Jewish Art History

שלושה אמנים אורתודוקסים עכשוויים – יוסייף כהן, מל אלכסנברג ואבנר בר חמא – מתבוננים מחדש במשמעותה של הסוכה, כל אחד מזווית ייחודית משלו. דרך חומר, צבע ודימוי הם בוחנים את המתח שבין הארעיות לקביעות, בין הבית המוכר לבין המרחב הזמני הפתוח לשמים. עבודותיהם מציעות לקהל הרחב חוויה חזותית ורוחנית, המזמינה להרהר מחדש בחג הסוכות ובמשמעותו בעולם המודרני.

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### In English

Three contemporary Orthodox artists — **Yosaif Cohen**, Mel Alexenberg, and Avner Bar Hama — reimagine the meaning of the sukkah, each from a unique perspective. Through material, color, and imagery, they explore the tension between transience and permanence, between the familiar home and the temporary structure open to the sky. Their works offer viewers a visual and spiritual experience that invites fresh reflection on the festival of Sukkot and its relevance in today’s world.

Marc Chagall and Reuven Rubin embody opposite poles of Jewish modernism: Chagall, the fractured immigrant painting exile and memory in Paris, and Rubin, the rooted immigrant sanctifying Zionist rebirth in Palestine. Together, they reveal migration as both rupture and redemption, exile and homecoming, showing how Jewish modernism reimagined tradition in diaspora and homeland.

This article examines two manuscripts copied in Italy in the mid-sixteenth century: one, a collection of magic recipes, and the other, a divination manual. The discussion opens with an analysis of the recipe book, its author, its Italian scribe, and above all the paratexts it contains. Drawing on these paratexts, the article seeks to establish a connection between this manuscript and the other, which is devoted to a lot divination technique.

Catalogo della mostra “L'anima ignuda nell'isola dei beati. Carlo Michelstaedter e il patrimonio artistico e storico dell'ebraismo goriziano e isontino” a cura di Andrea Morpurgo, Isabella Reale, Lucio Gregoretti, Silvana Corbatto (Monfalcone, Galleria Comunale d’Arte Contemporanea, 14 settembre - 2 novembre 2025)

Catalogo della mostra “L'anima ignuda nell'isola dei beati. Carlo Michelstaedter e il patrimonio artistico e storico dell'ebraismo goriziano e isontino” a cura di Andrea Morpurgo, Isabella Reale, Lucio Gregoretti, Silvana Corbatto (Monfalcone, Galleria Comunale d’Arte Contemporanea, 14 settembre - 2 novembre 2025)

In a collection made almost exclusively of objects from
central and eastern Europe, and with an undeniable
prevalence of Hanukkah lamps, the six Italian amulet
cases from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, make for a
pleasant surprise. Of these, five are part of the generous
gift made in 2013 to the MFA from the Charles and
Lynn Schusterman Collection, which consists of 120
works, including ceremonial art, paintings, sculpture,
and textiles. The sixth amulet container was donated
three years later by Italo Servi (fig. 1), born in Pitigliano
97 years ago, and resident since 1947 of Boston, where
he moved for a Ph.D. in engineering at the prestigious
MIT Institute. The Servi Shaddai is the only one of the
MFA amulets that tells, as this article reveals, a touching
family story.

n museums, synagogues, antique stores, and personal collections, Jewish objects are gathered, studied, and passed down as material representations of a culture and faith. What defines these items as "Jewish," and how does an item acquire or lose this characteristic throughout its life? Drawing from material culture studies, folklore studies, and curatorial perspectives, this collection aims to answer these questions and reveal the life histories of Jewish things. Essays consider assemblages ranging from Holocaust ephemera to religious relics and pieces of art. Each time these materials cross geographic, cultural, or social borders, their Jewishness is redefined through new dialogues about maker and user, buyer and seller, insider and outsider.

Sul finire del IV e la prima metà del V secolo Salerno sta recuperando parte dei suoi edifici grazie all'aiuto economico che il vir clarissimus Arrio Mecio Gracco, patronus Coloniae Salernitanorum, ha reso disponibile 1 . L'azione evergetica, nata in seguito ad una considerevole alluvione che investe l'abitato, è certificata nell'epigrafe dedicatoria di una base onoraria, che accolse la statua del mecenate salernitano e che, recuperata anni or sono in Largo Abate Conforti, costituisce uno dei rari tasselli della storia più antica della città. Le strutture storiche di età romana si individuano, di fatto, a macchia di leopardo all'interno di un pluristratificato tessuto urbano, dove la ricerca archeologica è legata prevalentemente ad azioni di emergenza in conseguenza di lavori pubblici o privati (fig. ). L'assenza di una valutazione dei depositi archeologici urbani e di una ricerca programmata su differenti piani di intervento ha determinato nel tempo un certo disordine che riguarda in prevalenza l'età classica, mentre l'analisi stratigrafica degli elevati 2 ha consentito una maggiore comprensione delle fasi antiche e post classiche della storia delle città. I recenti restauri di edifici -quali Palazzo Pinto 3 , sede della Pinacoteca Provinciale, Palazzo Fruscione 4 , palinsesto di età normanno-sveva, angioina, aragonese e infine ottocentesca -e di chiese quali San Pietro a Corte 5 e Sant'Andrea de Lama 6costruzioni longobarde erette su preesistenze romane -unitamente a saggi archeologici, volti ad un restauro filologicamente corretto, hanno messo in atto processi di promozione coesi tra più enti pubblici con risultati apprezzabili in termini di valorizzazione e conoscenza. La città antica si distribuì su quote altimetriche diverse sulla base della sua originaria morfologia, all'interno di aree separate naturalmente dai numerosi corsi d'acqua che ancora oggi ne contrassegnano la toponomastica: il Fusandola, la Lama, i Canali, il Canalone, il Rafastia, l'Irno e, ancora nella

