scholarly journals In the Shadow of Death: Jewish Affirmations of Life

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Paul Mendes-Flohr
Keyword(s):  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
The One

The Book of Genesis reports that “On the sixth day of Creation “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (1:31). The very, so a Talmudic sage taught refers to “death”. We are to share God’s exultant affirmation of His work of creation as culminating in death. For death is intrinsic to the blessings of life. As Buber notes in the epigraph cited above, life is “unspeakably beautiful because death looks over our shoulder”. The seeming paradox—an existential antinomy—inflected the vernacular Yiddish of my late father which was also that of Buber’s youth “the one thing needful” (Luke 10:42); “love is strong as death” (Song of Songs; 8:6).

Richard of St. Victor: An Early Scottish Theologian?

1958 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-52
Author(s):  
G. S. M. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Personal Experience ◽  
Human Heart ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Song Of Songs ◽  
The Other ◽  
Proper Place ◽  
Peter Abelard ◽  
The Will ◽  
Reason And Faith ◽  
The One

The twelfth century witnessed a memorable conflict between rationalism and authority, in the persons of Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux. It is, of course, erroneous to exaggerate these two extremes; by the one, reason was ultimately accepted as the servant of personal faith, and by the other, authority was founded on a basis of mystical devotion. None the less it remains true that both, in different directions, were guilty of the same dangerous tendency, that of abstracting one element from the wholeness of human personality, and of confining religion to the sphere of that one element; Abelard was too exclusively concerned with matters of the intellect, while Bernard directed an almost equally exclusive attention to the will; and the factor neglected and suppressed by both, which breaks through in Bernard's Sermons on the Song of Songs, and overwhelms Abelard in his affair with Heloise—the factor of emotion, of personal experience, of the deep springs of affection in the human heart—it was this forgotten factor which another school of theologians had the distinction of restoring to its proper place. The great Victorines took a saner and more balanced view of human nature. They studied man in his totality, and were willing to derive or at least expound their doctrine on the level of practical experience. They occupied a mediating position from which, with exaggerating either, they could give due weight to the claims of both reason and faith.

scholarly journals Syn i ojciec w „Bojaźni i drżeniu” Sørena Kierkegaarda

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-220
Author(s):  
Marta Szabat
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
The Other ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Fear And Trembling ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
The One

This article concerns events of the Old Testament – Yahweh commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son – Isaac – on Mount Moriah. This passage from the Old Testament, from the Book of Genesis, became the basis of Søren Kierkegaard’s considerations in Fear and Trembling. In the text I refer to, on the one hand, Kierkegaard’s considerations, while on the other hand I try to identify other possible interpretive tropes that could be useful, for example, during classes on the subject of faith or the status of ethical dilemmas in the modern world.

An Ass in a Lion’s Skin

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Doane
Keyword(s):  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Gender Construction ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
The Other ◽  
Speaking Up ◽  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
The One

The book of Genesis gives two opposing portraits of Judah’s masculinity. On the one hand, he is shown as the leader of Jacob’s sons, and on the other he is ridiculed by his daughter-in-law. Is Judah an ass in a lion’s skin? This article explores Judah’s antithetical masculinities as examples of the inherently unstable nature of gender construction. Although Judah is only the fourth son of Jacob, he is expressly depicted in Genesis as assuming a leadership role in relation to his brothers, including speaking up against killing Joseph, negotiating with his father regarding Joseph’s demand that Benjamin be brought down to Egypt, and pleading with Joseph for Benjamin’s life. In Genesis 49: 8–12, Judah receives the most favourable treatment of all Jacob’s sons. The blessing of Jacob from his deathbed portrays Judah’s hegemonic masculinity at its finest. However, in Genesis 38, Judah’s masculine performance far from ideal biblical masculinity. Not only does Judah lack persuasiveness when he accuses Tamar, but she is able to persuade him that his own actions were wrong. Judah is deceived, specifically deceived by a woman. The shame he wants to attribute to Tamar rebounds on himself. In the end, he acknowledges himself to be less righteous than Tamar (Gen 38: 26). The episode as a whole reveals that Judah does not have control of his family. Genesis 38 clearly subverts Judah’s hegemonic masculinity. What are the rhetorical effects of this subversion of Judah’s hegemonic gender construction? Jacob speaks of Judah as a lion, but in Genesis 38 he seems to have been portrayed in the role of the ass.

