DOCSLIB.ORG

War and Peace in the Jewish Tradition

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

War and Peace in the Jewish Tradition edited by Lawrence Schiffman and Joel B. Wolowelsky Robert S. Hirt, Series Editor THE MICHAEL SCHARF PUBLICATION TRUST of the YESHIVA UNIVERSITY PRESs New York OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 iiiiii iiiiii 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:40:591:40:59 THE ORTHODOX FORUM The Orthodox Forum, initially convened by Dr. Norman Lamm, Chancellor of Yeshiva University, meets each year to consider major issues of concern to the Jewish community. Forum participants from throughout the world, including academicians in both Jewish and secular fields, rabbis,rashei yeshivah, Jewish educators, and Jewish communal professionals, gather in conference as a think tank to discuss and critique each other’s original papers, examining different aspects of a central theme. The purpose of the Forum is to create and disseminate a new and vibrant Torah literature addressing the critical issues facing Jewry today. The Orthodox Forum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Joseph J. and Bertha K. Green Memorial Fund at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary established by Morris L. Green, of blessed memory. The Orthodox Forum Series is a project of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 iiii iiii 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:40:591:40:59 Published by KTAV Publishing House, Inc. 930 Newark Avenue Jersey City, NJ 07306 Tel. (201) 963-9524 Fax. (201) 963-0102 www.ktav.com [email protected] Copyright © 2007 Yeshiva University Press This book was typeset by Jerusalem Typesetting, www.jerusalemtype.com * * * Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Orthodox Forum (16th : 2004 : New York, NY) War and peace in the Jewish tradition / edited by Lawrence Schiffman, Joel B. Wolowelsky. p. cm. – (Orthodox forum series) ISBN 0-88125-945-4 1. War – Religious aspects – Judaism. 2. War (Jewish law) 3. Just war doctrine. 4. Peace – Religious aspects – Judaism. 5. Reconciliation – Religious aspects – Judaism. I. Schiffman, Lawrence H. II. Wolowelsky, Joel B. III. Title. BM538.P3O78 2004 296.3’6242 – dc22 2006038084 OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 iivv iivv 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:40:591:40:59 Contents About the Editors and Contributors ix Series Editor’s Preface xiii Introduction xv David Shatz Just Wars, Just Battles and Just Conduct in Jewish Law: Jewish Law Is Not a Suicide Pact!* 1 Michael J. Broyde Philosophical Perspectives on Just War 45 Herb Leventer From a Chessboard to the Matrix: The Challenge of Applying the Laws of Armed Conflict in the Asymmetric Warfare Era 93 Yosefi M. Seltzer “What is this Bleeting of Sheep in My Ears”: Spoils of War / Wars that Spoil 133 Moshe Sokolow The Origin of Nations and the Shadow of Violence: Theological Perspectives on Canaan and Amalek 163 Shalom Carmy Amalek and the Seven Nations: A Case of Law vs. Morality 201 Norman Lamm v OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 v v 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:40:591:40:59 International Law and Halakhah 239 Jeremy Wieder International Law, Israel, and the Use of Force: Historic Perspectives/Current Perplexities 265 Michla Pomerance “Dilemmas of Military Service in Israel: The Religious Dimension 313 Stuart A. Cohen Attitudes Towards the Use of Military Force in Ideological Currents of Religious Zionism 341 Elie Holzer Military Service: Ambivalence and Contradiction 415 Judith Bleich War in Jewish Apocalyptic Thought 477 Lawrence H. Schiffman Models of Reconciliation and Coexistence in Jewish Sources 497 Dov S. Zakheim The Orthodox Forum Sixteenth Conference List of Participants 533 OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 vvii vvii 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:40:591:40:59 Other Volumes in the Orthodox Forum Series Rabbinic Authority and Personal Autonomy edited by Moshe Z. Sokol Jewish Tradition and the Non-Traditional Jew edited by Jacob J. Schacter Israel as a Religious Reality edited by Chaim I. Waxman Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations edited by Shalom Carmy Tikkun Olam: Social Responsibility in Jewish Thought and Law edited by David Shatz, Chaim I. Waxman, and Nathan J. Diament Engaging Modernity: Rabbinic Leaders and the Challenge of the Twentieth Century edited by Moshe Z. Sokol Jewish Perspectives on the Experience of Suffering edited by Shalom Carmy Jewish Business Ethics: The Firm and Its Stakeholders edited by Aaron Levine and Moses Pava Tolerance, Dissent, and Democracy: Philosophical, Historical, and Halakhic Perspectives edited by Moshe Z. Sokol Jewish Spirituality and Divine Law edited by Adam Mintz and Lawrence Schiffman Formulating Responses in an Egalitarian Age edited by Marc D. Stern Judaism, Science, and Moral Responsibility edited by Yitzhak Berger and David Shatz Lomdus: The Conceptual Approach to Jewish Learning edited by Yosef Blau Rabbinic and Lay Communal Authority edited by Suzanne Last Stone and Robert S. Hirt OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 vviiii vviiii 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:40:591:40:59 About the Editors and Contributors Judith Bleich is associate professor of Judaic Studies at Touro Col- lege in New York City. She has written extensively on modern Jewish history. Michael Broyde is senior lecturer at Emoy University School of Law, where he is also director of the Project on Law, Religion, and the Family and a member of the Law and Religion Program. Ordained yoreh yoreh v-yadin yadin, he is author of The Pursuit of Justice and Jewish Law: Halakhic Perspectives on the Legal Profession, as well as numerous other works. Shalom Carmy teaches Bible, Jewish thought, and philosophy at Yeshiva University and is editor of Tradition. He has published extensively and is the editor of two volumes in the Orthodox Forum series, most recently Jewish Perspectives on the Experi- ence of Suffering. Stuart A. Cohen is a professor Political Studies at Bar-Ilan Univer- sity in Israel. Robert S. Hirt is the senior advisor to the president of Yeshiva University and vice president emeritus of its affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He occupies the Rabbi Sidney Shoham Chair in Rabbinic and Community Leader- ship at RIETS. Elie Holzer is Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Bar Ilan University and a Senior Research Associate at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University, MA. His fields of research and publications are hermeneutics and the teaching and learning of Jewish texts, professional de- velopment in Jewish education, philosophy of Jewish education, and Religious Zionism. Norman Lamm is the Rosh ha-Yeshivah of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 vviiiiii vviiiiii 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:41:001:41:00 War and Peace in the Jewish Tradition ix Theological Seminary and the Chancellor of Yeshiva Univer- sity. Herbert Leventer is an adjunct instructor of Philosophy at Yeshiva University. Michla Pomerance is the Emilio von Hofmannsthal Professor of International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her areas of expertise include international adjudication, the prin- ciple of self-determination, and international legal aspects of the use of force. Lawrence H. Schiffman is Chairman of New York University’s Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and serves as Ethel and Irvin A. Edelman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. He is also a member of the University’s Hagop Kevork- ian Center for Near Eastern Studies and Center for Ancient Studies. Yosefi Seltzer is an active duty Judge Advocate with the United States Army Legal Services Agency. He is also the founder and president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists Military Bar Committee. David Shatz is professor of philosophy at Yeshiva University, editor of The Torah u-Madda Journal, and editor of the series MeOtzar Horav: Selected Writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He has published many books and articles relating to both general and Jewish philosophy. Moshe Sokolow is the Fanya Gottesfeld-Heller Professor of Jewish Education at the Azrieli Graduate School of Professional Edu- cation and Administration and Editor of Ten Da’at. Jeremy Wieder teaches at Yeshiva University, occupying the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Chair in Talmud at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Joel B. Wolowelsky is Dean of the Faculty at the Yeshivah of Flat- bush, where he teaches math and Jewish philosophy. He is associate editor of Tradition, The Torah u-Madda Journal, and the series MeOtzar HoRav: Selected Writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Dov Zakheim is a consultant in McLean, VA. OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 iixx iixx 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:41:001:41:00 OOFF 1166 WWarar aandnd PPeaceeace rr0909 ddraftraft 6 x x 229/01/20079/01/2007 111:41:001:41:00 Series Editor’s Preface The Orthodox Forum is dedicated to addressing consequential is- sues currently confronting our community, while drawing upon the insights and wisdom contained in Jewish textual sources from the Biblical period to our own day. After the six-day war, a sense of euphoria engulfed the Jewish world awaiting the onset of a Messianic era. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world anticipated the end of global hostility. Yet, it wasn’t too long before age old ethnic, religious and national conflicts resurfaced and hopes for peace gave way to cycles of violent conflicts in many regions of the world. This volume, the fourteenth in the Orthodox Forum Series, War, Peace and the Jewish Tradition, brings together the thinking of a wide range of distinguished American and Israeli academicians and religious leaders from various disciplines, to shed light on the historical, philosophical, theological, legal and moral issues raised by military conflict and the search for peaceful resolution.
Recommended publications
  • 1 Jews, Gentiles, and the Modern Egalitarian Ethos

