Moshe Shemesh's Books

Idolatry

By: Moshe Halbertal,Avishai Margalit

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“You shall have no other gods besides Me.” This injunction, handed down through Moses three thousand years ago, marks one of the most decisive shifts in Western culture: away from polytheism toward monotheism. Despite the momentous implications of such a turn, the role of idolatry in giving it direction and impetus is little understood. This book examines the meaning and nature of idolatry—and, in doing so, reveals much about the monotheistic tradition that defines itself against this sin.The authors consider Christianity and Islam, but focus primarily on Judaism. They explore competing claims about the concept of idolatry that emerges in the Hebrew Bible as a “whoring after false gods.” Does such a description, grounded in an analogy of sexual relations, presuppose the actual existence of other gods with whom someone might sin? Or are false gods the product of “men’s hands,” simply a matter of misguided belief? The authors show how this debate, over idolatry as practice or error, has taken shape and has in turn shaped the course of Western thought—from the differentiation between Jewish and Christian conceptions of God to the distinctions between true and false belief that inform the tradition of religious enlightenment.Ranging with authority from the Talmud to Maimonides, from Marx to Nietzsche and on to G.E. Moore, this brilliant account of a subject central to our culture also has much to say about metaphor, myth, and the application of philosophical analysis to religious concepts and sensibilities. Its insights into pluralism and intolerance, into the logic and illogic of the arguments religions aim at each other, make Idolatry especially timely and valuable in these days of dark and implacable religious difference.

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318

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Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674264193

ISBN 13

9780674264199

Judaism: Religion of Reason

By: Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

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Judaism: Religion of Reason

By: Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Jewish life has become tainted by man-made religions, mysticism and pop-kabballah. Based on the Sages' writings and 10 years in the making, Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim debunks these false notions, presenting an intelligent analysis of Torah to reveal beautiful insights. Judaism is the only religion based on proof and reason, not blind faith and superstitions. Intelligence is the only key that unlocks God's wisdom. Readers will quickly distinguish authentic Judaism from popular notions, preferring Torah's brilliance over simplistic belief.

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417

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Mesora of NY Inc

Published Date

ISBN 10

0578089483

ISBN 13

9780578089485

Syria Under Assad

Domestic Constraints and Regional Risks

By: Moshe Maoz,Avner Yaniv

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Syria Under Assad

Domestic Constraints and Regional Risks

By: Moshe Maoz,Avner Yaniv

One of the most striking recent developments in the modern Middle East has been the transformation of Syria under Hafez al-Assad from a weak, vulnerable and internally divided state to a leading regional power. While this is increasingly acknowledged by observers of the Middle Eastern scene , the scholarly discussion of the origins, the scope, the durability and the implications of this change is only beginning to take place. Syria Under Assad addresses itself to this discussion. Based on a carefully selected collection of original articles, this volume focuses on the elements of Syria’s power, on Syria’s relations with each of its neighbours as well as on Syria’s relations with the superpowers. In the final analysis, conclude the editors, Syrian policies appear paradoxical. Its conduct ever since the advent of Hafez al-Assad exhibits subtle and hard-nosed pragmatism. Yet, in order to consolidate the domestic legitimacy of the Alawi Ba’athist regime, Syria has been impelled to articulate its foreign policy goals in the far-flung rhetoric of the Ba’athist ideology. As a result Syria is widely perceived of as a menace and, treated as such, it often responds in kind.

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284

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Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1317818393

ISBN 13

9781317818397

The Birth of Doubt

Confronting Uncertainty in Early Rabbinic Literature

By: Moshe Halbertal

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The Birth of Doubt

Confronting Uncertainty in Early Rabbinic Literature

By: Moshe Halbertal

A systematic attempt to understand the rabbinic world through its approach to confronting uncertainty In the history of halakhah, the treatment of uncertainty became one of the most complex fields of intense study. In his latest book, Moshe Halbertal focuses on examining the point of origin of the study of uncertainty in early rabbinic literature, including the Mishnah, Tosefta, and halakhic midrashim. Halbertal explores instructions concerning how to behave in situations of uncertainty ranging from matters of ritual purity, to lineage and marriage, to monetary law, and to the laws of forbidden foods. This examination of the rules of uncertainty introduced in early rabbinic literature reveals that these rules were not aimed at avoiding but rather at dwelling in the midst of uncertainty, thus rejecting the sectarian isolationism that sought to minimize a community’s experience of and friction with uncertainty. Features: A thorough investigation of the principles concerning how to behave in cases of uncertainty An examination of two distinct modes for coping with uncertainty

