Contemporary Jews Research Articles

A Pentecostal Perspective of the Cultural and Spiritual Significance of the House of Joshua in Jewish and Christian Traditions

This academic paper delved into the cultural and spiritual significance of the House of Joshua in Jewish and Christian traditions from a Pentecostal perspective. The enquiry employed qualitative research methods, including historical and textual analysis, and comparative analysis to analyze the House of Joshua in contemporary Jewish and Christian practices from various magnitudes. The study through analysis of historical documents, texts, and scriptures from both Jewish and Christian traditions investigated the historical context of the House of Joshua, its cultural symbolism, and its role in shaping the religious identities of both Jewish and Christian communities. The paper further explored the many ways in which the House of Joshua is understood and revered within these religious traditions. The study sheds light on the rich tapestry of Jewish and Christian traditions by highlighting the shared historical and theological connections between these religious communities while also recognizing their unique perspectives and interpretations. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the house of Joshua’s continuing relevance in contemporary Jewish-Christian religious practices and beliefs by accenting their common ground and fostering interfaith dialogue. Keywords: Cultural, spiritual, Joshua, house of Joshua, Jewish, and Christian

Augustine and the Jews

Abstract The essay discusses the main topics of ‘Augustine and the Jews.’ It opens with the question where, according to Augustine, the name ‘Jew’ comes from. It then proceeds to his use of the designations ‘Hebrew’ and ‘Israelite’ parallel (and partly in contrast) to ‘Jew.’ Mainly according to The City of God a brief biblical history of the Jews is outlined. Augustine’s theological valuation of the Jews turns out to be partly positive, but mainly negative. The same applies to the (rather often discussed, but frequently misunderstood) ‘sign of Cain.’ The analysis of Aduersus Iudaeos shows Augustine’s ‘provocation’ of the Jews. By and then in the course of the overview, the question of Augustine’s (likely) ‘anti-Judaism’ is briefly dealt with. Finally, the essay discusses Augustine’s acquaintance with ‘real’ i.e. contemporary Jews, draws some conclusions, and presents a concise overview of subjects requiring further research.

Die epistemische Verflechtung von Kanonkritik und kanonischen Repräsentationspraktiken

Abstract The critical reception of racist, sexist and anti-Jewish dimensions in the works of canonical authors has moved to the center of philosophical discourse. Many of those who engage in the history of philosophy have defended the established canon and advocated for critical readings. I want to show that the current discourse on Hegel’s treatment of religion misreads his position as “modern”, because it does not take the works of his Jewish contemporaries into account. In my own reading of the Grundlinien, I will show that Hegel’s concept of the division of Church and state does not remain neutral when it comes to religious affiliation but has a clear anti-Jewish bias (I). This serves to show that one can neither adequately identify nor address identity-based discrimination in the works of majoritarian thinkers without an equal commitment to diversifying the canon to include positions of marginalised authorship (II).

Judeo-Roman on Stage: The Scena all’ebraica in the Novantanove Disgrazie di Pulcinella (Rome 1769) by Gregorio Mancinelli

Abstract Sometimes, in the Commedia dell’arte, Jewish characters who speak Judeo-Italian appear on the stage, revealing a strong intention on the part of non-Jewish authors to mimic the language spoken by contemporary Jews. Therefore, the study of these external sources is very useful to enrich our knowledge of the Judeo-Italian of the early modern period. In this article I will present the scena all’ebraica of the comedy Novantanove Disgrazie di Pulcinella (Rome 1769) by Gregorio Mancinelli. The text, published here in its entirety for the first time, will be preceded by an introduction and accompanied by an English translation and an analysis of the language and contents.