“Let him kiss me with his mouth’s kisses”

Expectation ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Luc Nancy
Keyword(s):  
Song Of Songs ◽  
The Other ◽  
The One

Let him kiss me with his mouth’s kisses Thus sings the song of songs Thus his mouth sings and enchants itself As his demand so his expectation Not kisses from another mouth Except from the one she calls The mouth of the other who loves her...

Christianity’s Content: (Neo)Platonism in the Middle Ages, Its Theoretical and Theological Appeal

Numen ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 245-270
Author(s):  
Willemien Otten
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
The Other ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Meister Eckhart ◽  
Marguerite Porete ◽  
Christian Thought ◽  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
The One ◽  
Pseudo Dionysius

The development of medieval Christian thought reveals from its inception in foundational authors like Augustine and Boethius an inherent engagement with Neoplatonism. To their influence that of Pseudo-Dionysius was soon added, as the first speculative medieval author, the Carolingian thinker Johannes Scottus Eriugena (810–877ce), used all three seminal authors in his magisterial demonstration of the workings of procession and return. Rather than a stable ongoing trajectory, however, the development of medieval Christian (Neo)Platonism saw moments of flourishing alternate with moments of philosophical stagnation. The revival of theTimaeusand Platonic cosmogony in the twelfth century marks the achievement of the so-called Chartrian authors, even as theTimaeusnever acquired the authority of the biblical book of Genesis. Despite the dominance of scholastic and Aristotelian discourse in the thirteenth century, (Neo)Platonism continued to play an enduring role. The Franciscan Bonaventure follows the Victorine tradition in combining Augustinian and Dionysian themes, but Platonic influence underlies the pattern of procession and return — reflective of the Christian arc of creation and salvation — that frames the thought of Thomas Aquinas. Echoing the interrelation of macro- and microcosmos, the major themes of medieval Christian Platonic thought are, on the one hand, cosmos and creation and, on the other, soul and self. The Dominican friar Meister Eckhart and the beguine Marguerite Porete, finally, both Platonically inspired late-medieval Christian authors keen on accomplishing the return, whether the aim is to bring out its deep, abyss-like “ground” (Eckhart) or to give up reason altogether and surrender to the free state of “living without a why” (Marguerite), reveal the intellectual audacity involved in upending traditional theological modes of discourse.

GARDENS AS “PARTNERS” IN CONTEMPLATION: READING THE STORIES OF THE FIRST EDEN (GENESIS 2–3) AND A RESTORED EDEN (SONG OF SONGS) THROUGH THE LENS OF ATTENTION RESTORATION THEORY

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 347-370
Author(s):  
Hendrik Viviers
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Active Agent ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Desiderius Erasmus ◽  
Attention Restoration Theory ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Attention Restoration ◽  
The Past ◽  
The One

It is well known that gardens have always been inspiring for great thinkers of the past, for instance Greek and Roman philosophers, Confucian thinkers, Desiderius Erasmus, Isaac Newton and Arnold Toynbee, to name but a few. Why is this so? Attention Restoration Theory, developed by environmental psychologists Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, explains how both wild (e.g., reserves) and cultivated nature (e.g., parks, gardens) can assist in replenishing our cognitive and emotional coping capacities, and uplift us. Nature is not only a setting but an active agent/“partner” in sustaining human well-being, inter alia when contemplating or reflecting on the meaning of life. In order to achieve this the human/nature relationship needs to meet the properties of “being away”, “compatibility”, “‘soft’ fascination” and “extent”. Shining the light of these insights on two “Edens” in the Old Testament, the one lost (Gen 2–3) and the other revived (Song of Songs), nature’s role in evoking contemplation especially, whether on human fate or human delight, will be highlighted.

