ТЕОЛОГО-ФИЛОСОФСКАЯ «ШКОЛА» КУМРАНА

Author(s): Igor Tantlevskij / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2022

In the first part of the article the author tries to reconstruct the peculiarities of organizational-administrative basis and content of the educational process in Qumran, and to analyze the impact of the success in learning and intellectual development of community members on their position in the congregation, but, most importantly, on the state of their soul, its disposition in the global war of good with evil and, ultimately, on its receiving retribution in the otherworld. In the second part of the article the author makes an attempt to identify some features of the theological-philosophical “school” formed in Qumran and to summarise key aspects of the theological and philosophical doctrines of Qumran, primarily based on the “Treatise on the Two Spirits” (1QS 3:13– 4:26): 1) Concept of the Creation of the universe through an intermediary “link” -“Knowledge” (dʽt) according to the “Design” (mḥšbh/mḥšbt) of God; the Qumran concept of mḥšbh/mḥšbt, probably implying the “Plan”/“Scheme”/“Project” of the universe, can be correlated with Plato’s concept of παράδειγµα. 2) Concept of predestination in correlation with the Essene doctrine of predestination in the context of the formation of Judaean “philosophical schools”. 3) Peculiarities of the Qumran dualistic doctrine of the two ways and two spirits and the origins of “nature of Truth” and “nature of Evil” in the framework of biblical monotheism; features of Qumran theodicy. 4) Correlation of the Qumran doctrine of “human nature” and “virtue” with the Essene ethical teaching according to Philo of Alexandria’s treatise “On Every Virtuous One Is Free”, XII, 80–84. The article also analyses the key designations of community leaders and self-designations of community members in an organizational and educational context.

SELÂNİK YAHUDİLERİNİN FETİHTEN SONRA İSTANBUL’DA İSKÂNI

Author(s): Ayhan Pala / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 2/2021

The settlement of the Thessaloniki Jews in Istanbul is an application of the policy of developing the city as an imperial center. Istanbul was the scene of an enormous reconstruction activity after the conquest. Various communities from Anatolia and Rumelia were settled here in parallel with the city's reconstruction. The demographic appearance of the city has changed with the settlement policy of exile on the one hand, and volunteers on the other. In this framework, the Thessaloniki Jews were settled in the city with the decision of exile. There were Romaniots, Karaite, Ashkenazi and Italian Jewish communities in Istanbul before the conquest. Greek-speaking Jews, who lived in Anatolia and the Balkans during the Byzantine period and called themselves Romaniot, were forced to settle in Istanbul after the conquest of Istanbul. In this framework, it is known that the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki was also immigrated to Istanbul. As a result of this compulsory settlement policy implemented after the conquest of Istanbul, there was no Jewish population left in Thessaloniki. This situation changed and Sephardic Jews became the most crowded religious community of the city, with the arrival of Spanish Jews at the end of the 15th century. In this article, in the light of Ottoman archive documents and researches, the effects of Jews who were subjected to compulsion from Thessaloniki to Istanbul will be discussed.

Jewish Community in Cieszowa in Upper Silesia (1737–1904) and the Efforts of Fr. Karl Urban to Save its Material and Spiritual Heritage

Author(s): Piotr Górecki / Language(s): English Issue: 21/2021

When in 1908 in Cieszowa, one of the oldest Jewish communities in Upper Silesia, buildings of the dissolved Kehilla were put up for auction, Fr. Karl Urban (1864-1923), the priest of the parish of St. Joseph in Sadów, to which Cieszowa also belonged, purchased a synagogue with the surrounding outbuildings from his own resources, thus protecting them from inevitable liquidation. Cieszowa was one of four villages in Upper Silesia, in which Jews were ordered to reside during Prussian settlement bans, issued in the 1770s and 1780s. The article briefly describes the history of the Jewish community in Silesia, with the emphasis on the religious community set up by them in Cieszowa. In addition, the circumstances of the auctioning of local buildings in 1908 and their purchase by Fr. Karl Urban were described. The author focused on the activity of Fr. Urban, aimed at creating a religious and museum memorial site. Moreover, the author undermines the popular opinion involving the demolition of wooden monuments, allegedly after 1911, postponing the time of their destruction for the years after the death of Fr. Urban, i.e. after 1923.

