Jewish Culture and History
Abstracts
of articles in Issue 6.2
- The Status of Non-Jews in the Eschaton:
An Enochic Debate
by Siam Bhayro
- This article discusses the presentation of the
eschaton in 1 En. 6–11,
a distinct unit of the Book of Watchers. This narrative consists
of several strata, and the presentation of the eschaton contains two
distinct accounts
of the status of non-Jews in the world to come. In isolating these
two accounts, one inclusive and the other exclusive, we glimpse a Second
Temple debate on the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in
its ideal
state. The question remains as to which account was original to
the Enochic text, and why the revision was deemed necessary.
- ‘Peace and Mercy
upon all your Blessed People’: Jews and Christians at Apamea in Late
Antiquity by David Noy and Susan Sorek
- The mosaic of the synagogue of Apamea in Syria, dated to 392 CE,
spotlights a Jewish community at a key moment in its history when, surrounded
by outbreaks of anti-semitism and the destruction of synagogues, its
members invested substantial resources in their own building. Careful
reading of the mosaic inscriptions shows how the mosaic project was organised,
and suggests that the female members of the community played a particularly
important part in it. Archaeology reveals how the synagogue was destroyed
about 20 years after its rebuilding, and a church was erected on top
of it.
- Jews, Germans and the
Representation of Jud Süss
in Literature and Film by Na’ama Sheffi
- The story of the renowned financier Joseph Süss Oppenheimer, Jud
Süss, has appeared in numerous literary publications, many plays and
two cinema features. Following a general presentation of Süss (1692?–1738),
this article examines the various ways his character has been used throughout
history as a way to define German–Jewish relations. This analysis
shows that the same character was used to support anti-semitic arguments
as well as for a philo-semitic approach describing the Jewish community
in the German-speaking region. The article concludes with an analysis of
Süss as a central figure for an understanding of German-Jewish society,
as well as German attitudes to it.
- Jewish Women Sociologists
and Post-War Jewish–Christian
Dialogue in Germany: Eva G. Reichmann and Eleonore Sterling by Hannah-Villette
Dalby
- This article explores the contribution of German-Jewish sociologists
Eva G. Reichmann and Eleonore Sterling to the Study Group for Jews and
Christians within the biennial German Evangelical Church Congress. It addresses
their shaping influence on political and sociological issues and reflects
upon the significance of the group within the wider context of West German
society and the Jewish community.
- I’m So Dizzy:
Being Disraeli in the Twentieth Century
by Tony Kushner
- The complexity and fluidity of identity formation in the modern era is
illustrated by the case study of those who have identified, both Jewish
and non-Jewish, with the nineteenth-century politician and writer, Benjamin
Disraeli. The appeal of, as well as the revulsion towards, the only leader
of a nineteenth-century state who was born Jewish has been immense, even
many generations after his death. This article is based on four major case
studies drawn from the first half of the twentieth century through to today.
They reveal across its time span how more pluralistic, inclusive and less
defensive versions of Jewishness have been constructed as well as the persistence
of exclusivities that continue to deny or hinder such possibilities.
- Book Reviews
- Martin Goodman (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, reviewer
Nicholas de Lange
- Nora Berend, At the Gate of Christendom: Jews,
Muslims and ‘Pagans’ in
Medieval Hungary, c.1000 –c.1300,
reviewer Anthony Bale
- Colette Sirat, Hebrew Manuscripts of the Middle Ages, reviewer Anthony
Bale
- Josef W. Meri, The Cult of Saints Among Muslims and Jews in Medieval
Syria, reviewer Andreas Christmann
- J.C.H. Blom, R.G. Fuks-Mansfield and I. Schöffer
(eds.), The History of the Jews in the Netherlands, reviewer Wout
Jac. van Bekkum
- Steven Nadler, Spinoza’s Heresy: Immortality
and the Jewish Mind, reviewer Daniel Rynhold
- Lloyd P. Gartner, History of the Jews in Modern Times, reviewer Mitchell
B. Hart
- Ruth Ellen Gruber, Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in
Europe, reviewer Hannah Holtschneider
- Stanley E. Porter and Brook W.R. Pearson (eds.),
Christian–Jewish
Relations through the Centuries, reviewer Irven M. Resnick
- Midge Decter, An Old Wife’s Tale: My Seven
Decades in Love and War, reviewer Nathan Abrams
- Eilat Negev, Close Encounters with Twenty Israeli Writers, reviewer
Leon Yudkin