CURSE MOTIVES IN THE “CURSE OF HAM” NARRATIVE: LAND FOR YAHWEH’S LANDLESS PEOPLE?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 726-747
Author(s):  
Mohamed Shahid Mathee
Keyword(s):  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
The One

According to the “Curse of Ham” narrative in the book of Genesis (Gen 9:20– 27), Ham gazed at his sleeping father Noah’s nakedness and did not cover him. When Noah awoke he cursed Canaan, Ham’s fourth and youngest son, and his offspring with slavery. Why did Noah curse Canaan and not Ham, the one who stared at his nakedness? And why did Noah curse Ham for the seemingly trivial act of not covering him? This article links Ham’s doing to Noah and Noah’s cursing of Canaan to a motive for land, the land of Canaan for Israel, Yahweh’s landless people. The curse of Canaan justified casting the Canaanites out of the land. It argues that Ham’s deed and Noah’s curse were invented by the Yahwist (J) author of the narrative to realise this motive of land for Israel.

The Interpretation of Song of Songs in 4 Ezra

2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-233
Author(s):  
Michael Stone
Keyword(s):  
Song Of Songs ◽  
The One ◽  
Allegorical Interpretation

AbstractThe article deals with a passage of 4 Ezra that might well be an allegorical exegesis of Song of Songs. The usual allegory sees the bridegroom as God and the bride as Israel. 4 Ezra is contemporary with Rabbi Aqiba's statements on the allegory of Song of Songs, and is further evidence for the existence of allegorical interpretation. Yet it witnesses a different tradition of allegorical exegesis to the one usually found. This conclusion is compared with various views on Song of Songs and its interpretation.

The Beginning of History

2021 ◽  
pp. 59-78
Author(s):  
Kathleen Wellman
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Tower Of Babel ◽  
Human Control ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
The One ◽  
End Times ◽  
Creation Mandate ◽  
Young Earth Creationism

These Christian curricula herald the Bible as the authoritative text for interpreting the earliest history of the world. On the basis of their insistence on biblical inerrancy, they present fundamental positions that underlie their historical analysis, as follows. The Bible establishes Young Earth creationism, divides human beings into races, and stipulates that God established government as limited. The Tower of Babel indicts humanism and efforts to unify governments or societies. The Creation Mandate, taken from the Book of Genesis, endorses both human control of the earth and Christian hegemony. Mosaic Law defines the legitimate basis for law and morality. The ancient Israelites set the standard against which other ancient civilizations are judged for their failure to believe in the one God. The modern state of Israel points to the fulfillment of biblical prophecies of end times. These central claims developed within evangelicalism.

‘Mise en Scent’: The Théâtre d'Art's Cantique des cantiques and the Use of Smell as a Theatrical Device

1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Shepherd-Barr
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Original Music ◽  
The Senses ◽  
The One

In December 1891, an adaptation by Paul-Napoléon Roinard of the Old Testament text of the Cantique des cantiques (Song of Songs) of Solomon was performed at the recently created Théâtre d'Art, expressly to present a new idea of theatre as total art by engaging the visual, aural, and olfactory senses of the audience. One of the few theatre historians who has mentioned this remarkable endeavour notes that in it,‘music, words, colour, even perfume, were to be harmonized; all the senses were to be involved, simultaneously, in the one overwhelming experience’. Roinard's synaesthetic experiment drew on a range of sources including Baudelaire, Wagner and Rimbaud, and, most strikingly, featured scents pumped into the auditorium on cue by young symbolist poets stationed in the far edges of the proscenium and in the balcony and using hand-held vaporizers. According to the outline Roinard provided in the programme, nine scents were used: frankincense, white violets, hyacinth, lilies, acacia, lily of the valley, syringa, orange blossom, and jasmine. Each of these odours had corresponding orchestrations of speech (specific vowel sounds), tones (original music composed by Mme Flamen de Labrély), and colours.

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