Papież Benedykt XVI, Mystagogia Benedicti. Wprowadzenie w tajemnice roku liturgicznego. Objawienie Pańskie. Od drugiej Niedzieli po Bożym Narodzeniu do święta Ofiarowania Pańskiego, red. ks. Andrzej Demitrów, Biskupów 2020

Author(s): Andrzej Sebastian Jasiński OFM / Language(s): Polish Issue: 25/2021

Papież Benedykt XVI, Mystagogia Benedicti. Wprowadzenie w tajemnice roku liturgicznego. Wielka Noc Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego. Niedziela Zmartwychwstania i Oktawa Wielkanocy, red. ks. Andrzej Demitrów, Biskupów 2021

Author(s): Andrzej Sebastian Jasiński OFM / Language(s): Polish Issue: 25/2021

Atti del settimo convegno RBS. International Studies on Biblical & Semitic Rhetoric, F. Graziano – R. Meynet – B. Witek (ed.), Seria: RBSem 30, Leuven: Peeters 2021

Author(s): Jerzy Bosowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 25/2021

Novo mišljenje (Nekoliko naknadnih napomena uz Zvijezdu iskupljenja)

Author(s): Franz Rosenzweig / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 1-2/2022

Svojedobno sam dopustio da Zvijezda iskupljenja iziđe bez predgovora. Užasavali su me tragovi uobičajenih predgovora filozofâ svojim kokodakanjem nakon položena jajeta i svojim neučtivim pogrđivanjima čitatelja koji ipak još ništa ni je mogao učiniti – pa čak ni proštiti knjigu.

Warsaw and Yiddish: Europe’s Once Largest Jewish City

Author(s): Tomasz Dominik Kamusella / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

Prior to the Katastrofe (Yiddish for ‘Holocaust’), Warsaw functioned as the world’s capital of Yiddishland, or the Ashkenazic civilization of Yiddish language and culture. In the terms of absolute numbers of Jewish inhabitants, at the turn of the 20th century, New York City surpassed Warsaw. Yet, from the perspective of cultural and political institutions and organizations, Warsaw remained the center of Europe’s Jewish life. This article offers an overview of the rise of Warsaw as such a center, its destruction during World War II, and the center’s partial revival in the aftermath, followed by its extinction, which was sealed with the antisemitic ethnic cleansing of Poland’s last Jewish communities in 1968. Twenty years after the fall of communism, beginning at the turn of the 2010s, a new awareness of the Jewish facet of Warsaw’s and Poland’s culture and history has developed during the past decade. It is a chance for a new opening, for embracing Jewish culture, Yiddish and Judaism as inherent elements of Polish culture and history. This country’s history and culture was not created exclusively by Catholics, as ethnonationalists are wont to claim incorrectly. Hence, the essay is intended to serve as a corrective to this anachronistic preconception.

Perceptions of Power: Purple in Archaic Greek, Ancient Mesopotamian Inscriptions, and the Hebrew Bible

Author(s): Ellena Lyell / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

Purple in the ancient world held common characteristics: symbolic of power, wealth, and beneficence. Purple was also thought to be produced and imported from the Phoenician area, situated along the Levantine coastal shore. Yet between different literature circles, the specifics of purple diverged widely. This article explores the social function of purplematerial (and its inherent purple-colour) in the Hebrew Bible in light of wider ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean texts. As with any given cultural material, the meaning of purple is relative; it is differentially significant according to audience, context, subject matter, and the qualities of the material. By utilising a sociological and comparative approach, in the following I consider the use of purple in Homeric epic, ancient Mesopotamian inscriptions and biblical texts. I demonstrate that purple pigments and dyes, as well as the purple-colour of the object to which the pigments/dyes is applied, is a key means to communicate something culturally-specific. In so doing, this ultimately provides fresh insight into the texts and offers a glimpse into the thought processes of ancient society.

Identități construite, identități atribuite: fizionomia identitară a evreității (Evul Mediu, Epoca Modernă)

Author(s): Alexandru-Florin Platon / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 41/2022

The identity, a currently global concept in the social and human sciences, has always been defined in the most various ways. Nowadays, it is usually understood as an expression of “subconsciousness”, in relation to which the body occupies a secondary place. However, this was not always the case. For a very long time, until mid-twentieth century, the identity was regarded as closely related to the body and manifesting itself through its aspect, gestures and movement. It was not only what a person said, acted or behaved like that indicated who that person was and how they were identified, but also their appearance, their face and features, as well as those of their entire body. The body was an indicator of the soul and, unquestionably, a “marker” of membership. Translating the first and establishing the latter were conducted through physiognomy.The Jewish identity is, from this perspective, one of the most relevant examples. Starting with the 12th–13th centuries, the Jews began to be recognised in the Western medieval societies not only by their clothing, but also by a series of psychological “peculiarities”, inferred from the sacred texts and especially from certain facial (eyes, nose, hair) and body features (darker skin colour) that were considered unique. The tradition of body “interpretation” (as revealing for one’s soul) is very old in the European culture, going back to Aristotle (384–322). His treaty, “On Soul” (Peri Psyches / De Anima), provides the basics of translating the soul through the body. Later associated to Galen of Pergamon’s theory of temperaments, the principle of physiognomic lecture founded by Aristotle was taken further in the next centuries by all authors and passed on to the Middle Ages by the Arabs. In the Modern Era (18th–19th centuries), physiognomy did not disappear, but it evolved by being incorporated into several sciences (such as phrenology). This explains the steadiness of body categorising, through which Jewish people were identified, but now set up in a different ideological and (bio-) political mechanism: the theory of races that resulted in the well-known tragic events of the 20th century.

