Jozef Milik
Scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Published: 26 January 2006
Józef Tadeusz Milik, priest and biblical scholar: born Seroczyn, Poland 24 March 1922; ordained priest 1946; married Jolanta Zalowska; died Paris 6 January 2006.
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Mo'ed - Annual for Jewish Studies, is now accepting papers for Vol. 17, to appear in March-April 2007. Mo'ed is a peer-reviewed annual devoted to all branches and periods of Jewish Studies, and welcomes original contributions in these fields. Articles may be submitted for publication either in Hebrew or in English. Hebrew articles are to include an English abstract and English articles are to include a Hebrew abstract of 200-300 words. Articles are to be typed using a Word for Windows-compatible word processor and should be submitted in two hard copies accompanied by a diskette. Electronic transmission as an e-mail attachment is an acceptable alternative, but it is recommended to submit hard copies and diskette as well. Bibliographical references and other notes are to be typed as footnotes. For all other matters of style and usage - spelling and punctuation, use of numbers, emphases, abbreviations, citation of texts and bibliographical references, contributors are referred to the Guidelines for Contributors appearing (in both Hebrew and English) in Mo'ed 15 (2005), or to Tarbiz 51 (1982), pp.167-169. The final date for submission of articles to Vol. 16 [I think this is supposed to be "Mo'ed 17" - JRD] is 30 September 2006. Articles are to be submitted to:
Dr. Arie Don
or
Dr, Jonathan D. Safren
Editors
Mo'ed - Annual for Jewish Studies
Center for Jewish Culture
Beit Berl College
Beit Berl Post Office
44905 Israel
e-mail: moed@beitberl.ac.il
website: www.beitberl.ac.il/moed
New Liberal Torah Commentary Spotlights Work of Medieval Luminaries
By JENNIFER SIEGEL (The Forward
January 27, 2006
For decades, English-speaking rabbis have been employing innovative academic, literary and theological approaches to produce fresh commentaries on the Bible that would resonate with their modern-day congregants. But as the yearly Torah cycle reached the book of Exodus this month, Rabbi Michael Holzman tried out what qualifies these days as a more radical approach: He is directing his Reform students to an all-medieval lineup of Judaism's most revered biblical commentators.
At a class held last week at Congregation Rodeph Shalom, a Reform synagogue in Philadelphia, Holzman — along with Orthodox and Reconstructionist colleagues — introduced 100 students to "The Commentators' Bible," an annotated edition of Exodus released last September by the Jewish Publication Society. The new commentary relies predominantly on four medieval rabbis — Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra and Nachmanides — who generally wrote from what typically would be described today as an Orthodox perspective. Among their assumptions is the belief that the Torah was a unified document revealed by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. Additional commentary from a half-dozen other medieval scholars, including Abarbanel and Sforno, is also included.
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According to [Arielle] Levites, [a JPS spokesperson,] JPS would like to follow up the new commentary on Exodus with similar works dedicated to the four other books of the Torah. She said that JPS and Carasik opted to do Exodus first, because tackling Genesis, which has more associated commentary, would have been a tougher opening act. In addition, she said, Exodus contains a representative sampling of the Torah's various literary styles, including narrative and legal portions.
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Google to Censor Search Results in China
# The company agrees to omit Web content that Beijing objects to in a new version of its service for the country.
From Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Online search engine leader Google Inc. has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access to the Internet's fastest-growing market.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company planned to roll out a version of its search engine bearing China's Web suffix, .cn, today. A Chinese-language version of Google's search engine has previously been available through the company's dot-com address in the United States.
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To obtain the Chinese license, Google agreed to omit Web content that the country's government found objectionable.
Although China has loosened some of its controls in recent years, certain topics, such as Taiwan's independence and 1989's Tiananmen Square massacre, remain forbidden subjects.
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When Google censors results in China, it intends to post notifications alerting users that some content has been removed to comply with local laws. The company provides similar alerts in Germany and France when, to comply with national laws, it censors results to remove references to Nazi paraphernalia.