Esta obra colectiva reúne trabajos que, desde perspectivas diversas, abordan temas sugerentes y a la vez atractivos de la historia del Viejo Continente.
Investigadoras e investigadores de Francia, España, Italia y Argentina esbozan recorridos sobre poder político, construcciones religiosas y culturales, actividades socioeconómicas, disidencias y movimientos sociales, de la Antigüedad Tardía al Tiempo Presente. Las razones de estas travesías no son fortuitas. Cada uno de los textos que conforman estos Recorridos contienen notas distintivas y únicas que posibilitan su lectura independiente al mismo tiempo que permiten realizar un itinerario personal por los distintos capítulos del libro.

The issue of authenticity, continuity and the reconstruction of lost monuments has been the subject of vigorous debate in the philosophy and methodology of heritage conservation since its inception and especially after the Second World War and the collapse of the Soviet bloc. This article discusses the intertwined history of the Great Synagogue of Vilna (Vilnius) in Lithuania and the Hurva Synagogue of Jerusalem. Both synagogues, which had been the main 'cathedral' shrines for the Jewish communities of Vilna and Jerusalem, were destroyed during the conflict, leaving ruins in their place. After many years of loss and given their importance, an opportunity arose to memorialize or reconstruct these monuments. Special attention is given to the significance of these two synagogues as places of identity and to the way in which changing dynamics in the ethics of heritage management concerning the reconstruction of lost built cultural heritage have affected outcomes at these two sites.

Il termine greco 'sinagoga' (συναγωγή) per segnalare un'istituzione distintamente ebraica è registrato nelle fonti letterarie della diaspora fin dalla fine del III o all'inizio del II secolo a.e.v., mentre le prove strutturali di queste case per la preghiera e altre attività di impegno comunitario a servizio degli ebrei emergono in Eretz Israel durante il periodo del tardo secondo tempio (200 a.e.v.-70 e.v. Altrove nella diaspora, si conoscono attualmente solo una ventina di edifici la cui decorazione a tema ebraico rende esplicita la destinazione cultuale del luogo. La maggior parte di questi complessi comunitari emergono da un'ampia ristrutturazione di un ambiente domestico preesistente e conservano qualcosa dell'antica intimità nel design, sebbene testi antichi parlino di sinagoghe di proporzioni monumentali. Per quanto frammentaria possa apparire, questa documentazione architettonica del periodo post-tempio (70 ca.-600 e.v.), più o meno coincidente con l'età romana tardoantica (III-VII secolo e.v.), ci fornisce dettagli chiave sulle caratteristiche costruttive che rivelano a loro volta un'immagine crescente di santità intorno alla presenza dei rotoli della Torah in un particolare arredo liturgico, l'aron. Questo cambiamento nella centralizzazione del culto si manifesta nel progetto dell'antica sinagoga, che prevedeva l'allestimento di un santuario fisso per contenere la Torah, una piattaforma rialzata di lettura, e spesso disposizioni speciali per i posti a sedere lungo le pareti laterali e frontali della sala riunioni principale (con tutta probabilità, anche uno o più candelabri del tipo menorah). Allo stesso tempo, i bagni rituali, i miqvaot, un tempo così presenti negli ambienti ebraici dell'era del tardo Secondo Tempio, sono quasi introvabili, almeno per l'epoca in questione, sebbene la vicinanza a uno specchio d'acqua naturale continui a essere vista come un determinante per dove sarebbero state costruite sinagoghe nell'antichità. Allora, come oggi, la sinagoga esisteva come luogo di ritrovo per la comunità ebraica. D'altra parte, come nel caso del Tempio di Erode a Gerusalemme, che integrava tecniche costruttive contemporanee nella sua realizzazione, l'eredità architettonica dell'antica sinagoga non è unicamente ebraica per quanto riguarda la progettazione. Vediamo una manifesta varietà nella forma e nell'aspetto degli edifici sinagogali sia in Israele che nella diaspora, probabilmente a seconda delle esigenze di una particolare ubicazione, sponsorizzazione e clientela.

Italy’s synagogues provide a rich array of texts and materials. However, much of the evidence we have regarding Italy’s Jewish material culture from Roman times does not originate from within the synagogue itself. Instead, it can be observed in funeral art, where symbols are primarily, if not exclusively, associated with ritual practices. These practices seem to have evolved from the Temple liturgy to that of the synagogue. Additionally, there is the challenge of the time gap between the first references to Jews in Roman literature and the material evidence at our disposal, particularly concerning the 3rd to 6th centuries CE.