The motivations behind E.H. Lindo’s The History of the Jews of Spain and Portugal

This article analyses three main aspects of Elias Haim Lindo’s motivation in writing his work The History of the Jews of Spain and Portugal (London, 1848): the personal circumstances of the author; his desire to present an impartial and original narrative; and his response to the contentious environment of the time, marked by Christian conversionism and the controversy surrounding Jewish emancipation. To illustrate the contrasting points of view existing at the time of Lindo’s History, we will compare it with works by his contemporaries, in particular James Finn. We will thereby identify three intertwined ideas that are at the core of The History: the value of the Sephardic cultural legacy; the concept of Iberian Jews as the link between the Ancient Hebrews and the nineteenth-century English Jews; and the perception of the Iberian Jewish experience as a model for the ability of contemporary Jews to put down roots in England.

Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son: The Death of Children in Late Antiquity by Maria E. Doerfler

Reviewed by: Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son: The Death of Children in Late Antiquity by Maria E. Doerfler Blake Leyerle Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son: The Death of Children in Late Antiquity Maria E. Doerfler Oakland: University of California Press, 2020. Pp. xii + 396. ISBN: 9780520304154 In this nuanced and exquisitely written study, Maria Doerfler takes readers on an extended survey of the richly variegated terrain of loss. Drawing on hymns, as well as on homilies and commentaries, she not only assesses the response of clerics to child mortality but also illuminates the affective responses of bereaved parents. Throughout the work, she stresses the powerful role of the liturgy in scripting emotions, and she explores how expressions of grief are typically gendered. The merits of this splendid work are many. Chief among them is the rich array of cited evidence. With impressive ease, Doerfler ranges across genres and linguistic communities, weaving Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopian sources into a conversation usually solidly dominated by Greek and Latin authors. To extend and clarify her analysis, she draws on contemporary Jewish and Greco-Roman sources, adduces ancient material evidence, and cites voices from the medieval period, as well as from our own. Epigraphs to the chapters are as likely to feature quotations from recently published manuals on parenting as extracts from documentary papyri, a verse from Galit Hasan-Rokem's poetry as a passage from Theodoret. An introductory chapter sets up the study. Although information about the death of children in Late Antiquity remains frustratingly scanty, the experiences of one particular group of children, namely biblical characters, "were amply—one might even say excessively—documented and discussed" (5). The fact that most of these children, (Abel, Isaac, Jephthah's daughter, and the Maccabean mother's seven sons) are adult offspring underscores how this study is as much about parental bereavement as it is about the death of subadults. For if theological treatises, borrowing from philosophical writings, often conclude that an early death is a boon to both the deceased and their families, the reactions of biblical characters suggest otherwise. In their unrestrained grief, they offer vital, if often overlooked counternarratives (12). After a helpful summary of the social, religious, and ritual contexts surrounding children's death and commemoration, each subsequent chapter focuses on one or two of these dramatis personae. Chapter 2 focuses on scripture's first bereaved parents. Presented as paragons of suffering, Adam and Eve functioned not only to moderate but also to elevate the grief of ordinary parents. The laments placed into Eve's mouth by Ephrem, among others, invited parents to set their own loss within that narrative framework, and thus they offered reassurance that their children—just like Abel—would enjoy a paradisiacal future (59–71). Chapter 3 takes up the binding of Isaac, which Doerfler presents not as an exceptional story but as a familiar horror: "the threatened death of an aged couple's only son—and with it, the end of the family's lineage" (77). Portraying Abraham as a paragon of piety and emotional restraint, homilists urged parents to respond to the surrendering of their children—to martyrdom or the ascetic life, as well as to premature death—in a similarly pious and trusting manner (82–88). Realism enters, however, in the [End Page 252] figure of Sarah, whom homilists insert into the narrative to give voice to maternal grief and to theological protest. Her words allow "writers to express what Abraham in these texts could not, but what late ancient audiences evidently felt the situation required" (96). Indeed, for some homilists, Isaac's survival was due to her vociferous lament (99–101). In an especially brilliant chapter, Doerf er illuminates how the sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter and the death of the Maccabean mother's seven sons function as parallel narratives to the Akedah. Although Jephthah is praised by Jacob of Serugh as a model parent, one who balanced allegiance to the divine and devotion to his family, for most early commentators, he is "a compromised hero, a counterfeit Abraham, a dangerous example" (116). Condemned as much for his overt expression of grief as for his rash vow, his mourning...