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251

Publisher

SBL Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1951498771

ISBN 13

9781951498771

Reading and Re-Reading Scripture at Qumran (2 vol. set)

By: Moshe J. Bernstein

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Reading and Re-Reading Scripture at Qumran (2 vol. set)

By: Moshe J. Bernstein

In Reading and Re-reading Scripture at Qumran, Moshe J. Bernstein gathers more than three decades of his work on diverse aspects of biblical interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The essays range from broad surveys of the genres of biblical interpretation in these texts to more narrowly focused studies and close readings of specific documents. Volume I focuses on the book of Genesis, with a substantial portion being dedicated to studies of the Genesis Apocryphon and Commentary on Genesis A. Volume II contains several historical and programmatic essays, with specific studies focusing on legal material in the DSS and the pesharim. Under the former rubric, the documents known as 4QReworked Pentateuch, 4QOrdinancesa, 4QMMT, and the Temple Scroll are discussed.

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773

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BRILL

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ISBN 10

9004248072

ISBN 13

9789004248076

The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948-1951

By: Moshe Gat

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The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948-1951

By: Moshe Gat

In this study, Moshe Gat details how the immigration of the Jews from Iraq in effect marked the eradication of one of the oldest and most deeply-rooted Diaspora communities. He provides a background to these events and argues that both Iraqi discrimination and the actions of the Zionist underground in previous years played a part in the flight. The Denaturalization law of 1950 saw tens of thousands of Jews registering for emigration, and a bomb thrown at a synagogue in 1951 accelerated the exodus.

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228

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Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1135246610

ISBN 13

9781135246617

Absorbing Perfections

Kabbalah and Interpretation

By: Moshe Idel

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Absorbing Perfections

Kabbalah and Interpretation

By: Moshe Idel

In this wide-ranging discussion of Kabbalah—from the mystical trends of medieval Judaism to modern Hasidism—one of the world’s foremost scholars considers different visions of the nature of the sacred text and of the methods to interpret it. Moshe Idel takes as a starting point the fact that the postbiblical Jewish world lost its geographical center with the destruction of the temple and so was left with a textual center, the Holy Book. Idel argues that a text-oriented religion produced language-centered forms of mysticism. Against this background, the author demonstrates how various Jewish mystics amplified the content of the Scriptures so as to include everything: the world, or God, for example. Thus the text becomes a major realm for contemplation, and the interpretation of the text frequently becomes an encounter with the deepest realms of reality. Idel delineates the particular hermeneutics belonging to Jewish mysticism, investigates the progressive filling of the text with secrets and hidden levels of meaning, and considers in detail the various interpretive strategies needed to decodify the arcane dimensions of the text.

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686

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300135076

ISBN 13

9780300135077

Britain and the Conflict in the Middle East, 1964-1967

The Coming of the Six-Day War

By: Moshe Gat

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Britain and the Conflict in the Middle East, 1964-1967

The Coming of the Six-Day War

By: Moshe Gat

In this comprehensive study, Gat looks at British policy in the period leading up to the Six-Day War. Although Britain holds center stage in this account, the study discusses in some detail American policy and its effect on the Arab-Israeli conflict. It also focuses on the Middle East water dispute, its impact on future events, and eventually the outbreak of war in 1967. This is a fascinating look at the process by which the Middle East became yet another Cold War playground. To date, most scholars on the Arab-Israeli conflict have focused on the events of the Six-Day War, rather than on the tumultuous years prior to the war. Gat is the first to examine this turbulent yet decisive chapter in the history of the Middle East within the context of the Cold War, while making extensive use of British, American, and Israeli archives.

