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Abstract
Martin Luther concerned himself with Kabbalah at two points during his long career as a theologian. From 1513 to 1519, he first considered and then rejected Kabbalah as a kind of spiritual ‘ladder’ that allowed believers a fuller experience of the otherwise ‘hidden’ God. Later, in 1543, he wrote against the Jews’ ‘superstitious’ beliefs about the tetragrammaton and kabbalistic ‘magic’ generally. This essay will consider the sources of Luther’s kabbalistic knowledge, his understanding of what Jews believed about Kabbalah, and how Kabbalah fit into Luther’s own views concerning Jews and Judaism more generally. Luther believed that the devil was involved in promoting Kabbalah and Jewish magical practices both to deceive its practitioners and their followers, and as a way of redirecting worship away from the true God.
Abstract
The article reexamines the question of the antiquity of Shiur Koma by comparing the physical description of the male beloved in Tannaic midrashim on Song of Songs with interpretations of the same verses found in later Amoraic midrashim. It reveals a significant difference: while the Tannaic texts treat the beloved’s descriptions as imagery of God Himself, in the Amoraic midrashim the beloved’s figure represents Tora, practical mitsvot or significant historical moments. The corporeal conception of God in the Tannaic interpretation of the Song of Songs could also have been a component of early Jewish mysticism. These findings can support the position that Shiur Koma is a midrash on Song of Songs from the end of the Tannaic period.
Abstract
This article analyses Jewish reactions to post-Holocaust hostility and discrimination in Norway, through three case studies: (1) Trials against Nazis and Norwegian collaborators in the National Legal Purge of the immediate postwar years. (2) The 1960 ‘Swastika Epidemic,’ characterized by graffiti on properties and threats against Jewish individuals, which prompted Jewish community efforts to promote an anti-racist bill. (3) The trial against neo-Nazi high school teacher Olav Hoaas in 1976, among the first to be convicted in accordance with the new Article 135a of the law against incitement to racial hatred. Using archival records from the Jewish community and press material, this study explores how the actors defined and developed response strategies against antisemitism. The article explains the integrationist function of combatting antisemitism, as individuals asserted themselves as part of the national community by defending Norway’s democratic values. It highlights collective action and alliances in countering antisemitism, marking Norway as an early example legislating against racism in Europe after 1945.
Abstract
This study explores the complexities of religious tradition transmission, authority, and identity through an analysis of a second-century rabbinic text, Tosefta Eduyot, and its contextualization within late antique Jewish, Christian, and Manichaean literature. It underscores the shared anxieties over preserving authentic traditions amidst changing historical circumstances, highlighting the methods used to maintain continuity and authenticity. By comparing these traditions with those of Papias, the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies, Ephrem, and Manichaean texts, the paper reveals a broader discourse on the preservation and authority of religious traditions, contributing to our understanding of early Jewish and Christian identity formation.
Abstract
Developing the terminology of ‘knowns’ and ‘unknowns’, the article aims to delimit the great uncertainties besetting the mid-second century CE by distinguishing the events shrouded in uncertainty from those we are relatively certain about. A diachronic plotting of the century identifies eight (or seven) events we are pretty sure about, with the Bar Kokhba War standing out, concluding they all occurred roughly around mid-century. Next, a synchronic plotting is made on the basis of Irenaeus’ survey of heresies or schools in Adversus haereses 1.23–27. Judging by the view on the Jewish God and on sacred scriptures and tradition, Irenaeus attributes to the various schools, a line-up of schools including Irenaeus’ apostolic church is drawn up. Strikingly, where the Ebionites and the apostolic church are positively attached to the Jewish God and Scriptures, the Marcionites and radical Gnostics are utterly negative, blaming the Jewish God and his people for stoking war with their neighbours. A connec