
Meir, R.: BERURIAH; MISHNAH; TANNAIM
Meir ben Samuel: TOSAFISTS
Meir of Norbonne: MIDDLE AGES: JEWISH CHRISTIAN
POLEMICS
Meir of Opatow/Stopnica:
H.ASIDISM: EUROPE
Meir ben Barukh of Rothenburg (Maharam): ADULTERY;
DIVORCE: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT; ELDAD HA-DANI;
MARTYRDOM; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE;
RESPONSA LITERATURE; TOSAFISTS; WOMEN: MIDDLE
AGES
Meir ben Elias: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Meir ben Simon: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES
Meir, Golda: BEN-GURION, DAVID; ISRAEL, STATE OF:
POLITICAL PARTIES; JEWISH ANTI-FASCIST COMMITTEE;
MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW; RABIN, YITZHAK
Meir of Norwich: ENGLAND: MIDDLE AGES
Meisel, Nachman: ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Melammed, Siman Tov: JUDEO-PERSIAN LANGUAGE AND
LITERATURE
Melchizedek: JERUSALEM: BIBLICAL AND RABBINIC SOURCES;
RESURRECTION
Melguerri, Solomon: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Melikhov, Alexandr: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Melito of Sardis: CHURCH FATHERS: ATTITUDES TO JEWS AND
JUDAISM
Melitzer, Samuel: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Memmi, Albert: LITERATURE: FRANCE; MEMOIR AND LIFE
WRITING: MIZRAH.I
Menahem: ASSYRIA; ISRAELITES: KINGSHIP
Menah.em ben (ibn) Saruk: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE
AGES TO 1800; DUNASH BEN LABRAT; GRAMMARIANS AND
LEXICOGRAPHERS
Menah.em Ha-Meiri: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES
Menachem Mendel of Kotzk: HESCHEL, ABRAHAM JOSHUA
Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk: H.ASIDISM: EUROPE; ZALMAN,
SCHNEUR BEN BARUCH
Menasse, Robert: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE; LITERATURE:
CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Menasseh ben Israel: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND MODERN;
CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM; MENDELSSOHN, MOSES;
MESSIANISM: EARLY MODERN; PRINTING; REFORMATION
Mendele Mokher Seforim (Sholem Jacob Abramovich): HEBREW:
MODERN REVIVAL; LITERATURE: CANADA; LITERATURE,
HEBREW: HASKALAH; LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION;
LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY;
MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH; RUSSIA; SHTETL;
THEATER, YIDDISH
Mendelsohn, Eric: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Mendelssohn, Abraham, Chaim, Joseph, Mendel, Nathan, Recha,
Sisa, Yente: MENDELSSOHN, MOSES
Mendelssohn, Dorothea (Brendel): See SCHLEGEL, DOROTHEA
VEIT VON
Mendelssohn, Moses: AESTHETICS; BIBLICAL COMMENTARY:
MIDDLE AGES TO 1800; BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND
TRANSLATORS; FRIEDLANDER,
DAVID; GERMANY; GOD;
HASKALAH; KROCHMAL, NACHMAN; LITERATURE:
CENTRAL EUROPE; LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH;
LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY;
MAIMON, SALOMON; THEOLOGY; THOUGHT, MODERN
` Catulle: THEATER: EUROPE
Mendes,
Mendes, Henry Pereira: JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Mendes-Nasi Family: WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE;
WOMEN: MIDDLE AGES
Menelaus: TOBIADS
701
INDEX OF NAMES
Miriam:
Moring,
Marcel: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Morpurgo, Lucia: LEVI, PRIMO
Morris, Benny: ISRAEL, STATE OF: WARS (1948)
Morris, Robert: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Morse, Samuel F. B.: PHOTOGRAPHY
Mortara, Edgar: MORTARA AFFAIR; PERIODICALS: UNITED
STATES (ENGLISH LANGUAGE)
Muniz-Huberman,
Angelina: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Munk, Salomon: FRANCE: 17891939; JEWISH STUDIES:
FRANCE (NINETEENTH CENTURY)
Murrow, Edward R.: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION
Music, Zoran: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Myer, Charles Solomon Buddy: SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASEBALL
Myerhoff, Barbara: ANTHROPOLOGY
Myers, Myer: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Myerson, Bess: CELEBRITIES
Naamah: BIBLE: MUSIC AND DANCE; REHOBOAM
Naaman, Michal: ART, ISRAELI
Nabonidus: BABYLONIAN EXILE
Naboth: AHAB
Nabal: DAVID
Nadav, Rachel: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Nagrin, Daniel: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Nagy, Bela: THEATER: EUROPE
702
INDEX OF NAMES
Naharin, Ohad: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Nah.man, R.: HEAD COVERING: MEN
Nahman ben Simha of Bratslav: HASIDISM: EUROPE;
.
.
.
KABBALAH
Nahmanides, Moses: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES
.
TO 1800; DEVEKUT; EDUCATION, BOYS: MEDIEVAL AND
EARLY MODERN; ETHICAL WILLS; FRANCE, SOUTHERN:
MIDDLE AGES; ISLAM AND JUDAISM; KABBALAH;
KROCHMAL, NACHMAN; MESSIANISM: MODERN
APPROACHES; MIDDLE AGES: JEWISH CHRISTIAN
POLEMICS; PILGRIMAGE; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE; RESPONSA LITERATURE; SAMAEL; SPAIN,
CHRISTIAN; THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL; TOSAFISTS
Nahai, Gina: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA); MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH.I
Naismith, James: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Najara, Israel: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM WORLD;
SAFED
Naomi: ANOINTMENT; RUTH, BOOK OF; WOMEN, ANCIENT:
BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Naphtali: ISRAELITES: TRIBES; PSEUDEPIGRAPHA; RACHEL;
TRIBES, TEN LOST; TRIBES, TWELVE
Napoleon: EMANCIPATION; FRANCE: CONSISTORIES,
18061939; GHETTO; INTERMARRIAGE: MODERN EUROPE
AND UNITED STATES; NAH.MAN BEN SIMH.A OF BRATSLAV;
SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY; ZIONISM: FRANCE
Nasi, Gracia: MENDES-NASI FAMILY; WOMEN: EARLY MODERN
EUROPE; WOMEN: MIDDLE AGES
Nasi, Joseph: MENDES-NASI FAMILY
Nasser, Gamal Abdel: ISRAEL, STATE OF: ARAB-ISRAELI
CONFLICT; ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT; ISRAEL,
STATE OF: WARS (19561967)
Nassy, Joseph: HOLOCAUST DOCUMENTATON
Natan, Michal: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Natanel ibn Fayyumi: YEMEN
Nathan: BATHSHEBA; BIBLE; BIBLE: PROPHETS AND
PROPHECY; DAVID; SAMUEL, BOOKS OF; SOLOMON
Nathan, R.: MISHNAH; TANNAIM
Nathan of Gaza (Nathan Ashkenazi): KABBALAH, LURIANIC;
MESSIANISM: EARLY MODERN; SHABBETAI ZEVI
Nathan, Abie: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Nathansen, Henri: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II);
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Natronai ben Hilai, Gaon: AMRAM BAR SHESHNA; RESPONSA
LITERATURE
Nattel, Lilian: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Nebe, A.: BELORUSSIA
Nebuchadnezzar: BABYLON/BABYLONIA; BABYLONIAN EXILE;
ESCHATOLOGY: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD; EZEKIEL, BOOK
OF; JEREMIAH, BOOK OF; LACHISH; PHILISTINES
Nefertiti: EGYPT AND ANCIENT ISRAEL
Nehama, Yehuda: JOURNALISM, LADINO (OTTOMAN EMPIRE)
Nehemiah: APOCRYPHA; BABYLON/BABYLONIA; EZEKIEL,
BOOK OF; EZRA AND NEHEMIAH, BOOKS OF;
INTERMARRIAGE: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES; JERUSALEM:
BIBLICAL AND RABBINIC SOURCES; PERSIA, ANCIENT;
RUTH, BOOK OF; SAMARITANS; TOBIADS
Neh.emiah, R.: TANNAIM; TOSEFTA
Neh.emiah ben Solomon: MIDDLE AGES: H
. ASIDEI ASHKENAZ
Nehunia ben ha-Kanah: BAHIR, SEFER HA