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280

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0313039127

ISBN 13

9780313039126

The Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1956–1975

From Violent Conflict to a Peace Process

By: Moshe Gat

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The Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1956–1975

From Violent Conflict to a Peace Process

By: Moshe Gat

The Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1956–1975 contains a collection of articles that examine select issues between the end of the Suez Campaign in November 1956 and the Sinai II, or Interim Agreement, signed by Israel and Egypt in September 1975. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the struggle between the three superpowers – the UK, the United States and the Soviet Union – and the effects this had on the region. It also explores the circumstances that led to the Six Day War in June 1967, such as the use of air power and the Israeli retaliatory raids. Two chapters look at the two leaders during the war: Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, leader of the Arab world – a charismatic and dominant persona – and Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, considered weak and inconspicuous. Three chapters focus on the period between the two wars – June 1967 and October 1973 – and one explores the aftermath. Emphasis is placed on Israeli policy between 1967 and 1973, which primarily focused on the use of military power and foreign policy inaction. It is argued that it was this policy that hindered all progress in the peace process, and ultimately led, among other factors, to the Yom Kippur War. The final chapter is on Kissinger and the road to the Sinai II Agreement. It discusses the huge shift in American policy – from avoiding a significant role in the prevention of an imminent war during May and June of 1967, to deep involvement in every detail of the dispute during and following the Yom Kippur War. Providing an in-depth examination of this important period of the Arab–Israeli conflict, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Middle Eastern History and Politics, Conflict Studies and International Relations.

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327

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Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351596586

ISBN 13

9781351596589

Messianic Mystics

By: Moshe Idel

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Messianic Mystics

By: Moshe Idel

One of the worl'ds leading scholars of Jewish thought examines the long tradition of Jewish messianism and mystical experience.

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470

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Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300082886

ISBN 13

9780300082883

My Struggle for Peace, Volume 3 (1956)

The Diary of Moshe Sharett, 1953–1956

By: Moshe Sharett

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My Struggle for Peace, Volume 3 (1956)

The Diary of Moshe Sharett, 1953–1956

By: Moshe Sharett

The third volume of the former Israeli prime minister’s journals from the nation’s early years. My Struggle for Peace is a remarkable political document offering insights into the complex workings of the young Israeli political system, set against the backdrop of the disintegration of the country’s fragile armistice with the Arab states. Replete with Moshe Sharett’s candid comments on Israel’s first-generation leaders and world statesmen of the day, the diary also tells the dramatic human story of a political career cut short—the removal of an unusually sensitive, dedicated, and talented public servant. My Struggle for Peace is, above all, an intimate record of the decline of Sharett’s moderate approach and the rise of more “activist-militant” trends in Israeli society, culminating in the Suez/Sinai war of 1956. The diary challenges the popular narrative that Israel’s confrontation with its neighbors was unavoidable by offering daily evidence of Sharett’s statesmanship, moderation, diplomacy, and concern for Israel’s place in international affairs. This is the third volume in the 3-volume English abridgement of Sharett’s Yoman Ishi [Personal diary] (Ma’ariv, 1978) maintains the integrity, flavor, and impact of the 8-volume Hebrew original and includes additional documentary material that was not accessible at the time. The volumes are also available to purchase as a set or individually. “The editors . . . vastly improved on the Hebrew version by adding Sharett’s speeches, reports, cabinet minutes, and other sources to the text. . . . These additions makes this work so important and welcome by all who aspire to understand the foreign and defense policies of Israel in its first decade.” —Israel Studies Review

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741

Publisher

Indiana University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0253037638

ISBN 13

9780253037633

Ascensions on High in Jewish Mysticism

Pillars, Lines, Ladders

By: Moshe Idel

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Ascensions on High in Jewish Mysticism

Pillars, Lines, Ladders

By: Moshe Idel

Ascensions on high took many forms in Jewish mysticism and they permeated most of its history from its inception until Hasidism. The book surveys the various categories, with an emphasis on the architectural images of the ascent, like the resort to images of pillars, lines, and ladders. After surveying the variety of scholarly approaches to religion, the author also offers what he proposes as an eclectic approach, and a perspectivist one. The latter recommends to examine religious phenomena from a variety of perspectives. The author investigates the specific issue of the pillar in Jewish mysticism by comparing it to the archaic resort to pillars recurring in rural societies. Given the fact that the ascent of the soul and pillars constituted the concerns of two main Romanian scholars of religion, Ioan P. Culianu and Mircea Eliade, Idel resorts to their views, and in the Concluding Remarks analyzes the emergence of Eliade's vision of Judaism on the basis of neglected sources.

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260

Publisher

Central European University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

6155053782

ISBN 13

9786155053788

Hasidism

Between Ecstasy and Magic

By: Moshe Idel

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Hasidism

Between Ecstasy and Magic

By: Moshe Idel

Approaches Hasidism as an important stage in Jewish mysticism, rather than as a mere reaction to or result of historical and social forces.