В данной статье анализируется «третий поиск исторического Иисуса», который опирается на археологические исследования Галилеи. Авторы дают краткое описание сути «третьего поиска», рассматривают упоминания о Галилее в древних письменных источниках и дают альтернативное осмысление результатов археологических исследований этой области. На основе имеющихся свидетельств прослеживается историческая динамика этнорелигиозного состава Галилеи, начиная с Железного века, включая периоды Ассирийского и Вавилонского плена и периода эллинизации. Авторы обращают особое внимание на положение Галилеи в конце I тыс. до н. э.
В статье ставится по сомнение гипотеза о том, что в раннеримский период Галилея была заселена потомками иудейского исхода в Галилею при хасмонеях. Авторы анализируют мнение представителей «третьего поиска» о содержательном региональном плюрализме галилейского иудаизма и выявляют проблемные аспекты в обосновании общепринятого утверждения об иудейском происхождении Иисуса и об этнорелигиозной принадлежности Иисуса к религиозному еврейству. В статье показано, что из археологических данных раскопок в Галилее не следует с необходимостью, что ее население в рассматриваемый период было сплошь иудейским.

Yakir Segev’s Days of Future Past, Boris Schatz’s The Rebuilt Jerusalem Revisited offers a critical reappraisal of Boris Schatz’s utopian novel The Rebuilt Jerusalem (originally printed in Hebrew in 1924), published here in a richly annotated centenary Hebrew edition. Situating Prof. Boris Schatz (1867-1932), 'the Founder of Israeli Art' and the Bezalel School in Jerusalem within early twentieth-century Zionist cultural discourse, Segev examines the ways in which the founder of the Bezalel School envisioned art as an instrument of national revival, spiritual regeneration, and social cohesion. By exploring the novel’s intersections with Jewish modernism, political imagination, and artistic practice, Segev highlights both its historical significance and its contemporary resonance, underscoring the continuing relevance of Schatz’s visionary project for debates on heritage and identity.
The article was published as the introduction to The Rebuilt Jerusalem centenary edition, 1924-2024

In this paper, I explore the issues related to the emergence of Holocaust memory discourse, which started in the late 1950s and intensified in the 1960s through the sources of Ilona Benoschofsky’s bequest found in the
Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives. In particular, I examine Ilona Benoschofsky’s engagement in the shaping of denominational and (latent) public memory, as well as her contract with the international organizations of the World Jewish Congress and Claims Conference between 1957 and 1960, and its cultural implications, the 1960 exhibition From Slavery to Freedom, other private documents and editorial opinions related to the “coming to terms with the past” during the 1960s, and Irén Darvas’s manuscript in the bequest and its particular “reception”.

Robert Rosenberg’s paintings of the Western Wall renew a central symbol of Jewish memory. Where earlier artists like Ludwig Blum or Marc Chagall dramatized or mythologized Jerusalem, Rosenberg depicts the Wall quietly, under shifting skies, stripped of crowds and flags. His landscapes emphasize silence, atmosphere, and continuity. Within the long canon of Kotel imagery, from nineteenth-century photographs to post-1967 nationalist art, Rosenberg offers a distinct interpretation: the Wall as enduring presence rather than spectacle. His work invites viewers — and students in educational contexts — to encounter tradition through reflection, seeing Jerusalem not only as history but as living continuity.

This study explores the Index of Jewish Art at the Center of Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Initially envisioned as an iconographic repertory of Jewish visual arts throughout history, the Index has evolved over fifty years, informed by changing paradigms in art history, Jewish culture, and Israeli ideology. The reassessment of this project arises in response to issues of globalization, national identities, diasporic communities, the inclusion of marginalized perspectives, and ethnically responsive discourse in contemporary art history. The Index functions as a dynamic resource for examining how Jewish visual culture has articulated ethnic, national, and religious identities, as well as the cohesive or distinctive values expressed through artistic creation over time. The development of the Index of Jewish Art underscores its significance as a repository for preserving an ethnically defined artistic heritage, distinguished by its long history, wide geographical dispersion, fluid boundaries, and profound interconnectedness with global cultures.
The current article discusses the historical and ideological contexts of the Index’s establishment and evolution. The text delves into the Index’s role as a medium for collective memory and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Questo saggio si occupa dell’Index of Jewish Art conservato presso il Center of Jewish Art della Hebrew University di Gerusalemme. Inizialmente concepito come un repertorio iconografico delle arti visive ebraiche nel corso della storia, l’Index si è evoluto nel corso di cinquant’anni, influenzato dai mutevoli paradigmi della storia dell’arte, della cultura ebraica e dell’ideologia israeliana. La rivitalizzazione del progetto nasce in risposta a problematiche relative alla globalizzazione, alle identità nazionali, alle comunità diasporiche, all’inclusione di prospettive marginalizzate, così come a un discorso che sia in grado di rispondere a questioni etniche nell’ambito della storia dell’arte contemporanea. L’Index funge da risorsa dinamica utile ad esaminare come la cultura visiva ebraica abbia articolato il discorso sulle identità etniche, nazionali e religiose, nonché a proposito dei valori coesivi o distintivi espressi attraverso la creazione artistica nel corso del tempo. Lo sviluppo dell’Index of Jewish Art rivela la propria importanza come deposito per la conservazione di un patrimonio artistico etnicamente definito, caratterizzato da una lunga storia, dall’ampia dislocazione geografica, dai confini labili e dalla profonda interconnessione tra le culture globali.
Questo articolo prende in esame i contesti storici e ideologici della creazione e dell’evoluzione dell’Index. Il testo ne approfondisce il ruolo come strumento di memoria collettiva e di conservazione del patrimonio culturale.

