Download or read book Jewish Thought in the Seventeenth Century written by Isadore Twersky and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1987 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contains the proceedings of an international conference on Jewish Thought in the Seventeenth Century, held under the auspices of the Harvard Center for Jewish Studies. The wide-ranging papers focus on such central topics as Jewish law and society, rabbinic authority, the relation between Halakah and cognate disciplines, contemporary developments in Jewish philosophy and mysticism, major trends in polemical and apologetic literature and historical thought, the connection between Jewish thought and the general intellectual background. Like the previously-published Jewish Thought in the Sixteenth Century, this volume is also studded with original interpretations and novel insights. --

Download or read book From Christian Hebraism to Jewish Studies Johannes Buxtorf 1564 1629 and Hebrew Learning in the Seventeenth Century written by Stephen Burnett and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-12-06 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how Johannes Buxtorf's works helped to transform seventeenth-century Hebrew studies from the hobby of a few experts into a recognized academic discipline. The first two chapters examine Buxtorf's career as a professor of Hebrew and as an editor and censor of Jewish books in Basel. Successive chapters analyze his anti-Jewish polemical books, grammars and lexicons, and manuals for Hebrew composition and literature, including the first bibliography devoted to Jewish books. The final chapters treat his work in biblical studies, examining his contribution to Targum and Massorah studies, and his position on the age and doctrinal authority of the Hebrew vowel points. The chapters on anti-Jewish polemics and the vowel points will interest Jewish historians and Church historians.

Download or read book Amsterdam s People of the Book written by Benjamin E. Fisher and published by Hebrew Union College Press. This book was released on 2020-03-30 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Spanish and Portuguese Jews of seventeenth-century Amsterdam cultivated a remarkable culture centered on the Bible. School children studied the Bible systematically, while rabbinic literature was pushed to levels reached by few students; adults met in confraternities to study Scripture; and families listened to Scripture-based sermons in synagogue, and to help pass the long, cold winter nights of northwest Europe. The community's rabbis produced creative, and often unprecedented scholarship on the Jewish Bible as well as the New Testament. Amsterdam's People of the Book shows that this unique, Bible-centered culture resulted from the confluence of the Jewish community's Catholic and converso past with the Protestant world in which they came to live. Studying Amsterdam's Jews offers an early window into the prioritization of the Bible over rabbinic literature -- a trend that continues through modernity in western Europe. It allows us to see how Amsterdam's rabbis experimented with new historical methods for understanding the Bible, and how they grappled with doubts about the authority and truth of the Bible that were growing in the world around them. Amsterdam's People of the Book allows us to appreciate how Benedict Spinoza's ideas were in fact shaped by the approaches to reading the Bible in the community where he was born, raised, and educated. After all, as Spinoza himself remarked, before becoming Amsterdam's most famous heretic and one of Europe's leading philosophers and biblical critics, he was "steeped in the common beliefs about the Bible from childhood on."

Download or read book Jewish Poet and Intellectual in Seventeenth Century Venice written by Sarra Copia Sulam and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2009-11-15 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first Jewish woman to leave her mark as a writer and intellectual, Sarra Copia Sulam (1600?–41) was doubly tainted in the eyes of early modern society by her religion and her gender. This remarkable woman, who until now has been relatively neglected by modern scholarship, was a unique figure in Italian cultural life, opening her home, in the Venetian ghetto, to Jews and Christians alike as a literary salon. For this bilingual edition, Don Harrán has collected all of Sulam’s previously scattered writings—letters, sonnets, a Manifesto—into a single volume. Harrán has also assembled all extant correspondence and poetry that was addressed to Sulam, as well as all known contemporary references to her, making them available to Anglophone readers for the first time. Featuring rich biographical and historical notes that place Sulam in her cultural context, this volume will provide readers with insight into the thought and creativity of a woman who dared to express herself in the male-dominated, overwhelmingly Catholic Venice of her time.

Download or read book The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy written by Steven M. Nadler and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 912 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a comprehensive overview of Jewish philosophy from the seventeenth century to the present day.

Download or read book Spinoza s Challenge to Jewish Thought written by Daniel B. Schwartz and published by Brandeis University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-15 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguably, no historical thinker has had as varied and fractious a reception within modern Judaism as Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza (1632–77), the seventeenth-century philosopher, pioneering biblical critic, and Jewish heretic from Amsterdam. Revered in many circles as the patron saint of secular Jewishness, he has also been branded as the worst traitor to the Jewish people in modern times. Jewish philosophy has cast Spinoza as marking a turning point between the old and the new, as a radicalizer of the medieval tradition and table setter for the modern. He has served as a perennial landmark and point of reference in the construction of modern Jewish identity. This volume brings together excerpts from central works in the Jewish response to Spinoza. True to the diversity of Spinoza’s Jewish reception, it features a mix of genres, from philosophical criticism to historical fiction, from tributes to diary entries, providing the reader with a sense of the overall historical development of Spinoza’s posthumous legacy.