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448

Publisher

State University of New York Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1438407432

ISBN 13

9781438407432

An Introduction to the Kabbalah

By: Moshe Hallamish

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An Introduction to the Kabbalah

By: Moshe Hallamish

This book acquaints the reader with the world of the Kabbalah. The first part discusses the Kabbalist as a person: the personal transmission of Kabbalistic traditions, the Kabbalist's qualities and qualifications, prerequisites and early preparations, risks and achievements, as well as techniques for uncovering mysteries and the sources of revelations. The second part deals with the major themes in the teachings of the Kabbalah, such as the doctrine of the Sefirot, the Sitra–Ahra—good and evil, the creation of the world, the status of the Torah and its commandments, the doctrine of the soul and the transmigration of souls. In treating these issues, the book also notes the assimilation of Kabbalistic notions in Jewish religious customs.

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393

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State University of New York Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1438405553

ISBN 13

9781438405551

Kabbalah

New Perspectives

By: Moshe Idel

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Kabbalah

New Perspectives

By: Moshe Idel

In this prizewinning new interpretation of Jewish mysticism, Moshe Idel emphasizes the need for a comparative and phenomenological approach to Kabbalah and its position in the history of religion. Idel provides fresh insights into the origins of Jewish mysticism, the relation between mystical and historical experience, and the impact of Jewish mysticism on western civilization. "Idel's book is studded with major insights, and innovative approaches to the entire history of Judaism, and mastery of it will be essential for all serious students of Jewish thought."--Arthur Green, New York Times Book Review "Moshe Idel's original, scholarly, and stimulating study of Kabbalah contains the promise of a masterwork."--Elie Wiesel "Moshe Idel's book can help the nonspecialized reader to reconsider the whole of Kabbalistic tradition in comparison with many aspects of contemporary thought."--Umberto Eco "There can be no dispute about the importance and originality of Idel's work. Offering a wealth of complementary insights to Gershom Scholem and his school, it will command a great deal of attention and serious discussion."--Alexander Altmann

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444

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300046995

ISBN 13

9780300046991

The Privileged Divine Feminine in Kabbalah

By: Moshe Idel

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The Privileged Divine Feminine in Kabbalah

By: Moshe Idel

This volume addresses the complex topic of the preeminent status of the divine feminine power, to be referred also as Female, within the theosophical structures of many important Kabbalists, Sabbatean believers, and Hasidic masters. This privileged status is part of a much broader vision of the Female as stemming from a very high root within the divine world, then She was emanated and constitutes the tenth, lower divine power, and even in this lower state She is sometime conceived of governing this world and as equal to the divine Male. Finally, She is conceived of as returning to Her original place in special moments, the days of Sabbath, the Jewish Holidays or in the eschatological era. Her special dignity is sometime related to Her being the telos of creation, and as the first entity that emerged in the divine thought, which has been later on generated. In some cases, an uroboric theosophy links the Female Malkhut, directly to the first divine power, Keter. The author points to the possible impact of some of the Kabbalistic discussions on conceptualizations of the feminine in the Renaissance period.

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346

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published Date

ISBN 10

3110597608

ISBN 13

9783110597608

Samson Raphael Hirsch's Religious Universalism and the German-Jewish Quest for Emancipation

By: Moshe Y. Miller

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Samson Raphael Hirsch's Religious Universalism and the German-Jewish Quest for Emancipation

By: Moshe Y. Miller

In Samson Raphael Hirsch's Religious Universalism and the German-Jewish Quest for Emancipation Moshe Miller argues that nineteenth-century German Jews of all persuasions actively sought acceptance within German society and aspired to achieve full emancipation from the many legal strictures on their status as citizens and residents. But, where non-Orthodox Jews sought a large measure of cultural assimilation, Orthodox Jews were content with more delimited acculturation. However, they were no less enthusiastic about achieving emancipation and acceptance in German society. There was one issue, though, which was seen by non-Jewish critics of emancipation as a barrier to granting civic rights to Jews: namely, the alleged tribalism of the Jewish ethic and the supposedly Orthodox notion of Jews as "the Chosen People." These charges could not go unanswered, and in the writings of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), a leading thinker of the Orthodox camp, they did not. Hirsch stressed the universalism of the Jewish ethic and the humanistic concern for the welfare of all mankind, which he believed was one of the core teachings of Judaism. His colleagues in the German Orthodox rabbinate largely concurred with Hirsch's assessment. This account places Hirsch's views in their historical context and provides a detailed account of his attitude toward non-Jews and the Christianity practiced by the vast majority of nineteenth-century Europeans"--

