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The present study examines how a material religion approach might be applied meaningfully to the study of domestic religion in the southern Levant. Despite the abundant material evidence from the archaeological record, locating religion in the house continues to pose certain challenges, in terms of both definition and visibility. We see in past studies that much of the larger effort of studying the material culture rests in attempts to explain how materials reflect religious belief or to determine functional meanings. This is particularly the case in the study of those remains from domestic contexts, which are often interpreted as a way to understand how the beliefs and practices of non-official religion differed from that of the picture of belief in the textual evidence. A material religions approach, however, challenges this tendency by arguing that materials should not be interpreted primarily as reflections or expressions of beliefs or ideas. For this reason, the present study gives priority of focus to the many things of religion that have been uncovered in domestic spaces and spaces connected to the lifecycle of the household. This approach also challenges a picture of domestic religion that overemphasizes the walls as boundaries of the house since an emphasis upon food, drink, incense, etc. points to the house’s relationship with and the household’s dependence upon the family field, the natural landscape, and larger networks of sustenance and exchange.
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The translation process from Arabic to Hebrew, which started in the XIth century and accelerated in the first quarter of the XIIth century, continued until the end of the XVIth century. In this period, the philosophical and theological works of prominent Muslim philosophers such as Fārābī, Avicenna, Ghazālī, and Averroes were translated directly or through intermediary languages into Hebrew. In this translation process, Jewish scholars and translators who knew Arabic, on the one hand, translated the works they chose from different fields into Hebrew; on the other hand, they played a facilitating role in meeting the Jewish scholars with the heritage of Islamic thought with the Hebrew works they wrote using Arabic works. Because of the limited number of works translated into Hebrew, the prevalence and influence of Avicenna's philosophical views among Jewish scholars are more limited than that of the Latin translation process, yet his impact on Jewish scholars on different philosophical issues is undisputed. It would not be correct to limit Avicenna's influence and prevalence among Jewish scholars to only the translation of his works into Hebrew, mentioning his name directly in the works of Jewish thinkers and quoting directly from his related works. Considering the similarity of views, concepts, and styles between Jewish thinkers and Avicenna on philosophical and theological issues, it can be argued that a movement called Jewish Avicennaism emerged. However, this movement is not as strong and widespread as Latin Avicennaism. Avicenna's influence among Jewish thinkers was in the form of criticism and rejection as well as adopting the philosopher's views to their philosophical system, similar to those of the Latin thinkers. In this study, I will discuss Avicenna’s role in and contribution to the development of Jewish philosophical and theological thought between the XII-XIVth centuries, a topic that has not been sufficiently addressed in Turkish. After giving general information about the translation process of Avicenna's works into Hebrew, I will try to find the answer to why all or at least essential works of Avicenna were not translated into Hebrew. Then, I will try to determine the impact of Avicenna's intellectual legacy on Jewish thinkers by dividing them into three different periods through concrete examples. The study revealed that although Jewish scholars defend similar teachings to Avicenna's views, they do not mention Avicenna's name and works in their works due to different reasons and concerns, making it difficult to determine the source of their opinions. In addition, the wrong attribution of some Avicenna’s philosophical teachings to Aristotle, negatively affected the recognition and spread of the philosopher's views. Based on these, it is not correct to conclude that his philosophical views were not known, adopted or influenced by Jewish thinkers. On the contrary, when the course of Avicenna's thoughts among Jewish thinkers is examined, it can be said that there are two types of Avicenna understanding in general. The first of these is those who read Avicenna’s works and adopt his philosophical views and make direct references to his work. Quoting Avicenna's views directly in their works revealed that the views among Jewish thinkers, whose belonging is unknown, belong to Avicenna. Secondly, they are Jewish thinkers with eclecticist approaches, who quote and use some of Avicenna's views on issues that they see as compatible and consistent with their philosophical views. They used the arguments and doctrines of Avicenna, whose views they partially knew, as an alternative or starting point against the opinions of the scholars they wanted to criticize or reject.
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Artykuł poświęcony historii żydowskiego cmentarza W Wadowicach, który swymi początkami sięga 1882 r. Autorka dokonała szczegółowej analizy wszelkich aspektów związanych z funkcjonowaniem żydowskiej nekropoli, m.in. przepisów pogrzebowych, oraz tradycji związanych z ceremoniami pogrzebowymi. W tekście poruszona została również architektura i sztuka nagrobna, symbolika rzeźby i znaczenie inskrypcji. Artykuł wzbogacają liczne fotografie nagrobków wykonane na wciąż czynnym kirkucie.