A Beautiful Ending: The Apocalyptic Imagination and the Making of the Modern World by John Jeffries Martin

One may not expect to see the apocalyptic imagination foregrounded as a key constituent element in the traditional telling of modernity’s origins. According to Martin, however, apocalyptic ideas are deeply embedded in modern thinking about the nature of history, its direction, and human aspirations to shape its outcome.Martin began his research for this book intending to write a straightforward history of Early Modern Europe from the age of Columbus until the French Revolution, and that original plan can still be seen in the volume’s chronological progression and organization. All of the major historical touchstones and markers for the making of the Early Modern Era remain present, including among other developments the invention of print, the European encounter with the Americas, the rise of the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires, the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, and the ensuing Wars of Religion. The project took a different turn, however, when Martin discerned a particular thread running through those critical centuries of transition between the medieval and modern worlds, namely, that of apocalyptic ideas and millennialist hopes for “a beautiful ending” to history—a Golden Age of justice, prosperity, and peace before the end of time.In his compelling tour of apocalypticism from c. 1400 to 1700, Martin finds numerous examples to substantiate this finding—such as the fact that the oldest surviving printed text from Europe relates to the Final Judgment; that Columbus perceived his voyages as fulfilling biblical prophecies; the strands of messianic thinking that informed Hapsburg imperial ideology; the utopian visions of authors such as Thomas More; and the battles between Protestant and Catholic reformers, which seemed to suggest the final tribulations under the Antichrist were at hand, thereby setting the stage for the ultimate triumph of the Elect.Beneath Martin’s engaging prose, there lies a long-standing and far-reaching academic debate over the relationship between (premodern) theology of history and (modern) philosophy of history, associated with the likes of Löwith and Blumenberg. Löwith argued that modern theories of historical progress (evident in the works of figures such as Georg Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx) represented “secularized” versions of theological interpretations of history (displayed by thinkers such as Augustine of Hippo and Joachim of Fiore).1 Blumenberg posited instead a definitive rupture between medieval and modern temporal conceptualizations of history, as the latter jettisoned the former’s stultifying reliance on God as the architect of a foreordained historical plan that would end in the apocalypse.2 Indeed, Blumenberg explicitly flagged apocalyptic modes of thought as antithetical to modern notions of open-ended historical progress and human agency within the arena of time. Apocalypticism and modernity thus stand at odds with one another.Martin seems to adopt a far more “Löwithesque” perspective, offering his assessment that “Modernity was, in the end, a providential product” (10) and that “the apocalyptic imagination and the hope and energies it inspired played a fundamental role in the shaping of the modern world” (12). As evident in his copious notes, Martin is well aware of the greater stakes in this topic, which are part of a wider debate over secularization and modernity writ large.A Beautiful Ending strikes me as making two especially important contributions. First, Martin calls attention to the fact that Christian apocalyptic ideas, the ones that predominantly shaped European thinking, were just one strand in what he calls an “apocalyptic braid,” bound up with contemporary Jewish and Islamic ideas about the divinely ordained course of history. Admittedly, trained as an expert in Early Modern Europe, his focus remains mostly on the European tradition. But his discussion of how print enabled the dissemination of rabbinical texts on the Final Things, for example, or about the political implications of Ottoman prophecies about the end-times, provides a far richer picture of how apocalyptic ideas shaped intellectual life and culture beyond the confines of Christian Europe.Second, Martin reminds us that, while millenarian visions of the future could inspire violence, rebellion, and fear of “outsiders” as agents of apocalyptic evil, in some instances the longing for the end also generated optimism, egalitarianism, and an ecumenical spirit. That sense of optimism about the end-times seems to be the true casualty of the secular and scientific impulses that eventually came to dominate modern theorizing about time and history. While it is hard to find a “beautiful ending” in the promise of nuclear destruction or the unfolding disasters caused by climate change, perhaps, as Martin speculates in his epilogue, we can and should devise new ways of thinking about the “catastrophes that have littered and continue to litter human history without having recourse to the apocalyptic” (250). Given how deeply the apocalyptic braid is woven into the broader fabric of modernity, he seems to feel that the providential appeal of a beautiful ending is far from exhausted.