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313

Publisher

University of Alabama Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0817361294

ISBN 13

9780817361297

Wadi Daliyeh II

The Samaria Papyri from Wadi Daliyeh

By: Douglas Marvin Gropp,Moshe J. Bernstein

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Wadi Daliyeh II

The Samaria Papyri from Wadi Daliyeh

By: Douglas Marvin Gropp,Moshe J. Bernstein

This volume in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series is composed of two sections. The first is Aramaic papyri from Wadi Daliyeh written in Official Aramaic. The second contains Miscellanea, part 2, from Cave 4 at Qumran.

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344

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Discoveries in the Judaean Des

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ISBN 10

0199249253

ISBN 13

9780199249251

Saddam's Word : The Political Discourse in Iraq

The Political Discourse in Iraq

By: Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies Tel Aviv University Ofra Bengio Senior Research Fellow

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Saddam's Word : The Political Discourse in Iraq

The Political Discourse in Iraq

By: Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies Tel Aviv University Ofra Bengio Senior Research Fellow

This is the first serious attempt to understand modern Iraq through a close examination of the political discourse used by the Ba'th regime and its leader, Saddam Hussein. By analyzing political terms, concepts, and idioms as disseminated through the official Iraqi mouthpieces, author Ofra Bengio illuminates Iraq's political culture and the events that these expressions have both reflected and shaped. Not only does this study add to our understanding of the "Saddam enigma;" it also offers a more universal truth: that under any regime, political culture is built on public discourse. Saddam's Word will be of much interest to students of the contemporary Middle East, as well as to all other observers of Saddam Hussein and his regime.

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286

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0198034636

ISBN 13

9780198034636

Jews in Islamic Countries in the Middle Ages

By: Moshe Gil

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Jews in Islamic Countries in the Middle Ages

By: Moshe Gil

This book deals with the history of the Jews in Muslim countries, and consists of four parts; the central part is the second one which is a comprehensive history of the Jews of Iraq and Iran, from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries; the first part discusses the origin of the Jews in Yathrib (al-Madina) and the references to Jews in the founding document of the Muslim umma; the third part is a history of Sicily and its Jews during the period of Muslim rule; the fourth part deals with the role played by Jews in the economic life of the Muslim countries in the early Middle Ages. The studies are based mainly on Arab writings and on documents from the Cairo Geniza. Jews in Islamic Countries in the Middle Ages has been selected by Choice as Outstanding Academic Title (2005).

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858

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BRILL

Published Date

ISBN 10

9047413164

ISBN 13

9789047413165

Stories of the Law

Narrative Discourse and the Construction of Authority in the Mishnah

By: Moshe Simon-Shoshan

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Stories of the Law

Narrative Discourse and the Construction of Authority in the Mishnah

By: Moshe Simon-Shoshan

Winner of Honorable Mention in the Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards of the Association for Jewish Studies Moshe Simon-Shoshan offers a groundbreaking study of Jewish law (halakhah) and rabbinic story-telling. Focusing on the Mishnah, the foundational text of halakhah, he argues that narrative was essential in early rabbinic formulations and concepts of law, legal process, and political and religious authority. The book begins by presenting a theoretical framework for considering the role of narrative in the Mishnah. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines, including narrative theory, Semitic linguistics, and comparative legal studies, Simon-Shoshan shows that law and narrative are inextricably intertwined in the Mishnah. Narrative is central to the way in which the Mishnah transmits law and ideas about jurisprudence. Furthermore, the Mishnah's stories are the locus around which the Mishnah both constructs and critiques its concept of the rabbis as the ultimate arbiters of Jewish law and practice. In the second half of the book, Simon-Shoshan applies these ideas to close readings of individual Mishnaic stories. Among these stories are some of the most famous narratives in rabbinic literature, including those of Honi the Circle-drawer and R. Gamliel's Yom Kippur confrontation with R. Joshua. In each instance, Simon-Shoshan elucidates the legal, political, theological, and human elements of the story and places them in the wider context of the book's arguments about law, narrative, and rabbinic authority. Stories of the Law presents an original and forceful argument for applying literary theory to legal texts, challenging the traditional distinctions between law and literature that underlie much contemporary scholarship.

