Originally published in The Times Literary Supplement 5005 (1999), p. 12. Michael S. Berger, RABBINIC AUTHORITY. 226pp. Oxford University Press. £36. 0 19 512269 0. In the Jewish tradition, still retained by Orthodoxy, the Pentateuch (the ... Continue Reading ➨
Moshe Greenberg, ‘Biblical Prose Prayer as a Window to the Popular Religion of Ancient Israel’
Originally published in Religious Studies, 21:3 (1985), pp. 436-7. Moshe Greenberg. Biblical Prose Prayer as a Window to the Popular Religion of Ancient Israel. Pp. viii + 66. (London: University of California Press, 1983.) £3.05. This little ... Continue Reading ➨
Moshe Halbertal, ‘People of the Book: Canon, Meaning, and Authority’
Originally published in The Times Literary Supplement 4853 (1998), p. 32. Moshe Halbertal, People of the Book: Canon, Meaning, and Authority. 185pp. Harvard University Press. £23.50 (paperback, £12.50). 0 674 66111 7. Moshe Halbertal, who ... Continue Reading ➨
R. J. Werblowsky & Geoffrey Wigoder (eds.), ‘The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion’
Originally published in The Times Literary Supplement 4834 (1997), pp. 10-11. R. J. Zwi Werblowsky and Geoffrey Wigoder, editors, THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 764pp. Oxford University Press. £80. 0 19 508605 8. When the Hasidic ... Continue Reading ➨
H. A. Meek, ‘The Synagogue’
Originally published in The Times Literary Supplement 4845 (1996), p. 20. H. A. Meek, The Synagogue. 240pp. Phaidon. £34.99. 0 7148 2932 3. This is a sumptuous book, with marvellous illustrations, only a few of which are familiar. H. A. Meek’s ... Continue Reading ➨
Steven J. Zipperstein, ‘Elusive prophet: ‘Ahad Ha’Am and the Origins of Zionism’
Originally published in Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England 33 (1992/4), pp. 279-81. Elusive Prophet: Ahad Ha’Am and the Origins of Zionism, Steven J. Zipperstein (Peter Halban, London 1993) xxv + 386 pp. £25.00. Asher ... Continue Reading ➨
Joseph Dan (ed.), ‘Binah: Studies in Jewish History, Thought, and Culture’, Vol. III
Originally published in JJSO, 37:2 (1995), pp. 140-2. Joseph Dan, ed., BINAH, Studies in Jewish History, Thought and Culture, Volume 3 xiii + 200 pp., published for the International Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization, ... Continue Reading ➨
Samuel C. Heilman, ‘The people of the book: drama, fellowship and religion’
Originally published in JJSO, 26:2 (1984), pp. 154-6. Samuel C. Heilman, The People of the Book: Drama, Fellowship and Religion, x + 337 pp., University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1983, $22.50. Using the tools and with the aims of the social ... Continue Reading ➨
Chaim Raphael, ‘A Jewish Book of Common Prayer’
Originally published in the Jewish Quarterly, 34.4 (128) (1987), pp. 63-4. A JEWISH BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER: THE SABBATH EVENING SERVICE WITH COMMENTARY by Chaim Raphael (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1986, £10.95). Like Chaim Raphael’s ... Continue Reading ➨
Hyam Maccoby, ‘The Sacred Executioner: Human Sacrifice and the Legacy of Guilt’
Originally published in the Jewish Quarterly, 30.3 (111) (1982/3), p. 59. THE SACRED EXECUTIONER: HUMAN SACRIFICE AND THE LEGACY OF GUILT. By Hyam Maccoby (Thames and Hudson, 1982, £10.95) Hyam Maccoby’s thesis is that many of the most potent ... Continue Reading ➨
In Memoriam Louis Littman
Originally published in the Jewish Quarterly, 35.1 (129) (1988), pp. 6-7. In memoriam Louis Littman Seest thou a man diligent in his occupation! He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men (Proverbs 22: 29) My text, surely ... Continue Reading ➨
Gershom Scholem (1897-1982): Some Personal Reminiscences
Originally published in the Jewish Quarterly, 30.1-2 (109/10) (1982), pp. 17-19. It was almost 30 years ago that I first met Gershom Scholem. I was at the time Minister of the New West End Synagogue where Scholem gave a lecture with the intriguing ... Continue Reading ➨
Maimonides’ philosophy of religion
Originally published in the Jewish Quarterly, 25.2 (92) (1977), pp. 20-22. Maimonides is, by general acclaim, the greatest Jew of the Middle Ages. There is no Jew alive today whose life has not been influenced, directly or indirectly, by this ... Continue Reading ➨
Jacob Rosenheim, ‘Samson Raphael Hirsch’s Cultural Ideal and Our Times’
Originally published in the Jewish Monthly, 5:4 (1951), p. 248. Samson Raphael Hirsch’s Cultural Ideal and Our Times, by Jacob Rosenheim, translated from the German original by Dr. E. Lichtigeld (London: Shapiro Valentine & Co., 1951, pp. ... Continue Reading ➨
‘The Lithuanian Analytical School’ in Jewish Law Annual 12
Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 12 (1997), p. 300. The Lithuanian Analytical School: Some recent works of the analytical school, dominant in the Lithuanian Yeshivot and in their contemporary successors, were noted in The Jewish Law ... Continue Reading ➨
Norman Solomon, ‘The Analytic Movement: Hayyim Soloveitchik and his Circle’
Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 12 (1997), pp. 299-300. Norman Solomon, The Analytic Movement, Hayyim Soloveitchik and his Circle, Altanta: Scholars Press, South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism No. 58, 1993, Pp. xvi, 268, ... Continue Reading ➨
Charles Primus, ‘Aqiva’s contribution to the law of Zera’im’
Originally published in The Jewish Law Annual 2 (1976), p. 247. Charles Primus, Aqiva’s Contribution to the law of Zera’im, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1977, ISBN 90-04-04881-2, Pp. xv, 210, Price: Gld. 56.—Professor Primus here applies the form-critical ... Continue Reading ➨
Eberhard Klingenberg, ‘Das israelitische Zinsverbot in Torah, Misnah und Talmud’
Originally published in The Jewish Law Annual 2 (1976), pp. 269-70. Eberhard Klingenberg: Das israelitische Zinsverbot in Torah, Misnah und Talmud, Mainz: Wiesbaden, 1977, Pp. 102, und Der Literatur, and Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1977, Pp. ... Continue Reading ➨
A. Roy Eckhardt, ‘Your People, My People: The Meeting of Jews and Christians’
Originally published in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 8:1 (1977), p. 72. Your People, My People: The Meeting of Jews and Christians. A. Roy Eckhardt: Quadangle Books, 1974. pp. xiv. $8.95. Professor Eckhardt’s thesis, ... Continue Reading ➨
David E. Powell, ‘Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union’
Originally published in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 7:2 (1976), 388-9. Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study in Mass Persuasion. By David E. Powell. Cambridge, Mass.; MIT Press, 1975. Pp. X + 206. In ... Continue Reading ➨