    1 Jews, Gentiles, and the Modern Egalitarian Ethos

    Jews, Gentiles, and the Modern Egalitarian Ethos: Some Tentative Thoughts David Berger The deep and systemic tension between contemporary egalitarianism and many authoritative Jewish texts about gentiles takes varying forms. Most Orthodox Jews remain untroubled by some aspects of this tension, understanding that Judaism’s affirmation of chosenness and hierarchy can inspire and ennoble without denigrating others. In other instances, affirmations of metaphysical differences between Jews and gentiles can take a form that makes many of us uncomfortable, but we have the legitimate option of regarding them as non-authoritative. Finally and most disturbing, there are positions affirmed by standard halakhic sources from the Talmud to the Shulhan Arukh that apparently stand in stark contrast to values taken for granted in the modern West and taught in other sections of the Torah itself. Let me begin with a few brief observations about the first two categories and proceed to somewhat more extended ruminations about the third. Critics ranging from medieval Christians to Mordecai Kaplan have directed withering fire at the doctrine of the chosenness of Israel. Nonetheless, if we examine an overarching pattern in the earliest chapters of the Torah, we discover, I believe, that this choice emerges in a universalist context. The famous statement in the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5) that Adam was created singly so that no one would be able to say, “My father is greater than yours” underscores the universality of the original divine intent. While we can never know the purpose of creation, one plausible objective in light of the narrative in Genesis is the opportunity to actualize the values of justice and lovingkindness through the behavior of creatures who subordinate themselves to the will 1 of God.
  • A Fresh Perspective on the History of Hasidic Judaism

    A Fresh Perspective on the History of Hasidic Judaism

    eSharp Issue 20: New Horizons A Fresh Perspective on the History of Hasidic Judaism Eva van Loenen (University of Southampton) Introduction In this article, I shall examine the history of Hasidic Judaism, a mystical,1 ultra-orthodox2 branch of Judaism, which values joyfully worshipping God’s presence in nature as highly as the strict observance of the laws of Torah3 and Talmud.4 In spite of being understudied, the history of Hasidic Judaism has divided historians until today. Indeed, Hasidic Jewish history is not one monolithic, clear-cut, straightforward chronicle. Rather, each scholar has created his own narrative and each one is as different as its author. While a brief introduction such as this cannot enter into all the myriad divergences and similarities between these stories, what I will attempt to do here is to incorporate and compare an array of different views in order to summarise the history of Hasidism and provide a more objective analysis, which has not yet been undertaken. Furthermore, my historical introduction in Hasidic Judaism will exemplify how mystical branches of mainstream religions might develop and shed light on an under-researched division of Judaism. The main focus of 1 Mystical movements strive for a personal experience of God or of his presence and values intuitive, spiritual insight or revelationary knowledge. The knowledge gained is generally ‘esoteric’ (‘within’ or hidden), leading to the term ‘esotericism’ as opposed to exoteric, based on the external reality which can be attested by anyone. 2 Ultra-orthodox Jews adhere most strictly to Jewish law as the holy word of God, delivered perfectly and completely to Moses on Mount Sinai.
  • Millennium, Jubilee and Human History Under God for Jews in the Middle Ages Rabbi Asher Finkel, Ph.D., Seton Hall University

