History of Jews

Throughout the nineteenth century, Maskilic journals increased their publication of anti-Hasidic satires. From the eighteen-sixties onward, this literature came primarily as a response to the revival in the publishing of Hasidic hagiography and to the spread of Hasidism into new territory. To this point, no complete review or even general survey has been performed on this extensive polemical literature, despite the fact that it has much to teach us about Hasidism and the Haskalah in those years. We are not speaking of an insignificant bibliographical lacuna, but of a disregard for an entire field of research which would shed light not only on a forgotten chapter of modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature but also on an important chapter in the relationships between Maskilim and Hasidim in that period and the genesis and development of the different streams of Hasidism. This Maskilic literature intended to do more than eradicate Hasidism; it aimed to strengthen the self-consciousness of the individual Maskilim who found themselves alone in Hasidic territory. Paradoxically, the literature documented the very movement it intended to eradicate from the world. The distorted reflection displayed in the anti-Hasidic literature does more than present a caricature of its subject -- it conceals hitherto unknown elements about the nature and development of the Hasidic movement. The present article deals with one such case, a satire on Bratslav Hasidism from 1863, which has at its core a Maskilic satirical text written by Yehiel Meller on pilgrimage to the grave of R. Nahman of Bratslav in Uman.





כתבי עת של משכילים לאורך המאה התשע עשרה הרבו לפרסם סאטירות בגנותה של החסידות. משנות הששים ואילך באה ספרות זו בעיקר כתגובה להתעוררות הדפסת ספרות השבחים החסידית ולהתפשטות החסידות במרחבים חדשים. לא קיימת עד עתה סקירה שלימה, ואף לא מיפוי כללי, של אותה ספרות פולמוסית ענפה, על אף שיש בה ללמד הרבה על דרכי החסידות וההשכלה באותן שנים.  לא מדובר רק בחסרון ביבליוגרפי שאין לו משמעות, אלא בהתעלמות משדה מחקר רב עניין שעשוי להאיר לא רק על פרק נשכח בספרות עברית ויידיש החדשה אלא גם על פרק חשוב ביחסים בין משכילים לחסידים באותה תקופה, ועל דרכי צמיחתם, פיצולם והתפתחותם של זרמים שונים בחסידות. הייתה זו ספרות שיותר מאשר נועדה לבער את החסידות נועדה לחזק את תודעתם העצמית של המשכילים הבודדים במרחבים החסידיים; ספרות שבאופן פרדוקסלי תיעדה תנועה אותה חפצו לבער מן העולם. הבבואה המעוותת בה התהדרה הסאטירה האנטי חסידית לא רק הציגה דימוי – אלא טומנת בחובה הצבעה על אלמנטים חדשים ועל התפתחויות בחסידות. במקרה אחד ממין זה הנוגע לחסידות ברסלב בשנות השישים של המאה התשע עשרה עוסק המאמר. שלפנינו - שעיקרו מהדורה של טקסט משכילי שכתב יחיאל מלר - בשנת 1863 - על העלייה לקבר ר' נחמן מברסלב באומן
"""

Book summary: Estará a História desatualizada?

A resposta a esta questão é sim, se considerarmos a História como conhecimento histórico, como resultado do estudo e da investigação sobre o passado. A análise de novas fontes, perspetivas e abordagens permite redefinir o conhecimento que temos, apesar de muitos mitos e ideias da História de Portugal continuarem a ser repetidos e permanecerem no imaginário popular.
Neste sentido, o objetivo deste livro é o de atualizar muitas destas ideias, desmontando, dentro do possível, alguns destes mitos. Tomando por base 29 temas da História de Portugal, desde Viriato até ao legado da memória do império colonial, 28 autores procuraram redefinir aquilo que sabemos sobre estes assuntos. Um livro para quem quer perceber os vários aspetos de uma História longa e complexa, e não tanto os muitos e longos debates académicos que existem sobre cada assunto.

The article focuses on the author's research on the chronographical background of the Zodiac Mosaic Calendar in Synagogue at Hammath-Tiberias. He researched to find the origin of mosaic decoration, the twelve zodiac sign, the four seasons, and Helios, which was found in synagogues in two parts of Palestine, Galilee and Judah. The chronograph of the mosaic art was extensively debated. The author further studied the history of Palestine Jews in the 4th century. Most of the work was done during the period of Hillel II.
The author concludes that the mosaic from the Stratum IIa synagogue with the Zodiac Calendar was executed in the time of Hillel II, who said to have died around 365 CE. He proposes the new date of the execution of the Zodiac Mosaic from Hammat-Tiberia (Stratum IIa) after the earthquake in 363, that is, in 364 or 365.