Download or read book The Hebrew Republic written by Eric Nelson and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2010-03-30 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to a commonplace narrative, the rise of modern political thought in the West resulted from secularization—the exclusion of religious arguments from political discourse. But in this pathbreaking work, Eric Nelson argues that this familiar story is wrong. Instead, he contends, political thought in early-modern Europe became less, not more, secular with time, and it was the Christian encounter with Hebrew sources that provoked this radical transformation. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Christian scholars began to regard the Hebrew Bible as a political constitution designed by God for the children of Israel. Newly available rabbinic materials became authoritative guides to the institutions and practices of the perfect republic. This thinking resulted in a sweeping reorientation of political commitments. In the book’s central chapters, Nelson identifies three transformative claims introduced into European political theory by the Hebrew revival: the argument that republics are the only legitimate regimes; the idea that the state should coercively maintain an egalitarian distribution of property; and the belief that a godly republic would tolerate religious diversity. One major consequence of Nelson’s work is that the revolutionary politics of John Milton, James Harrington, and Thomas Hobbes appear in a brand-new light. Nelson demonstrates that central features of modern political thought emerged from an attempt to emulate a constitution designed by God. This paradox, a reminder that while we may live in a secular age, we owe our politics to an age of religious fervor, in turn illuminates fault lines in contemporary political discourse.

Download or read book What Are Jews For written by Adam Sutcliffe and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2025-01-28 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For what purpose in the world were the Jews singled out as God's 'chosen people'? What Are Jews For? explores the history of western thinking on the historical purpose of the Jewish people, starting with ancient and medieval foundations but focusing on the period from 1600 to the present. In both Judaism and Christianity the Jews have long been accorded a crucial role at the end of history, when they will the world into an transformed era of unity and harmony in which all human divisions will be overcome. Since the seventeenth century this messianic conception of historical purpose has been repeatedly reconfigured in new forms. From the political theology of the early modern era and the universalist aspirations of Enlightenment philosophy, to almost all the key domains of modern thought - social, economic, nationalist, radical, assimilationist, satirical, psychoanalytical, religious and literary - the Jews have retained a close association with the positive transformation of the world. Across the past four centuries the 'Jewish Purpose Question' has been central to the attempts of both Jews and non-Jews to make sense of cultural particularity in relation to a wider vision of collective purpose in history. The deep and intricate layering of this question demands careful attention, as it remains extremely resonant in contemporary global politics and culture: polarized universalistic and particularistic conceptions of Jewish purpose have become emblematic of the most fundamental divisions over the meaning of peoplehood and collective purpose for all of us"--

Download or read book The Autobiography of a Seventeenth century Venetian Rabbi written by Leone Modena and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1988-09-21 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leon (Judah Aryeh) Modena was a major intellectual figure of the early modern Italian Jewish community--a complex and intriguing personality who was famous among contemporary European Christians as well as Jews. Modena (1571-1648) produced an autobiography that documents in poignant detail the turbulent life of his family in the Jewish ghetto of Venice. The text of this work is well known to Jewish scholars but has never before been translated from the original Hebrew, except in brief excerpts. This complete translation, based on Modena's autograph manuscript, makes available in English a wealth of historical material about Jewish family life of the period, religion in daily life, the plague of 1630-1631, crime and punishment, the influence of kabbalistic mysticism, and a host of other subjects. The translator, Mark R. Cohen, and four other distinguished scholars add commentary that places the work in historical and literary context. Modena describes his fascination with the astrology and alchemy that were important parts of the Jewish and general culture of the seventeenth century. He also portrays his struggle against poverty and against compulsive gambling, which, cleverly punning on a biblical verse, he called the "sin of Judah." In addition, the book contains accounts of Modena's sorrow over his three sons: the death of the eldest from the poisonous fumes of his own alchemical laboratory, the brutal murder of the youngest, and the exile of the remaining son. The introductory essay by Mark R. Cohen and Theodore K. Rabb highlights the significance of the work for early modern Jewish and general European history. Howard E. Adelman presents an up-to-date biographical sketch of the author and points the way toward a new assessment of his place in Jewish history. Natalie Z. Davis places Modena's work in the context of European autobiography, both Christian and Jewish, and especially explores the implications of the Jewish status as outsider for the privileged exploration of the self. A set of historical notes, compiled by Howard Adelman and Benjamin C. I. Ravid, elucidates the text.

