Pre-State Israel. The evolution of Jewish political and institutional system in Yishuv. From Community to State: 1897-1949

Author(s): Gabriela Andreana Dumitrescu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

The emergence of World Zionist Organization at the end of 19th century and the increasing sympathy of world Jewry for political Zionism have strengthened the sense of the need to obtain a Jewish national home in Palestine. In a positive way, the end of the First World War and the decision of the League of Nations to place Palestine under British mandate favored regional development, especially of the Jewish community living there. Under the foreign administration, the Jewish people borrowed the proper aspects of the British model of parliamentary democracy and adapted them to the needs of the Yishuv, at a time when Jewish ideal enjoyed support and admiration, due in particular to Zionist diplomacy in Western Europe and the United States. Trying to maintain a good relationship with the British administration in order to fulfill its interests, the Jewish community in Palestine has thrived in various areas such as: political-institutional organization, economy, defence and demography, rapidly reaching a high level of development. These factors contributed tremendously to the birth of a modern democratic Jewish state. The reality of the simultaneous operation in Palestine of the three sets of institutions, those of the Yishuv, those of the Zionist Organization and those of the British administration represented a unique and remarkable fact. After Israel gained independence, the attempt to provide continuity to pre-state institutions represented a reality that was reflected in the flawless formula of the permanent institutions, in order to meet the needs of the new state in a situation of internal and international crisis.

Notes bibliographiques

Author(s): Karel Lagus / Language(s): French,German Issue: 1/1969

1. Ernst Israel Bornstein: Die lange Nacht.' Ein Bericht aus sieben Lagern. Europäische Verlagsanstalt, Frankfurt am, Main, 1967, 246 s. 2. Hilburg, Erwin K. J.: Der Chassidismus (Germania Judaica, Neue Folge 24 25, Vil. Jahrg. Heft 2/3, 1968, p. 31). 3. Urzidil, Johannes: Der lebendige Anteil des jüdischen Prag an der neueren deutschen Literatur (Bulletin des Leo Baeck Instituts, Tel-Aviv 1967, Jg. 10, Nr. 40, pp. 276-297). 4. Simon Hart et Joseph Polišenský: Praha] a Amsterodam v 17. a 18. století - Prague et Amsterdam aux 17-e et 18-e siècles. (Československý časopis historický - Journal historique tchécoslovaque XV, 1967, pp. 827-846). 5. Vyskočil, Josef: K problematice dialogu marxismu s křesťanstvím a judaismem - Les problèmes d’un dialogue entre, d’une part, le marxisme, et, de l’autre part, le christianisme et le judaïsme. (Filosofický časopis - Journal de Philosophie, 16/1968, pp. 699-720). 6. Sadek, Vladimír: Martin Buber (1878-1965) a jeho pojetí náboženství - Martin Buber (1878-1965) et ses conceptions religieuses. (Prostor, Prague 1968/2, pp. 77-86, ronéotypé.)

Notes bibliographiques

Author(s): Jan Heřman,Bedřich Nosek,Jiřina Šedinová,Anita Franková,Anna Hyndráková / Language(s): English,French,German Issue: 1/1970

Reviews of: 1. Charles Wengrov: Haggadah and Woodcut. An Introduction to the Passover Haggadah Completed by Gershom Cohen in Prague. Sunday, 26th Teveth 5287 / December 30, 1528. Schulsinger Brothers, New York 1967. Passover Haggadah, Shmuel Mohr, Bene-Beraq, 1988. 2. Shammai Waks: Grief is My Song (Ma trojer lid) Los Angeles, 1966, 104 pages. 3. Růžena Bubeníčkovi, Ludmila Kubátová, Irena Malá: Tábory utrpení a smrti. - The Camps of Suffering and Death, Svoboda, Prague, 1969, 490 pages. 4. Arnold Pauckert: Der jüdische Abwehrkampf gegen Antisemitismus und Nationalsozialismus in den letzten fahren der Weimarer Republik. Hamburg, Leibniz-Verlag, 1988, 311 S.

Résumé

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): Russian,German Issue: 1/1974

Summaries of Judaica Bohemiae 1974/1.

Résume

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): Russian Issue: 2/1976

Summaries of Judaica Bohemiae 1976/2.

