The Book of Lamentations is comprised of six laments for the national catastrophe, which fundamentally changed the course of the history of the Jewish people: the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple followed by the exile of a large part of the Jewish people to Babylon. An examination of the exegeses and research on the Book of Lamentations after World War II shows that most exegeses refer in one way or another to the Holocaust as an event similarly tragic - and perhaps even more so - to the destruction and suffering described in Lamentations. However, one mustn't forget that the Holocaust is only one link, albeit unique, in the chain of the catastrophes and disasters known by the Jews over their 5,000-year history.

Un véritable courant de vie parcourt ces pages que Perspectives consacre au cinéaste Marcel Ophuls. La vie, le vivant dominent. Il n’est pas étonnant qu’une des contributions de ce numéro s’intitule “Liberté, vitalité, spectacle” (Sophie Brunet). Dès lors, la division du volume s’est faite d’elle-même: 1-Un homme vivant; 2-Une oeuvre vivante. Au départ, le portrait d’un homme se dessine. Dans une “interview imaginaire.” On savoure son franc-parler, non que l’on adhère à toutes ses idées – en particulier en ce qui concerne Israël – mais on admire l’aisance et la liberté totale qui anime ses propos. Le comportement professionnel du cinéaste, son comportement tout court, trouvent leur place dans cette première partie. Parfois même, l’homme est saisi dans le feu de l’action. Les grands problèmes qui occupent le coeur et la pensée d’un homme de notre temps se retrouvent dans la seconde partie du volume. Là encore, au plus près de la vie . Le cinéaste interpelle les spectateurs lorsqu’il traite de la Shoah, de l’Occuption, ou de la Résistance, de la place que ces sujets tiennent dans la mémoire d’un Français ou d’un Allemand. On s’interroge avec le cinéaste : se doit-il d’être objectif? Mais “dès le début de sa carrière, remarque Pierre Beylot, un style documentaire original fondé sur la parole de témoignage et le montage des sources dont il assume de plus en plus ostensiblement le caractère subjectif” marque son oeuvre. C’est dire aussi que souvent le regard s’attarde sur le traitement esthétique des sujets abordés. Ecoutons François Niney:“Cette remise en question de nos manières de voir et de nos dilemmes, à la fois politiques et personnels, par le jeu et le poids des mots, différencie radicalement le documentaire selon Marcel, du panel d’opinions tel que l’expose en permanence l’étal médiatique”. L’important est que son public réfléchisse. Il s’agit, selon Valérie Carré, de “mettre en mouvement la réflexion du spectateur”. Qu’attendre de l’avenir? Encore une oeuvre surprenante? Vincent Lowy, à l’écoute, note: “Boulimique de projets virtuels, l’infatigable MO junior annonce déjà les quatre titres d’ […] improbables best-sellers…” [futurs romans policiers }. Il convient enfin de souligner le rôle déterminant qu’a joué Stéphane Kerber dans l’élaboration de ce numéro de Perspectives. Nos vifs remerciements vont à lui. Laissons-lui maintenant la parole.

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 commentaries of Midrash Chachamim were written by an anonymous Italian author in the early sixteenth century as part of an extensive commentary to the weekly portions of the Torah reading. Throughout the work, the author copied the early complete midrashim such as Genesis Rabba and the halakhic midrashim almost verbatim. His autonomous creation is contained mostly in the commentaries to those portions that are missing in the halakhic midrash, and as such they are contained in the books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (though not for all portions of these books). The author tried to explain the verses according to their plain meaning, although he often incorporated in-depth discussions as well as interpretive and pedagogic excursus. In this edition, for the first time, the commentaries of Midrash Chachamim were collated from manuscript for the 27 weekly portions for which they were written, and brought together in order to present the author’s hermeneutical approach. The edition is complemented with an introduction that shows the background for writing these commentaries and discusses the style and interpretive techniques employed by the author.