Nemec,
Jan: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Nemerov, Howard: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Ner-David, Haviva: RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN
Nero: JEWISH WAR, FIRST; NUMEROLOGY (GEMATRIA)
Netanyahu, Benjamin: SHARON, ARIEL
Netanyahu, Ben-Zion: ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Netsky, Hankus: MUSIC, POPULAR
Niemoller,
Martin: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: POETRY
Nieto, David: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Nietzsche, Friedrich: BUBER, MARTIN; LITERATURE:
SCANDINAVIA
Nikova, Rina: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Nilsson, Leopoldo Torre: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Nirenska, Pola: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Nissan, Rosa: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Nissim ben Moses: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES;
THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Nissim ibn Shangi: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Nissim of Gerona: DINA DEMALKHUTA DINA
Nixon, Richard: ISRAEL, STATE OF: DIASPORA RELATIONS;
JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES; UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Noah: ART: LATE ANTIQUITY; DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF;
ECOLOGY; FLOOD; ISLAM AND JUDAISM; JOB, BOOK OF;
MESOPOTAMIA AND ANCIENT ISRAEL; REVELATION
Noah (Daughter of Zelophehad): WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL
REPRESENTATIONS
Noah, Mordecai M.: JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE); LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS; THEATER:
UNITED STATES; UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Noll, Chaim: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Nomberg-Przytyk, Sara: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Nordau, Max: ZANGWILL, ISRAEL
Norworth, Jack: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Noth, Martin: KINGS, BOOKS OF; TRIBES, TWELVE
Novak, David: THEOLOGY
Nowina-Przybylski, Jan: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE
Nuchi, Natan: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Nudel, Ida: SOVIET UNION: JEWISH MOVEMENT, 19671989
Nusseibeh, Sari: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Nussbaum, Felix: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY;
HOLOCAUST DOCUMENTATION; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: ART
Nyiszli, Miklos: AUSCHWITZ; HOLOCAUST: CAMPS AND
KILLING CENTERS
Obadiah
Obadiah of Bertinoro: TRAVEL WRITING: MIDDLE AGES AND
EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Obadiah of Rome: PRINTING
Obama, Barack: UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Ochs, Adolph S.: JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES
Ocko, Edna: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Odets, Clifford: THEATER: UNITED STATES; THEATER, UNITED
STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Ofek, Avraham: ART, ISRAELI
Ogden, Rollo: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Ohlendorf, Otto: HOLOCAUST: ROMA
703
INDEX OF NAMES
Oirich, Alan: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Olczak-Ronikier, Joanna: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY
EUROPE
`
Olere,
David: HOLOCAUST DOCUMENTATION
Olitski, Jules: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Ollman, Arthur: PHOTOGRAPHY
Olmert, Ehud: ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL PARTIES
Olomucki, Halina: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Olsen, Tillie: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Omri: AHAB; KINGS, BOOKS OF; ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF;
ISRAELITES: KINGSHIP; MOAB; SAMARIA
Onkelos: TARGUM
Ophuls, Marcel: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Oppen, George: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Oppenheim, David: PRAGUE
Oppenheim, Moritz Daniel: ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH
CENTURY; FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Oppenheimer, Joseph Suss:
COURT JEWS
THEATER: EUROPE
Orkeny,
Istvan:
Orlinsky, Harry M.: BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS
Ornstein, Margalit: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Ornstein, Shoshana: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Ornstein, Yehudit: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Orpah: RUTH, BOOK OF; WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL
REPRESENTATIONS
Osten, Suzanne: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Osterman, Rosanna: NURSING: UNITED STATES
Ostriker, Alicia: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Ostrowsky, Abbo: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Otto, Rudolf: SOLOVEITCHIK, JOSEPH B.
Oved, Margalit: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Oysher, Moishe: FILM: YIDDISH LANGUAGE; MUSIC, POPULAR
Oz, Amos: ADULTERY; ARABS: REPRESENTATIONS IN ISRAELI
LITERATURE; LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION;
ISRAEL, STATE OF: KIBBUTZ MOVEMENT; MEMOIR AND
LIFE WRITING: HEBREW; ZIONISM
Ozick, Cynthia: EDUCATION, NORTH AMERICA: DAY SCHOOLS;
HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; LITERATURE: UNITED STATES
(SINCE 1900); LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE
AND NORTH AMERICA); LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY; POETRY: UNITED STATES
Padani, Paula: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Pagis, Dan: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
Pahlavi, Reza Shah: IRAN
Pail, Meir: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Paldi, Yisrael: ART, ISRAELI
Paley, Grace: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA); LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Paley, Samuel: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION
Paley, William S.: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION;
RADIO: UNITED STATES
Pallenberg, Max: THEATER: EUROPE
Palucca, Gret: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Paluzzi, Numidio: SULAM, SARRA COPIA
Pankok, Otto: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Panov, Valery: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Papiernikov, Yosef: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: THE YISHUV
SIGMUND; GLUCKEL
OF HAMELN; JUDISCHER
FRAUENBUND; ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ; WOMEN, MODERN:
CENTRAL EUROPE
Pascal, Julia: THEATER: BRITAIN
Pascin, Jules: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY; BULGARIA
Passon, Harry: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Pasternak, Boris: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Pauker, Ana: COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Paul: ANTINOMIANISM; CHRISTIANITY AND SECOND TEMPLE
JUDAISM; CHURCH FATHERS: ATTITUDES TO JEWS AND
JUDAISM; GNOSTICISM; NEW TESTAMENT
Pearlman, Ruthie: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Pearlstein, Philip: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Peer, Shahar: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Peerce, Larry: FILM: UNITED STATES
Peixotto, Jessica Blanche: UNITED STATES: HIGHER EDUCATION