ABSTRACT
Alonso de Espina’s vitriolic polemic, Fortalitium Fidei (The fortress of faith, c. 1458–1464), includes a ferocious attack upon both Jews and the descendants of converts, who were collectively accused of judaizing. This would seem to set him at odds with the Apostle Paul’s formulation in Galatians 3:28 of a powerful notion of equality between Christians that transcended ethnic divisions. Espina has become notorious among modern historians as an influential “anti-Semitic” writer. In this article, I argue that the significance of Espina’s opus for the wider history of anti-Jewish texts needs to be revised and nuanced since, in stark contrast to many later anti-converso polemicists, he does not seek to undermine the Pauline concept of Christian spiritual closeness by appealing to biological or genealogical determinism; rather, he insists on the generalization of converso judaizing and the exceptionality of genuine Jewish conversions to Christianity.

TÜRK SİYASETİNDE BİR YAHUDİ: NESİM MASLİAH

Öz

Uluslararası bağlantılarıyla Yahudiler, Türkiye’de ve Türk toplumunda pek çok değişikliğe öncülük etmişlerdir. Batıda eğitilmiş ve yönlendirilmiş Türk Yahudileri toplumlarının şekillendirilmesi ve değişimlerinde önemli roller oynamışlardır. Yahudi toplumunu koruma amaçlı girişimleri, Türkiye’nin eğitimi, sosyal yapısı ve siyasetinde etkili olmuştur. Manisalı Nesim Masliah da Türk iç ve dış siyasetinde II. Meşrutiyet’ten Cumhuriyet’e danışman, milletvekili, gazeteci ve aydın olarak görev yapmış önemli bir şahsiyettir. Sadrazam danışmanlığı, İzmir ve Selanik milletvekilliği, ‘İttihad’ ve ‘Hür Adam’ isimli gazeteleriyle Türkiye’de kültürel yönlendirme ve değerlendirmeleriyle iç ve dış siyasi politikaların oluşumunda etkili olmuştur. Dindaşları için yaptığı çalışmalar Türk toplumunda derin izler bırakmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Yahudiler, II.Meşrutiyet, Türk Siyaseti, Nesim Masliah.


Abstract

A Jew in Turkish Politics: Nesim Masliah

Internationally connected Jews led a number of changes and developments within Turkish society and Turkey. Western-educated and -directed Turkish Jews played important roles on the shape and changes of their respected communities. Protective actions of Jewish community influenced on education, social structure and politics of Turkey. Nesim Masliah from Manisa was also an important entity who played crucial roles in internal and foreign affairs of Turkish politics from the Second Constitutional Period to the Republican Era as in the positions of an adviser, Member of Parliament, Journalist and Intellectual. Masliah tried his best to manipulate and influence on Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy-makers and cultural issues within the capacity and positions of an advisor to Grand Vizier, a deputy of İzmir and Salonika, and as a journalist with his two newspapers’ publication of ‘İttihad’ (Union) and ‘Hür Adam’ (Free Man). What he tried and achieved for his fellow religious community left its distinctive marks on Turkish society.
Key words: Jews, Second Constitutional Period, Turkish Politics, Nesim Masliah.

The article focuses on the author's research on the chronographical background of the Zodiac Mosaic Calendar in Synagogue at Hammath-Tiberias. He researched to find the origin of mosaic decoration, the twelve zodiac sign, the four seasons, and Helios, which was found in synagogues in two parts of Palestine, Galilee and Judah. The chronograph of the mosaic art was extensively debated. The author further studied the history of Palestine Jews in the 4th century. Most of the work was done during the period of Hillel II. It remains for us to connect these facts–the creation of  themosaic in the synagogue at Hammath-Tiberias by Severos and Hillel II, and the revolutionizing of the Jewish calendar by Hillel II. Thus, the mosaic from the synagogue at Hammath-Tiberias represents the new lunar-solar calendar of Hillel II.
The author concludes that the mosaic from the Stratum IIa synagogue with the Zodiac Calendar was executed in the time of Hillel II, who said to have died around 365 CE. He proposes the new date of the execution of the Zodiac Mosaic from Hammat-Tiberia (Stratum IIa) after the earthquake in 363, that is, in 364 or 365.

[PL] O losach dipisów (ang. displaced persons - osoby przemieszczone) na terenach okupowanych Niemiec powstało wiele opracowań. Dotąd nie podejmowano szerzej zagadnień związanych z działalnością i życiem Żydów dipisów, którzy współtworzyli w strefach okupacyjnych postwojenną społeczność.

The book demonstrates how, in Renaissance Florence, the legend of the Inventio crucis (The Discovery of the Cross) not only provided the basic plot line for several sacred plays, but also served the contemporary political establishment, that is, the ruling Medici family. The plays also reveal that they are firmly embedded in contemporary society, particularly in their depiction of contemporary attitudes towards Jews. The book includes an appendix with a diplomatic transcription of a rare sixteenth-century manuscript from the National Library of Florence, attributed to Beltramo Poggi for the first time by the author.