Abstract (English): This paper discusses the evolving accessibility, treatment, and reclamation of archaeological evidence of Jewish tombs in ancient Rome across three key historical phases of catacomb archaeology. The first phase, beginning in the seventeenth century, marked the initial recognition of a distinctly Jewish catacomb within the broader study of subterranean Rome. The second, spanning the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, saw a surge in Jewish archaeological discoveries, including multiple underground cemeteries identified through their high concentration of Jewish artifacts and tomb decorations. The third phase, extending to the present day, addresses post-excavation studies and conservation efforts. Only three of the five known Jewish catacombs remain, with significant restrictions on visiting them. Despite the loss of sites and ongoing challenges in preservation, recent developments offer hope. These include the 2024 agreement between the Italian government and the Union of Italian Jewish Communities that promises greater transparency in site management, while advancements in digital technology and archaeological methodologies continue to refine our understanding of these burial sites.

This study takes its cue from archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi’s ground-breaking, “analytical, not synthetic” approach to ancient cemetery investigation. His research on ancient Christian institutions in Rome would define the state of the field in the second half of the nineteenth century and the century to come. Here, the historiographical discourse focuses on an ancient catacomb for Jews in southeast Rome on the historic Randanini estate. The purpose is to examine not only the remains themselves but also why they mattered and to whom. It reveals what their enduring presence has signified to later generations up to the present day.
The catacomb of Vigna Randanini remained in use for interment throughout much of the late Roman era (third through seventh centuries CE) before its apparent loss to recorded history as a distinctly Jewish site. In light of this strange omission—we are talking about not just a handful of objects but several thousand tombs—this study seeks to identify the circumstances in which generations of Christians visited, studied, and ultimately preserved a Jewish site. It offers new perspectives on site formation by integrating unpublished archival data with deep knowledge of the site. Addressing complex layers of setting, identification, interpretation, and presentation from antiquity to the present sharpens our image of the catacomb, of which significant areas remain undocumented and purposefully obscured.
How this situation fits within the larger picture of archaeological activity and site preservation in Rome underscores a distinct and enduring relationship between Jews and Christians in the Roman Catholic imagination. This association underwent profound changes in de Rossi’s lifetime and helped shape his fundamental conclusions about catacomb development and utility beyond a primarily theological perspective. In a startlingly vivid way, a new consideration of de Rossi’s pivotal role in identifying Jewish catacombs in Rome transforms the canonical account of the founding father of Christian Archaeology. This book reassesses de Rossi’s deep personal commitment to the study of Christianity and something equally dear to the Roman-born: the pursuit of the city’s past and its renewed significance to the modern world.

Introduction Abraham Manievich (1881-1942) was an artist, whose creative vision, rooted in perception of nature, evolved through a synthesis of various stylistic and thematic influences. Although personally reserved, painter actively engaged with artistic communities across Ukraine, Russian Empire, Europe, the United States, and Canada. Along with solo shows, the artist regularly participated in group exhibitions, establishing popularity in international artistic circles. Archival materials at the National Art Museum of Ukraine document the artist's participation in such events from 1905 to 1938, offering valuable insight into career and global artistic presence. The research relevance was determined by the fact that

A vila de Castelo Mendo, com os seus dois recintos muralhados medievais, constitui um conjunto patrimonial do máximo interesse 1 . A implantação deste pequeno burgo, na margem esquerda do rio Côa, ajuda a compreender a atenção que a coroa portuguesa lhe reservou ao longo de todo o Séc. XIII e nas centúrias seguintes. Com efeito, até à assinatura do Tratado de Alcanices, em 12 de Setembro de 1297, a linha de fronteira que separava Portugal do reino de Leão e Castela passava pelo vale do rio Côa 2 . Castelo Mendo era, assim, póvoa raiana da máxima importância estratégica, que se articulava com outros pontos fortificados -como Pinhel, Vila do Touro e Sortelha -formando a primeira linha de defesa do reino. Erguida em frente a Castelo Bom (que até 1297 permaneceu na posse leonesa), a povoação de Castelo Mendo assumia-se como guardiã de um dos pontos de passagem do rio Côa -o "Porto de S. Miguel", um vau de raízes ancestrais que constituía um dos tradicionais pontos de penetração no reino 3 .

The article focuses on the development of competencies of students
studying in the Fashion Design and Technology specialty to better understand the principles of circular fashion as part of the circular economy and expand the possibilities of their application.

The Christianization of the Roman Empire led to changes in the position of members of other faiths. The only permitted religion, apart from Christianity, remained Judaism, the state restricted the activities of Jews, but at the same time guaranteed certain protection. Using the example of Ostrogothic Italy, the article shows that the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the formation of barbarian states did not change this situation.