Peled, Mati: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Pelty, Barney: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Pember, Phoebe Yates: NURSING: UNITED STATES
Penn, Irving: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; PHOTOGRAPHY
Perec, Georges: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; LITERATURE:
CONTEMPORARY EUROPE; LITERATURE: FRANCE
Perelman, Jeroham Judah Leib: BELORUSSIA
Perera, Victor: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Peres, Shimon: ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS;
RABIN, YITZHAK
Peretz, I. L.: FOLKTALES; LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA;
LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY;
MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH; RUSSIA; THEATER,
YIDDISH; THOUGHT, MODERN
Perez of Corbeil: TOSAFISTS
Perl, Joseph: GALICIA; H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE; HASKALAH;
LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH; LITERATURE, YIDDISH:
1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Perlasca, Giorgio: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Perle, Yehoshua: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Perlmutter, Arnold: THEATER, YIDDISH
Peshev, Dimeter: BULGARIA
Petah.iah of Regensburg: PILGRIMAGE; TRAVEL WRITING:
MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Peter: CHRISTIANITY AND SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM
Petlura, Simon: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939; POGROM;
UKRAINE
Petrov, Yevgeny: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION (IN
RUSSIAN)
Pevsner, Antoine: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Pfefferkorn, Blanche: NURSING: UNITED STATES
Pfefferkorn, Johannes: CONVERSION: EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Philip: HEROD AND HERODIAN DYNASTY
Philo Judaeus of Alexandria: ALEXANDRIA, ANCIENT; BIBLE:
TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS; DEAD SEA SCROLLS;
ESSENES; GNOSTICISM; MARTYRDOM; PTOLEMIES;
SYNAGOGUES, ANCIENT; WOMEN, ANCIENT: SECOND
TEMPLE PERIOD
Philo the Poet: PSEUDEPIGRAPHA; PTOLEMIES: IMPACT ON
JEWISH CULTURE AND THOUGHT
Phinehas: NUMBERS, BOOK OF; SAMUEL, BOOKS OF; SHILOH
Picasso, Pablo: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Picon, Molly: ENTERTAINMENT; FILM: UNITED STATES; FILM:
YIDDISH-LANGUAGE; MUSIC, POPULAR
Piechotka, Maria and Kazimierz: SYNAGOGUES, WOODEN
704
INDEX OF NAMES
Piesman, Marissa: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Piercy, Marge: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Pike, Jacob: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Pike, Lipman Lip: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Piket, Frederik: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Pilinszky, Janos:
HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: POETRY
Pimsler, Stuart: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Pinchik, Pierre: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Pingusson, Henri: HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS
Pinkus, Yirmi: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS; LITERATURE:
POPULAR FICTION
Pinsker, Leon: THOUGHT, MODERN; RUSSIA; ZIONISM
Pinski, Dovid: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE; THEATER, YIDDISH
Pinsky, Robert: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Pinter, Harold: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; POETRY: BRITAIN;
THEATER: BRITAIN
Pissarro, Jacob-Abraham-Camille: ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH
CENTURY; CARIBBEAN
Plain, Belva: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Plaskow, Judith: AESTHETICS; JUDAISM, FEMINIST; GOD;
THEOLOGY; THOUGHT, MODERN
Plath, Sylvia: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; HOLOCAUST
LITERATURE: POETRY
Plato: BUBER, MARTIN; FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES;
GNOSTICISM; REVELATION
Pliny the Elder: DEAD SEA SCROLLS; DECAPOLIS CITIES;
ESSENES; TRIBES, TEN LOST
Podoloff, Maurice: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Podhoretz, Norman: PERIODICALS: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE)
Polanski, Roman: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II);
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Polgar, Alfred: THEATER: EUROPE
Polke, Sigmar: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Pomerantz, Fred: FASHION
Pomis, David de: MEDICINE
Pompey: ARCHEOLOGY, LAND OF ISRAEL: SECOND TEMPLE
PERIOD; HASMONEAN DYNASTY; JERUSALEM: BIBLICAL
AND RABBINIC SOURCES; ROME, ROMAN EMPIRE;
SELEUCIDS
Pool, David de Sola: PRAYER BOOKS: UNITED STATES; UNITED
STATES: MILITARY CHAPLAINCY
Popa, Vasko: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: POETRY
Porat, Yehoshua: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Porzecanski, Teresa: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Posnak, Max: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Potash, Rikuda: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY; LITERATURE, YIDDISH: THE YISHUV
Potecorvo, Gilo: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Potiphar: JOSEPH
Potok, Chaim: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION; SPORTS AND
AMERICANIZATION
Pound, Ezra: POETRY: UNITED STATES; POETRY: BRITAIN
Poznanski, Gustavus: CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA;
JUDAISM, REFORM: NORTH AMERICA
Prager, Marcia: JUDAISM: JEWISH RENEWAL
Prager, Regina: THEATER, YIDDISH
Prawer, Joshua: ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Prell, Riv-Ellen: ANTHROPOLOGY
Presley, Elvis: FASHION
Pressburger, Giorgio: LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY
EUROPE
Preysing, Konrad von: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Priesand, Sally Jane: JUDAISM, REFORM: NORTH AMERICA;
RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN
Prilutski, Noyekh: THEATER, YIDDISH
Prince, Harold: THEATER: UNITED STATES
705
INDEX OF NAMES
Rashi:
Raynal, Clement
Weill: LITERATURE: FRANCE
Raziel, David: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES
Reagan, Ronald: UNITED STATES: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Rebekah: BIBLE: ANCESTRAL NARRATIVES; ESAU; ETHICS,
MEDICAL; GENESIS, BOOK OF; INFERTILITY; ISRAELITES:
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY; ISAAC; JACOB; LOVE; PRAYER:
WOMENS DEVOTIONAL; RACHEL; WOMEN, ANCIENT:
BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Reeb, David: ART, ISRAELI
Reggio, Yitzhak Shmuel: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Rehoboam: AMMON; HEBRON; ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF;
JEROBOAM; JUDAH, KINGDOM OF; LACHISH; SHECHEM;
UNITED MONARCHY
Reich-Ranicki, Marcel: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Reick, Theodor: ANTHROPOLOGY
Reigner, Gerhardt: BRITAIN: EARLY MODERN AND
MODERN
Reinach, Theodore
and Salomon: JEWISH STUDIES: FRANCE
(NINETEENTH CENTURY)
Reiner, Carl: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; ENTERTAINMENT;
TELEVISION: UNITED STATES
Reines, Isaac Jacob: MIZRACHI
Reinhardt, Elaine Rosenthal: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: WOMEN
Reinhardt, Max: BERLIN; THEATER: EUROPE
Reinharz, Yehudah: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Reisman, Ori: ART, ISRAELI
