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Jewish ideas and concepts. The building blocks of the Jewish intellectual tradition
244
Short
reviews
and book notes
TheBuilding Blocks s. T. Katz, Jewish Ideas and Concepts. of the Jewish Intellectual Tradition, New York, Schocken xiv + 326 pp. E12.50. Books, 1978.
In the Introduction to his book, Professor Katz voices the hope that it 'will serve, among other purposesl as an introductory work for those who seek to learn the history of Jewish thought" (page xiii). With this aim in view, Professor Katz selects key topics, like the Names and Attributes of God, Repentance, Sin, and many others, and discusses them from the standpoint of biblical, talmudic, This arrangement of the medieval, and modern thinkers. topics is largely successful, in that it allows the reader to form an impression of Jewish thought on particular subjects with ease; useful notes and bibliography supply material for further reading. The Jewish reader is here once more confronted with the great richness and diversity of his ancient faith, and Professor Katz is careful to indicate the variety of expressions within Judaism. The non- Jew, perhaps completely unfamiliar with Jewish thought, has here an introduction to Jewish ideas which will stimulate him to further study. We would single out Professor Katz's wellchosen comnlents about the justice and mercy of Cod as being of particular importance for Christians, who sometimes misrepresent the Jewish idea of God. VThe book's strength lies in its clear presentation of medieval and modern Jewish thought, The sources are handled with assurance, and the resulting account is clear and well presented. The ancient period of Judaism, however, does not fare there so well. Sometimes this is because of lack of space; should, for example, be some discussion about the translation of Enoch and Elijah, and elucidation of the phrase "to sleep with one's fathers', in the section on biblical notions of death (pages 113-14) _ On other occasions one has the impression that Professor Katz is slightly reluctant to use certain sources. Thus although he once or twice refers to them, the Dead Sea Scrolls do not figure large in his presentation of ancient Jewish thought, and one would not guess from his book that these Scrolls had revolutionized our knowledge of pre-Rabbinic Judaism, There are also some inaccuracies. Thus while Professor Katz is to be commended for denying connections between Philo's Logos and the Memra (word) of the Aramaic Targum (pages 85 and 87) i he is not correct in stating that there
Short
reviews
and book notes
245
is no mention of Memra in the Targumic account of creation (page 17) : both the Fragmentary Targum (TJ II) and Codex Neofiti I to Genesis I use Memra several times. The phrase memra yakara (glorious word, page 791, so far as I am aware, is not found in Targumic literature. Greek words are frequently mis-spelled (e.g. page 75). The the book. remedied, main part 'building sense.
ancient period, however, takes up only part of The weaknesses of presentation here are easily and do not detract from the usefulness of the of the work, which succeeds in laying bare the blocks' of the tradition with clarity and good
Robert Hayward University of Durham
Brian de Breffney, The Synagogue, London, Nicolson, 1978. 216 pp. with illustrations plates. f12.50.
Weidenfeld and and colour
It is a sign of contemporary developments in the ecumenical movement that Mr. de Breffney, a non-Jew, should write with such understanding and enthusiasm about the synagogue. He expresses the hope that his book will stimulate interest, among Jews and non-Jews alike, in the architecture of the synagogue. Some stark facts, indeed, have been revealed in the not-too-remote past when, after the destruction wrought by the Nazis, some Jewish congregations have allowed their ancient buildings to decay, a tendency that one hopes to see reversed in the immediate future. In other cases old synagogues are being 'rediscovered'. They were saved from destruction by being sited in heavily built-up areas of towns and were protected by adjacent buildings. Mr. de Breffney deals with the buildings chronologically and relies, for the most part, on secondary historical From Antiquity he proceeds through the source material. Middle Ages to the Renaissance and goes on to deal with modern trends and the modern synagogue, which is represented by a number of little-known and excellent photographs by George Mott. As the book is intended for a wide public, the author includes not only architectural history but also a short history of the Jewish people in many lands. It is impossible in such a survey of this kind to aim at completeness and Mr. de Breffney has wisely eschewed such endeavouring to show what he regards as most attempts,
Short
reviews
and book notes
TheBuilding Blocks s. T. Katz, Jewish Ideas and Concepts. of the Jewish Intellectual Tradition, New York, Schocken xiv + 326 pp. E12.50. Books, 1978.