Государственный музей изобразительных искусств имени А.С. Пушкина Ирина Антонова, президент Марина Лошак, директор Татьяна Потапова, главный хранитель Виктория Маркова, заместитель директора по научной работе Мария Салина, заместитель директора по экономике Инна Милосердова, заместитель директора по развитию Анна Каменских, заведующая отделом организации выставок Мария Костаки, заведующая отделом зарубежных связей Галерея Тейт Мария Болшоу, директор Дэниел Слэйтер, руководитель международных выставочных проектов Элоди Коллин, координатор выставок Сара-Джейн Стокингс, хранитель коллекции

This paper explores some of the continuing problems in studying Dura Europos, arising from the specific historical circumstances of the dig in the context of inter-war Mandate archaeology in the former Ottoman empire, American funding and sponsorship before and after the great stock market crash, and the nature of the interests of the team principals in charge of the dig, especially the towering charismatic intellectual, Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtzeff (1870-1952).  These issues, which profoundly govern the nature of the primary Dura archives held by Yale University, will always structure the contours within which historians and archaeologists work on Dura or understand the site, alongside the variety of other scholarly, political and military interventions that have hugely complicated its study in the 100 years since its discovery in 1920.

János Oláh, the Scholar of Jewish Studies
János Oláh (Kölesd, 1959 – Budapest, 2020) spent the first decade
of his adult life working as a subterranean driller and geologist for
the Mecsek, Tatabánya and Oroszlány Coal Mining Companies.
He was 34 years old when he was among the first students to
graduate as a teacher of Jewish Studies at the Pedagogy Institute
of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Budapest. Following his
graduation, he taught his subject for 16 years at the Lauder Javne
Jewish Community School. From 1995 he also lectured at his
“alma mater,” the Jewish Theological Seminary, or Jewish
Theological Seminary — University of Jewish Studies, as it is now
called. He continued pursuing his studies at the Seminary, where
in 2002 he obtained a degree in Jewish Cultural History, and in
2005 he was appointed to be an associate professor. In 2006 after
having conceptualised and compiled the curriculum for Jewish
Studies BA course, Oláh established the Jewish Studies
Department. In 2008 János Oláh obtained a PhD in Jewish
Religious Studies, and habilitated in 2014. Besides his academic
engagements, he played an important role in the management of
the university: in 2012 he was appointed to be the vice rector. To
acknowledge his merits, the President of the Hungary awarded
him the title of Professor in 2014. As a visiting lecturer Oláh gave
lectures at seven colleges and universities. He provided help for
the religious life of the Jewish communities in Budapest and in
the countryside, including the Hungarian speaking areas outside
the border. In 2015 he was awarded the Sándor Scheiber prize for
his outstanding academic achievements. His Jewish Studies
(Judaisztika) textbook, which has seen several printings, became
a classic for generations of Hungarian Jewish students, who were
brought up following the political changes in 1990s. From his
lifetime of 60 years, he spent 30 in the realm of Jewish Studies.
During this time, János Oláh became a well-known and
recognised scholar in his field, a respected and beloved member
of his community. The approach and methodology in Jewish
Studies he represented has had a powerful influence on the
forthcoming generations of his pupils — among them rabbis,
deputy rabbis, cantors, Jewish Studies teachers — on everybody,
who cherishes and wishes to pass on the cultivation of Jewish
traditions and Jewish Studies in Hungary and abroad today.

) . В и п . 8 ' 2017 36 УДК 821.161.2.09 Тетяна Бикова ХУДОЖНЄ МОДЕЛЮВАННЯ ОБРАЗІВ ЄВРЕЇВ У МАЛІЙ ПРОЗІ ВОЛОДИМИРА ЛЕОНТОВИЧА У статті подана характеристика образів євреїв у оповіданнях і нарисах Володимира Леонтовича. Відповідно до типологічної класифікації Г. Грабовича щодо наявності трьох моделей єврейства в українській літературі визначено модельну дифузію образу єврея у творчості белетриста: вони написані у традиційному сенсі, змальовують стереотипне бачення українця на єврейське життя і водночас розкривають міжособистісні стосунки єврейського народу, ставленням до релігії, до інших національностей. Автор у ненав'язливій формі пропонує заглибитися у непростий світ єврейських відносин, які акумулюють тезу про перемогу найспритнішого над спритним. Зроблено висновок про оригінальність «єврейського» набутку Володимира Леонтовича, який у творах доводить з психологічної точки зору різнотиповість характерів євреїв, відкриває завісу «інакшого», відмінного від українського, світу. Ключові слова: моделювання, єврейство, модельна дифузія, мала проза, синтез, поетика.