SORCERY כשפים
Sorcery, in Hebrew keshafim and Biblical Hebrew nachash (Numbers 23:23), is the same as magic or the “black arts.” Using sorcery, people try to control or dominate nature through all kinds of customs, ceremonies and sacrifices, and then use it for their own purposes. Along with the acquisition of power, belief in spirits plays the most important role in sorcery.
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Photo exhibition on semitic nation’s archaeological sites
Statesman News Service
BHUBANESWAR, Jan. 24. — People of the state had the opportunity to have a glimpse of a few best known and most interesting archaeological sites of Israel through a photo exhibition titled as “ Israel: Archaeology from the Air”.
The exhibition, organised by the Embassy of Israel in collaboration with the state museum, was inaugurated by the ambassador of Israel to India, Mr David Danieli and state’s culture minister Dr Damodar Rout here today. It will be opened to public till 10 February, said the organisers.
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Photos of 25 selected archaeological sites shot from the air were on display. The sites on display included the citadel of Jerusalem, the biblical city of King David etc. It may be noted that Israel has the highest density of known archaeological sites per square kilometre. The land is the birth place of two of the greatest monotheistic faiths of the world — Judaism and Christianity.
Ancient church may cause jail relocation
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS (Jerusalem Post)
In an unprecedented move, Israel's top archaeological body is recommending that the Megiddo Prison be relocated due to the recent discovery of the most ancient Christian place of worship ever found in Israel on the grounds of the prison.
The ruins of the Christian prayer hall, which was located inside a Roman villa, date back to the first half of the third century CE, making the chapel the earliest place of Christian worship ever unearthed in the Holy Land, excavation director and Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Yotam Tepper said Tuesday.
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International conference to be focused on the important second-century Christian figure, Justin Martyr
20-22 July 2006
University of Edinburgh
The first international conference to be focused on the important second-century Christian figure, Justin Martyr, will be held 20-22 July 2006 in Edinburgh, sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins. The aim is to bring together scholars across disiplinary lines, e.g., New Testament/Christian Origins, early Patristics, Roman history, and ancient Philosophy, with the crucial figure Justin Martyr as the focus. Key questions to be explored include these: Justin and the Gospels, Justin and Early Christian Apologetics, Justin and Early Christian Interaction with its Intellectual/Philosophical Environment, Justin and Early Christian. Interaction with the State, Justin and Second-Century Doctrinal/Creedal Developments.
University of Exeter, Department of Classics and Ancient History
International conference: Pagan Monotheism in the Roman Empire,
Exeter, 17-20 July 2006
Keynote Speakers include M. Frede, G. Fowden, J. North, A. Chaniotis, C. Markschies, L. Rutgers, and S. Mitchell.
Please find below the provisional programme.
Further details and a registration form can be found on the website http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/classics/conferences/index.htm
Please contact P.E.R.van-Nuffelen@ex.ac.uk with any questions.
Provisional programme
17 July 2006
5-6: Plenary: S. Mitchell - P. Van Nuffelen (Exeter): Definition and Methodology
18 July 2006
9.30-10.30: Plenary: M. Frede (Oxford), tba (philosophy and pagan monotheism)
Subsidiary A:
11-11.30: R. Seaford (Exeter), The early history of Greek monotheism
11.30-12: Y. Ustinova (Beer Sheva), Monotheism as a Cognitive State: The Case of Parmenides
12-12.30: G. Van Riel (Leuven), Monotheistic tendencies in Plato
Subsidiary B:
11-11.30: Y. Lehmann (Strasburg): L' avènement du monothéisme philosophique à Rome (de Varron à Sénèque)
11.30-12: G. Winkle (Calvin College): Coram Deo Platonic Deity and Theurgic Ascent in Apuleius' Metamorphoses
12-12.30: Y. Maes (Ghent): The savior of (Ro)Man? Cato Uticensis in Lucan.