    Millennium, Jubilee and Human History Under God for Jews in the Middle Ages Rabbi Asher Finkel, Ph.D., Seton Hall University

    Seton Hall University From the SelectedWorks of Rabbi Asher Finkel, Ph.D. 2003 Millennium, Jubilee and Human History under God for Jews in the Middle Ages Rabbi Asher Finkel, Ph.D., Seton Hall University This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY-NC-ND International License. Available at: https://works.bepress.com/asher_finkel/24/ Millennium, Jubilee and Human History under God for Jews in the Middle Ages Asher Finkel Jewish-Christian Studies Graduate Program Department of Religion Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ This article was published in Ich bin ein Hebraer: Gedenken an Otto Michel (1903 - 1993), edited by Helgo Lindner, 312-326. Tübingen: Mohr, 2003. MILLENNIUM, JUBILEE AND HUMAN HISTORY UNDER GOD FOR JEWS IN THE MIDDLE AGES Asher Finkel, Ph.D. The year 1240 is the beginning of the sixth millenium in the Jewish calendar. This year witnessed the Mongol invasion from the East, defeating the Germans and Poles, as well as the year that saw the new ascendancy of the Islamic power. The turn of events was perceived by Nachmanides as the appearance of the "fearsome and terrible beast" in Daniel's vision (Chapter 7) that preceded the coming of the Son of Man, the messianic figure in Jewish apocalypticism. Nachmanides1 portrays the Islamic empire as a "powerful kingdom that is closer to the truth than the former ones," referring to the other theriomorphic empires in Daniel's prophecy. Islam was perceived by Spanish Jewry to be a monotheistic faith, with emphasis on God's unity. Jews faced both Muslims and Christians on the Iberian peninsula, and they were also aware of the distinction between them.
  • Honi the Circle Drawer: “A Member of the Household” Or “A Son Who Implores His Father”?

    Honi the Circle Drawer: “A Member of the Household” Or “A Son Who Implores His Father”?

    Journal for the Study of Judaism 48 (2017) 1-13 Journal for the Study of Judaism brill.com/jsj Honi the Circle Drawer: “A Member of the Household” or “A Son Who Implores His Father”? Isaiah Ben-Pazi Hemdat Hadarom, Netivot, Israel [email protected] Abstract This article analyzes the meaning of two short metaphors used in the legend of Honi the Circle Drawer that define Honi’s relationship with God: Honi referred to himself as a “ben bayit” and Shimon son of Shatah called him “a son who implores his father” (m. Taʿan. 3:8). Explaining these metaphors contains the key to understanding the con- flict between Honi and Simeon son of Shatah who criticized him harshly. Most of the explanations for this exchange suggested previously involve imposing philosophical issues that are not suggested by the text. This article examines the use of the key term “ben bayit” and shows that it indicates a position of a slave who has decision-making powers in God’s “house.” This is what Honi presumed to be, and Shimon rejected. Keywords Honi the Circle Drawer – rainmaking – Hasid – rabbinic 1 Background and State of the Research The Mishnah describes a miracle ascribed to Honi the Circle Drawer (here- after: Honi), and the sharp response he received from Simeon son of Shatah (hereafter: SBS). The text of the Mishnah describes a situation that it was in the middle of the winter, and still it had not rained. The Mishnah says:1 1 m. Taʿan. 3:8 and parallel sources that are primarily b. Taʿan.
  • Va-Yishlakh WHO's to BLAME?