Reitz, Edgar: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Rejwan, Nissim: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH.I
Remos, Moses: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Rennert, Itzik: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS; LITERATURE:
POPULAR FICTION
Resnais, Alain: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II);
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Reuben: ISRAELITES: TRIBES; LEAH; TRIBES, TEN LOST; TRIBES,
TWELVE
Reuben bar Isaac: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Revai,
Jozef:
COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Revel, Bernard: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY
Revivo, Chaim: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Reyzen, Avrom: POETRY, YIDDISH
Reznik, David: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Reznikoff, Charles: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; POETRY: UNITED
STATES
Ricci, Matteo: CHINA
Rice, Abraham: UNITED STATES, SOUTHERN
Rice, Elmer: THEATER: UNITED STATES; THEATER, UNITED
STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Rich, Adrienne: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA); POETRY, UNITED STATES
Richler, Mordecai: FILM: UNITED STATES; LITERATURE:
CANADA
Rickert, Heinrich: ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ
Rickles, Don: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; ENTERTAINMENT
Riefenstahl, Leni: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Rieger, Eliezer: ISRAEL, STATE OF: DIASPORA RELATIONS
Riesser, Gabriel: ART, EUROPE: NINETEENTH CENTURY;
GERMANY
Rieti, Diana: WOMEN: EARLY MODERN
` POETRY, MEDIEVAL:
Rieti, Moses: ASCARELLI, DEVORA;
CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Ringelblum, Emanuel: HOLOCAUST DIARIES; HOLOCAUST
DOCUMENTATION; HOLOCAUST RESISTANCE; THEATER,
YIDDISH
Ros, Leopoldo Torre: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Riskin, Shlomo: JUDAISM, ORTHODOX: MODERN
ORTHODOX
Rita: MUSIC, POPULAR
Ritter, Robert: ROMA
Rivera, Diego: ART, ISRAELI
Rivers, Joan: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS; FILM: UNITED
STATES
Rivers, Larry: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Rivess, Avrom: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: THE YISHUV
Rizpah: SAMUEL
Robbins, Jerome: DANCE: UNITED STATES; THEATER: UNITED
STATES; THEATER, UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Robeson, Paul: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: FOOTBALL
Robin, Regine:
LITERATURE: CANADA
Roca, Julio A.: ARGENTINA
Roden, Claudia: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH
.I
Rodgers, Richard: THEATER: UNITED STATES; THEATER, UNITED
STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Rodker, John: POETRY: BRITAIN
Rogers, Roy: FASHION
Rogoff, Tamar: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Roheim, Geza: ANTHROPOLOGY
Rokeah, Aharon: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Rokhman, Leyb: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
Rolston, Adam: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Romanelli, Samuel: TRAVEL WRITING: MIDDLE AGES AND
EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Romanesky, Marilyn: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: WOMEN
706
INDEX OF NAMES
Romano, Joseph: JOURNALISM, LADINO (OTTOMAN EMPIRE)
Romm Family: PRINTING
Roosevelt, Eleanor: FRANK, ANNE
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano: HOLOCAUST: UNITED STATES
JEWISH RESPONSE; RADIO: UNITED STATES; UNITED
STATES: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT; UNITED STATES
PRESIDENTS; WORLD WAR II: IMPACT ON AMERICAN JEWS
Roosevelt, Theodore: STRAUS FAMILY; UNITED STATES
PRESIDENTS
Rose, Helen: FASHION
Rosen, Al: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Rosen, Amy Sue: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Rosen, Carl: FASHION
Rosen, Michael: POETRY: BRITAIN
Rosen, Norma: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Rosenbaum, Israel Dov: PLATE 9
Rosenbaum, Thane: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Rosenberg, Chava: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Rosenberg, Douglas: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Rosenberg, Harold: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Rosenberg, Isaac: POETRY: BRITAIN
Rosenberg, Joel: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Rosenberg, Petey: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Rosenberg, Shalom: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Rosenberg, Yehuda Yudil: GOLEM
Rosenblatt, Joseph Yossele: CANTOR, CANTORATE:
CONTEMPORARY; FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE; MUSIC,
POPULAR; MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Rosenblum, Naomi: PHOTOGRAPHY
Rosencof, Mauricio: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Rosenfarb, Chava: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION;
LITERATURE: CANADA; LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Rosenfeld, Jonah: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH
Rosenfeld, Morris: CELEBRITIES; POETRY, YIDDISH
Rosengarten, Albert: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Rosensaft, Josef: DISPLACED PERSONS
Rosenstein, Nettie: FASHION
Rosenstock-Huessy, Eugen: BUBER, MARTIN; ROSENZWEIG,
FRANZ
Rosenthal, A. M.: JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE)
Rosenthal, C. D.: ROMANIA
Rosenthal, Jack: THEATER: BRITAIN
Rosenthal, Joe: PHOTOGRAPHY
Rosenthal, Max: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Rosenwald, Julius: CHICAGO; UNITED STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMENT
Rosenzweig, Edith Hahn: ROSENZWEIG, FRANZ
Rosenzweig, Franz: AESTHETICS; BERKOVITS, ELIEZER; BIBLE:
NARRATIVE LITERATURE; BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND
TRANSLATORS; BUBER, MARTIN; COHEN, HERMANN;
FACKENHEIM, EMIL LUDWIG; FRANKFURT AM MAIN;
GERMANY; GOD; HESCHEL, ABRAHAM JOSHUA; LEVINAS,
EMMANUEL; LOVE; PAPPENHEIM, BERTHA; REDEMPTION;
REVELATION; THEOLOGY; THOUGHT, MODERN
Rosi, Francesco: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Rsler, Alexander: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II);
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Ross, Bertram: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Rossen, Rebecca: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Rossi, Azariah dei: ITALY; PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA
Rossi, Leone: MUSIC, SYNAGOGUE
Rossi, Madama Europa: WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Rossi, Salamone: ITALY; MUSIC, SYNAGOGUE; WOMEN: EARLY
MODERN EUROPE
Rossler,
Tille: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
707
INDEX OF NAMES
Ryback, Issachar: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Saadia ben Joseph Gaon: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE
AGES TO 1800; BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS;
DUNASH BEN LABRAT; EGYPT: MIDDLE AGES; EVIL AND
SUFFERING; GAON, GEONIM, GEONIC ACADEMIES; GOLEM;
GRAMMARIANS AND LEXICOGRAPHERS; IBN EZRA,
ABRAHAM; ISLAM AND JUDAISM; JUDEO-ARABIC; LOVE;
MIDDLE AGES: JEWISH CHRISTIAN POLEMICS; POETRY,
MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM WORLD; PRAYER BOOKS; RESPONSA
LITERATURE; SEFER YETZIRAH; SEFIROT; SHEKHINAH;