In the Introduction to his book, Professor Katz voices the hope that it 'will serve, among other purposesl as an introductory work for those who seek to learn the history of Jewish thought" (page xiii). With this aim in view, Professor Katz selects key topics, like the Names and Attributes of God, Repentance, Sin, and many others, and discusses them from the standpoint of biblical, talmudic, This arrangement of the medieval, and modern thinkers. topics is largely successful, in that it allows the reader to form an impression of Jewish thought on particular subjects with ease; useful notes and bibliography supply material for further reading. The Jewish reader is here once more confronted with the great richness and diversity of his ancient faith, and Professor Katz is careful to indicate the variety of expressions within Judaism. The non- Jew, perhaps completely unfamiliar with Jewish thought, has here an introduction to Jewish ideas which will stimulate him to further study. We would single out Professor Katz's wellchosen comnlents about the justice and mercy of Cod as being of particular importance for Christians, who sometimes misrepresent the Jewish idea of God. VThe book's strength lies in its clear presentation of medieval and modern Jewish thought, The sources are handled with assurance, and the resulting account is clear and well presented. The ancient period of Judaism, however, does not fare there so well. Sometimes this is because of lack of space; should, for example, be some discussion about the translation of Enoch and Elijah, and elucidation of the phrase "to sleep with one's fathers', in the section on biblical notions of death (pages 113-14) _ On other occasions one has the impression that Professor Katz is slightly reluctant to use certain sources. Thus although he once or twice refers to them, the Dead Sea Scrolls do not figure large in his presentation of ancient Jewish thought, and one would not guess from his book that these Scrolls had revolutionized our knowledge of pre-Rabbinic Judaism, There are also some inaccuracies. Thus while Professor Katz is to be commended for denying connections between Philo's Logos and the Memra (word) of the Aramaic Targum (pages 85 and 87) i he is not correct in stating that there
Short
reviews
and book notes
245
is no mention of Memra in the Targumic account of creation (page 17) : both the Fragmentary Targum (TJ II) and Codex Neofiti I to Genesis I use Memra several times. The phrase memra yakara (glorious word, page 791, so far as I am aware, is not found in Targumic literature. Greek words are frequently mis-spelled (e.g. page 75). The the book. remedied, main part 'building sense.
ancient period, however, takes up only part of The weaknesses of presentation here are easily and do not detract from the usefulness of the of the work, which succeeds in laying bare the blocks' of the tradition with clarity and good
Robert Hayward University of Durham
Brian de Breffney, The Synagogue, London, Nicolson, 1978. 216 pp. with illustrations plates. f12.50.
Weidenfeld and and colour
It is a sign of contemporary developments in the ecumenical movement that Mr. de Breffney, a non-Jew, should write with such understanding and enthusiasm about the synagogue. He expresses the hope that his book will stimulate interest, among Jews and non-Jews alike, in the architecture of the synagogue. Some stark facts, indeed, have been revealed in the not-too-remote past when, after the destruction wrought by the Nazis, some Jewish congregations have allowed their ancient buildings to decay, a tendency that one hopes to see reversed in the immediate future. In other cases old synagogues are being 'rediscovered'. They were saved from destruction by being sited in heavily built-up areas of towns and were protected by adjacent buildings. Mr. de Breffney deals with the buildings chronologically and relies, for the most part, on secondary historical From Antiquity he proceeds through the source material. Middle Ages to the Renaissance and goes on to deal with modern trends and the modern synagogue, which is represented by a number of little-known and excellent photographs by George Mott. As the book is intended for a wide public, the author includes not only architectural history but also a short history of the Jewish people in many lands. It is impossible in such a survey of this kind to aim at completeness and Mr. de Breffney has wisely eschewed such endeavouring to show what he regards as most attempts,