    Va-Yishlakh WHO's to BLAME?

    AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps Torah Portion – Va-Yishlakh WHO’S TO BLAME? :.¤r¨t¨v ,IbcC ,It§rk c«·eg³hk v¨sk²h r¤J£t vº¨tk,C v²bh¦s tm¥T³u :¨v®Bg±h³u V¨,«t cF§J°H³u V¨,«t j©E°H³u .¤r·¨t¨v th«¦a±b h°U¦j©v rIn£jiC of§J V¨,«t t§r³H³u Now Dina, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her and took her and forced her to lie with him. (Genesis 34:1-2) BACKGROUND: The narrative of the rape of Dina takes place immediately after Jacob and his family have returned to Jacob’s ancestral home in Canaan. We learn from the text that Dina goes out to “see the daughters of the land” and is raped by Shechem the Hivite, who then requests that she become his wife. Dina’s brothers are outraged to hear that their sister had been raped. The brothers trick the Hivites, promising that if the Hivites agree to be circumcised, then Dina and the daughters of Israel will be available to them. One the third day, when the Hivites were in pain from having been circumcised, Simeon and Levi snuck up on the Hivites and killed all the men of the city. When Jacob complained that Simeon and Levi’s actions would bring trouble to the house of Jacob, the sons answered, “Should our sister be treated like a whore?” The text raises many questions, most poignantly perhaps, why Dina is victimized by Shechem.
  • University of Southampton Research Repository Eprints Soton

    University of Southampton Research Repository Eprints Soton

    University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES English Department Hasidic Judaism in American Literature by Eva van Loenen Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2015 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF YOUR HUMANITIES English Department Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy HASIDIC JUDAISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE Eva Maria van Loenen This thesis brings together literary texts that portray Hasidic Judaism in Jewish-American literature, predominantly of the 20th and 21st centuries. Although other scholars may have studied Rabbi Nachman, I.B. Singer, Chaim Potok and Pearl Abraham individually, no one has combined their works and examined the depiction of Hasidism through the codes and conventions of different literary genres. Additionally, my research on Judy Brown and Frieda Vizel raises urgent questions about the gendered foundations of Hasidism that are largely elided in the earlier texts.
  • The Political and Religious Structure in Jesus' Time

    The Political and Religious Structure in Jesus' Time

    The Political and Religious Structure in Jesus’ Time In looking at the political and religious structure at the time of Jesus, we could explore countless topics. In this article we look at topics of the structure of the Jewish sects, the practice of taxation and tithing, and the exercising of crucifixion as a means of execution and control. Jewish Sects Just as Christianity today is divided into different groups (Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, nondenominational evangelical churches), so too ancient Jewish religion had distinct groups or sects. In Jesus’ time in Palestine, three groups were particularly influential. Josephus identifies these groups (he calls them “philosophies”): the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes. We should make clear from the start that only a small minority of people actually belonged to these sects, but their strong influence on Jewish society is undeniable. The Pharisees were the largest of the three, consisting of about six thousand members during the time of Herod the Great (out of a total population of perhaps one million people in Palestine). These groups can be compared not only to Christian denominations but also to modern political parties. In ancient Judaism there was no sharp distinction between religion and politics. All three groups were concerned not only with religious behavior but also with the political issues of their day. Sadducees The name Sadducees most likely comes from the name Zadok, a priest who anointed David’s son Solomon as king (see 1 Kings 1:32–40). The descendants of Zadok, the Zadokites, were recognized as the only legitimate priests by Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 44:9–31) and the author of the Book of Chronicles.
  • Nickelsburg Final.Indd