The Babylonian Talmud is the fundamental work of the Oral Law, both by virtue of the widespread and intensive study of it, and by virtue of reliance on it in halakhic writings, for over a thousand years. The Talmud gained much of its importance during the Geonic period. Throughout this time its transmission shifted from oral recitation to written copies, its text became standardized, and it was sent out from the Babylonian academies across the Jewish diaspora. Its intensive study and complex system of transmission both orally and in writing resulted in many variant readings between extant copies. This book deals with questions concerning the ways in which the Babylonian Talmud became such as seminal work, and especially the Geonate’s treatment of the its textual tradition: the ways in which the Geonim related to the variant readings, how they chose between them, and according to what criteria; to what extent were its early readings preserved and to what extent was its text altered. In the second half of the book the entire corpus in which the Geonim deal with Talmudic variants is presented and discussed.

Chaim Waxman, the pre-eminent sociologist of contemporary Orthodoxy, is one of the keenest observers of American Jewish society. Having written on various aspects of this subject over the past forty years, he now revisits his earlier work in the light of recent developments. His familiarity with the entire spectrum of the Orthodox world combined with his deep knowledge of halakhah and his rigorous command of statistical and demographic data enables him to articulate distinctive perspectives on the issues that he addresses. His focus is not only on the various directions in which Orthodox practice is moving but also on how this affects the community as a whole. Waxman’s range is wide. After reviewing the socio-economic changes in American Orthodox communities and examining the reasons for them, he goes on to consider the political patterns of contemporary American Orthodox Jews. Demographic changes are also explored, particularly those relating to family life. Moving to the communal level, he discusses the increasing Americanization of Orthodox Jews, taking special note of how developments in Orthodoxy in Israel are having an increasing impact on American norms as contact between the two communities grows. In illustration of how Orthodoxy is adapting to modernity, he then presents a detailed discussion of halakhic developments, particularly regarding women’s greater participation in ritual practices and other areas of communal life. He shows that the direction of change is not uniform: there is both greater stringency and greater leniency, and he discusses the many reason for this both in the Jewish community and in the wider society. Relations between the various sectors of American Orthodoxy over the past several decades are also considered. The result is a comprehensive analysis from an acknowledged expert that will be of interest to everyone concerned with developments within American Orthodoxy and with the sociology of religion more generally.

The ‘Jewish mother’ figure is a hallmark of Jewish culture, one which appears in the works of rabbis, artists, poets, and activists across time and place. While depictions of mothers and motherhood abound in Jewish writings, they vary significantly according to social context. These representations therefore offer important insights into the Jewish cultural imagination, and the ways in which writers resort to the figure of the Jewish mother to comprehend and construct their world. The contributors to this volume highlight the complex network of symbols and images associated with Jewish mothers and motherhood as well as the vast array of social, historical, and cultural patterns that characterizations of mothers reflect. Each essay treats the topic from a specific perspective, spanning from mother--daughter relationships in the Talmud to depictions of mothers in twentieth-century American Jewish children’s literature. Collectively, they present a provocative examination of the ways mothers shape and problematize Jewish identity. This volume seeks to give the figure of the mother a new and enhanced place at the heart of Judaism: not only as a central figure in family life, but also as a key agent in the transmission of Jewish religion and culture.

Given the availability of literal commentaries to the Bible, including those of Rashi, R. Joseph Kara, Samuel Ben Meir (Rashbam), R. Abraham Ibn Ezra and others, one of the key questions that vexed R. Joseph Bekhor Shor and his contemporaries was whether there was a need for yet another additional Bible commentary. The argument put forward here suggests that R. Joseph Bekhor Shor chose a path that combined continuity and innovation. The fluid movement between the familiar and the novel is the main contribution of R . Joseph Bekhor Shor's exegesis. While remaining committed to the traditional approach to interpretation, R. Joseph Bekhor Shor succeeded in paving new pathways and introducing original methods that had not previously been developed by his predecessors . This book serves as a vital tool for researchers of the Bible commentaries of Northern France, for those who study the teachings of R. Joseph Bekhor Shor and for all who enjoy studying the Bible and its commentaries .