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George Eliot and Anthony Trollope made short visits to Prague in the mid-19th century and were fascinated by such places as the Jewish Quarter with its old synagogue or Charles Bridge with its Baroque statues. They used these motifs in some of their works: Eliot in The Lifted Veil and Daniel Deronda and Trollope in Nina Balatka. Their portrayal of Prague, however, is very much based on the image of Praga magica, the Prague of legends, mysteries and magic. This article argues that the shift of focus from the Jewish Prague to the statue of St John of Nepomuk, which appears in The Lifted Veil and in Nina Balatka, might have been motivated not only by their admiration of the bridge decorations which they saw during their visits but also by the semantically rich motif of the saint’s statue in George Sand’s Consuelo, a novel which was very popular in Britain at that time.
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The article consists of two parts. The first one presents the size of the analyzed group, territorial distribution and the preferred type of activity. The profiles of selected entrepreneurs were also characterized and presented against the background of their families. The second part focuses on the professional activity of industrialists. Particular attention was paid to the time when the enterprises were established and the way they operated, the amount of employment, problems disrupting the stable development of the institutions, additional investments and the activity of industrialists in economic organizations. Examples of cooperation and competition between entrepreneurs were also presented.
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Majer Bałaban (1877-1942) was a leading researcher of the history of Polish Jews in the interwar period and the author of numerous bibliographical compilations on the history, culture and life of the Jewish community in Poland. In 1903 he published a literature review of the history of Jews in Poland (1899-1903) in Kwartalnik Historyczny. This is how M. Bałaban's public bibliographic activity began, the ultimate achievement of which was the “Bibliography of the History of Jews in Poland and Neighboring Countries 1900-1930”. Its first issue was published in 1939. The work was created with the participation of students from the University of Warsaw who attended Bałaban's seminar. The bibliography recorded the entire literature on the history of Jews in Poland and Polish Jews abroad -in neighboring states and other European and overseas countries. Territorially, it covers the historical borders of the Polish state. In terms of chronological range, the bibliography includes publications relating to the history of Polish Jews from the earliest times to 1930, published in the years 1900-1930. The bibliography registered works in Polish and foreign languages (German, English, French, Russian, Hebrew) regardless of where they were published. In terms of the description, each entry is usually just registered, although it is often supplemented with comments about the content of the works. The entire bibliography was to have a systematic layout, consisting of 25 main sections and a number of subsections. It was designed to be provided with an index of people and geographical names. The outbreak of World War II arrested the publication of subsequent issues. However, even before the publication of the first volume, the reaction of the Jewish scientific community to Bałaban’s work was enthusiastic. The fundamental importance of the Bibliography for the historiography of the Polish Jewish society is evidenced by the fact that the first issue was published in the form of a reprint in Jerusalem in 1978 by World Federation of Polish Jews.
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It is rather difficult to detail the history of Abyssinian Judaism. Although there is no clear information on the subject, the existence of a Jewish ethnic group in Abyssinia is generally explained as the result of contact with members of the ancient Jewish community. Recent research point out a much more different and complex picture of Judaism in Abyssinia. First of all, it is important to know that in the early stages of Abyssinia, an ethnically and religiously differentiated (distinguishable) Jewish community has yet been encountered. What should be questioned in the study of Abyssinian Judaism is the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawhid Church (Abyssinian Orthodox Church) itself, which for many years served as a vehicle for transmitting Hebrew elements. In that sense Abyssinian Orthodox Christianity offers one of the most unique expressions of world Christianity; is still observing the Sabbath and still continuing to circumcise boys. Moreover, it maintains the belief that the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia before the destruction of the Solomon’s Temple. If Abyssinian Christianity which has a Judeo-Christian tradition is to be ignored and a separate history of Abyssinian Judaism (as a community) is to be established with evidence, it is understood that the starting point could be after the 14th century. The claim of the study is that the formation process of Abyssinian Judaism may have been a development formed by Abyssinia's own choice with the acceptance of Christianity rather than a direct continuation of a Jewish group. The weight of Jewish influence in the Falasha community, which is claimed to be the present representative of Abyssinian Judaism, is related to the orientation of the local monks after the 15th century and the result of the texts they convey (transfer). When the ethnic and religious positions of the Falashas are evaluated objectively, the Falashas are directly embedded in the JudeoChristian tradition of Abyssinia. Therefore, it is understood that Falashas can not be held responsible for Jewish influence in the face of Abyssinian Christianity which has followed a Judeo-Christian tradition for many years.