Download or read book Bringing the Hidden to Light written by Kathryn F. Kravitz and published by Eisenbrauns. This book was released on 2007 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Geller is Irma Cameron Milstein Professor of Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary. Geller's attention to language and interest in applying the methods of literary analysis to the Hebrew Bible are reflected in his work throughout his career. He has addressed such topics as "The Dynamics of Parallel Verse" in Deuteronomy 32, the "Language of Imagery in Psalm 114," and the literary uses of "Cleft Sentences with Pleonastic Pronoun." Combining a historical orientation with deep exegeses of individual texts, he has focused on the contribution that the literary approach might make to the study of biblical religion. He has developed what he terms a "literary theology," in which, by examining the literary devices in the passage under consideration, he has been able to formulate emerging religious ideas that the ancient writers did not express in systematic treatises. His method is illustrated in his studies of texts that represent the major religious traditions of the Hebrew Bible; these studies have been collected in Sacred Enigmas, published in 1997. The essays in this volume were contributed by colleagues, friends, and students of Stephen A. Geller to mark the occasion of his 65th birthday. Contributors include: Tzvi Abusch, Marc Z. Brettler, Alan Cooper, Frank Moore Cross, Stephen Garfinkel, Edward L. Greenstein, Robert A. Harris, S. Tamar Kamionkowski, Kathryn F. Kravitz, Anne Lapidus Lerner, David Marcus, Yochanan Muffs, Benjamin Ravid, Michael Rosenbaum, Raymond P. Scheindlin, William M. Schniedewind, Diane M. Sharon, Benjamin D. Sommer.

Download or read book The Autobiography of a Seventeenth Century Venetian Rabbi written by Leone Modena and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-16 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leon (Judah Aryeh) Modena was a major intellectual figure of the early modern Italian Jewish community--a complex and intriguing personality who was famous among contemporary European Christians as well as Jews. Modena (1571-1648) produced an autobiography that documents in poignant detail the turbulent life of his family in the Jewish ghetto of Venice. The text of this work is well known to Jewish scholars but has never before been translated from the original Hebrew, except in brief excerpts. This complete translation, based on Modena's autograph manuscript, makes available in English a wealth of historical material about Jewish family life of the period, religion in daily life, the plague of 1630-1631, crime and punishment, the influence of kabbalistic mysticism, and a host of other subjects. The translator, Mark R. Cohen, and four other distinguished scholars add commentary that places the work in historical and literary context. Modena describes his fascination with the astrology and alchemy that were important parts of the Jewish and general culture of the seventeenth century. He also portrays his struggle against poverty and against compulsive gambling, which, cleverly punning on a biblical verse, he called the "sin of Judah." In addition, the book contains accounts of Modena's sorrow over his three sons: the death of the eldest from the poisonous fumes of his own alchemical laboratory, the brutal murder of the youngest, and the exile of the remaining son. The introductory essay by Mark R. Cohen and Theodore K. Rabb highlights the significance of the work for early modern Jewish and general European history. Howard E. Adelman presents an up-to-date biographical sketch of the author and points the way toward a new assessment of his place in Jewish history. Natalie Z. Davis places Modena's work in the context of European autobiography, both Christian and Jewish, and especially explores the implications of the Jewish status as outsider for the privileged exploration of the self. A set of historical notes, compiled by Howard Adelman and Benjamin C. I. Ravid, elucidates the text.

Download or read book Judaism and Enlightenment written by Adam Sutcliffe and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study investigates the philosophical and political significance of Judaism in the intellectual life of seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe. Adam Sutcliffe shows how the widespread and enthusiastic fascination with Judaism prevalent around 1650 was largely eclipsed a century later by attitudes of dismissal and disdain. He argues that Judaism was uniquely difficult for Enlightenment thinkers to account for, and that their intense responses, both negative and positive, to Jewish topics are central to an understanding of the underlying ambiguities of the Enlightenment itself. Judaism and the Jews were a limit case, a destabilising challenge, and a constant test for Enlightenment rationalism. Erudite and highly broad-ranging in its sources, and yet extremely accessible in its argument, Judaism and Enlightenment is a major contribution to the history of European ideas, of interest to scholars of Jewish history and to those working on the Enlightenment, toleration and the emergence of modernity itself.

Download or read book Christian Identity Jews and Israel in 17th Century England written by Achsah Guibbory and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-09-23 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a cultural history of seventeenth-century England. It explores the many, often contradictory ways people thought about themselves in relation to Jews, Judaism, and Jewish history. Grounded in archival research, the book analyzes the works of major writers including Foxe, Herbert, Bunyan, Milton, and Dryden.

Download or read book Christian Hebraism in the Reformation Era 1500 1660 written by Stephen G. Burnett and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2012-01-05 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Reformation transformed Christian Hebraism from the pursuit of a few into an academic discipline. This book explains that transformation by focusing on how authors, printers, booksellers, and censors created a public discussion of Hebrew and Jewish texts.

Download or read book Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in Early Modern Europe written by David B. Ruderman and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study on the scientific dimension of Jewish intellectual history in the early modern world

Download or read book The Third Force in Seventeenth Century Thought written by Richard Henry Popkin and published by BRILL. This book was released on 1992 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contains more than twenty essays in the history of modern philosophy and history of religion by R.H. Popkin. Several of the essays have not been published before. Thinkers discussed include Hobbes, Henry More, Pascal, Spinoza, Cudworth, Newton, Hume, Condorcet, and Moritz Schlick.

Download or read book The Cambridge History of Judaism Volume 2 The Hellenistic Age written by William David Davies and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1984 with total page 766 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vol. 4 covers the late Roman period to the rise of Islam. Focuses especially on the growth and development of rabbinic Judaism and of the major classical rabbinic sources such as the Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud, Babylonian Talmud and various Midrashic collections.