Meira Polliack

This paper discusses the results from recent archaeological investigations at the Monastery of St Antony in Egypt, including the remains of a number of building phases predating the current church, locally produced pottery, and manuscript fragments written in Coptic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Ge'ez.

Le karaïsme est un mouvement religieux juif qui apparaît au IX e siècle, en Iraq et en Palestine, en opposition au judaïsme rabbinique et à la notion de Torah orale. Ce courant important du judaïsme médiéval, présent aussi dans le monde byzantin et plus tard, à l'époque moderne, dans le monde ottoman, en Crimée et en Europe orientale, est un exemple remarquable de la complexité et de la variété du judaïsme.

The article considers the complex portrayals of David and Bathsheba in the three religions which, in different ways, see themselves as David’s heirs. Focusing on a story about succession and inheritance, it analyzes a representative selection of textual and visual sources, mainly – though not uniquely – medieval, in an attempt to better understand Jewish, Christian and Islamic exegetical approaches – internal and in relation to each other – to dealing with complications in the Davidic lineage.

“The Emotionless King: Don Isaac Abravanel on David's Interpersonal Relationships - A Comparative Exegetical Approach” (Heb.)

English Abstract: This article analyzes Don Isaac Abravanel’s interpretation of King David’s personal relationships with three major figures, who were portrayed in biblical historiography as having a significant effect on his political prospects: his ally and loyal friend, Jonathan son of Saul; his beloved wife and ally, Michal daughter of Saul; and his beloved son, Absalom. The article demonstrates how, in Abravanel’s view, David treated the three princes in instrumental fashion, solely in light of cold political considerations. Abravanel further suggests that David might not have had any sentiment for them, but even if he had, he did not allow his personal feelings to affect his behavior towards them or to interfere with his political decisions. Several ideational factors may explain Abravanel’s approach regarding David’s character: his conception of the political leader as combining natural statesmanship with spiritual (philosophical and theological) ideals; his stoic tendencies; and the politics of the Italian renaissance, which emphasized utilitarian considerations. Though Abravanel was a transitory figure, who relied upon classical and medieval Jewish, Judaeo-Arabic and Christian literature, he was also open to the Iberian and Italian contemporary humanistic tradition. Throughout the article, we compare Abravanel’s politicized approach to David’s character and Yefet b. ‘Eli's psychological and emotional portrayal of King David. This comparison seeks to trace the ideational transition from 10th century (medieval) to 15th century (renaissance-type) conceptions of biblical characterization. We also consider commentators closer to Abravanel's time, such as Profiyat Duran, whose views about David suggest that his political decisions were clearly divorced from emotional considerations.

Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition offers recent findings on the reception, translation and use of the Bible in Arabic among Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims from the early Islamic era to the present day. In this volume, edited by Miriam L. Hjälm, scholars from different fields have joined forces to illuminate various aspects of the Bible in Arabic: it depicts the characteristics of this abundant and diverse textual heritage, describes how the biblical message was made relevant for communities in the Near East and makes hitherto unpublished Arabic texts available. It also shows how various communities interacted in their choice of shared terminology and topics, and how Arabic Bible translations moved from one religious community to another.

Le colloque 2019 du Centre Interdisciplinaire d'Etudes des Religions et de la Laïcité (CIERL), en partenariat avec la Société des Amis des Manuscrits et Etudes Karaïtes (SAMEK), entend contribuer au développement des études karaïtes dans le monde francophone, ainsi qu'à l'histoire du judaïsme dans le monde islamique. Coordinateur et responsable académique Prof. Guillaume DYE (ULB) Karaite Synagogue and Museum in the Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem Israel ©Tamar Hayardeni, 2016-source: https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/

One of the most complex and ambivalent characters in the Bible is King David. Traditionally considered to be the pious author of the book of Psalms, a brave warrior and a perfect ruler, he was also a vassal of the Philistine king and a sinner whose morally dubious behaviour is criticized in the Bible itself. Little wonder, therefore, that his image underwent significant interpretative changes in perception and reception in different monotheistic traditions. So far, scholarly research has mostly focused on the ways he was appropriated by some of these traditions in isolation from others. The proposed conference will question this dominant exclusive approach and attempt to scrutinize perceptions and receptions of King David and his book in different monotheistic traditions from late antiquity until the early modern period in a more inclusive fashion. Its aim is to take a new, critical look at the process of biblical creation and subsequent exegetical transformation of this figure, with particular emphasis put on the multilateral fertilization and cross-cultural interchanges among Jews, Christians and Muslims in different genres of their respective religious literatures and arts.

Prof. Meira Polliack of the Department of Bible Studies at Tel Aviv University discusses with host Gilad Halpern the conceptual and theological exchanges between Islam and Judaism in the 9th and 10th centuries.

http://tlv1.fm/politics-commentary/2016/05/13/karaites-the-first-jewish-fundamentalists/