Israeli Religious Zionism underwent dramatic changes following the Six-Day War. The authors of this title argue that the war generated a trend of maturity that destabilized the fundamental ethe and myths of the traditional Religious Zionism ideas.

Kobez al Yad , an annual of the Mekize Nirdamim Society, is a forum for the publication from manuscript sources of ancient texts in Jewish studies that are shorter than book-length. The articles in this volume: Vered Raziel Kretzmer and Uri Ehrlich - Additional Leaves from the “Tetragrammaton Siddur” Eden HaCohen - Fragments of Yoṣer Compositions for the Day of Atonement by Shelomo Sulayman al-Sinjary Yehoshua Granat - A Yoṣer Composition for Simḥat Torah, based on Psalm 119, by Yosef ibn Abitur Avi Shmidman - Fragments of Weekday Qerovot Attributed to Yosef ibn Abitur Ariel Zinder - New Seliḥot by Yosef ibn Abitur and Yiṣhaq ben Levi ibn Mar Shaul Michael Rand - Hoshaʿna El meriaḥ ʿarugat ganni – A Qedushta for 18 Benedictions for Hoshaʿna Rabba by Dosa he-Ḥazan be-Rabbi Yehoshuaʿ in Imitation of the Qillirian Qedushta: Hoshaʿna El emuna Sarah Cohen - The Piyyutim of Yaʿakob al-Aʿyan Tova Beeri - The Poems of Yeḥezkel ha-Kohen ben Eli Mordechai Akiva Friedman - A Letter to Abraham the Pious in Praise of the Prayer Ritual in Fustat Simcha Emanuel - Supplement to Arugat HaBosem, the Piyyut Commentary of Abraham ben Azriel Benjamin Bar-Tikva - Tehillah: A Letter-Decorated Baqqasha by Yehosef ha-Ezovi Shulamit Elizur - A Collection of Medieval Wisdom Proverbs from Ashkenaz

The articles in this volume: Hallel Baitner - The Unintentional Killer and the Blood-Avenger –New Perspectives in the Rabbinic Exegesis of Num 35 Shulamit Elizur - The Origins of the Seliḥot Piyyutim Shalem Yahalom - The Pilpul Method of Talmudic Study: Earliest Evidence A. Bar-Asher - The Earliest Sefer ha-Zohar in Jerusalem: Early Manuscripts of Zoharic Texts and an Unknown Fragment from Midrash ha-Neʿlam [?] For contents and article abstracts in English press on Sample pages which is located on the right of the cover photo.

“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. The journal 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 publishes a section for recent WUJS news and publications, as well as reviews of new books published in the various fields of Jewish studies. Articles in this volume: ENGLISH SECTION Michael Schneider - Seventy Names and Seventy Books: Fourth Ezra and Hekhalot Literature Don Karr - Notes on the Study of Merkabah Mysticism and Hekhalot Literature in English ABSTRACTS HEBREW SECTION Ithamar Gruenwald - Aftertoughts on the Study of the Merkavah Literature Shraga Bar-On - “The Lord of All” and “The Creator of the and Yakir Paz World”: Aleinu le-Shabeach as an Anti-Binitarian Prayer Israel Knohl - The Chariot, the Righteous Man and Satan: Towards Resolving the Puzzle of Sefer HaBahir Gideon Bohak - Neologisms in Hekhalot Literature Yaron Zini - The Different Layers of Hekhalot Literature: Results of Linguistic Research Tzahi Weiss - The God of Israel—a Prince before God: The Sources and the Meaning of an Early Medieval Jewish Mythical Tradition Joseph Dan - From Hekhalot Rabbati to the Hekhalot of the Zohar: The Depersonalization of the Mysticism of the Divine Chario Moshe Idel - The Heikhalot Literature, the Ecstatic-Mystical Model and their Metamorphose