    Nickelsburg Final.Indd

    1 Sects, Parties, and Tendencies Judaism of the last two centuries b.c.e. and the first century c.e. saw the devel- opment of a rich, variegated array of groups, sects, and parties. In this chapter we shall present certain of these groupings, both as they saw themselves and as others saw them. Samaritans, Hasideans, Pharisees and Sadducees, Essenes, and Therapeutae will come to our attention, as will a brief consideration of the hellenization of Judaism and appearance of an apocalyptic form of Judaism. The diversity—which is not in name only, but also in belief and practice, order of life and customary conduct, and the cultural and intellectual forms in which it was expressed—raises several questions: How did this diversity originate? What were the predominating characteristics of Judaism of that age or, indeed, were there such? Was there a Judaism or were there many Judaisms? How do rabbinic Juda- ism and early Christianity emerge from it or them? The question of origins takes us back into the unknown. The religious and social history of Judaism in the latter part of the Persian era and in the Ptolemaic age (the fourth and third centuries b.c.e.) is little documented. The Persian prov- ince of Judah was a temple state ruled by a high-priestly aristocracy. Although some of the later parts of the Bible were written then and others edited at that time, and despite some new information from the Dead Sea manuscripts, the age itself remains largely unknown. Some scholars have tried to reconstruct the history of this period by work- ing back from the conflict between Hellenism and Judaism that broke into open revolt in the early second century.1 With the conquests of Alexander the Great in 334–323 b.c.e.—and indeed, somewhat earlier—the vital and powerful culture of the Greeks and the age-old cultures of the Near East entered upon a process of contact and conflict and generated varied forms of religious synthesis and self- definition.
  • LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL of DIVINITY Research Paper

    LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL of DIVINITY Research Paper

    LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY Research Paper: Comprehensive Overview of ancient Near Eastern texts related to the Book of Deuteronomy Submitted to Dr. William Price, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of OBST800 – B02_202130 Hermeneutics by Raleigh Bagley III July 03, 2021 1 Abstract The examination of the Bible has been transformed by the nineteenth and twentieth centuries’ archaeological findings in the ancient Near East that have proposed challenging new inquests to interpreters, making it presently improbable to analyze the Old Testament without taking such findings into consideration. Deuteronomy’s origin and purpose persist as two of the several challenging areas in biblical scholarship. In the past half-century, certain relationships have been observed in the outstanding features of Deuteronomy and ancient Near Eastern vassal treaties and pledges of loyalty, and efforts have been made to place the text of Deuteronomy in the historical context. Throughout the history of the ancient Near East, the use of different forms of vassal treaties in different historical periods and the treaty framework adopted by various other written forms are firm. One example profoundly similar in its framing to the treaty forms of the Hittite vassal treaties of the second millennium B.C.E and the Neo-Assyrian vassal treaties of the first millennium B.C.E. is the Hebrew Bible’s book of Deuteronomy. Understanding comparative methodologies will assist in shedding light on the often-complex associations of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the Scriptures. It is to this advance of this academic analysis that the prevailing debate is fundamentally orientated, recognizing the current difficulties to the traditional reconstructions of ancient Near Eastern parallels for most of the Israelite social and religious institutions and exercising this momentum to cross-examine these entrenched elements― that Deuteronomic history becomes of critical importance when the question of the revelation and inspiration of the holy Scriptures is raised.
  • River out of Eden: Water, Ecology, and the Jordan River in the Jewish