The history of the Jewish community's presence in the Bengal region is not very ancient, with evidence suggesting their arrival in Kolkata towards the end of the seventeenth century and in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Rajshahi in present-day Bangladesh in the eighteenth century. This article explores why the Jewish community came to Bangladesh and why a majority of its members migrated before the establishment of independent Bangladesh in the twentieth century. Additionally, the article delves into the history, culture, and organization of Jewish families residing in Bangladesh in a piece titled "History of the Jewish Community in Bangladesh." While there are several books written about the Jewish community in Kolkata in the modern era, there is limited discussion on the history of the Jewish community in the Bengal region in these works. Works such as "Some Aspects of Jewish Calcutta" by Chakrabarti Kaustav, "On the Banks of the Ganga: The Sojourn of Jews in Calcutta" by Ezekiel N. Musleah, and "The Jews of Calcutta: The Autobiography of a Community, 1798-1972" by Flower Elias and Judith Elias Cooper, all touch upon the same subject. The information presented in my article, "History of the Jewish Community in Bangladesh," has been gathered from interviews with Bangladeshi Jews and various books on the history of Jews in the Indian subcontinent. The Jewish community holds particular significance in the history of the Indian subcontinent, making it crucial to discuss their involvement in the history of Bangladesh.

Recent excavations at Shiḥin, near ancient Ẓippori (Sepphoris) in Lower Galilee (Isarel), have revealed evidence of a Roman-period ceramic oil-lamp production workshop. The findings include a pottery kiln, lamp molds and industrial waste, prompting a reevaluation of oil-lamp production technologies and introducing new research questions. These questions were explored through experimental archaeology aimed at reconstructing manufacturing methods. This article focuses on the production technology of the Shiḥin FR oil lamps, distinguished by their unique designs and limited production period (70-135 CE). These chalk-mold-designed lamps were examined through high-resolution 3D scanning, reverse engineering and experimental archaeological practices, including mold carving, lamp production and kiln firing, seeking to gain deeper insights into the technologies employed by ancient artisans.

Data collected by surveyors conducting measurements in Kielce from 1927 to 1936 enabled the identification of properties owned by the Jewish community and their location on the pre-war map of Kielce. This process resulted in a picture of Jewish ownership from the mid-1930s, encompassing extensive farms, industrial facilities, residential buildings, and vacant lots. The developed maps illustrate the significant role played by the Jewish population in pre-war Kielce. They can serve as educational tools or aid in genealogical research. Additionally, they facilitate the expansion of guides on pre-war Jewish Kielce.

דרור גרין: בחזרה לצוות 4

כעשרים שנה אחרי מלחמת יום-כיפור נחשפים אל מול מצלמה בלתי-נראית שבעה סיפורים. זהו סיפורם של חברי צוות תותחנים שהכריז על מרד בזמן מלחמה. זה סיפור על הלם-קרב מאוחר, השזור במרדף אחרי גיבורו הסמוי של הספר, ספק קצין-נער ספק פושע מלחמה.
(הספר יצא לאור לראשונה בשם 'צוות 4', בהוצאת כתר, בשנת 1992)

"ספר חדש, מיוחד במינו, פרובוקטיבי ונוגע ללב כאחד" (משה זינגר, 'הארץ').

"צוות 4' אינו סיפור של קרבות, גם לא 'עוד ספר על המלחמה'. זהו רומן על התבגרות איטית, מכאיבה ומצחיקה, רומנטית ולירית" (אריאנה מלמד, 'חדשות').

To assess women's patronage roles in the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries requires the acknowledgement that women's support of the arts transpired within a deeply embedded patron-client arrangement pervasive in European social relations and religious practice. It also requires examination of the period's laws and gender norms. This paper surveys and attempts to categorise how and why a range of European women-from Isabella d'Este in Italy, Catherine de' Medici in France, and various Habsburg queens, in Spain, France, and the Netherlands, to less well known patrons-acquired and made use of the visual arts and architecture in the early modern period. Women and men actively supported art and architecture in all its forms and maintained relationships with canonical artists. They operated, however, in a society that prescribed differentiated male and female roles. In the Renaissance, unlike today, art did not occupy a separate sphere in which artists made largely non-utilitarian creations. Motivated by the desire for salvation, patrons initiated the process, hiring artists and architects to build and decorate churches and provide the liturgical apparatus central to religious practice. At the same time patronage of such works, together with civic and domestic architecture and decoration, enhanced personal and family stature. These connections are clear in an inscription accompanying a painting that Catherine King quoted in her recent book on Italian women patrons of the Renaissance: Ad lectorem. Nobile testata est pingi pia Brisida quondam Hoc opus. O! nimium munera grata Deo. Si petis auctoris nomen. Nicolaus alumnus Fulginae: patriae pulcra corona suae Octo quincties centum de millibus anni, Cum manus imposita est ultima, vanuerant. Sed quis plus meruit, quaeso, te judice, lector Cum causam dederit Brisida et ille manum? RENAISSANCE WOMEN AS PATRONS OF ART AND CULTURE Renaessanceforum 4 • 2008 • www.renaessanceforum.dk Sheila ffolliott: European Women Patrons SIDE 2 AF 18 To the reader The pious Brisida, now dead, willed that this noble work be painted. Oh! a gift extremely pleasing to God. If you seek to know the artist's name, it is Niccolò L'Alunno of Foligno, beautiful crown of his native land. Eight years from one thousand and five hundred had passed when he put the finishing touches. But who is the more worthy of merit according to you, I ask you, my reader, since Brisida gave the commission, and he the exacting hand? 1 Let us examine the inscription's language. It names the patron and asserts that her commission pleases God. Then it provides the artist's name. Finally, and provocatively, given today's assumptions about art, it asks whether the artist or the patron is more worthy of merit. Significantly, this patron, Brisida, was female. Nevertheless, Francis Haskell's magisterial Patrons and Painters, first published in 1963, the first comprehensive examination of visual arts patronage in early modern Italy, includes very few women. The patrons Haskell examined had great wealth and powerpopes, cardinals, and princes-and collected antiquities and cultivated the artists most prized today. Although many women commissioned artworks, few conform to his model. Those who did were exceptional: rulers like Christina of Sweden or Christine de Bourbon, Duchess of Savoy, with the resources and position to engage in that arena. When Haskell names some women who were active art patrons, like Anna Colonna Barberini in Rome, he provides, however, only the information that she married a male patron. 2 Women actively supported art and architecture in all its forms and some maintained relationships with canonical artists, but that is only part of the story. Why did Haskell ignore the patronage activity of Anna and many women like her? Assessing women's patronage requires a different model, one that takes gender into account. Law denied most women access to money, but there were regional differences and widowhood offered some scope. 3 Gender norms advocated by treatises like Alberti's On the Family (1433-4) to Castiglione's Book of the Courtier (1528) to Juan Luis Vives' treatise A very frutefull and pleasant boke called the instruction of a christen woman (1529?), provided gender-based models for ideal behaviours. Patronage models for women emerging from such sources include the sometimes overlapping categories: pious wife and widow, guardian, court lady, nun, and ruler. Working within and occasionally resisting the implications of these terms, women, by which I largely intend those of aristocratic and royal 1

