In a broad sweep from central Europe to Ireland and from the 16th to the early 19th century, this unusual work puts the Jewish community and its rabbinic and "lay" leaders at the center of Jewish history. Of surpassing value is Kochan's treatment of the community not only as a religious but also as a political unit. It shows the community at grips with the Reformation and the introduction of the ghetto system in the Italian states. Kochan's analysis of the clash of interests between the few wealthy and the multitude of poor Jews raises doubts about the whole notion of "community." The later...
In a broad sweep from central Europe to Ireland and from the 16th to the early 19th century, this unusual work puts the Jewish community and its rabbi...
From the archetypical story of Abraham smashing his father's household idols to God's commandment at Mount Sinai that -You shall have no other gods before Me, - the prohibition in Judaism against the worship of idols has been unyielding. Idolatry is conceived as the antithesis to the worship of the invisible, unnamed, and articulate God.
The proscription against using images in worship sets Judaism, together with Islam, apart from all other religious systems. In Beyond the Graven Image, Lionel Kochan sets out to explain the reasons for this prohibition and to demonstrate...
From the archetypical story of Abraham smashing his father's household idols to God's commandment at Mount Sinai that -You shall have no other gods...
From the archetypical story of Abraham smashing his father's household idols to God's commandment at Mount Sinai that -You shall have no other gods before Me, - the prohibition in Judaism against the worship of idols has been unyielding. Idolatry is conceived as the antithesis to the worship of the invisible, unnamed, and articulate God.
The proscription against using images in worship sets Judaism, together with Islam, apart from all other religious systems. In Beyond the Graven Image, Lionel Kochan sets out to explain the reasons for this prohibition and to demonstrate...
From the archetypical story of Abraham smashing his father's household idols to God's commandment at Mount Sinai that -You shall have no other gods...
The biblical prohibition of images sets Judaism apart, together with Islam, from all other religious systems. This book attempts to explain the reasons for the prohibition - as well as its limits - and then shows how influential it has been in determining aspects of Jewish thinking in relation to such key concepts as holiness, symbolism, mediation between man and God, aesthetics and the role of memory in religion. Why is music the one art to which Judaism is hospitable? Is Judaism a religion of the ear rather than the eye? What is the real issue at stake in the age-old debate between...
The biblical prohibition of images sets Judaism apart, together with Islam, from all other religious systems. This book attempts to explain the reason...