Notes bibliographiques

Author(s): Jarmila Škochová,Bedřich Nosek / Language(s): English,Russian Issue: 1/1977

Reviews of: 1. Malá pevnost Terezín, SPB-Naše vojsko, Praha 1976 (Малая крепость Терезин, Прага 1976, 367 страниц) 2. Mendel Metzger: La haggada enluminée. Étude iconographique et stylistique des manuscrits enluminés et décorés de la haggada du XHIe au XVIe siècle

Resumé

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/1977

Summaries for

Photographs

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English,Russian Issue: 2/1982

The Prague Jewish Community in the Late 17th and Early 18th Centuries

Author(s): Alexandr Putík / Language(s): English Issue: 1/1999

The late 17th and early 18th centuries were a period of significant events for the Prague Jewish community, including the immigration to Eretz Yisrael led by Judah Hasid and the visit of Rabbi Nethanel ben Solomon. This study explores the state and church policies towards Jews, attempts at expulsion, and the impact of censorship and conversion pressures. It also examines the self-administration of the Jewish community and its response to these challenges. The archival sources reveal a more complex picture than previously understood, showing that the Messianic excitement of the Ashkenazic world did indeed reach Bohemia, contrary to earlier literature. The document provides a detailed account of the historical context, literature, sources, and demographic data of the Prague Ghetto, highlighting its significance as the largest Jewish community in Europe at the time.

The Origins of the "Spanish Synagogue" of Prague

Author(s): Ivan Kalmar / Language(s): English Issue: 1/1999

The "Spanish Synagogue" of Prague, originally known as the "Israelite Temple of Prague," is a significant example of early Moorish style synagogue architecture from the mid-19th century. It was a central place of worship for some of Prague's most affluent Jewish families and played a key role in the Reform movement. The synagogue's design, attributed to architects Josef Niklas or Ignác Ullmann, underwent revisions before its completion in 1868. Its name, "Spanish Synagogue," is not due to its architectural style but likely stems from a mistaken belief in a Sephardic congregation's historical presence. The building's restoration in 1998 by the Jewish Museum of Prague has made it a prominent landmark and tourist attraction, although its history remains somewhat enigmatic.

The Jewish Museum in Prague - 1999 Annual Report

Author(s): Leo Pavlát / Language(s): English Issue: 1/1999

The Jewish Museum in Prague is actively collecting memories from Holocaust survivors, resistance members, and witnesses. The document lists annotated memoirs, detailing individuals' experiences such as deportation to concentration camps like Auschwitz, involvement in the resistance movement, and post-war lives. Many survivors emigrated, joined armies, or participated in underground activities. The accounts include escapes, internment, and life in mixed marriages during the war. Post-liberation, some individuals moved to countries like Israel or the USA, while others returned to Czechoslovakia or engaged in educational work.

Stvoření a Setkání. Vybrané luriánské motivy v myšlení Emmanuela Lévinase

Author(s): Jakub Luksch / Language(s): Czech Issue: 66-67/2024

The paper presents some common motifs of two thinkers who, despite a historical gap of several hundred years, had common roots in the tradition of Judaism. The notion of the Encounter, as analysed by Emmanuel Levinas, and the cosmogonic process of Creation in Isaac Luria’s system of thought have a common motif in the phenomenon of the socalled “contraction” (Hebrew: tzimtzum). Despite the fact that for the first thinker it is the domain of ethics and for the second the domain of ontology, the act of a certain “self-limitation” or “withdrawal” plays in both cases a foundational role.

Panovnický antijudaismus na Moravě v první čtvrtině 18. století. Hledání klíče k regulaci židovské menšiny

Author(s): Martin Štindl / Language(s): Czech Issue: 2/2023

The paper focuses on the territory of Moravia between 1708–1728, when the Habsburg state produced a series of legislative measures that had a lasting impact on the status of the Jewish population. The author sees this process as the formation of a monarchical anti-Judaism that gradually abandoned the older models of the Estates State and adopted the principles of absolute monarchies. In addition to formal shifts, the paper focuses primarily on the themes of these measures, the targets of which – the Jewish home, the synagogue, the ghetto, the family – tended to change frequently as the state sought the most an effective method for regulating the Jewish minority. Last but not least, the paper focuses on the actors who initiated the individual measures or were involved in their practical application.