Noon
2.30-3.30: Plenary: G. Fowden (Athens): Plotinus A pagan, Christian and Muslim monotheist
Subsidiary C:
4-4.30: P. Scade (Exeter): The early history of the Timaeus
4.30-5: A. Magny (Bristol): The "Blasphemous" Philosopher: Porphyry and the Remains of Against the Christians in the Christian Literature
5-5.30: S. Klitenic Wear (Creighton): The Pseudo-Dionysian Trinity and the Porphyrian One
Subsidiary D:
4-4.30: P.R. Bosman (South Africa): The imperial Cynic and the one god
4.30-5: J.P. Kenney (Saint Michael's College): Plotinus and the Foundations of Pagan Monotheism
5-5.30: D. Caluori (Oxford): Plotinus on god and gods
19 July 2006
9.30-10.30: Plenary: C. Markschies (Berlin): Some new insights into the "Heis-Theos-Formula"
Subsidiary A:
11-11.30: N. Belayche (Paris): Les acclamations " Heis theos " : pratiques eulogiques et représentation du panthéon
11.30-12: B. Selter (Ghent): Eadem spectamus astra. Monotheistic tendencies in the Carmina latina epigraphica.
Subsidiary B:
11-11.30: A. Tugendhaft (Chicago): The aniconic idols of the ancient Nabateans.
11.30-12: G. van Kooten (Groningen): The Aniconic, Monotheistic Beginnings of Rome's Pagan Cult, According to Varro, Plutarch, and St Paul: Romans 1.19-25 in a Roman Context
12-1: Plenary: A. Chaniotis (Heidelberg): Megatheism The search of the almighty God and the competition of cults
Noon
2.30-3.30: Plenary: J. North (London): Ritual and religiosity
Subsidiary C:
4-4.30: A. Busine (Brussels): Apollo's oracles between polytheism and monotheism
4.30-5: C. Addey (Bristol): Monotheism, Henotheism and Polytheism in Porphyry's Philosophy from Oracles
5-5.30: V. Hirschmann (Heidelberg): tba (Phrygians)
Subsidiary D:
4-4.30: I. Sandwell (Bristol): Monotheism, Polytheism and the Basis of Religious Toleration in the Fourth century AD
4.30-5: M. Kahlos (Helsinki): Refuting and reclaiming monotheism. Monotheism in the debate between 'pagans' and Christians in 380-430
5-5.30: G. Sfameni Gasparro (Messina): One God and divine Unity. Late Antique theologies between exclusivism and inclusiveness
20 July
9.30-10.30: Plenary: L. Rutgers (Utrecht): Judaism in a Greco-Roman World: Problems and Perspectives
Subsidiary A:
11-11.30: F. Stavrakopoulou (Exeter): Minimalising Monotheism: Perspectives on the biblical and scholarly re-imaging of ancient Israelite Yahweh-worship.
11.30-12: L. Capponi (San Marino): The temple of Leontopolis and the conversion of Egypt from "pagan monotheism" to Judaism.
12-12.30: C. Hywel (Ripon College): Pagan Monotheism in Philo Judaeus
Subsidiary B:
11-11.30: A. Fürst (Münster): Images of God and Concepts of Social and Political Order. The Controversy between Celsus and Origen about Pagan and Christian Monotheism
11.30-12: M. Amerise (Perugia): One God, One Emperor. Monotheism and political theology in Eusebios of Caesarea.
12-12.30: O. Nicholson (Minnesota): Licinius, 'pagan monotheism' and Lactantius On the Anger of God
12.30-1: J. Schott (Charlotte, North Carolina): The Conversion and Apostasy of Pagan Monotheists: Representation and Reality
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Dr Peter Van Nuffelen
P.E.R.Van-Nuffelen@exeter.ac.uk
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Joseph Milik, déchiffreur des manuscrits de la mer Morte
Praying in Jesus' Own Language
Interview With Professor of Chaldean Liturgy
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 22, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Chaldean Church, whose patriarch resides in Baghdad, Iraq, takes pride in its ancient liturgy which uses the same language Jesus used.
In November, the Chaldean liturgy underwent a reform following a special synod in Rome.
To assess the extent of the reform, ZENIT interviewed Monsignor Petrus Yousif, professor of Syro-Chaldean patrology and Chaldean liturgy at the Pontifical Oriental Institute and the Catholic Institute of Paris. He is also the parish priest of France's Chaldean community.