Yiddish Songs and Jewish Futures: A Besere Velt, Partisan Music, and Modern Performance

:A Besere Velt, the Boston Worker's Circle community chorus, performs for a modern audience the music of Yiddish-speaking Jewish partisans and ghetto resisters. Through active transmission and re-interpretation of partisan and ghetto songs, A Besere Velt invokes East-European Jewish tradition and creates a liminal space ripe with new possibility. In the process, the chorus gives these old songs life for contemporary Jews. The analysis situates the songs within the genre of Yiddish music and investigates through interviews ways that members build meaning through the performance of partisan music, the construction of Jewish space, and the promise of Jewish futures.

Max J. Lee. Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind: Mapping the Moral Milieu of the Apostle Paul and His Diaspora Jewish Contemporaries

Max J. Lee. <i>Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind: Mapping the Moral Milieu of the Apostle Paul and His Diaspora Jewish Contemporaries</i>

Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust

Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust

Paul, Politics, and New Creation: Reconsidering Paul and Empire by Najeeb T. Haddad

Reviewed by: Paul, Politics, and New Creation: Reconsidering Paul and Empire by Najeeb T. Haddad Timothy Gombis najeeb t. haddad, Paul, Politics, and New Creation: Reconsidering Paul and Empire (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2021). Pp. xiii + 213. $100. This volume, a revision of the author's doctoral dissertation completed at Loyola University in Chicago (2018), critiques counterimperial interpretations of Paul. Haddad argues that Paul's theological outlook and instructions in his letters demand a more nuanced description than being either "anti" or "pro" imperial (p. 3). The first two chapters consider the state of the question and examine arguments that Paul's rhetoric was counterimperial. In a third chapter, H. explores the manner in which foreign cults existed within the Roman Empire. Haddad then describes, in chap. 4, the relationship of Paul's assemblies to associations as they existed in the ancient Greco-Roman world. His final chapter articulates the thrust of Paul's preaching, focusing on the distinction between kosmos ("cosmos") and kainē ktisis ("new creation") "and their cosmological and anthropological significance in Paul's eschatological soteriology" (p. 139). Haddad's opening chapter describes the state of play in scholarship and highlights substantive criticisms put to those who argue for a counterimperial Paul. He notes the diversity of its forms throughout various regions to support his claim that "the imperial cult was not a sort of unified doctrine across the Roman Empire" (p. 7). Further, the manner in which the emperor was regarded as a deity is ambiguous, at the very least. That the emperor was "divine" was more of an honorific title than a recognition that he held a place among the gods (p. 9). Sacrifices and prayers were not made to emperors, but rather on their behalf. H. regards this as important in order to demonstrate that it is misguided to compare as competing claims the attribution of the title divi filius to Augustus and Paul's reference to Jesus as "the Son of God." These terms function differently in Roman ideology and Pauline christology. In his second chapter, H. questions the claim that Paul's letters contain "coded speech" meant to undermine the empire by exploring "figured speech" in ancient rhetoric: "a rhetorical device that communicates a covert message" (p. 43). He notes that ancient rhetoricians commonly referred to three forms of such speech: implied meaning, deflection, and [End Page 327] saying the opposite. He reviews the circumstances in which these forms would be employed, along with how they would be created and detected, before then analyzing Pauline passages that interpreters claim to be hidden transcripts. Especially pertinent is Rom 13:1–7. Reviewing several proposals, H. finds that their claims do not hold up to close scrutiny against the conventions of ancient rhetoricians. Taking into account Paul's Jewishness, his noting that civil authorities are "servants" and not divinities is not a subversion but is consistent with how Paul's Jewish contemporaries regarded earthly rulers. And Paul was aware of Greco-Roman rhetoric, so the absence of clues indicating figured speech is notable. In treating the relationship of Roman imperial rule to the religious practices of subjugated peoples in far-flung locations, H. notes that there was little interest in converting foreigners to a Roman religion. While foreign cults within Rome itself would have invited more intense scrutiny and, occasionally, suppression, Rome was far more tolerant in the Greek east. Further, when it comes to identifying contemporaneous analogous social realities with the kinds of communities Paul saw himself creating and nurturing, H. asserts that Paul was creating something completely new (p. 129). This new reality, H. asserts in his final and concluding chapter, is the kainē ktisis, a new cosmic reality into which people are delivered by God, who rescues them from enslavement under various powers within the kosmos. According to H., this is the cosmic reality within which Paul conceives of the Roman Empire. Along with the kosmos, which is fading away in light of the dawning eschatological salvation God is bringing about in Christ, the Roman Empire will pass away and so is not a prominent target of Paul's rhetoric (p. 154). Overall, H. presents a satisfying account of how...