Согласно иудейской мысли, Бог, сотворив универсум, намеренно оставил в нем пространство для совершенствования, возложив на человека задачу улучшения действительности. В иудаизме эта идея известна как Тиккун Олам, в переводе с иврита «исправление мира». Совершенствование, то есть движение человечества в заданном Богом направлении, осуществляется прежде всего благодаря скрупулезному и всеобщему исполнению воли Бога, изложенной в Торе в виде заповедей. Поскольку значительная часть этих установлений носит этический характер, доктрина Тиккун Олам изначально предполагала исправление несовершенных общественных отношений и движение к более справедливому и гармоничному общественному устройству. В наши дни все чаще звучит мысль о том, что искусство является одной из сфер человеческой деятельности, способствующих исправлению и освящению мира. В статье рассматриваются место и роль изобразительного искусства в концепции Тиккун Олам, а также, устанавливаемые иудаизмом рамки использования тех или иных его форм. Отмечается, что отношение к этому вопросу характеризуется большим диапазоном мнений. Представления варьируются от весьма сдержанных до восторженных суждений о значимости искусства для осуществления задачи «исправления мира». При этом иудейские авторы, утверждающие религиозную ценность художественного творчества, настаивают на том, что не всякая творческая активность соответствует идее позитивного изменения мира. Галахические принципы (в первую очередь запрет изображений Бога), а также нравственные установки и духовные ориентиры, формируемые религиозным сознанием, должны служить путеводной звездой для людей, занимающихся искусством.

Введение. Восприятие ценности изобразительного искусства в разные периоды истории и в разных иудейских общинах варьировалось от его полного отрицания до признания высокой значимости. Негативное отношение к созданию изображений исходило из буквального следования запрещающей заповеди: («не делай себе никакого изображения…»), очевидный смысл которой сводился к запрету на создание идолов и поклонения им. Возникает вопрос, не было ли настороженное отношение к изобразительному творчеству связано с более глубокими причинами? Было ли оно обусловлено не только страхом идолатрии, но и восприятием человеческого творчества как посягающего на величие Бога-творца, обладающего эксклюзивным правом творения? Содержание. Анализ текстов Торы и мидрашей показывает, что оценка изобразительного творчества в них зависит от контекста и намерений творящего. Творчество, вдохновленное Богом и осуществляемое с мудростью и ответственностью, приближает мир к Богу. Священное писание указывает на границы творчества, но не рассматривает его в качестве акта, греховного по своей сути: сам Бог наделяет первого и «образцового» художника (Бецалеля) способностью к творчеству и мудростью для ее правильного использования. При этом достаточно четко транслируется мысль о том, что деятельность, вдохновленная человеческой гордыней и соперничающая с Богом, отдаляет от него и является разрушительной для мира и человечества, как в случае создания вавилонской башни или золотого тельца. Отмечается, что современный иудейский дискурс, рассматривая проблему творчества в рамках доктрины Тиккун Олам («исправления мира»), приходит к выводу, что совершенствующее мир «позитивное творчество» не только не запрещено, но является обязанностью человека, возложенной на него Богом. Выводы. Обращение к источникам показывает, что идея ценности совершенствующего мир творчества (в том числе изобразительного), отстаиваемая современными иудейскими авторами, была присуща иудейской традиции с давних времен. Отрицательное отношение к изобразительной деятельности не было обусловлено восприятием творчества как греховного самого по себе, но было связано с опасностью его неразумного и безответственного применения. Ключевые слова: иудаизм, иудаизм и искусство, еврейское искусство, творчество и иудаизм, идолатрия, Тиккун Олам.

