Beginning with Abraham, a small group of nomadic people grew into a small tribal confederation and built upon the religions of Babylon and the surrounding areas to develop their own tribal religion which eschewed the idea that men were made for gods, but instead that god was for men, uniting a pantheon into one single deity. This religion grew two off-shoots: GD Star Rating
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This work sketches the many portraits of the Pharisees that emerge from ancient sources. Based upon the Gospels, the writings of Paul, Josephus, the Mishnah, the Tosefta, and archeology, the volume profiles the Pharisees and explores the relationship between the Pharisees and the Judaic religious system foreshadowed by the library of Qumran. A great virtue of this study is that no attempt is made to homogenize the distinct pictures or reconstruct a singular account of the Pharisees; instead, by carefully considering the sources, the chapters allow different pictures of the Pharisees to stand side by side – in quest for the historical Pharisees.
In “The Bible Unearthed,” Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman display a rare talent among scholars–the ability to make specialized research accessible to a general audience. In this book the authors reveal how recent archaeological research forces us to reconsider the historical account woven into the Hebrew Bible. Among the conclusions they draw are:
It is curious that in Israel the Khazar’s history is only briefly mentioned in schools in Israel. “Letters to the Khazar” by Jehuda Halev is studied, but more as a literary piece that in context with the Khazars. That is the reason that the book was so interesting: It presents a theory which is quite unacceptable to the religious population in Israel. (and outside as well). Are all the eastern european Jews in essence converts? It makes the whole question, so much dealt with in Israel, of “who is a Jew” rather ironical. Are the religious Jews the “real” Jews? And how can they be so much against conversions to judaism, if they themselves are converts? Interesting! Of course, the theory the book presents that ALL the east European Jews are descendants of the Khazars is only a theory, but Koestler surely presents some interesting arguments! Fascinating reading!
In Zionism, the late Nathan Rotenstreich traces the dialectical connections between Zionism’s past and present based on his contention that the Jewish nation comprises both the State of Israel and the Diaspora. He also addresses relations between both Israel and the Diaspora, on the one hand, and Israel and the Arab world, on the other. Written a short time before Rotenstreich’s death, Zionism can be regarded as his spiritual and ideological legacy.