THEOLOGY; THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Saadia ibn Danan: GRAMMARIANS AND LEXICOGRAPHERS;
POETRY, MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM WORLD
Sabar, Ariel: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH
.I
Sacco, Nicola: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Sachar, Abram: HILLEL: THE FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH
CAMPUS LIFE
Sachs, Nelly: LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV, 18801948;
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA; HOLOCAUST LITERATURE:
POETRY
Sachs, Shneur: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Sadat, Anwar el: ISRAEL, STATE OF: ARABISRAELI CONFLICT,
19482010
Sadeh, Pinchas: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW;
POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Sadi: JUDEO-PERSIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Sahal ben Matzliah.: PILGRIMAGE
Sahl ibn Bushr ibn Habib al-Yahd: ASTROLOGY
Sahl, Mort: ENTERTAINMENT
Said
al-Andalus: SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS: MIDDLE AGES
AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Saker, Maria: RUSSIA
Salamon, Nina Davis: ZANGWILL, ISRAEL
Salanter, Israel: MUSAR MOVEMENT; RUSSIA
Salk, Jonas: CELEBRITIES; MEDICINE
Salome Alexandra: HASMONEAN DYNASTY; PHARISEES;
WOMEN, ANCIENT: SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD
Salomon, Charlotte: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Salomon, Erich: PHOTOGRAPHY
Salomon, Haym: BANKING AND BANKING HOUSES; UNITED
STATES: AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Salvador, Francis: UNITED STATES, SOUTHERN
Samael: MYSTICISM: HEKHALOT AND MERKAVAH
LITERATURE; SEFIROT
Samoscz, Israel: MENDELSSOHN, MOSES
Samson: BIBLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND PEACE;
ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY; JUDGES, BOOK OF;
NAZIRITE
Samson ben Abraham: TOSAFISTS
Samson ben Zadok: MEIR BEN BARUKH OF ROTHENBURG
Samson of Chinon: TOSEFTA
Samuel: ABRAHAM; BETH EL; HANNAH; MAGIC; NAZIRITES;
PRAYER: WOMENS DEVOTIONAL; SHILOH
Samuel, R.: AMORAIM; DINA DE-MALKHUTA DINA
Samuel ben Abba ha-Cohen: MEDICINE
Samuel ben Hofni: RESPONSA LITERATURE
Samuel ben Judah: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES
Samuel ben Kalonymus: GOLEM; MIDDLE AGES: H
. ASIDEI
ASHKENAZ
Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam): BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE
AGES TO 1800; DINA DE-MALKHUTA DINA; FRANCE: MIDDLE
AGES; POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE; RASHI;
TOSAFISTS
Samuel ben Musa: PRINTING
Samuel ben Solomon: MEIR BEN BARUKH OF ROTHENBURG
Samuel ibn Danan: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Samuel ibn Naghrela ha-Nagid: NAGID; SPAIN, MUSLIM;
POETRY, MEDIEVAL: MUSLIM WORLD
Sandgren, Ake:
FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II);
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Sandler, Adam: FILM: UNITED STATES
Sandler, Boris: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH
Sandler, Peretz: THEATER, YIDDISH
Saperstein, Abe: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Saphir, Jacob: YEMEN
Sarah: ABRAHAM; ART: LATE ANTIQUITY; BIBLE: ANCESTRAL
NARRATIVES; COVENANT; DEUTERONOMY, BOOK OF;
ETHICS, MEDICAL; GENESIS, BOOK OF; HAGAR;
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART; INFERTILITY; ISAAC;
ISHMAEL; ISRAEL, LAND OF; PRAYER: WOMENS
DEVOTIONAL; WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL
REPRESENTATIONS
Sarah bas Tovim: PRAYER: WOMENS DEVOTIONAL; WOMEN:
EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Sarai: SARAH
Sarasohn, Kasriel: JOURNALISM, YIDDISH: NORTH AMERICA
Sargon II: ASSYRIA
Sarig, Gideon: ISRAEL, STATE OF: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Sarna, Yehezkel: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Sarnoff, David: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION;
RADIO: UNITED STATES
Saruk, Israel: KABBALAH, LURIANIC; LURIA, ISAAC
Sasportes, Yehudit: ART, ISRAELI
Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg: RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN;
RECONSTRUCTIONIST RABBINICAL COLLEGE
Sassoon, Jason: CHINA
Satanow, Yitzhak: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Saturninus: GNOSTICISM
Saul: BIBLE: PROPHETS AND PROPHECY; BIBLE:
REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND PEACE; CHRONICLES,
BOOKS OF; DAVID; ISRAELITES: TRIBES; ISRAELITES:
KINGSHIP; JUDAH, KINGDOM OF; LOVE; MAGIC;
PHILISTINES; SAMUEL, BOOKS OF; TRIBES, TWELVE;
UNITED MONARCHY
Sauvage, Pierre: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Saxe, Michael: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman: GOD; H
. AVURAH MOVEMENT;
JUDAISM: JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT; INTERFAITH
DIALOGUE: UNITED STATES
Schalit, Heinrich: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Schanker, Louis: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Schapiro, Miriam: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Schatz, Boris: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY; ART,
ISRAELI; MUSEUMS
Schayes, Adolph Dolph: SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASKETBALL
Schayes, Danny: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Schechner, Richard: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Schechter, Solomon: ADLER, CYRUS; EDUCATION, NORTH
AMERICA: DAY SCHOOLS; GENIZAH, CAIRO; JEWISH
PUBLICATION SOCIETY; JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY;
JUDAISM, CONSERVATIVE; THOUGHT, MODERN;
ZANGWILL, ISRAEL
Scheer, Eva: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Scheler, Max: SOLOVEITCHIK, JOSEPH B.
Schenfeld, Rina: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Schenirer, Sarah: AGUDAT ISRAEL; WOMEN, MODERN: BRITAIN
AND NORTH AMERICA; WOMEN, MODERN: EASTERN
EUROPE
Schenkar, Joan: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA;
LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH
AMERICA)
708
INDEX OF NAMES
Scheuer, Mathilda: NURSING: UNITED STATES
Schiff, Jacob: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; NURSING:
UNITED STATES; UNITED STATES: HIGHER EDUCATION;
WALD, LILLIAN; ZANGWILL, ISRAEL
Schiff, Meir ben Jacob Ha-Kohen: FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Schiller, Benjie Ellen: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Schindel, Robert: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE; LITERATURE:
CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
Schindler, Alexander: JUDAISM, REFORM: NORTH AMERICA
Schindler, Emilie and Oskar: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Schlegel, Dorothea Mendelssohn Veit von: LITERATURE: WOMEN
WRITERS (EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA);
MENDELSSOHN, MOSES; WOMEN, MODERN: CENTRAL
EUROPE
Schlink, Bernhard: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION
Schnock, Frieder: HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS
Scholander, Vilhelm: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Schoolman, Albert P.: SUMMER CAMPING
Schneerson, Chana: SCHNEERSON, MENACHEM MENDEL
Schneerson, Chaya Mushka: SCHNEERSON, MENACHEM
MENDEL
Schneerson, Joseph Isaac: H.ASIDISM: EUROPE
Schneerson, Levi Yitzchak: SCHNEERSON, MENACHEM MENDEL
Schneerson, Menachem Mendel: HASIDISM: NORTH AMERICA;
.
HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES; MESSIANISM:
MODERN APPROACHES; NAH
. MAN BEN SIMH.A OF
BRATSLAV
Schneerson, Yosef Yitzchak: SCHNEERSON, MENACHEM
MENDEL
Schneiderman, Rose: UNITED STATES: POLITICAL
INVOLVEMENT
Schnitzler, Arthur: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE; THEATER:
EUROPE; VIENNA
Schoenberg, Arnold: AESTHETICS; VIENNA
Scholem, Gershom: ABULAFIA, ABRAHAM; ANTINOMIANISM;
BAHIR, SEFER HA-; FRANKFURT AM MAIN; ISRAEL, STATE
OF: PEACE MOVEMENT; KABBALAH; KABBALAH,
LURIANIC; MESSIANISM: MODERN APPROACHES;
METATRON; MOSES DE LEON; MYSTICISM: HEKHALOT AND
MERKAVAH LITERATURE; MYSTICISM, WOMEN AND;
SHABBETAI ZEVI; SEFIROT; THOUGHT, MODERN
Schopenhauer, Arthur: BUBER, MARTIN
Schorr, Yehoshua Heschel: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Schrader, Leonard: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Shreider, Grigory: SAINT PETERSBURG
Schtok, Fradel: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO THE
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Schuck,
Henrik: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
709
INDEX OF NAMES
Shahn, Ben: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: ART; PHOTOGRAPHY; PLATE 18
Shaked, Gershon: LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION;
MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Shakespeare, William: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; MONEY LENDING:
MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN EUROPE; THEATER:
BRITAIN
Shakh, Elazar Man: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Shalev-Gerz, Esther: HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS
Shalev, Meir: LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION
Shalev, Zeruya: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS,
18822010
Shalom, Abraham: THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Shalom, Shin: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Shamash, Violette: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH
.I
Shamir, Moshe: LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION; FILM:
ISRAEL; LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV, 18801948
Shamir, Yitzhak: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES
Shammai: AVOT DE RABBI NATAN; HILLEL; MISHNAH;
TANNAIM
Shammas, Anton: LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION;
ARABS: REPRESENTATIONS IN ISRAELI LITERATURE
Shamri, Aryeh: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: THE YISHUV
Shandling, Garry: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS
Shani, Marco: ART, ISRAELI
Shapero, Lillian: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Shapira, Amitzur: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Shapira, Anita: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: HEBREW
Shapira, Hayyim Elazar: JUDAISM, ORTHODOX:
ULTRA-ORTHODOX
Shapira, Shalom Joseph: LITERATURE, HEBREW: THE YISHUV,
18801948
Shapiro, Alan: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Shapiro, Danial: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Shapiro, Kalonymous Kalman: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL
RESPONSES
Shapiro, Karl: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Shapiro, Lamed: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
Shaposhnikov, Ivan: SYNAGOGUES: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Sharett, Moshe: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES; ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL
PARTIES
Sharansky, Nathan (Anatoly): SOVIET UNION: JEWISH
MOVEMENT, 19671989
Sharon, Ariel: BEGIN, MENACHEM; ISRAEL, STATE OF: WARS
(19732010); ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS;
ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL PARTIES; SHARANSKY,
NATHAN
Sharon, Mirali: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Shatz, Meir bar Isaac: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE
Shaul, Anwar: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH.I
Shavelson, Clara Lemlich: UNITED STATES: POLITICAL
INVOLVEMENT
Shaw, Irwin: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Shaw, Robert: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Shayetitch, Simcha Bunim: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
Shaykevitch, Nokhem Meyer Shomer: LITERATURE, YIDDISH:
1800 TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY; THEATER, YIDDISH
Sheazaf, Neta: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Shechem: DINAH; ISRAELITES: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY;
PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
Sheerah: WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Shefatiah: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Shelomzion: See SALOME ALEXANDRA
Shem: BIBLE: LANGUAGES
710
INDEX OF NAMES
Simon ben Gamaliel II, R.: PATRIARCH; TANNAIM
Simon ben Shetah., R.: HASMONEAN DYNASTY; MAGIC
Simh.ah of Speyer: TOSAFISTS
Simiate, Ona: HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Simmel, Georg: BUBER, MARTIN
Simon ben Isaac ben Abun: POETRY, MEDIEVAL: CHRISTIAN
EUROPE
Simon Magus: GNOSTICISM; SAMARITANS
Simon, Neil: ENTERTAINMENT; TELEVISION: UNITED STATES;
THEATER: UNITED STATES; THEATER, UNITED STATES:
PLAYWRIGHTS
Simonson, Lee: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Sinatra, Frank: ENTERTAINMENT
Sinclair, Clive: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Sinclair, Ian: LITERATURE: BRITAIN
Sinclair, Jo (Ruth Seid): LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS
(EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA)
Singer, Israel Joshua: ADULTERY; MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING:
YIDDISH; THEATER, YIDDISH
Singer, Isaac Bashevis: CELEBRITIES; LITERATURE: BRITAIN;
LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA; LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800
TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY; LITERATURE: POPULAR
FICTION; LITERATURE: UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900);
MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH
Singer, Isadore: ANTISEMITISIM: FRANCE, 17891939;
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Singer, James: POETRY: BRITAIN
Siporin, Mitchell: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Siriro, Samuel Saul: THOUGHT, EARLY MODERN
Sirota, Gershon: CANTOR, CANTORATE: CONTEMPORARY;
CANTOR, CANTORATE: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT;
MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Sisera: DEBORAH
Siskind, Aaron: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Skolnik, Fred: ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Slansk
y,
Rudolf: COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE;
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Slonimsky, Hayim Zelig: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Smadja, Oren: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Smashnova, Anna: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Smilansky, Moshe: LITERATURE, MODERN HEBREW: THE
YISHUV, 18801948
Smith, Gerald L. K.: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE: UNITED STATES
Smolenskin, Peretz: HASKALAH; LITERATURE, HEBREW:
HASKALAH; THOUGHT, MODERN
Snodgras, W. D.: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE
Snyder, Joan: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Sobol, Joshua: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Sofer, Dalia: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: MIZRAH.I
Sofer, Moses: HABSBURG EMPIRE; JUDAISM, ORTHODOX:
ULTRA ORTHODOX
Sokolnikov, Grigory: BOLSHEVISM: RUSSIAN EMPIRE AND
SOVIET UNION
Sokolov, Mikhoel-Ber: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Sokolov, Nahum: MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING: YIDDISH
Sokolover, Efrayim: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Sokolow, Anna: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL;
DANCE: UNITED STATES
Sokolow, Nahum: TEL AVIV
Solman, Joseph: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Solomon: AMMON; ANOINTMENT; BATHSHEBA; BLESSINGS,
BEFORE AND AFTER MEALS; CANAAN, CANAANITES;
CHRONICLES, BOOKS OF; COCHIN JEWS; DAVID;