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Maḳâle fî ṣınâʿati'l-manṭıḳ, the only work of Maimonides on logic, has a distinctive feature in point of presenting a logical summary based on terms. This article shaped by titles, which evaluates the opinions here in the form of explanation, comparison and analysis for many reasons; philosophy of logic, preparation for logic, concepts, propositions, comparison and five arts. In the philosophy of logic, it is examined what kind of knowledge logic is in the context of its relationship with philosophy and sciences and its necessity for the certainty of knowledge. In the logic preparation part, two basic problems, namely the concepts of relational existence and the theory of causality, are discussed. These are not direct problems of logic, but are considered as preparatory issues for a better understanding of logic. Five universals, categories and definition theory are included in the concepts. In the propositions section, propositions are discussed and evaluated according to their quality, quantity, counter-affirmation situations, modality and rotation situations. In the syllogism part, the basic concepts, figures, modes and types of qiyas are included. In the five arts section, the five arts and the propositions that can be precursors are emphasized.
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The question of potestas gladii in Jesus’ trial, i.e., who had the legal authority to put him to death has been for a long time one of the puzzles of the New Testament scholarship. The present article resolves the question with a balanced view that even if the ultimate potestas gladii belonged to the Roman procurator, the Jewish Sanhedrin possessed the right to condemn and execute Jesus to death on charges of the Temple offences and blasphemous utterances. However, Jesus´ activity encompassed more than just a religious threat. The Jewish representatives feared also a public tumult and uprising if they had tried to put Jesus to death by themselves. They also did not want to be publicly blamed by the masses for killing a prophet type of a person and thereby adding to their negative public reputation. Therefore they handed Jesus to Pilate even though they could execute him by themselves on the basis of blasphemy.
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The importance of the Jewish community for the Romanian territory emerges from the presence of its members over the centuries, as well as from the active involvement in socio-cultural life. Its specificity and numerical evolution have constantly influenced the relations with authorities. The original space of Jewish migrants is diverse, from western and central to northeastern Europe, the reasons being some common: finding a territory to identify with and in which they can build a community without being assimilated and forced to give up their own beliefs and values.
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This text presents the findings of a contextual analysis of Artapanos’ writing On the Jews. The peculiarity of this Alexandrian writer lies in his vivid depiction of the image of the Diaspora, which is unprecedented elsewhere. Artapanos tries to convince his reader of the closeness of Jewish culture to both the Egyptian heritage and Hellenistic culture. His Moses, shaped in the fashion of a hero, is shown as the greatest benefactor of mankind and, as such, mainly as the hero of Egypt. Of the various possible interpretations of the phenomenon of Artapanos’ work, this study points to a plausible thesis of a syncretic orientation of some part of the Alexandrian Diaspora. This would include the Jews, who lived in the conviction of being faithful to their tradition, while at the same time absorbing Hellenistic culture and relating with kindness to the Egyptians.
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Aim. The aim of the research is to assess whether adult learners engaged in Torah/Bible studies report higher levels of psycho-social resources, specifically spirituality, meaning in life, hope, and social support, than learners who attend general enrichment courses, and whether psycho-social resources contribute to their meaning in life. Methods. Participants were 234 men and women over age 55 who study regularly in their leisure time: 56 Torah students in the hevruta (communal learning) method, 50 Torah students who participated in frontal Torah lectures, and 128 adults who attended lectures on various enrichment subjects. Participants completed self-report questionnaires that included demographic information and characteristics of the course, evaluations of the learning experience, the Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure, the Snyder Hope Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and the PIL – Purpose in Life questionnaire. Results. Torah and enrichment learners did not differ in meaning of life and hope. Torah learners reported a stronger learning experience, higher levels of transcendentality (an aspect of spirituality), and more social support from their peer group. For all learners, social support from the family was the strongest contributor to meaning in life, followed by hope and finally the communality aspect of spirituality. Conclusions. Findings confirm the importance of the human need for relatedness in determining meaning and suggest that the social milieu in which the leisure activity is held may be more important for cultivating meaning in life than the discipline studied.
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The text deals with the emergence of a specific Jewish counterculture in the wake of the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement in the USA in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Martin Buber’s philosophy of dialogue, Erich Fromm’s humanism and the religious existentialism of Abraham Joshua Heschel had a significant impact on the ideas of the young Jewish generation and influenced their striving for a renewal of Jewish life. Although the three Jewish thinkers differed in their forms of expression, they had in common a relentless critique of existing state of affairs and fought for a just society. Whether it be Buber’s communitarian society, Fromm’s humanist socialism or Heschel’s free society imbued with religion – they offered answers to the frustrated young generation and pointed the way to the “spiritual revolution” they longed for. Thus they became prophets for them.