In this interview, Monsignor Yousif, consultor of the Special Liturgy Commission for the Oriental Churches, shares his insight into the Chaldean rite, which uses Aramaic.
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"We can surprise the whole world!": Saakashvili calls for construction of new manuscript museum
By Eka Basilaia (in The Messenger)
A modern and beautiful museum built according to European standards will be set up in the centre of Tbilisi soon, according to a decree signed by President Saakashvili at the Korneli Kekelidze State Institute of Manuscripts on Friday.
Saakashvili visited the manuscript institute and publicly called for an improvement of the institute's facilities and resources. To this end, the President has proposed building a new branch of the institute in the city centre.
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The construction of the museum building will start in a year's time and it will be equipped with all the technology and apparatuses needed for keeping and displaying manuscripts and carrying out scientific research.
The collection contains approximately 10,000 Georgian manuscripts, 60,000 Georgian historical documents, 4,000 manuscripts in Greek, Hebrew, Syrian, Armenian, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Slavic languages, while 5,000 historical documents in these languages are preserved. 20,000 documents in different languages from the personal archives of distinguished Caucasian writers and scientists of the 19th and 20th centuries are also held in the museum.
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The Temple Mount will be towed away at the end of January
By Amiram Barkat (Haaretz)
At the end of January, the Temple Mount will be sawed into pieces and carted away. Not the real Temple Mount, of course, but its miniature model on the hillside next to the Holyland Hotel in southeast Jerusalem. The mountain and the temple compound built by King Herod are part of a model of Jerusalem in 66 C.E., on the eve of the revolt against the Romans that ended in the destruction of the city.
For almost 40 years, the miniature city sat proudly in the garden surrounding it, but the desire of the site's owners to build a residential tower led them to seek and finance the model's transfer to an alternative location. The institution chosen to host the model is the Israel Museum, which has prepared a terraced field beside the Shrine of the Book to accommodate the model.
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David Sider, The Library of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005. Pp. 128. ISBN 0-89236-799-7. $40.00.
Lectures to offer scholarly look at feminine imagery of God
12:00 AM CST on Saturday, January 21, 2006
By MARY A. JACOBS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
CONNECTIONSMost scholars call Christianity a patriarchal religion: Jesus was a man, and God is typically called "he." But others argue that, after a careful reading of Christian history, that's only half the picture.
An upcoming lecture series will give participants a closer look at this other side of Christian spirituality. "The Feminine Face of God in Christianity" begins Sunday at Highland Park United Methodist Church.
"Because of the ways in which our Christian tradition developed, one stream was emphasized, and of course it's all masculine imagery," said Rosalind de Rolon, a member of the church who organized the series. Organizers say the five-week program integrates "fine art, music, distinguished theological scholarship and participants' own epiphanies."
Ms. de Rolon will deliver the opening lecture with a look at "the ancient wisdom tradition's concept of feminine and masculine, the organizing principles of the universe." She draws from scholars such as Huston Smith and Marcus Borg as well as the Old and New Testaments and the Gnostic gospels.
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Europe bids to halt tide of art smuggled to America
Court cases aim to break the billion-pound global trade in stolen antiquities that end up with wealthy US collectors and museums
Felix Lowe, Jason Burke in Paris and Barbara McMahon in Rome
Sunday January 22, 2006
The Observer
A series of legal actions has been launched by European governments to regain priceless works of art which they claim have been illegally smuggled to America to be sold off to wealthy collectors and museums.
One of the highest profile cases is in France, where what has been dubbed 'The Affair of the Hebrew Manuscripts' is reaching its climax. The case centres on Michel Garel, a specialist in ancient documents at the National Library in Paris, who is alleged to have systematically pillaged medieval religious texts to satisfy a demand from America. One manuscript, a 600-year-old French Hebrew version of the biblical books of the Pentateuch, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and the Lessons of the Prophets, has been traced to a New York collector who bought it for £200,000 at Christie's. Garel, who maintains his innocence, is to appear before a French court on theft charges.
Agnes Saal, the library's director, said: 'The National Library is motivated by a strong desire to recover this manuscript so that it can once more take its place as part of the national heritage.'
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