ECCLESIASTES, BOOK OF; ETHICAL WILLS; ETHIOPIA;
GARDENS; GENESIS, BOOK OF; INDIA; ISLAM AND
JUDAISM; ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF; ISRAELITES: KINGSHIP;
ISRAELITES: RELIGION; JEROBOAM; JERUSALEM: BIBLICAL
AND RABBINIC SOURCES; JUDAH, KINGDOM OF; KINGS,
711
INDEX OF NAMES
Stangl, Franz: HOLOCAUST: CAMPS AND KILLING CENTERS;
TREBLINKA
SOBIBOR;
Stanton, Frank: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION
Stavans, Ilan: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Stavinsky, Alexandre: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Steel, Ronald: JOURNALISM: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE)
Steimberg, Alicia: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Stein, Gertrude: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Stein, Joseph: THEATER, UNITED STATES: PLAYWRIGHTS
Steinberg, Jacob: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Steinberg, Milton: ELISHA BEN ABUYA; LITERATURE: POPULAR
FICTION
Steiner, George: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Steinfeld, J. J.: LITERATURE: CANADA
Steinhardt, Jacob: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY; ART,
ISRAELI
Steinmetz, E. M. A.: FASHION
Steinsaltz, Adin: RABBINIC ORDINATION
Steinthal, S.: COHEN, HERMANN
Stematzky, Avigdor: ART, ISRAELI
Stenberg, Peter: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Stern, Aaron: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Stern, Avraham (Yair): ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES
Stern, Bill: SPORTSCASTERS
Stern, David: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Stern, G. B.: LITERATURE: WOMEN WRITERS (EUROPE AND
NORTH AMERICA)
Stern, Mendel: LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Stern, Steve: LITERATURE: UNITED STATES (SINCE 1900)
Sternberg, Harry: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; ART,
AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Sternberg, Sarah Frankel: H
. ASIDISM, EUROPE: WOMEN
Sternharz, Nathan: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: 1800 TO
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Sternheim, Carl: THEATER: EUROPE
Stevens, George: FRANK, ANNE; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: FILM
Stevens, Wallace: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Stewart, Jon: COMEDY AND COMEDIANS
Stieglitz, Alfred: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; PHOTOGRAPHY
Stih, Renata: HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS
Stiller, Ben: ENTERTAINMENT
Stollman, Aryeh Lev: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: FICTION;
LITERATURE: CANADA; LITERATURE: UNITED STATES
(SINCE 1900)
Stone, George: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASEBALL
Strabo: ALEXANDRIA, ANCIENT
Strand, Paul: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Strasberg, Lee: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Straus, Isidor, Jesse, Lazarus, Nathan: STRAUS FAMILY
Straus, Oscar: STRAUS FAMILY; UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
Straus, Sylvia: HESCHEL, ABRAHAM JOSHUA
Strauss, Leo: FRANKFURT AM MAIN; THOUGHT, MEDIEVAL
Strauss, Levi: FASHION; UNITED STATES, WESTERN
Streichman, Yehezkel: ART, ISRAELI
Streisand, Barbra: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; FILM: UNITED
STATES; PLATE 20
Streusand, Ira: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Strindberg, August: LITERATURE, SCANDINAVIA
Struck, Hermann: ART, TWENTIETH CENTURY EUROPE
Sturym, James: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Styron, William: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE; HOLOCAUST
REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Sugarman, Lou: SPORTS, UNITED STATES: BASKETBALL
Sugihara, Chiune (Sempo): HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Sulam, Sarra Copia: WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Szajna, Joszef:
HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Szichman, Mario: LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Szirtes, George: POETRY: BRITAIN
Szold, Benjamin and Sophie Schaar: SZOLD, HENRIETTA
Szold, Henrietta: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT;
JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY; NURSING: UNITED STATES;
ORGANIZATIONS, WOMENS: NORTH AMERICA; UNITED
STATES, SOUTHERN
Szpilman, Wladyslaw: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Szwarcbart, Herman: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Tabak, David: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Tabib, Mordechai: LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION
Tabick, Jacqueline: RABBINIC ORDINATION OF WOMEN
Tabori, George: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA;
THEATER: EUROPE
Tafdup, Pia: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Taitatzak, Joseph: OTTOMAN EMPIRE; THOUGHT, EARLY
MODERN
Tajar, Ziona: ART, ISRAELI
Talmon, Yaakov: ISRAEL, STATE OF: PEACE MOVEMENT
Talmud, Blanche: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Tamar (Genesis 38): MARRIAGE, LEVIRATE; PROSTITUTES,
PROSTITUTION: HEBREW BIBLE THROUGH MIDDLE AGES;
WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS; WOMEN,
ANCIENT: ISRAELITE
Tamar (2 Samuel): LOVE; SAMUEL, BOOKS OF; WOMEN,
ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Tamiris, Helen: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Tammuz, Benjamin: ARABS: REPRESENTATIONS IN ISRAELI
LITERATURE; LITERATURE, HEBREW: ISRAELI FICTION
Tanai, Levi: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Tannenbaum, Andrew: INTERNET
Taphath: WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Tarfon, R.: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Tartas, David de Castro: PRINTING
Tarras, Dave: MUSIC, POPULAR
Taslitzky, Boris: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Taubman, Craig: MUSIC, RELIGIOUS
Tavares, Morton: JAMAICA
Taykhtahl, Yissakhar: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Taylor, C. P.: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA
Taylor, Paul: DANCE: UNITED STATES
712
INDEX OF NAMES
Tchernikhovsky, Saul: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW;
SECULARISM
Tehomi, Avraham: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES
Teitelbaum, Joel: H
. ASIDISM: EUROPE; HOLOCAUST:
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES; JUDAISM, ORTHODOX: ULTRA
ORTHODOX
Tekinalp, Mose Cohen: OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Teller, Y. L.: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: FROM 1800 TO
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Tenn, William: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Terah: ABRAHAM; SARAH
Terk, Sonia: ART, EUROPE: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Terna, Frederick: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Terquem, Lazare: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Terquem, Olry: JUDAISM, REFORM: FRANCE
Teutsch, David: JUDAISM, RECONSTRUCTIONIST
Thaarup, Thomas: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Thalberg, Irving: FILM: UNITED STATES
Theodotion: BIBLE: TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS
Theodotos: SYNAGOGUES, ANCIENT
Thiers, Adolphe: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Thing, Morton: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Thomashefsky, Bessie: THEATER, YIDDISH
Thomashefsky, Boris: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE; THEATER,
YIDDISH
Tiberius Julius Alexander: PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA
Tian, Ai: CHINA
Tiempo, Cesar:
LATIN AMERICA; LITERATURE: LATIN AMERICA
Tiglath-Pileser II: ASSYRIA
Tilzer, Albert (Gumbinski) von: SPORTS, UNITED STATES:
BASEBALL
Timerman, Jacobo: LATIN AMERICA; LITERATURE: LATIN
AMERICA
Tiktiner, Rivkah bas Meir: PRAGUE; WOMEN: EARLY MODERN
EUROPE
Tirosh-Samuelson, Hava: THOUGHT, MODERN
Tirzah: WOMEN, ANCIENT: BIBLICAL REPRESENTATIONS
Titus: JEWISH WAR, FIRST; ROME, ROMAN EMPIRE
Tobiads
Todrosi, Todros: FRANCE, SOUTHERN: MIDDLE AGES
Tofel, Jennings: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Toledano, Eliezer: PRINTING
Tolkin, Viktor: HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS
Toller, Ernst: THEATER: EUROPE