Nature and Norm: Judaism, Christianity, and the Theopolitical Problem

Nature and Norm: Judaism, Christianity, and the Theopolitical Problem

Review of Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind: Mapping the Moral Milieu of the Apostle Paul and his Diaspora Jewish Contemporaries, by Max J. Lee

Review of Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind: Mapping the Moral Milieu of the Apostle Paul and his Diaspora Jewish Contemporaries, by Max J. Lee

Law and the construction of Jewish difference

AbstractDespite the significance of the figure of ‘the Jew’ as Other in the Western imagination and the persistence of prejudice against Jews, there have been few studies of contemporary Jews as subjects of prejudice in liberal secular law and legal discourse. This article draws attention to continuing Jewish vulnerability and argues that a focus on colonial encounters and phenotype in understanding processes of legal exclusion based on religion and race cannot fully account for the persistence of anti‐Jewish prejudice and its resonance in law and legal discourse. Through an analysis of contemporary case law from three different countries, I show how narratives of Christian superiority, veiled behind commitments to secular neutrality, and racializing discourse resonate in legal encounters with Jewishness. I highlight parallels with other minority groups, in particular Muslims, and consider the usefulness of antisemitism as an analytical lens to capture the ambivalent dynamics of Jewish inclusion and exclusion.

Postscript

Postscript

Reflections on David A. Teutsch's Oeuvre

It is an honor to be here today to celebrate my colleague and friend David Teutsch. I have been asked to begin this opening session by talking “briefly” about David's work, in particular his contributions to the field of Jewish ethics. On its face, that is an impossible assignment, for there is truly no way to do justice to the merits and impact of David's work briefly. And yet, I know that if David were to have his way we would skip right over this tribute and go straight to learning from our speakers. So, in an effort to find a Maimonidean middle path that accommodates both David's modesty and the wishes of the organizers of this conference, I will offer just a few comments about the work that has informed and inspired so many of us before I begin my remarks on Jewish leadership.David's contributions to the field of Jewish ethics are truly extraordinary. The three-volume Guide to Jewish Practice, of which David is the main author and overall editor, is a monumental achievement, unprecedented in its scope outside the Orthodox world. I know of no other attempt by any contemporary Jewish ethicist to present a comprehensive guide to religious and ethical practice. This alone would justify David's position as one of the most important Jewish religious thinkers of our time. But David's achievement is not only in the breadth of the subjects he has addressed but in the way he has done so. His work draws extensively on classical Jewish views but is written very self-consciously for Jews living in a pluralistic, post-halakhic world. Recognizing that our values are shaped by Western culture and democratic institutions, as well as classical Jewish sources and practices, the Guide to Jewish Practice invites its readers to deepen their understanding of traditional perspectives and to creatively build upon that tradition. That creativity and pluralism is evident throughout these volumes, where David's text is supplemented by the comments of dozens of other rabbis and scholars at the bottom of each page.David's work is also distinguished by his consistent attention to methods of Jewish decision-making, what we in the field would call “meta-ethics.” He has worked within a framework known as values-based decision-making, and one of his main contributions to the field has been his exploration of precisely how facts, values, beliefs, and historical context all have their place in reaching a well-constructed Jewish moral position. David has challenged everyone in the field to put their cards on the table, as it were, explaining just how they have arrived at the moral positions they