    River out of Eden: Water, Ecology, and the Jordan River in the Jewish

    RIVER OUT OF EDEN: WATER, ECOLOGY, AND THE JORDAN RIVER IN THE JEWISH TRADITION ECOPEACE / FRIENDS OF THE EARTH MIDDLE EAST (FOEME) SECOND EDITION, JUNE 2014 I saw trees in great profusion on both banks of the stream. This water runs out to the eastern region and flows into the Arabah; and when it comes into the Dead Sea, the water will become wholesome. Every living creature that swarms will be able to live wherever this stream goes; the fish will be very abundant once these waters have reached here. It will be wholesome, and © Jos Van Wunnik everything will live wherever this stream goes. Ezekiel 47:7-9 COVENANT FOR THE JORDAN RIVER We recognize that the Jordan River Valley is a that cripples the growth of an economy landscape of outstanding ecological and cultural based on tourism, and that exacerbates the importance. It connects the eco-systems of political conflicts that divide this region. It Africa and Asia, forms a sanctuary for wild also exemplifies a wider failure to serve as plants and animals, and has witnessed some of custodians of the planet: if we cannot protect a the most significant advances in human history. place of such exceptional value, what part of the The first people ever to leave Africa walked earth will we hand on intact to our children? through this valley and drank from its springs. Farming developed on these plains, and in We have a different vision of this valley: a vision Jericho we see the origins of urban civilization in which a clean, living river flows from the Sea itself.
  • The Fewest of All Peoples

    The Fewest of All Peoples

    Thoughts on the Weekly Parsha from COVENANT & RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS ZT"L Former Chief Rabbi of the CONVERSATION United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth לעילוי נשמת May the learning of these Divrei Torah be HaRav Ya'akov Zvi ben David Arieh zt"l have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to לעילוי נשמות take for himself one nation out of another פנחס בן יעקב אשר וגולדה בת ישראל דוד אייז ע״ה ,nation, by testings, by signs and wonders עזריאל בן אריה לייב ומעניה בת יצחק שרטר ע״ה by war, by a mighty hand and an out- Dedicated by stretched arm, or by great and awesome Dr. Robert Sreter DDS., M.S. deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? (Deut. 4:32-34) The Fewest of The Israelites have not yet crossed the Jor- dan. They have not yet begun their life as All Peoples a sovereign nation in their own land. Yet Moses is sure, with a certainty that could uried inconspicuously in this only be prophetic, that they were a people week’s parsha is a short sentence like no other. What has happened to them with explosive potential, causing B is unique. They were and are a nation sum- us to think again about both the nature of moned to greatness. Jewish history and the Jewish task in the present. Moses reminds them of the great Reve- lation at Mount Sinai. He recalls the Ten Moses had been reminding the new gener- Commandments.
  • Hittites and Hethites: a Proposed Solution to an Etymological Conundrum

    Hittites and Hethites: a Proposed Solution to an Etymological Conundrum

    JETS 54.2 (June 2011) 239–50 HITTITES AND HETHITES: A PROPOSED SOLUTION TO AN ETYMOLOGICAL CONUNDRUM !"#$%& '. ())** The name “Hittite(s)” appears forty-eight times in contemporary English Bibles, 1 stemming from the Reformation Geneva Bible published in 1560. All English translations prior to the Geneva Bible had “Hethite(s)” rather than “Hittite(s),” based on the Latin Vulgate. The Roman Catholic Douay English translation of the OT is the only modern English version to retain “Hethite(s)” from the Vulgate. 2 Should it be “Hethite(s),” “Hittite(s),” or a combination of חִ תִּי the two? Both names are Anglicized transliterations of the gentilic terms f. pl.) in the Hebrew Bible, which) חתִּיּ ֹת m. pl.), and) חִ ִ תּים ,(.f. sg) חִ ִ תּית ,(.m. sg) we shall examine in detail in this article. 3 There was a time when historians sco+ed at the name “Hittite(s)” in the OT since it was not known outside the Bible. 4 Archaeological discoveries in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Turkey, and Syria from the early nineteenth century on, however, have revealed an Indo-European group scholars have dubbed “Hittites” (as opposed to “Hethites”), who established an empire in Anatolia that became a major power in the ancient Near East. But a serious problem remains. The biblical references to Hittites living in Canaan appear to be unhistorical since there is no evidence—linguistic, historical, or archaeologi- cal—for a Hittite presence in Canaan. Kempinsky attempted to establish an early twelfth-century migration of Hittites to Canaan, requiring Abraham to be placed in the thirteenth-twelfth century BC, 5 but this scenario ,nds little support in the archaeological record.