Tolstoy, Leo: KOOK, ABRAHAM ISAAC; OZ, AMOS
Topol: FILM: UNITED STATES
Torres, Luis de: COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER; JAMAICA
Touro, Isaac: NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
Touro, Judah: UNITED STATES, SOUTHERN
Tousk, Jacob: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: BEGINNINGS TO 1700
Toussenel, Alphonse: ANTISEMITISM: France, 17891939
Touvier, Paul: HOLOCAUST TRIALS
Tracy, Arthur: RADIO: UNITED STATES
Trager, Abraham Isaac: FASHION
Treitel, Jonathan: POETRY: BRITAIN
Treitschke, Heinrich von: ANTISEMITISM; GRAETZ, HEINRICH
Trendelenburg, Adolf: COHEN, HERMANN
Trilling, Lionel: MENORAH ASSOCIATION
Andre:
HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
Trocme,
Trotsky, Leon: BOLSHEVISM: RUSSIAN EMPIRE AND SOVIET
UNION; EHRENBURG, ILYA; RUSSIA; SAINT PETERSBURG
Trotta, Marcelo: FILM: LATIN AMERICA
Trotta, Margarethe von: FILM: EUROPE (POST-WORLD WAR II)
Truffaut, Francois: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Truman, Harry S.: HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN AMERICA;
ISRAEL, STATE OF: FOUNDING OF THE MODERN STATE;
UNITED STATES: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT; UNITED STATES
713
INDEX OF NAMES
Vertlib, Vladimir: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Vespasian: JEWISH WAR, FIRST; ROME, ROMAN EMPIRE
Veuillot, Louise: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Victor, Meir: ISRAEL, STATE OF: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Vilna Gaon, Elijah ben Solomon Zalman: BALTIC STATES;
ETHICAL WILLS; H.ASIDISM: EUROPE; KABBALAH; MUSAR
MOVEMENT; TALMUD STUDY: MODERN APPROACHES;
VILNA; ZALMAN, SCHNEUR BEN BARUCH
Visconti, Luchino: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: FILM
Vishniac, Roman: PHOTOGRAPHY
Vital, H.ayyim ben Joseph: DYBBUK; KABBALAH; KABBALAH,
LURIANIC; LURIA, ISAAC; NUMEROLOGY (GEMATRIA);
SAFED; WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE; MYSTICISM,
WOMEN AND
Vital, Shabetay ben Yaacob: LITERATURE, LADINO
Vitkind, Hillel: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Vivelin The Red of Strasbourg: MONEY LENDING: MEDIEVAL
AND EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Vizonsky, Nathan: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Vogel, David: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE: POETRY
Vogel, Julius: NEW ZEALAND
Voinovich, Vladimir: LITERATURE: RUSSIA AND SOVIET UNION
(IN RUSSIAN)
Voorsanger, Elkan C.: UNITED STATES: MILITARY CHAPLAINCY
Vrba, Rudolf: HOLOCAUST RESISTANCE
Waszynski, Michal: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE
Waddington, Miriam: LITERATURE: CANADA
Wajcman, Gerard:
LITERATURE: FRANCE
Wajsbrot, Cecile:
LITERATURE: CONTEMPORARY EUROPE;
LITERATURE: FRANCE
Wald, Lillian: DANCE: UNITED STATES; NURSING: UNITED
STATES; SOCIAL WORK: UNITED STATES
Waldenberg, Eliezer: ABORTION
Waldman, Ayelet: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Waldman, JT: LITERATURE: GRAPHIC NOVELS; LITERATURE:
POPULAR FICTION
Waldman, Louis Labele: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE; MUSIC,
RELIGIOUS
Waldman, Suzyn: SPORTSCASTERS
Walkowitz, Abraham: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940
Wallach, Yonah: LITERATURE, HEBREW: WOMEN WRITERS,
18822010; POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Wallant, Edward Lewis: HOLOCAUST LITERATURE:
FICTION
Wallenberg, Raoul: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE;
HOLOCAUST RESCUERS; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
TELEVISION
Wallich, Isaac: LITERATURE, YIDDISH: BEGINNINGS
TO 1700
Walter, Bruno: BERLIN
Walter, Hubert: ENGLAND: MIDDLE AGES
Walzer, Michael: BIBLE: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND
PEACE
Wandor, Michelene: POETRY: BRITAIN
Warburg, Felix M.: JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE
Warburg, Frieda Schiff: JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Warfield, David: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Warhol, Andy: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940
Warner, Harry and Jack: FILM: UNITED STATES
Warski, Adolf: COMMUNISM: EASTERN EUROPE
Washington, Booker T.: UNITED STATES: CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMENT
Washington, George: NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND; UNITED
STATES PRESIDENTS
Waskow, Arthur: ETHICS, ENVIRONMENTAL; JUDAISM: JEWISH
RENEWAL MOVEMENT
Wasserman, Elhanan: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Wasserman, Jacob: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Wastberg,
Per: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Waszynski, Michal: DYBBUK
Weaver, Pat: BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION
Weber, Joe: THEATER: UNITED STATES
Weber, Max: ART, AMERICAN: BEFORE 1940; PLATE 16
Weichert, Mikhl: THEATER, YIDDISH
Weidman, Jerome: FILM: UNITED STATES
Weil, Godchaux: LITERATURE: POPULAR FICTION
Weill, Kurt: BERLIN; THEATER: UNITED STATES
Weinberg, Yehiel: BERKOVITS, ELIEZER
Weinfeld, Abraham: HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Weinfeld, Yocheved: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Weininger, Otto: LITERATURE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Weinreich, Uriel: YIDDISH DICTIONARIES
Weinstein, Gal: ART, ISRAELI
Weisel, Mindy: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: ART
Weislitz, Yankev: THEATER, YIDDISH
Weiss, Peter: HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION: DRAMA;
LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Weissbort, Daniel: POETRY: BRITAIN
Weissler, Chava: WOMEN: EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Weizmann, Chaim: BALFOUR DECLARATION; BRITISH
MANDATE OVER PALESTINE; BUBER, MARTIN; EINSTEIN,
ALBERT; ISRAEL, STATE OF: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS;
JERUSALEM, 19481967; ZIONISM; ZIONISM: UNITED
STATES
Weltsch, Felix: BUBER, MARTIN
Wengeroff, Pauline: WOMEN, MODERN: EASTERN EUROPE
Wentworth, Frederick: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Werfel, Franz: HABSBURG EMPIRE; LITERATURE: CENTRAL
EUROPE
Wergeland, Henrik: LITERATURE: SCANDINAVIA
Wertheim, Noa: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Wertheimer, Jack: EDUCATION, NORTH AMERICA:
SUPPLEMENTAL SCHOOLS
Wertheimer, Samson: HABSBURG EMPIRE
Wesker, Arnold: LITERATURE: BRITAIN; THEATER: BRITAIN
Wessely, Naphtali Herz: BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: MIDDLE AGES
TO 1800; HASKALAH; LITERATURE, HEBREW: HASKALAH
Wetzler, Alfred: HOLOCAUST RESISTANCE
White, William Charles: CHINA
Wieler, Jossi: THEATER: EUROPE
Wierner, Hans: DANCE: UNITED STATES
Wiesel, Elie: ARGENTINA; CELEBRITIES; HOLOCAUST
LITERATURE: FICTION; HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION:
TELEVISION; HOLOCAUST: THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES;
LITERATURE: FRANCE; MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING:
YIDDISH; PERIODICALS: UNITED STATES (ENGLISH
LANGUAGE); THEOLOGY
Wieseltier, Meir: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Wigman, Mary: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE ISRAEL
Wilbushewitcz, Mania: ISRAEL, STATE OF: MILITARY AND
PARAMILITARY BODIES
Wilder, Gene: FILM: UNITED STATES
Willette, Adolphe: ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939
Williams, Sir Evan Owen: SYNAGOGUES: TWENTIETH CENTURY
Williams, Hank: FASHION
Williams, William Carlos: POETRY, MODERN HEBREW
Wilson, Woodrow: BRANDEIS, LOUIS D.; STRAUS FAMILY;
UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS; WORLD WAR I: IMPACT ON
AMERICAN JEWS
Wimpfin, Alexander: MEIR BEN BARUKH OF ROTHENBURG
Wine, Sherwin: JUDAISM, HUMANISTIC
Winograd, Garry: ART, AMERICAN: SINCE 1940; PHOTOGRAPHY
Winston, H.: H
. ASIDISM: NORTH AMERICA
714
INDEX OF NAMES
Winters, Shelley: FILM: UNITED STATES
Zola, Emile:
ANTISEMITISM: FRANCE, 17891939; DREYFUS
AFFAIR
Zolotarevsky, Isidore: FILM: YIDDISH-LANGUAGE; THEATER,
YIDDISH
Zolotkoff, Leon: CHICAGO
Zorn, John: MUSIC, POPULAR
Zubari, Shahar: SPORTS: ISRAEL
Zuckerman, Nava: DANCE: PRE- AND POST-STATE
ISRAEL
Zuckermandel, Samuel: TOSEFTA
Zuckor, Adoph: FILM: UNITED STATES
715
INDEX OF NAMES
Zukofsky, Louis: POETRY: UNITED STATES
Zundel,
Ernst: HOLOCAUST TRIALS
716