The Artless Jew: Medieval and Modern Affirmations and Denials of the Visual
()
About this ebook
Conventional wisdom holds that Judaism is indifferent or even suspiciously hostile to the visual arts due to the Second Commandment's prohibition on creating "graven images," the dictates of monotheism, and historical happenstance. This intellectual history of medieval and modern Jewish attitudes toward art and representation overturns the modern assumption of Jewish iconophobia that denies to Jewish culture a visual dimension.
Kalman Bland synthesizes evidence from medieval Jewish philosophy, mysticism, poetry, biblical commentaries, travelogues, and law, concluding that premodern Jewish intellectuals held a positive, liberal understanding of the Second Commandment and did, in fact, articulate a certain Jewish aesthetic. He draws on this insight to consider modern ideas of Jewish art, revealing how they are inextricably linked to diverse notions about modern Jewish identity that are themselves entwined with arguments over Zionism, integration, and anti-Semitism.
Through its use of the past to illuminate the present and its analysis of how the present informs our readings of the past, this book establishes a new assessment of Jewish aesthetic theory rooted in historical analysis. Authoritative and original in its identification of authentic Jewish traditions of painting, sculpture, and architecture, this volume will ripple the waters of several disciplines, including Jewish studies, art history, medieval and modern history, and philosophy.
Related to The Artless Jew
Related ebooks
The Birth of Conservative Judaism: Solomon Schechter's Disciples and the Creation of an American Religious Movement Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Remembrance of His Wonders: Nature and the Supernatural in Medieval Ashkenaz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrontiers of Jewish Scholarship: Expanding Origins, Transcending Borders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Encountering the Jewish Future: With Wiesel, Buber, Heschel, Arendt, Levinas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Way Into the Varieties of Jewishness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jewish Studies at the Crossroads of Anthropology and History: Authority, Diaspora, Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Reclaiming Jewish History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJewish Cultural Studies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPassing Fancies in Jewish American Literature and Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving Together, Living Apart: Rethinking Jewish-Christian Relations in the Middle Ages Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Writing Jewish Culture: Paradoxes in Ethnography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEarly Modern Jewry: A New Cultural History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Women Who Reconstructed American Jewish Education, 1910-1965 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElijah and the Rabbis: Story and Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings3 Groundbreaking Jewish Feminists Pursuing Social Justice sharon leder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBecoming the People of the Talmud: Oral Torah as Written Tradition in Medieval Jewish Cultures Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Imagining Jewish Authenticity: Vision and Text in American Jewish Thought Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJourneys to a Jewish Life: Inspiring Stories from the Spiritual Journeys of American Jews Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAesthetics of Sorrow: The Wailing Culture of Yemenite Jewish Women Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFinding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews Can Transform the American Synagogue Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Jews, Gentiles, and Other Animals: The Talmud After the Humanities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Year Mom Got Religion: One Woman's Midlife Journey into Judaism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Judaism in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWitnesses to the One: The Spiritual History of the Sh'ma Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFraming Sukkot: Tradition and Transformation in Jewish Vernacular Architecture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhere Justice Dwells: A Hands-On Guide to Doing Social Justice in Your Jewish Community Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Abraham's Knife: The Mythology of the Deicide in Anti-Semitism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Life of Courage: Sherwin Wine and Humanistic Judaism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hebrew Saga Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommunings of the Spirit, Volume III: The Journals of Mordecai M. Kaplan, 1942-1951 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Judaism For You
The Rational Bible: Genesis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Living a Jewish Life, Revised and Updated: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism: Second Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rational Bible: Exodus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why the Jews?: The Reason for Antisemitism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tanach, the Jewish Bible in English translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank Remembered Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Talmud Unmasked - The Secret Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Kabbalah & Astrology: The Secrets Of Your Birthday Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Jubilees Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History of the Jews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Sacred Texts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary and Analysis of Man's Search for Meaning: Based on the Book by Victor E. Frankl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talmud Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Practical Qabalah Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Torah: The first five books of the Hebrew bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I and Thou Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Babylonian Talmud: All 20 volumes in a single file Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Zohar: Annotations to the Ashlag Commentary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Art of Bible Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs & Rituals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jewish Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Toward a Meaningful Life: The Wisdom of the Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Judaism For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch (Annotated) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Artless Jew
0 ratings0 reviews