Zionism's Plans and Attempts against the al-Aqsa Mosque before and after the War of 1967

Author(s): Esra Kalkan Özhelvacı / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2022

Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) has been the place of struggle throughout history due to its status a holy city for thousands of years in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Hence, the religious perspective is an effective factor in the loyalty of the Jews to Jerusalem. On the one side the al-Aqsa Mosque was an indispensable place for Muslims and Palestinians. On the other hand, Zionism had different plans for the holy place. Born against anti-Semitism, Zionism has strived to protect Jews from persecution in many parts of the world. After Israel was established as a Jewish state in the Holy Land under the leadership of the Zionist movement, the Israelis developed occupation areas in Bayt al-Maqdis to realize the promise of Abraham in which they believed. The al-Aqsa Mosque/Temple Mount became a focal point for the Zionists with the annexation of the old city. Accordingly, they made plans and actions regarding the al-Aqsa Mosque. Even though there were different brands of Zionism, all of them were influenced by the religious perspective toward the al-Aqsa Mosque/Temple Mount. This study discusses the plans and initiatives of the adherents of various kinds of Zionism regarding the al-Aqsa Mosque in Bayt al-Maqdis before and after the War of 1967 and subsequent invasions, and analyzes how the Zionist ideology impacted on the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Din Unsurunun Dış Politika Etkileri: Trump Dönemi ABD-İsrail İlişkilerinde Evanjelizmin Rolü Örneği

Author(s): Ali Çobanoğlu / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 11/2022

The “religion effect” lost its importance in the international arena as the secularization process in the west had a global impact with the Peace Treaty of Westphalia. With “globalization,” which is seen as the cause of radical changes in international relations, the Westphalian separation of international politics has begun to come to an end and religious influence is on the rise again. Religion goes beyond expectations in international relations and increases its political influence with the effect of democratic environment, technology and globalization. Religion has been one of the most important elements for states, society and individuals to recognize their own identities. Religious beliefs, belief-centered structures and interest groups not only make significant contributions to foreign policy decision-making processes, but also take part in the strategic dimension as well as in the execution of foreign policy. Today, the most striking examples of this are experienced in the “US-Israel Foreign Policy” relationship, which is in the sphere of influence and interest of American Evangelical religious groups. Evangelicals have become an element that can direct the international policies of the country with their increasing political power in the USA. Evangelicals’ relations with Jews, with whom they have established common norms, identities and cultural ties, are also very strong. Particularly, during the period of President Donald Trump, who defines himself as a Protestant and a Presbyterian, concrete developments such as the USA’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and its characterization of Israel as a sovereign country in the Golan Heights have become indicators of Evangelical foreign political power. This article aims to investigate the effect of religion in US-Israel relations from a Social Constructivist perspective.

ČLANCI O ŽIDOVIMA IZ BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE U ZAGREBAČKOM CIONISTIČKOM ČASOPISU ŽIDOV OD 1917. DO 1941.

Author(s): Ljiljana Dobrovšak / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 21/2022

The Zionist magazine Židov was published every Friday from 1917 to 1941 in Zagreb and was the only such magazine in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In addition to reports on socio-political events in Yugoslavia, Palestine, Europe, and the world, the magazine also contained various cultural contributions, polemics, advertisements, as well as obituaries, deaths, weddings, births, and other notices. A special column entitled "From Yugoslavia" contained information on the activities of Jewish municipalities in Yugoslavia, regardless of whether these municipalities were of Sephardic or Ashkenazi origin. Ashkenazis were behind the Zionist magazine Jew, but its articles also covered Sephardim. In this paper, the author analyzed the articles received from Bosnia and Herzegovina and published in the magazine Židov between 1917 and 1941.