Die jüdische Traditionsliteratur ist reich an Diskurs, Inspiration und intellektueller Auseinandersetzung. Bis heute entwickelt sich diese Literatur weiter-neue Fragen tauchen auf, neue Interpretationen werden geschrieben. Frauen und Mitzwot (jüdische Gebote und Verbote)-ihre Rolle in der Halacha, im Judentum und in der jüdischen Gemeinschaft-rücken immer mehr in den Mittelpunkt. Es gibt online zahlreiche Möglichkeiten, mehr darüber zu erfahren, aber viele Materialienbesonders zu diesem Thema-sind in Englisch oder Hebräisch verfasst. Dies erschwert es Vermittler:innen, die in verschiedenen jüdischen Bildungseinrichtungen und Gemeinden im deutschsprachigen Raum tätig sind, sowie Schüler:innen und Einzelpersonen, die (noch) nicht über fortgeschrittene Sprachkenntnisse in Englisch oder Hebräisch verfügen, sich eingehend und differenziert mit der Rolle der Frau im jüdischen Recht und in der jüdischen Praxis heute auseinanderzusetzen.

The correlation of student teachers' religiosity with their views on the religious education course that they are called on to teach in Greek public schools is the subject treated in the present survey. The five main features of religiosity, that is, (1) religious faith, (2) religious knowledge, (3) religious experience, (4) participation in a religious group or community, and (5) daily practice and conduct, were assessed for 1009 student teachers. With the help of data processing and cluster analysis, a causal relationship was found between their religiosity and their views on religious education.

אבנר בר חמא משתמש בכלים הסגנוניים של האמנות האנטי ציונית
כדי להעביר מסר הפוך. באמצעות המיצבים שלו הוא מציג שאלות
נוקבות, כמו משמעות הקרבן מול ערך האדמה, אך שאלותיו נובעות
מתוך אמונה ומתוך השלמה עם צו הבורא. עמדותיו הממלכתיות
מוצקות והוא לא מוכן לתת יד ליצירת קרע בעם

This study focuses on the functional transition and value regeneration of Chinese button
symbols in cultural and creative jewelry. The Chinese button, as a traditional Chinese clothing
knotting technique, carries profound cultural connotations. With the acceleration of
industrialization, the practical function of the Chinese button has gradually been replaced,
but its cultural symbol attribute has been reactivated in the cultural and creative field.
Through systematic deconstruction and reconstruction, the Chinese button has transformed
from a "collar knot" to a "chest ornament," completing a value reconstruction from a practical
function to a cultural identity expression. The study, through literature review, case analysis,
and design practice, verifies the regenerative ability of the Chinese button in modern jewelry
design and proposes a "cultural gene - design translation - emotional scene" tripartite
transition mechanism. At the same time, the study points out the challenges faced by the
Chinese button in terms of sustainability, including the disconnection of craftsmanship and
cultural dilution, and puts forward corresponding solutions. In the future, it is necessary to
further deepen technological empowerment and cross - cultural dialogue to promote the
global value regeneration of traditional craftsmanship.

It may seem that in the painting Bathing of Susanna kept in Vienna, Jacopo Tintoretto portrays the Old Testament heroine as an embodiment of temptation. But is she revealed as frankly as we imagine? The naked woman is depicted in paired bracelets and pearl earrings, a necklace, while a bone comb, a long silver hairpin, an embroidered wide belt, a miniature box are placed all around her. We assume that the listed jewelry is endowed with a semantic and symbolic role in the program of the canvas. Indeed, all the listed jewelry made up the wedding set of a Venetian bride of the 16th century which was given to her by her future husband. Later, the girl appeared in it as a future wife and hostess and kept the ceremonial attire for her entire life. Consequently, the depiction of the wedding jewelry in Tintoretto’s painting reflects the entire story of Susanna and the set should be seen as a promise of a happy ending: the danger that threatened Susanna will be resolved by the triumph of her virtue. The interpretation of the plot itself in the eyes of the contemporaries was probably not obscene, since the naked heroine was "protected" by jewelry that reminded of her devotion to her husband.

The synagogue, as both a sacred and public space, has evolved in terms of the inclusion and exclusion of women over time. While most research on women’s synagogues has concentrated on the religious background of gender segregation, comparatively little has been said about their architectural developments. Consequently, women's sections have often been interpreted as annexes or attachments rather than autonomous structures in their own right. However, the early women’s synagogues of the thirteenth century in the Rhineland were elaborately designed buildings with opulent interiors. These women’s sections had distinct architectural styles and benefited from advancements in building technology during the transition between Romanesque and Gothic styles.
The women’s synagogues, therefore, could also represent the wealth of the Jewish community in medieval cities. These buildings expanded the spatial footprint of synagogues within the urban landscape and were recognizable as significant public spaces due to their distinctive appearance.
While medieval research on Christian women has increasingly focused on monastic architecture and the use of material culture in religious practices, similar attention has not been devoted to architecture associated with Jewish women. This talk aims to represent women’s synagogues as autonomous buildings within urban settings, to suggest a new perspective on their development and significance.