have. In this way, David's work always offers us more than just a thoughtful and creative approach to a Jewish moral issue; it challenges us to think more deeply and justify our moral positions more carefully than we might otherwise.In addition to his contributions to Jewish ethics and practice, of course, David has been a leader in creating Reconstructionist liturgy, especially as editor of the Kol Haneshamah prayer books. Here again David has led the way in revitalizing classical Jewish prayers in an idiom that resonates with contemporary Jews—egalitarian, spiritual, and poetic. He has also, of course, devoted enormous energy to the work of synagogue revitalization and leadership development, work that has benefited Jewish communities across the country. His book Making a Difference: A Guide to Jewish Leadership and Not-for-Profit Management contains a wealth of practical wisdom that reflects the expertise he acquired through his doctoral work at Wharton as well as a lifetime of experience as a rabbi and as president of RRC. It should be required reading for all Jewish communal leaders and those who aspire to such positions.I could go on, but I think the message is clear: David's work—in ethics, in liturgy, in communal organization and leadership—has been groundbreaking and inspirational, not only within Reconstructionist circles but throughout the non-Orthodox world. His contributions in each of these domains has reflected his unique combination of deep learning and equally deep human experience and practical wisdom. Speaking for myself, but I know also for thousands of others, I have learned a great deal from every conversation with David and each encounter with his work. It is, indeed, a privilege to be here today to honor him—as teacher and colleague and friend—and to do so by engaging with some of the issues that have mattered most to him throughout his distinguished career. Yishar kokhakha, David—may you continue to go from strength to strength.

The Origin and Significance of Medicaments According to Ben Sira (Sir 38:4-8)

In his reflection on doctors’ work and the process of treatment (Sir 38:1-15), Ben Sira draws attention to the usage of medications (Sir 38:4-8). Many contemporary Jews were probably recalcitrant to use them as ancient medicine resorted to magic. Magic was also employed in the production of medications. The first part of the article synthetically presents the usage of medicines in ancient Israel on the basis of the Old Testament. Then a literary analysis and exegesis of Sir 38:4-8 is attempted. The present article takes into consideration the Greek version of this pericope, for it constitutes the canonical text of the Book of Sirach (the article nevertheless compares the Greek text to its Hebrew original). The pericope evinces a concentric structure (A – 38:4-5; B – 38:6; A’ – 38:7-8). The verses that frame the pericope refer to medicines (vv. 4–5 are devoted to the justification of their use while vv. 7–8 mention the reasons they are used for). The central part (38:6), in turn, focuses on the origin of medical knowledge. Ben Sira strives to persuade his fellow Jews to use medications as they are not related to magic and pose no threat to believers. It is God who created them, and they come from him. The sage refers in his argumentation to what happened in Marah (cf. Exod 15:25) to justify the use of medicines and their natural origin. Medicaments help cure diseases and afflictions and they restore harmony of creation, disrupted by disease and suffering (38:8). Their divine provenance is also corroborated by the fact that knowledge of medicine and medications was given to people by God (38:6). Hence, people should worship God for this great gift.In Sir 38:4-8 Ben Sira performs a perfect synthesis of contemporary medicine developed by neighboring (pagan) peoples with Israel’s faith (only God can cure a person but he does so through medications; medicine is thus a tool in his hands). The sage noticed the positive value and usefulness of medications but through referring to God and showing the divine provenance of medicine he dispelled any doubts the believers might have had concerning the use of medications to cure a disease.

Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT Use: Qumran

Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT Use:Qumran Christopher T. Begg and Fred W. Guyette Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Fred W. Guyette Erskine College and Seminary 1593. [11QT and CD; Impurity of Stone Vessels] Yonatan Adler, "The Impurity of Stone Vessels in 11QTa and CD in Light of the Chalk Vessel Finds at Kh. Qumran," DSD 27 (1, 2020) 66-96. Scholars have argued that the two texts of A.'s title view stone vessels as susceptible to impurity. Chalk vessel finds at Kh. Qumran have presented a challenge to this idea, and solutions to date have proved unsatisfying. The recent publication of final reports on these finds invites us to reconsider both the archaeological and the textual evidence relevant to the ritual status of stone vessels at the Qumran site. The typological profile of the Kh. Qumran assemblage parallels that found at Jewish sites elsewhere. I argue here that both of the above documents view stone vessels as unsusceptible to most kinds of ritual impurity—apart from corpse impurity. In so doing, I elucidate the pentateuchal basis for the documents' view on the matter and seek to make the case that this view was common among contemporary Jews. Against this background, I also explore the origins of the chalk vessel industry in the 1st cent. b.c.e. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1594. [Sons of Zadok in the DSS; Hasmonean Royal High Priesthood; Ezekiel] Vasile Babola, "The Sons of Zadok, the Hasmonean Royal High Priesthood, and the Book of Ezekiel," RevQ 32 (1, 2020) 79-116. The re-emergence of the Sons of Zadok in CD-A, and later in Da, 1QS-1QSa, 1QSb, 4QFlor, and 4Qpap pIsaa has generated a variety of scholarly interpretations. Many scholars have considered the references to the Sons of Zadok in these texts mainly in relation to the Sons of Aaron and most often within the setting of the yaḥad as well. While some have argued for an exile of the Zadokites from Jerusalem, many others have sought to connect [End Page 576] the above texts' mentions of the Sons of Zadok to internal fractures within the yaḥad itself; still others propose that the designation should not be understood in a genealogical sense or even suggest that it be regarded as a literary invention. Against this background, my study begins by considering the Sons of Zadok designation against the backdrop of Hasmonean rule. It does this by interpreting the designation in light of Ezekiel 40–48 and in relation to other ideologies that have found their way into the DSS. As in Ezekiel 40–48, the Sons of Zadok in the DSS have an ideological function. In particular, the adoption of this appellation was an ideological tactic on the part of the Zadokite scribes to lend additional support to their dual Messiah eschatology which involved a separation of the high priesthood from the royal office. Adoption of the designation further seems to imply a refusal on the part of the yaḥad's leadership of the authority of the Hasmonean ruler, Alexander Janneus, especially in his role as high priest. By the same token, the designation reflects a further radicalization in the self-perception of the yaḥad itself, or at least a significant portion of it. Second, my study suggests that all, or almost all, the above-mentioned Scrolls derive from the same circle of scribes. Even though all, or almost all, of these texts are probably based on earlier exemplars, these scrolls appeared to have been copied in order to be read together. The re-emergence of the Sons of Zadok in the DSS, as also probably in Sir 51:12a-o, can tentatively be dated to the time of Janneus. Political and other changes following his death may explain why the Sons of Zadok are not mentioned in later DSS texts. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1595. [Professional Ethics, Provenance and Policies in DSS Scholarship] Rick Bonnie, Matthew Goff, Jutta Jokiranta, Suzie Thomas, and Shani Tzoref, "Professional Ethics, Provenance, and Policies: A...