Proměny vzdělávání českých Židů za vlády Josefa II.

Author(s): Iveta Cermanová / Language(s): Czech Issue: 2/2023

The decade of Joseph II’s reign was crucial for Jewish history in the Habsburg monarchy. For the firsttime, in the context of the growing Enlightenment-absolutist tendencies of the state and changing attitudestowards members of non-Catholic Christian denominations, the Jewish issue became an importantpart of state policy, and the monarch did not hesitate to intervene in almost all spheres of Jewish lifeduring his reign. He sought to gain greater control over this minority, distinct in both religion and language,to bring it closer to the life of the majority society and make it more useful to the state. The keyarea through which he intended to promote these aims was Jewish education. All of this was closely relatedto the Enlightenment-absolutist state’s efforts to comprehensively reform the monarchy’s educationalsystem, the aim of which was to provide education under state supervision for broad sections ofthe population, thus helping to “elevate them morally” and turn them into useful citizens of the state.However, since Jewish education in its traditional form played a crucial role in the process of preservingJewish identity, most Czech Jews viewed the changes that Joseph II brought about in this area with apprehensionand distrust. The importance of education for the Jewish community was understood by allconcerned – the monarch, the highest central and provincial authorities, the Jewish enlighteners whosupported state policy – but resisted by their opponents within the Jewish community, that is to say adherentsof the rabbinic tradition, which led to a number of clashes related to these developments. Thisarticle first outlines the forms of Jewish education in Bohemia in the second half of the 18th century,then discusses the efforts of the Josephine state to transform them and enforce compulsory secular educationfor Jews in the context of the Habsburg monarchy. Finally, it sheds light on the various Jewish reactionsto these developments and reflects on the outcome of events in this field.

Liczba ludności żydowskiej w wykazie statystycznym województwa lubelskiego z 1819 r.

Author(s): Paweł Sygowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2011

Dane statystyczne dotyczące ludności żydowskiej w Polsce są istotnym elementem badania ich historii na tym terenie. Lata 1800-1825 to czas zanikania kahałów (m.in. Kalinowszczyzna, Nowy Kazimierz, Zbyczyn, Włostowo) na terenie województwa lubelskiego w wyniku ruchów demograficznych i zmiany przepisów administracyjnych. W tym samym czasie powstawały nowe gminy (m.in. w Puławach, Wąwolicy, Kamionce, Michowie). Nieopublikowany dotąd materiał z 1819 r., będący własnością Archiwum Państwowego w Lublinie, jest istotnym uzupełnieniem aktualnej wiedzy o dynamice demograficznej społeczności żydowskiej ówczesnej Lubelszczyzny.

Bund na terenie powiatu radzyńskiego w latach 1897-1939

Author(s): Mateusz Borysiuk / Language(s): Polish Issue: 9-10/2020

Artykuł opisuje działalność Bundu w latach 1897-1939 na terenie powiatu radzyńskiego. Pierwsza część artykułu przedstawia najważniejsze zagadnienia związane z działalnością Bundu przed 1918 r., w tym charakterystyczną dla tego okresu działalność strajkową. Dalsza część artykułu opisuje specyfikę działalności Bundu w okresie międzywojennym, w tym działalność Bundu w miejskich instytucjach samorządowych oraz w gminach żydowskich. Pokazuje także wpływ Bundu na instytucje kulturalno-oświatowe i organizacje młodzieżowe. Ostatnia część artykułu to opis działalności Bundu podczas uroczystości i demonstracji robotniczych.

Kariery dragomanów pochodzenia żydowskiego w Egipcie na tle sytuacji Żydów w Sułtanacie Mameluków (XV – początek XVI wieku)

Author(s): Łukasz Burkiewicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 13/2023