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304

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199773815

ISBN 13

9780199773817

Abraham Abulafia’s Esotericism

Secrets and Doubts

By: Moshe Idel

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Abraham Abulafia’s Esotericism

Secrets and Doubts

By: Moshe Idel

This book focuses on Abraham Abulafia's esoteric thought in relation to Maimonides, Maimonideans, and Islamic thought in the line of Leo Strauss' theory of the history of philosophy. A survey of Abulafia's sources leads into an analysis of the esoteric meaning on the famous parable of the three rings, considering also the possible connection between this parable, which Abdulafia inserted into a book dedicated to his student, the 13th century rabbi Nathan the wise, and the Lessing's Play "Nathan the Wise." The book also examines Abulafia's universalistic understanding of the nature of the Bible, the Hebrew language, and the people of Israel (or the Sinaic revelation). The universal aspects of Abulafia’s thought have been put in relief against the more widespread Kabbalistic views which are predominantly particularistic. A number of texts have also been identified here for the first time as authored by Abulafia.

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636

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published Date

ISBN 10

3110598779

ISBN 13

9783110598773

The Core Issues of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By: Moshe Elad

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The Core Issues of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By: Moshe Elad

The Core Issues of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict goes beyond surface-level analysis, delving into the root causes and deeply entrenched narratives that have hindered the quest for lasting peace. The book explores the territorial disputes, identity struggles, religious tensions, and competing national aspirations that have shaped the conflict's trajectory over the years. Moreover, it dissects the impact of external influences, regional dynamics, and international interventions, providing a nuanced understanding of the broader context in which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persists. This thought-provoking and meticulously researched book presents a balanced and comprehensive examination of the core issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By shedding light on the complex historical, political, and social factors, it offers readers a deeper understanding of the conflict's multifaceted nature and offers valuable insights into potential paths toward reconciliation.

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469

Publisher

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1527575659

ISBN 13

9781527575653

The Rabbinic Conversion of Judaism

The Unique Perspective of the Bavli on Conversion and the Construction of Jewish Identity

By: Moshe Lavee

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The Rabbinic Conversion of Judaism

The Unique Perspective of the Bavli on Conversion and the Construction of Jewish Identity

By: Moshe Lavee

In this volume, Moshe Lavee offers an account of crucial internal developments in the rabbinic corpus, and shows how the Babylonian Talmud dramatically challenged and extended the rabbinic model of conversion to Judaism. The history of conversion to Judaism has long fascinated Jews along a broad ideological continuum. This book demonstrates the rabbis in Babylonia further reworked former traditions about conversion in ever more stringent direction, shifting the focus of identity demarcation towards genealogy and bodily perspectives. By applying a reading-strategy that emphasizes late Babylonian literary developments, Lavee sheds critical light on a broader discourse regarding the nature and boundaries of Jewish identity.

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335

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BRILL

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ISBN 10

9004352058

ISBN 13

9789004352056

Discover

Answers for Teenagers (and Adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith

By: Dov Moshe Lipman

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Discover

Answers for Teenagers (and Adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith

By: Dov Moshe Lipman

Answers for teenagers (and adults) to questions about the Jewish faith.

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162

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Feldheim Publishers

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ISBN 10

1583309020

ISBN 13

9781583309025

Emotional Intelligence 101

By: Gerald Matthews, PhD,Moshe Zeidner,Richard D. Roberts, PhD

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Emotional Intelligence 101

By: Gerald Matthews, PhD,Moshe Zeidner,Richard D. Roberts, PhD

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315

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Springer Publishing Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

0826105653

ISBN 13

9780826105653

Religious Zionism and the Settlement Project

Ideology, Politics, and Civil Disobedience

By: Moshe Hellinger,Isaac Hershkowitz,Bernard Susser

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Religious Zionism and the Settlement Project