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Throughout this article, we will use the Tree of Life from Kabbalah to study certain symbolic aspects of the microcosmic and of the macrocosmic representations of corporeality. Thus, we hope to disclose an exciting perspective of reading some passages of The Divine Comedy, as well as a series of nuances of the medieval imaginary. After all, the interpretation and the understanding of the Sephirotic Tree involves the deciphering of the basic formula of existence, because it represents a synthetic and symbolic image of the organizing principle of creation. Along the symbolic analysis of the realms from the famous poem, a strong resemblance will be noticed between the universe presented by Dante and the Tree of Life from Kabbalah. Given that the representation of the sephiroth is particularly suggestive in Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece (starting with the circles of Hell, following with the Purgatory, the nine Heavens and the Empyrean), one of the conjectures of this study is that The Divine Comedy manages to transpose into allegorical verses many principles correlated withan “unwritten Kabbalah”.
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The article explores the issues of searching for identity in the third post-war Polish Jew generation. Its purpose is to try to reconstruct the experience of becoming a religious Jew and choosing the Jewish path during adolescence faced with missing or incomplete transmission of intergenerational cultural heritage. The two biographies were investigated in terms of the educational paths of their narrators, primarily informal education, independent gaining of cultural (religious) knowledge, as well as the opportunities and limitations of formal Jewish education in Poland. The research was based on the biographical method, unstructured/in-depth interviews. The article consists of four main parts: 1. the application of the biographical method to own research; 2. the social context of the biography of the “unexpected generation”; 3. two biographical exemplifications; 4. the portrayal of the narrators’ struggles in building their own path in religious education. The exemplifications provided by the two biographies help identify the process of “becoming a religious Jew” in the “found generation”, illustrate individual biographical events and common biographical sequences. Furthermore, the article pinpoints the so-called biographical anchors, including prominent figures, religious authorities, minority organisations, and accessibility of religious education in Polish conditions – factors that contribute to the rise of the “cultural self”.
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This article deals with six short stories written in Yiddish and Czech analyzing their narrative strategies. In The German by Sholem Aleichem the limited first-per-son perspective of the story makes it impossible to look into the inner world of the German. Similar characters are presented in Aleichem’s Hard Luck and Elijah the Prophet. At the end of Hard Luck a dialogue breaks the limited perspective. The main character of Isaac Leybush Peretz’s The Shtrayml seems to be a type of naive narrator; in fact, in the last part of the story, he expresses the author’s irony and social criticism. The German by Aleichem probably inspired The Miracle with Julčaby Czech author Ivan Olbracht. Here, however, the protagonist’s perspective is sometimes extended by the author’s perspective. In Ladislav Grosman’s The Bridethe contrast between the characters’ and the readers’ expectations is presented by the significant change of the narrator’s point of view. The peripheral narrator concentrated on private life becomes the author’s narrator who knows the future.
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The canon of verisimilitude isa widely discussed concept, aiming at establishing the fictional pact ever since Aristotle’s Poetics. Multiple experiencesof time seem to unsettle the logic of this fictional pact. To highlight the disjunctive chrono-methodology and its implicationsin reformulating a well-established canon, I choose the concept of uchronia –developed and discussed theoretically and literarily by two American writers of Jewish origin, Philip Roth and Nicole Krauss. The two developed alternative legacies and counterfactual histories of Franz Kafka: He either escapes to Palestine or gets immersed into an accomplished love relationship with Dora Dymant during the last year of his life. Thus, the “u-chronic” writers unsettle Kafka’s canonical legacy left to Max Brod, the official detainer of his post-mortem history.
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This paper explores the theme of life and death, drawing from Jewish traditions, existential philosophy, and Gestalt Philosophy of Being. The paper touches on the Jewish concept of the Day of Atonement, a pivotal holiday that prompts deep self-reflection, forgiveness-seeking, and a dialogue with the divine. This tradition, dating back over 2,500 years, underscores the importance of humane values, the conditional nature of life and death, and the ability to influence one’s destiny through relational interconnectedness. The paper relates to the concept of Organismic Self-Regulation, underlining the importance of closure to pave the way for new beginnings. The conclusion reflects on various ways people perceive and handle endings and underscores the significance of fostering contactful, aware processes.
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Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 everything related to the Diaspora (“Golah”) such as culture, language, or mentality was considered despicable and Israelis tried to keep away from it. This article is about Dr. Jacob (Kobi) Weitzner a writer, playwright and Yiddish theater director. This article is not about his academic achievements or artistic works, but his seminal activity for the preservation of Jewish culture in the Diaspora.
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