The Journals of the Haskalah from 1820 to 1845 includes monographs and annotated indices to eight Hebrew periodicals in Holland, Galicia, Germany and Lithuania, published in the first half of the nineteenth century. The monographs analyze the phenomena of the Hebrew Haskalah press, addressing major developments in the history of the Haskalah, such as the emergence of ‘Hochmat Israel’ (The scholarly study of Judaism) in Hebrew, and the emerging centers of Haskalah in Holland, Galicia, and Lithuania. The monographs study the journals and their editors, contributing authors, and the subject matters included in them, and examine their scholarly and literary output. Some of the luminary scholars of the Haskalah contributed to these journals: Shmuel David Luzzatto, Shlomo Yehuda Rapoport, Nachman Krochmal, and Marcus Jost, as well as authors and poets, such as Yitzhak Erter, Shmuel Mulder, Meir Halevi Letteris and Adam Hacohen Lebenson. ‘Hevrat To’elet’ (To’elet Society), established in 1815, published three of the journals: Bikurei To’elet (First Fruits of To’elet, 1820), Pri To’elet (Fruit of To’elet, 1825), both edited by Shmuel Mulder, and Bikurei Hashanah (First Fruits of the Year, 1844), edited by Gabriel Pollak. in 1823/4, the author and editor Meir Halevi Letteris issued the journal Hatzfirah (Dawn). In the early 1840s, two scholars of the German school of the Study of Judaism, Marcus Jost and Michael Creizenach, launched a Hebrew monthly publication in Frankfurt titled Zion (1841–1842). In 1842 and 1844, two Vilna Maskilim, Shmuel Yoseph Fünn and Eliezer Lipman Horowitz, published the journal Pirhei Tzafon (The Northern Flowers). In 1844, Mendel Stern published one issue of Sefer Bikurei Ha’itim (The Book of The First Fruits of the Times), and a year later, in 1845/6, Yitzhak Shmuel Reggio and Israel Busch issued a one-time periodical titled Bikurei Ha’itim Hahadashim (The New First Fruits of the Times). This book is the fourth volume in the series of monographs and annotated indices of Hebrew Haskalah periodicals. It follows the publication of the monographs and annotated indices on Kerem Hemed, titled Kerem Hemed: ‘Hochmat Israel’ [The Scholarly Study of Judaism] As the ‘New Yavneh,’ the Hebrew Journal of the Haskalah in Galicia and Italy (1833–1856), in 2009, and previously on Bikurei Ha’itim, titled Bikurei Ha’itim – Bikurei Hahaskalah [The First Fruits of Haskalah], the Hebrew Journal of the Haskalah in Galicia (in 2005), and the publication of Hame’asef Index and monograph – Sha’ar Lahaskalah [The Gate to Haskalah]: An Annotated Index to Hame’asef, the First Hebrew Periodical (1783–1811), in 2000, by Magnes Press. The annotated indices should serve as a reliable reference tool for viewing and reviewing the major topics and issues that occupied the minds of the editors and the writers of these journals. Readers may now examine the scope and the character of the material published in these eight journals. Likewise, it is now convenient to assess the contribution of participating scholars, authors, and poets, to the Haskalah literature, and to explore their ideological stand on various scholarly or Haskalah-related matters. Association of Jewish Libraries’ Judaica Bibliography Award 2014

This study is devoted to three interrelated subjects: We seek to understand the theory of Jewish criminal punishment, we shall endeavor to describe the role of pain and suffering in punishment, and we wish to present an encyclopedic view of Jewish penology, the history of criminal punishment among the Jews throughout history. We intend to point out that there was more than one system of Jewish penology. We will elaborate upon the existence of a classical system – retributory and expatiatory – related to a self-perfecting society. Only such a society would ordain a painless penalty for death for criminals guilty of the most serious crimes with malice and forethought and a painful punishment with immediate restoration to one's community for criminals guilty of lesser crimes. Criminal penalties for the purposes of deterrence (private or public) or of social rehabilitation are minor considerations. In addition to and alongside the classical penological system, we will be detailing other systems of a more practical nature: one governed by the King's law and others emerging from rabbinical ad hoc jurisdiction and communal legislation. These systems are less governed by the classical motivations of strict retribution and religious expiation (which continue to play a role – albeit a relatively minor one); deterrence and social rehabilitation, law and order, are their dominant considerations. Moreover the varying degrees of judicial autonomy granted to the Jewish community by the non-Jewish governments resulted in variations in penal practices among the various communities themselves. A summery in English at the end of the book.

