The treatise Scechina is a manifesto of Renaissance Christian-Kabbalistic messianism. The author, Cardinal Egidio da Viterbo (1469-1532), was a preeminent Christian Kabbalist, both in terms of his position within the ecclesiastical hierarchy and in what concerns the depth and breadth of his acquaintance with Hebrew sources. The treatise was composed in exquisite Renaissance Latin and is hereby rendered for the first time into a modern language. The text articulates the voice of the Jewish Shekinah herself, expounding in first person and with profound insight the doctrine of Kabbalah, fervently calling for the completion of the final stage of universal redemption. This redemption commences with the discovery of distant lands and foreign cultures, and its protagonist is Emperor Charles V, whose motto - plus ultra [further beyond] - refers to surpassing the Strait of Gibraltar and medieval knowledge (the Emperor and Pope Clement VII are among the book's addressees). While this redemption is Christian in nature, it emphasizes integration and synthesis with Greek and Roman wisdom, and particularly Judaism. Despite sharp condemnations of Jews for their non-acceptance of Jesus, Egidio's Shekinah lavishes love upon them, especially the Kabbalists, whom she refers to as "my Arameans" and considers as latent Christians. This even extends to support for Solomon Molkho, the Jewish messiah who apostatized from Christianity. Such an attitude towards Judaism did not survive in the Catholic Church in the generation following Egidio, the era of the Counter-Reformation. The translation is richly annotated by the translators, providing extensive commentary and explication. Furthermore, the volume is prefaced by comprehensive introductory chapters authored by Judith Weiss, elucidating the life, intellectual contributions, and literary corpus of Egidio da Viterbo.

Jewish Studies is published annually by the World Union of Jewish Studies (WUJS) and provides an outlet for the publication of articles, studies, documents and various other contents in Jewish studies. The journal publishes articles in Hebrew and in English, which undergo a review process. It focuses on studies of a methodological-programmatic nature and reviews various areas of Jewish studies. The journal was first published in 1971 under the title 'Newsletter of the World Union of Jewish Studies'. Since 1996 it is published in its current form as Jewish Studies - Journal of the World Union of Jewish Studies. In addition to articles, the journal features a section for recent WUJS news and publications, as well as reviews of new books published in the various fields of Jewish studies. Among the articles in this issue: Noam Mizrahi | THE INTERPRETIVE TRANSMISSION OF ISAIAH AS WITNESSED BY 4QISAG (4Q61) Yael Escojido and Emmanuel Friedheim | THE LIBERATION OF JEWISH SLAVES IN THE LETTER OF ARISTEAS AS AN EXPRESSION OF FEAR OF ASSIMILATION: A STUDY OF THE ASSIMILATION PROCESS AFFECTING JEWISH SLAVES IN THE HELLENISTIC DIASPORA Gilad Sasson | “IN THE SANCTUARY, O LORD, WHICH THY HANDS HAVE ESTABLISHED”: THE HOMILY OF MEKHILTA OF R. ISHMAEL AND ITS PARALLELS IN AVOT DE-RABBI NATAN AND IN BAVLI KETUBBOT Hananel Mack | BECAUSE OF WHOM DO THE RAINS FALL? ALTERNATING CREDITS IN RAIN STORIES OF THE AGGADAH LITERATURE

Ta’am HaTe’amim is a messianic treatise in the Hebrew language composed by the Catholic French orientalist and mystic Guillaume Postel (1510-1581). Ta’am HaTe’amim is a relatively unknown Renaissance document, which sheds light on unique intellectual and political stands prevalent among sixteenth-century Catholic reformators . Throughout the treatise, Postel refers to several famous historical issues, depicting them through his own particular perspective, which was based upon a blend of Joachite millenarism, French patriotism and Jewish Kabbalah. In addition, Ta’am HaTe’amim is a rare example of Hebrew writing by an Early Modern Christian Scholar, and it is characterized by remarkable linguistic traits expressing Postel’s theological concepts regarding languages in general and Hebrew in particular.

Ever since its emergence in the thirteenth-century , Jewish Kabbalah, and most prominently – the Book of Zohar, has captured the hearts of Jewish as well as non-Jewish readers. Significant interest in Kabbalah is evident in the Renaissance, when various Christian Scholars accepted the traditional Jewish narrative, according to which the corpus of medieval Jewish Kabbalah is the Oral Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The sixteenth century is rightfully considered the golden age of this kind of Christian interest in Jewish Kabbalah. During this period a group of scholars, high-rank priests, and secular rulers were familiar with Kabbalistic notions, some of these Christians read the Kabbalistic treatises, whether in their original versions or in translation, some even composed commentaries or translated them into Latin, and most important - they incorporated Kabbalistic notions into their own theological and messianic conceptions. Among Kabbalistic writings, most of these thinkers' attention was drawn to the Zohar, and some of them attempted to translate parts of it into Latin. The first comprehensive, though not complete Latin translation of the Zohar was composed by the French orientalist and mystic Guillaume Postel in the middle of the 16th century. Postel was a prolific and original thinker, who developed an elaborate messianic theological schema, which he based upon Kabbalistic notions. Convinced, as he was, that the Zohar is the perfect and ultimate expression of his own messianic concepts, he embarked on his life project – producing a Latin translation and commentary on the Zohar. This fascinating commentary on the Zohar never appeared in print nor was it ever translated into any language. In Judith Weiss's On the Conciliation of Nature and Grace substantial parts of Postel's Commentaries on the Zohar are presented in the original Latin vis a vis her Hebrew translation, accompanied by introductions and notes, elucidating Postel's unique perception of the Zohar and the Kabbalah.

The articles in this volume Israel Knohl : The Linking of Holiness Concepts and the broadening of the Borders of Holiness in the Editorial Layer of the Pentateuch. Alexander Rofé : Divorce in the Hebrew Bible and the Meaning of Sefer Keritut. Ishay Rosen-Zvi : A Protocol of the Yavnean Academy? Rereading Tosefta Sanhedrin. Shlomo Toledano : The Talmudic Methodology of Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi. Judith Weiss: The Two Zoharic Versions of the Legend of The Tanna and the Deadman. Iris Brown (Hoizman) : ‘The Violation of the Torah is Its True Fulfillment’;Ultra-Orthodox Ruling against the Halakhah for The Emendation of the Sinners – R. Hayim of Sanz as a Case Study.