JEVREJSKE VJERSKE ŠKOLE U SARAJEVU DO 1941. GODINE: SARAJEVSKA SEFARDSKA JEŠIVA (LA YESHIVA DE SARAY) I JEVREJSKI SREDNJI TEOLOŠKI SEMINAR U SARAJEVU (EL SEMINARIO RABINIKO SARAYLISKO)

Author(s): Stevan Milovanović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 21/2022

In Sarajevo, since the formation of the Jewish religious community, the religious education of children has developed simultaneously. First, four-grade elementary schools, where mostly male children went, came forward. Later in the 17th century, Talmud-Torah secondary school was developed, while Yeshiva was only formed in the second half of the 18th century. Until the establishment of the Belgrade Yeshiva by Rav Yehuda Lerma in 5395 (1635) and the Sarajevo Yeshiva by Rav David Pardo in 5528 (1768), there were no rabbinical schools in the territories of the Western Balkans and neither rabbis. In the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, there was a need for qualified personnel for the religious education of Jewish children and youth according to general laws, in lower and secondary schools. On June 13, 1928, the Jewish Secondary Theological Seminary was opened, which began operating on November 25, 1928. The Seminary operated until 1941, when it was closed on April 6 by Nazzi Germans. The paper aims to present the development of Jewish religious education from the arrival of Sephardim to Sarajevo in the 16th century until 1941. To show the importance of the development of rabbinic and Talmudic studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the reputation of Sarajevo's Jewish religious schools in Europe and the world.

Rozwój osadnictwa żydowskiego w Wadowicach

Author(s): Katarzyna Iwańska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 9/2005

Autorka przedstawiła w artykule w sposób skondensowany dzieje wadowickich Żydów - począwszy od uzyskania przez nich prawa do osadnictwa w mieście w drugiej połowie XIX w. po okres II wojny światowej i zagładę tutejszej żydowskiej społeczności.

Życie społecznie i kulturalne Żydów wadowickich w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym

Author(s): Katarzyna Iwańska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 9/2005

W artykule została scharakteryzowana działalność żydowskiej gminy wyznaniowej, która swym zasięgiem obejmowała nie tylko Wadowice, ale również 28 okolicznych wsi. Podstawy prawne jej funkcjonowania określał omówiony przez autorkę "Statut Izraelickiej Gminy Wyznaniowej w Wadowicach". Artykuł przybliża dzieje i formy pomocy żydowskich organizacji społecznych i charytatywnych, m.in. Gemilat Chasudim, Bikur Cholim, Talmud Tora, Tomchaj Anijim czy Związek Żydowskich Inwalidów, Wdów i Sierot Wojennych Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej. Z działających po 1918 r. organizacji sportowych omówione zostały: Klub Sportowy Makkabi cz "Hagibor", a spośród organizacji kulturalno-oświatowych m.in.: Żydowski Dom Ludowy czy Klub Inteligencji Żydowskiej.

"Nie ma Ojczyzny , gdzie jest krzywda ludzka". Problematyka żydowska w biografii i twórczości Emila Zegadłowicza

Author(s): Mirosław Wójcik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 9/2005

Problematyka żydowska obecna była w życiu i twórczości Emila Zegadłowicza na różnych płaszczyznach. Artykuł prof. Mirosława Wójcika jest próbą naszkicowania najistotniejszych wymiarów zainteresowań okazywanych przez pisarza z Gorzenia losowi wadowickich i ogólnie polskich Żydów. Kulminacją tej wyjątkowej relacji jest nieukończony dramat poświęcony problematyce martyrologii Żydów pt. "Sind Sie Jude?".

Jewish Political Life in Poland on the Eve of the Second World War

Author(s): Antony Polonsky / Language(s): English Issue: 13/2022

The increasingly critical situation of the Jewish minority and the bankruptcy of the previously dominant political orientations within the Jewish community created a new set of opportunities for a group, the General Jewish Workers’ Alliance, or Bund which had played only a marginal role in both Polish and Jewish politics between 1920 and 1935. The growing strength of the Bund was clearly evident in the municipal elections of late 1938 and early 1939 which saw it emerge as the largest Jewish party in towns such as Warsaw, Łódź, Vilna and Białystok. This article seeks to evaluate the Bund’s reaction to its heightened importance in Jewish politics in Poland.

Un’arte per gli ebrei, un’arte per il mondo. Le strade di El Lissitzky e Moyshe Broderzon

Author(s): Laura Quercioli Mincer / Language(s): Italian Issue: 13/2022

An Art for the Jews, an Art for the World. The paths of El Lissitzky and Moyshe Broderzon. For a short but fertile period, the paths of the two extraordinary artists El Lissitzky (1890-1941) and Moyshe Broderzon (1890-1956) intersected and gave rise to important artistic projects. Both authors shared the ideal projects of the Bund, and in particular the affirmation of the cultural autonomy of Jews in their countries of residence. Their choices then diverged: Lissitzky became one of the most distinguished coryphaei of Suprematism and Soviet art; Broderzon, on the other hand, remained faithful to the project of creating a new Jewish art directed towards a Jewish audience. Their story is told against the backdrop of Jewish participation in the Central-Eastern European avant-garde.