The production of this issue of Korot has marked the completion of a lengthy program of study in aspects of infectious diseases in the Holy Land over the past century or so. My own studies in the management of trachoma by the Yishuv during the British Mandate illustrated many of the features which characterized the Zionist movement of the period. These included the sense of community care and of nation building and the concern to create a new society. For some years there had been plans to bring together the research conducted by various Israeli academics working in a range of university settings on aspects of infectious diseases into one printed forum. Therefore, this issue of Korot represents the fruits of many areas of study into many different diseases as they have affected the population of the Land of Israel, with an introduction by Nadav Davidovich and Rakefet Zalashik, who have long shared my determination that this collection of essays should be published within a single volume, which sets the scene for the essays which are included here. Korot has long had a reputation for stimulating research into many aspects of the Jews and medicine, and I have relished the opportunity afforded to me to work in Jerusalem as an active member of the Editorial Board in close conjunction with Professor Samuel Kottek and with Dr. Helena Paavilainen. Medical history in Israel continues to flourish in a number of different settings, and research continues in many contemporary fields, whether it relates to social aspects of health and disease, medicine and the Holocaust, or as we portray here, to the wider impact of infectious diseases on the land and its peoples. Having a special collection of essays in this issue is an occasion of significance for the study of medical history in Israel, and it underlines the importance of this journal in showcasing the best of Israeli studies in the history of medicine. This theme of infectious diseases is also represented in this issue by a collection of essays resulting from a Symposium entitled “A Leper is Like a Dead Person,” which was held at the Van Leer Institute on June 2, 2010. The meeting was sponsored by the School of Pharmacy, Hebrew University (Ein Karem campus) and by the National Center for Hansen’s Disease at Hadassah Hospital. Organized by Dr. Yisraela Nili, it brought together many different aspects of this enigmatic medical and sociological phenomenon from ancient times to modern Israel. As the editor of Vesalius: the Journal of the International Society for the History of Medicine I have had a first-hand opportunity to see the vitality of medical history studies around the world. Israeli researchers have taken a prominent role on the world stage whether in the Congresses and Meetings of the International Society or in the submitted articles to Vesalius. Professor Samuel Kottek has long been an honored figure in the International Society, and Professor Shifra Shvarts is the Society’s Business Manager. It was interesting to see at the recent International Society Congress in Padua/Abano the continuing presence of Jewish historical issues, from the enduring presence of Jewish medical students to the role of the converso physician. While there may be no independent entity of “Jewish medicine,” the confluence of the Jews and medicine remains an area of fascination which retains the power to excite, to instruct, and for us all to learn and to share. Thus, the Editorial Board of Korot is always open to original contributions and communications on the history of Jews and medicine, medicine in Jewish sources as well as medical history topics relating to Israel. Dr. Kenneth Collins, Guest Editor

Distinguished philosopher Hilary Putnam, who is also a practicing Jew, questions the thought of three major Jewish philosophers of the twentieth century – Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas – to help him reconcile the philosophical and religious sides of his life. An additional presence in the book is Wittgenstein, who, although not a practicing Jew, thought about religion in ways that Putnam juxtaposes to the views of Rosenzweig, Buber and Levinas. Putnam explains the leading ideas of each of these great thinkers, bringing out what, in his opinion, constitutes the decisive intellectual and spiritual contributions of each of them. Although the religion discussed is Judaism, the depth and originality of these philosophers, as incisively interpreted by Putnam, make their thought nothing less than a guide to life. Origonally published by Indiana University Press.

Halakhah: Overt and Implicit Conceptual and Ideological Contexts , is a collection of articles by leading scholars in the field of halakhah and the philosophy of halakhah. The articles uncover the overt and implicit worldviews of a number of halakhic decisors and examine how they coped with extra-halakhic cultures and ideas. Some of them internalized “outside” concepts, while others dealt with the outside world by making new use of the internal notions of the world of halakhah. The articles also consider the link between ideology and the issuance of halakhic rulings. Readers will encounter examples of the influence of ideology on halakhah, alongside arguments that categorically deny that ideology plays any part in halakhic thinking. The volume proposes answers to questions such as whether halakhah derives its power from its anti-ideological character and what underlies the assertion that halakhah is an ideological text.

The book Statutory Jewish Prayers is a collection of essays by Ezra Fleisher on the subject of prayer and synagogue rituals. The two volumes of this book include Fleishers fundamental essays about the essence and emergence of statutory prayer in Israel. This text is accompanied by ancient versions of Israelite prayer found in the Cairo Geniza Collection in Geneva. The book also includes descriptions of other rituals and customs exercised in Israelite synagogues such as Rosh Hodesh (new moon) customs and special ways to blow the shofar on the Sabath. Torah and Haftorah (additional reading from the prophets) reading are also referenced. The book ends with a detailed inspection of a few important Mahzorim.

