When the Kingdom Comes Messianic Themes in Medieval Jewish Art

Abstract

Students of medieval Christian art are all too familiar with Last Judgment scenes on the tympana of medieval Gothic cathedrals. The tympanum over the west portal of Bourges Cathedral is a good example in its awesome and dramatic depiction of the fate which awaited every Christian in the world to come. At the summit, Christ is seen enthroned on the seat of judgment, surrounded by angels, St. John and the Virgin. At the bottom, the resurrected dead rise from their tombs to appear before their judge. Below Christ is the chief actor in the drama of Judgment—St. Michael. With a balance suspended from his hand, he carefully weighs the deeds of every Christian to determine which soul is to be eternally damned to the tortures of hell on the left, and which is to enjoy the rewards of eternal bliss in paradise on the right. Such Christian representations need little explanation, but were I to ask how medieval Jewish art conceived the afterlife, my question might be met with some surprise, since it is common to find...