Celem niniejszego artykułu jest przedstawienie sylwetek dwóch dragomanów pochodzenia żydowskiego — Sajfa al-Dīn Shāhīna al-Tarjumāna oraz Taghrīa Birdīa — którym udało się zrobić zauważalne kariery w otoczeniu sułtanów Mameluków na przestrzeni XV i XVI wieku. Położenie Żydów w Sułtanacie Mameluków nie było łatwe, gdyż podlegali licznym ograniczeniom ze strony panującej dynastii, i przyjmuje się, że był to okres niewątpliwie gorszy dla Żydów, niż to miało miejsce w czasach panowania Fatymidów (909–1171) i Ajjubidów (1171–1250) w Egipcie. Dodatkowo Sułtanat Mameluków na przestrzeni XIV wieku przeżywał głęboki kryzys społeczny i ekonomiczny, który odbił się również na Żydach i doprowadził do upadku rzemiosła, zmuszając ich do zajęcia się głównie handlem. Pomimo ogólnego pogorszenia się sytuacji Żydów w Egipcie pełnili oni również ważne funkcje w administracji państwa Mameluków, jak choćby rolę dragomana, czyli tłumacza języków europejskich na dworze sułtana, co później zostało zaadoptowane i powszechnie wykorzystywane przez Osmanów.

The Enigma of the Temple Site and the Word-play ‘Moriah’

Author(s): Martin Prudký / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2024

The name ‘Moriah’ is conventionally associated with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In Jewish tradition, this identification is attested in a number of texts, including one biblical reference (2 Chr 3:1). On the other hand, other biblical passages where we might expect such an identification do not contain the name ‘Moriah’ nor a precise localization. This study examines the enigmatic name ‘Moriah’, which in the narrative of the patriarch Abraham (Gen 22:1–19) – one of Israel’s primary foundation narratives – describes the sacrificial cult site without precisely locating it. This name is nowhere attested as a primary toponym. Its form is actually a common noun that generates significant semantic allusions to and connotations with several key motifs of the narrative in question. Hence, the term ‘Moriah’ is a skillful wordplay, a pun using allusions and imagination in the given literary context of the Abrahamic cycle. As part of the foundation narratives shared by the two ‘ecumenical’ communities of post-exilic Judaism, the name helps to etiologically legitimize the place of worship (‘ha-maqom’, the temple) for both the Jerusalemite and Samaritan cultic communities without using real names and locations. The shared Torah text is open to both perspectives of reading and to both identifications that we find in the history of reception.

Defining Magic in the Ancient World

Author(s): Mark Geller / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Although many attempts have been made to define ancient magic, this is often made more complicated by assuming that magic can also include medicine, divination, witchcraft, and mystical speculation. I will argue that, in antiquity, each of these topics represents a separate discipline which cannot simply be included under the heading of ‘magic’ nor should they be confused with magic. Once these disciplines are treated separately, it is possible to arrive at a much clearer meaning for ‘magic’, which sets it apart from other types of theory and practice within a general category of ‘ancient science’.

The Concept of Good and Evil in Jewish Folklore and Mysticism

Author(s): Vladimir Janev / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

The ethical concept in Jewish folklore and mysticism reflects its heritage from the ancient Middle–Eastern civilisations (Egypt, Syria, Babylon). There are examples of certain myths which were created before the existence of Judaism, and which were eventually somehow ‘adopted’ and preserved (as Jewish myths) until today. In time, these myths changed along with the historical processes of modernity and secularism in Judaism. Another relevant topic in Jewish mysticism was the lack of women theologians until the second half of the XX century. In fact, in traditional Judaism women were not allowed to study theology and mysticism.The ethical concept in Jewish folklore and mysticism reflects its heritage from the ancient Middle – Eastern civilisations (Egypt, Syria, Babylon). There are examples of certain myths which were created before the existence of Judaism, and which were eventually somehow ‘adopted’ and preserved (as Jewish myths) until today. In time, these myths changed along with the historical processes of modernity and secularism in Judaism. Another relevant topic in Jewish mysticism was the lack of women theologians until the second half of the XX century. In fact, in traditional Judaism women were not allowed to study theology and mysticism. The ethical concept in Jewish folklore and mysticism reflects its heritage from the ancient Middle – Eastern civilisations (Egypt, Syria, Babylon). There are examples of certain myths which were created before the existence of Judaism, and which were eventually somehow ‘adopted’ and preserved (as Jewish myths) until today. In time, these myths changed along with the historical processes of modernity and secularism in Judaism. Another relevant topic in Jewish mysticism was the lack of women theologians until the second half of the XX century. In fact, in traditional Judaism women were not allowed to study theology and mysticism.