Two Together , by Moshe Meir, embodies a breakthrough in Judaic philosophy in the new era. Its roots are anchored in the sources of the Jewish religion’s twentieth century philosophy, particularly that of Hermann Cohen and Rabbi Soloveichik, and Chassidic philosophy and heritage; its background is the barren dispute between religiosity and secularism in the era defined as post-modern. Moshe Meir’s painful acknowledgment, drawn from personal experience, is that the independent identity of ‘the religious’ and ‘the secular’ participate in each other’s worlds, and the dispute not only divides them but causes splitting among themselves. In his book, the author develops a new religious-philosophical language which enables stepping out from behind the armor that prevents each party from seeing the other’s humanity, and creating not only humane Jewish rapprochement but also a personal identity that bridges and unifies the secular believer on one hand, and the believing secularist on the other. As a researcher of Judaic philosophy in the new era who has consolidated his own views on these issues, I was deeply impressed by the innovative impetus, clarity and intellectual integrity characteristic of Moshe Meir’s book, from the beauty of its structure, and its elegant style. It is an attractive book which, despite its depth, is eminently readable and enjoyable. This book will enrich and enhance the spiritual world of all readers interested in such topics, and may give rise to serious, in-depth debate among its enthused supporters and equally enthused opponents, whether they are religious or secular. (Prof. Eliezer Schweid, Department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University, Jerusalem). The search for a refreshing religious philosophy is one of the most vital and fascinating of all. Moshe Meir presents a path which is both model and content for establishing one of the most unique modes of belief in our generation. Precisely because I do not agree with all his views, I consider it of supreme importance that his principles are read by, and echo within, every believing individual – either by their adoption, or critical review – as they convey a tone of orientation that is direct, and deep, in seeking God. (Rabbi Yuval Cherlow). In this beautiful, important, and innovative book, Moshe Meir creates the religious-secular individual from his image, similar only externally to the religious-orthodox individual. This intriguing creation caused me to reconsider my own likeness, and discover that after all is said and done, I am none other than a secular-orthodox person whose similarity to a secular-secularist is only external. (Ari Elon, author of עלמה די and בא אל הקדש (

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This research hopes to construct fascinating mosaic studies which expand and redefine the boundaries of the discourse of Halakhah Thought. This book gives a new understanding of the Halakhic process through the analytical tools of the philosophy of Halakhah. It invites fresh insights into the Halakhah's dynamic in light of models which come from varied disciplinary fields. In this framework, we will meet some models from philosophy, anthropology, sociology, law, psychology, and education which will shed a new light on our understanding of the concept of Meta-Halakhah. In this book, there are discussions such as "what is the contribution of feminism to the halakhic discourse?" (Tamar Ross); "on Aristotelian logic and Halakhah" (Aviram Ravitzky); "between philosophy of science, language and Halakhah" (Meyer Bouzaglo); "the relationship between the Halakhic language and Kabbalistic language" (Joseph Dan); "on Emmanuel Levinas and Jewish law" (Joel Hansel); "values, world view and Halakhic progress" with Izhak Englard, David Halivni, David Hartman and Aviezer Ravitzky.

Korot is unique as the only journal devoted to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science. To quote Prof. Leibowitz (z”l), one of the first initiators of Korot, the purpose of the publication is: ...preference for topics based on sources not readily accessible to our colleagues abroad in their researches. Avoiding, as far as possible, a narrow parochial approach, we hope to enlarge the knowledge of medical historical facts and concepts in a field often regarded as somewhat esoteric.1 It is our hope that the present volume of Korot has succeeded in this endeavor. Our special thanks are due to Dr. Kenneth Collins for his kind assistance in the proofreading stage. Our next issue will emphasize the subject of Jews and medicine in the Renaissance period, e.g., Tuviah Cohen and Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo. Our readers are warmly invited to submit articles connected with these subjects, but also any other historical essays related to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science, for publication. Letters to the editor and brief historical notes are also welcome.