Ideology, Politics, and Civil Disobedience

By: Moshe Hellinger,Isaac Hershkowitz,Bernard Susser

An in-depth account of the ideology driving Israels religious Zionist settler movements since the 1970s. The Jewish settlements in disputed territories are among the most contentious issues in Israeli and international politics. This book delves into the ideological and rabbinic discourses of the religious Zionists who founded the settlement movement and lead it to this day. Based on Hebrew primary sources seldom available to scholars and the public, Moshe Hellinger, Isaac Hershkowitz, and Bernard Susser provide an authoritative history of the settlement project. They examine the first attempts at settling in the 1970s, the evacuation of Sinai in the 1980s, the Oslo Accords and assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in the 1990s, and the withdrawal from Gaza and the reaction of radical settler groups in the 2000s. The authors question why the evacuation of settlements led to largely theatrical opposition, without mass violence or civil war. They show that for religious Zionists, a theological-normative balance undermined their will to resist aggressively because of a deep veneration for the state as the sacred vehicle of redemption. This is a well-written book of sound scholarship that makes an important contribution to the research on settlers rabbis. The authors refute popular arguments that condemn the rabbis as radicals, instead showing how complex is their worldview. Motti Inbari, author of Jewish Fundamentalism and the Temple Mount: Who Will Build the Third Temple?

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350

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SUNY Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1438468393

ISBN 13

9781438468396

Shattered Vessels

Memory, Identity, and Creation in the Work of David Shahar

By: Michal Peled Ginsburg,Moshe Ron

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Shattered Vessels

Memory, Identity, and Creation in the Work of David Shahar

By: Michal Peled Ginsburg,Moshe Ron

David Shahar (1926–1997), author of the seven-novel sequence The Palace of Shattered Vessels, occupies an ambiguous position in the Israeli literary canon. Often compared to Proust, Shahar produced a body of work that offers a fascinating poetic and ideological alternative to the dominant models of Amos Oz and A. B. Yehoshua. This book, the first full-length study of this fascinating author, takes a fresh look at the uniqueness of his literary achievement in both poetic and ideological terms. In addition to situating Shahar within the European literary tradition, the book reads Shahar's representation of Jerusalem in his multi-volume novel as a "heterotopia"—an actual space where society's unconscious (what does not fit on its ideological map) is materially present—and argues for the relevance of Shahar's work to the critical discussion of the Arab question in Israeli culture.

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204

Publisher

State University of New York Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0791486001

ISBN 13

9780791486009

Saturn's Jews

On the Witches' Sabbat and Sabbateanism

By: Moshe Idel

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Saturn's Jews

On the Witches' Sabbat and Sabbateanism

By: Moshe Idel

This book explores the phenomenon of Saturnism, namely the belief that the planet Saturn, the seventh known planet in ancient astrology, was appointed upon the Jews, who celebrated the Sabbath, the seventh day of the Jewish week. Moshe Idel details how the anonymous, late 14th century Sefer Ha-Peliyah was to have disturbing consequences in the Jewish world three centuries later, interweaving luminaries with the cultural, historical, religious, and philosophical concepts of their day, and demonstrating how cultural agents were inadvertently instrumental in the mid-17th-century mass-movement Sabbateanism that led to the conviction that Sabbatai Tzevi was the Messiah. Exploring how the tragic misperception of the Jewish Sabbath by the non-Jewish world led to a linkage of Jews with sorcery in 14th and 15th-century Europe, associating their holy day with the witches' 'Sabbat' gathering, Idel brings this wide-ranging study into the present day with an analysis of 20th-century scholarship and thought influenced by Saturnism, particularly lingering themes related to melancholy in the works of Gershom Scholem and Walter Benjamin.

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213

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1441137319

ISBN 13

9781441137319

Kabbalah in Italy, 1280-1510

A Survey

By: Moshe Idel

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Kabbalah in Italy, 1280-1510

A Survey

By: Moshe Idel

This survey of the history of Kabbalah in Italy represents a major contribution from one of the world's foremost Kabbalah scholars. Idel charts the ways that Kabbalistic thought and literature developed in Italy and how its unique geographical situation facilitated the arrival of both Spanish and Byzantine Kabbalah.

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508

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300126263

ISBN 13

9780300126266

Kabbalah and Eros

By: Moshe Idel

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Kabbalah and Eros

By: Moshe Idel

In this book, the world's foremost scholar of Kabbalah explores the understanding of erotic love in Jewish mystical thought. Encompassing Jewish mystical literatures from those of late antiquity to works of Polish Hasidism, Moshe Idel highlights the diversity of Kabbalistic views on eros and distinguishes between the major forms of eroticism. The author traces the main developments of a religious formula that reflects the union between a masculine divine attribute and a feminine divine attribute, and he asks why such an "erotic formula" was incorporated into the Jewish prayer book. Idel shows how Kabbalistic literature was influenced not only by rabbinic literature but also by Greek thought that helped introduce a wider understanding of eros. Addressing topics ranging from cosmic eros and androgyneity to the affinity between C. J. Jung and Kabbalah to feminist thought, Idel's deeply learned study will be of consuming interest to scholars of religion, Judaism, and feminism.