Jewish Objects and Jewish Affects: A Conversation

Jewish Objects and Jewish AffectsA Conversation Jodi Eichler-Levine (bio), Rachel B. Gross (bio), Laura A. Leibman, and Laura S. Levitt (bio) The following conversation is an edited version of a roundtable originally held at the American Academy of Religion annual meeting in December 2020. Each of the four discussants have published new books that touch on the topics of this special issue of CrossCurrents. The books under discussion are: • Jodi Eichler-Levine, Painted Pomegranates and Needlepoint Rabbis: How Jews Craft Resilience and Create Community. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2020. • Rachel B. Gross, Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice. New York: New York University Press, 2021. • Laura A. Leibman, The Art of the Jewish Family: A History of Women in Early New York in Five Objects. New York: Bard Graduate Center, 2020 [Winner of three National Jewish Book Awards, 2020]. • Laura S. Levitt, The Objects that Remain. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2020. What is your recent book about? In what context were you studying Jewish objects and affects? Why and how? Jodi Eichler-Levine: My new book, Painted Pomegranates and Needlepoint Rabbis, tells the story of how contemporary Jews craft a “Judaism of feeling” through the creation of objects. It is the result of three years of participant observation, interviews, survey, and digital work. I talked primarily with women from all over the United States, with particular focus on the Pomegranate Guild. My subject matter was immensely tactile. I got to see lots of objects in homes, at a convention, and as portrayed online. I started with the [End Page 82] people and their practices, which incorporated objects: I wanted to think about how the process and location of making art and craft were (or were not) part of Jewish life, and what those processes—and the objects in which they culminated—meant, particularly to Jewish women. I wanted to get at the lived religion, the literal texture of Jewish life in the United States through this focus. Rachel B. Gross: In Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice, I look at materials and institutions through which American Jews engage, promote, and teach nostalgia for turn-of-the-century Jewish immigration from Central and Eastern Europe to the United States. I find that nostalgia—a sentimental longing for Jewish communal origins that can’t be fulfilled—is both affect and practice, and I think that that feeling and that practice have become a prominent part of American Jewish practice since the 1970s and into the present day. I look at case studies of the materials and institutions of Jewish genealogists, historic synagogues that are used as museums, children’s books and dolls, and artisanal delis and other Jewish food entrepreneurs. As I’ve learned from others, including those on this panel, American Jews have always used material culture to create communities in the present. I think the materials of nostalgia don’t just connect Jews to other Jews in the present, though that’s a large part of it. I think they help shape a sacred narrative about where American Jewish individuals, families, and communities come from and where they’re going. They provide sacred meaning that places individuals in relation to past, present, and future Jewish communities. Nostalgic materials invoke a community that includes both the living and the dead and that provides meaning in the present by telling stories about the past—two important features of religious practice. I did this research by studying the materials Jews created—including but not limited to family history books, genealogy newsletters, historic synagogues and their spaces and artifacts, picture books and dolls, and delis and dishes. I looked at how they were discussed online, in online reviews and in conversations in Jewish newspapers and other forums. I conducted some short-term ethnographies in genealogical societies, historic synagogues, and delis. And I think the heart of my study was the interviews I conducted with genealogists, museum staff members, philanthropists, authors, illustrators, publishers, restaurateurs and other entrepreneurs. [End Page 83] Laura A. Leibman: My most recent book, The Art of the Jewish Family, uses five objects to create biographies of Jewish women...

Jerusalem Time: Reading Contemporary Israeli Dystopias

ABSTRACT The image of Jerusalem in contemporary Hebrew literature offers a new concept of history, religion, and the flow of time. From the turn of the twenty-first century, literary works have brought the city to the fore as a cornerstone of their cultural and political examination of the Israeli situation following the second Intifada and its aftermath. In the second decade of the twenty-first century, Jerusalem surfaced in futuristic/dystopic writings, integrating mythical, biblical and historical elements in a futuristic reality, and challenging familiar conceptions of time and space. This article discusses and compares two works: Yishai Sarid’s Ha-shlishi (The Third, 2015), and Dror Burstein’s Tit (Muck, 2016). Both portray a horrifying, dystopic reality whose focal point is Jerusalem and the Temple, while shaping an intriguing dialectic tension between different temporal concepts, and offering new poetic strategies. These works demonstrate the great power of the city in contemporary Jewish and Israeli existence, and reveal the connections between ideology and violence.