This book is dedicated to a wide range study of the different contexts of paradise in different religious and cultural traditions from antiquity to the present. The biblical story tells of 'Garden of Eden (Genesis H - C, X), is where the human story begins and where its basic concepts are defined. In the story of the Garden of Eden the dialogue between the eternal Creator and an ephemeral created man are mentioned for the first time. Also the archetypal division between man and woman, the distinction between innocence and knowledge, the eye opening as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, the shameful hiding, guilt and fear are also present; A distinction between crime and punishment, the naked and dressed/covered, between prohibited and permitted, between controlling and controlled, and the eternal and the temporal. These concepts have all become world cultural infrastructure of the monotheistic religions in many contexts, from the beginning of life to its end. Table of Contents Foreword Introduction A. Garden of Eden in Antiquity Yair Zakovitch, "Is The Tree of Knowledge The Tree of Life?" Nathan Wasserman, "'And the Earth Was Revealed in all Its Beauty': Remarks on the Literary Traditions of Paradise and Creation of the World in Ancient Mesopotamia and in the Bible." Leah Mazor, “The Journey of the Magical River from the Temple to the Sea (Ezek 47, 1-12): The Removal of Chaos and a New Creation.” Rachel Elior, "'The ‘Garden of Eden was the Holy of Holies and theDwelling of the Lord'." B. Garden of Eden in Late Antiquity Serge Ruzer, “Earthly Paradise as Homeland, Jerusalem as Remotest Exile: Inverted Sacred Geography and Linguistics in the Syriac 'Cave of Treasures'.” Sergey Minov, "The question of Sexuality in Paradise as reflected in Late Antiquity Biblical Exegesis - Between the Sages and the Fathers of the Church." Hannah Wortzman, "Seduction and Sin in the Greek Life of Adam and Eve." Nurit Hirshfeld, “From Which Tree did Adam and Eve Eat in the Garden of Eden?” C. Garden of Eden in the Liturgy and in the World of the Sages Dalia Marx, "'And Mystery is Paradise': The Garden of Eden in Jewish Liturgy." AvigdorShinan, "'On Those who Entered theGarden of Eden Alive'." D. Paradise in the Medieval Period Amitai Harosh, "'And from thence it was parted, and became into four Heads' (Gen 2:10): Paradise in the Writings of Salomon Ibn Gabirol." Micha Goodman, "The Law of the Torah as a return to Paradise: Maimonides Perception of the Law." Oded Yisraeli, "The Tree of Life and its Roots – A History of a Kabalistic Symbol." Elisheva Revel-Neher, "Between Heaven and Earth: the Heavenly Ladder in Jewish and Christian Medieval Art." Ithamar Theodor, "The Star of the Cows - the Highest Heaven in the Krishnaite Tradition." E. Garden of Eden in the Modern Period David Fishelov, "'But We Must Cultivate Our Garden': Paradise Lost/Found in Robinson Crusoe and Candide." Yahil Zaban: "'A Place for Love': the Literature of the Enlightenment and the 'Pleasant Place.'" Yehuda Moraly, "A Revolution in Paradise: Representations of Paradise on the Twentieth Century Stage and Screen." Uri Hollander, "Miłosz Enterd the Pardes: On Czesław Miłosz ' s Utopic Perception." F. Paradise in Sociology, psychology and Anthropology Yoram Bilu, "'The Gateway to Paradise' in Beit She'an: Between Personal Symbol and Cultural Tradition in a Holy Site." Chaim Noy, "Touristic Paradises: A Critical Rendering of Modern Vacationscapes." Adam Klin-Oron, "End-of-Days Visions in Twentieth-Century Channeling: From the Age of Aquariusto the New Age." Published in Cooperation with Scholion Interdisciplinary Research Center in Jewish Studies

This book analyzes the influence that Aristotelian logic had on the understanding of methods of halakhic inference. “Methods of halakhic inference” refer to methods of Talmudic inference and argumentation, mainly the thirteen exegetical principles of the Torah, enumerated at the beginning of the Sifra. The thirteen exegetical principles are the most famous methods of halakhic inference. They are considered basic and fundamental rules by which the oral halakhic tradition is related to the Scriptures. No wonder, therefore, that there are dozens of commentaries to this set of rules. The study presented in this book focuses on the logical trend of commentaries on the Thirteen Principles. In these commentaries Aristotelian logic was applied, in a variety of ways. This special way of combining philosophy and halakha has significance not only for the history of the development of Talmudic methodology, but also for the understanding of the ongoing interaction between particular Jewish ideas and tradition on the one hand, and the external “universal” culture and literature on the other. Analysis of the logical commentaries on the Thirteen Principles can demonstrate how the original Greek doctrines were transmitted, mainly through Arabic philosophy, but sometimes also through Christian-scholastic philosophy, to the medieval Jewish sages, and how these Jewish sages applied those doctrines to develop a more sophisticated Talmudic methodology.