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381

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Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

030010832X

ISBN 13

9780300108323

The Palestinian National Revival

In the Shadow of the Leadership Crisis, 1937–1967

By: Moshe Shemesh

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The Palestinian National Revival

In the Shadow of the Leadership Crisis, 1937–1967

By: Moshe Shemesh

Former Israeli intelligence officer Moshe Shemesh offers a fresh understanding of the complex history and politics of the Middle East in this new analysis of the Palestinian national movement. Shemesh looks at the formative years of the movement that emerged following the 1948 War and traces the leaders, their objectives, and their weaknesses, fragmentation, and conflicts with their neighbors. He follows the formation of the Sons of Nakba, the establishment of Fatah, the reframing of Jordan as analogous with the Palestinian cause, and the creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its new expression of nationalism until the 1967 War. With unprecedented access to Arabic sources, Shemesh provides new perspectives on inter-Arab politics and the history of the intractable Arab-Israeli conflict.

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355

Publisher

Indiana University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0253036623

ISBN 13

9780253036629

My Struggle for Peace, Volume 1 (1953–1954)

The Diary of Moshe Sharett, 1953–1956

By: Moshe Sharett

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My Struggle for Peace, Volume 1 (1953–1954)

The Diary of Moshe Sharett, 1953–1956

By: Moshe Sharett

The first volume of the former Israeli prime minister’s journals from the nation’s early years. My Struggle for Peace is a remarkable political document offering insights into the complex workings of the young Israeli political system, set against the backdrop of the disintegration of the country’s fragile armistice with the Arab states. Replete with Moshe Sharett’s candid comments on Israel’s first-generation leaders and world statesmen of the day, the diary also tells the dramatic human story of a political career cut short—the removal of an unusually sensitive, dedicated, and talented public servant. My Struggle for Peace is, above all, an intimate record of the decline of Sharett’s moderate approach and the rise of more “activist-militant” trends in Israeli society, culminating in the Suez/Sinai war of 1956. The diary challenges the popular narrative that Israel’s confrontation with its neighbors was unavoidable by offering daily evidence of Sharett’s statesmanship, moderation, diplomacy, and concern for Israel’s place in international affairs. This is the first volume in the 3-volume English abridgement of Sharett’s Yoman Ishi [Personal diary] (Ma’ariv, 1978) maintains the integrity, flavor, and impact of the 8-volume Hebrew original and includes additional documentary material that was not accessible at the time. The volumes are also available to purchase as a set or individually. “The editors . . . vastly improved on the Hebrew version by adding Sharett’s speeches, reports, cabinet minutes, and other sources to the text’. . . . These additions makes this work so important and welcome by all who aspire to understand the foreign and defense policies of Israel in its first decade.” —Israel Studies Review

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593

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Indiana University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0253037387

ISBN 13

9780253037381

Hasidism

A New History

By: David Biale,David Assaf,Benjamin Brown,Uriel Gellman,Samuel Heilman,Moshe Rosman,Gadi Sagiv,Marcin Wodziński

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Hasidism

A New History

By: David Biale,David Assaf,Benjamin Brown,Uriel Gellman,Samuel Heilman,Moshe Rosman,Gadi Sagiv,Marcin Wodziński

A must-read book for understanding this vibrant and influential modern Jewish movement Hasidism originated in southeastern Poland, in mystical circles centered on the figure of Israel Ba’al Shem Tov, but it was only after his death in 1760 that a movement began to spread. Today, Hasidism is witnessing a remarkable renaissance around the world. This book provides the first comprehensive history of the pietistic movement that shaped modern Judaism. Written by an international team of scholars, its unique blend of intellectual, religious, and social history demonstrates that, far from being a throwback to the Middle Ages, Hasidism is a product of modernity that forged its identity as a radical alternative to the secular world.

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Page Count

890

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691202443

ISBN 13

9780691202440

Book's by Moshe Shemesh

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