Papers by Jonathan Magonet
European Judaism, Sep 1, 2021
The annual International Jewish-Christian Bible Week runs from a Sunday to a Sunday, allowing for... more The annual International Jewish-Christian Bible Week runs from a Sunday to a Sunday, allowing for the celebration of the Jewish Shabbat and the Christian Sunday by attending one another’s religious services. During the five years covered in this issue, it has been the author’s privilege to offer the sermon on the Saturday morning during the Jewish service. This enables him to explore new perceptions of the texts we have been studying that have arisen during the Week, but also to reflect on broader issues that might have arisen in the multiple interactions – interfaith, intercultural and interpersonal – that have taken place during the Week. Given the occasional negative associations that accompany the word ‘sermon’, I have preferred to use the term ‘epilogues’ to characterise these responses to the texts and experiences of the Week. The term also covers a more imaginative reflection on the Book of Proverbs (Hebrew: mishlei) that we have been studying – a visit to the City of Mishlei.
European Judaism, Sep 1, 2020
E velyn Friedlander, née Philipp, was born in London during an air-raid to German refugee parents... more E velyn Friedlander, née Philipp, was born in London during an air-raid to German refugee parents. A gifted pianist as a child, she studied at the Royal College of Music (1958-1961). She has described her early years and her relationship with Germany in her 1996 autobiography Ich will nach Hause, aber ich war noch nie da: eine jüdische Frau sucht ihr verborgenes Erbe.
The Heythrop Journal, Oct 1, 1982
My intention in this paper is to examine some examples of concentric structures in Psalms and att... more My intention in this paper is to examine some examples of concentric structures in Psalms and attempt to see how they function.' I would like to begin with Psalm 145, and I cannot resist quoting from a recent article by Walter Brueggemann.* In examining Psalms as a reflection of reactions to distressful situations, he notes that some psalms can be classified asPsalms of Orientation which reflect people who 'enjoy a serene location of their lives', with a 'sense of the orderliness, goodness and reliability of life' (p.6). One example is our own psalm which he describes as follows: 'It may be regarded as a not very interesting collection of clichts. But in fact, it affirms God's providential care. The unimaginative style makes the confident claim' (p.7). Brueggemann is, of course, echoing other similar judgements on the psalm. Gunkel called it 'mehr eine Kunstelei als ein Kunstwerk', 'more an artefact than a work of art'.3 Perhaps Buttenwieser's remark is most devastating. 'Poetically the hymn is worthless. It appears to be a product of the time of literary d e~a d e n c e. '~ Though there are contrasting views that find it a religious and poetic gem, and see in its artifice 'no sign of mechanical constr~ction',~ one can sympa-* A paper read at the Annual Conference of the British Association for Jewish Studies at St John's College, Cambridge in July, 1981. I A number of studies are beginning to appear which explore concentric structures in biblical poetry. Two recent examples are those by Pierre Auffret (see n.7 below) and
Gütersloher Verlagshaus eBooks, 2000
Gütersloher Verlagshaus eBooks, 1994
Gütersloher Verlagshaus eBooks, 1996
Concilium: Revista internacional de teología, 1988
European Judaism, Mar 1, 2020
The Jewish Quarterly Review, 1992
The Jewish Quarterly, May 28, 2013
European Judaism, Sep 1, 2021
This issue contains papers delivered over a period of five years at the annual International Jewi... more This issue contains papers delivered over a period of five years at the annual International Jewish-Christian Bible Week held at Haus Ohrbeck, Osnabrück, Germany. Each year during the opening evening I offered a ten-minute introduction to the texts that we would be studying. This article includes the introductions to each of the five sets of texts that were studied:
European Judaism, Mar 1, 2016
Already in 1946 Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck advocated that alongside the rebuilding of congregations in po... more Already in 1946 Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck advocated that alongside the rebuilding of congregations in post-war Europe, what he termed ‘little Judaism’, there was a need for a ‘greater Judaism’ – Jewish engagement with the wider issues of society: ‘We are Jews also for the sake of humanity’. In 1949 he also expressed the need for a dialogue with Islam. A variety of events and activities represent early attempts to meet these dual concerns. In 1997 at the first post-war, full-scale conference of the European Board of the World Union for Progressive Judaism in Germany, in Munich, Diana Pinto noted that despite long-standing fears that the European diaspora was doomed to disappear, changes in a European self-understanding had helped create an ‘ever more vibrant Jewish space’. Almost twenty years on from then, particularly with the rise of anti-Semitism and terrorist attacks, the mood amongst European Jews has become less optimistic.
This paper examines the Jewish dietary laws from three perspectives: a. the Biblical laws that cl... more This paper examines the Jewish dietary laws from three perspectives: a. the Biblical laws that classify which animals are permitted or forbidden to be eaten, and recent attempts at understanding the rationale that may lie behind these ritual distinctions; b. the later rabbinic expansion and consolidation of the system of 'kashrut' (Jewish dietary laws), and how the burden of responsibility for their maintenance moved to the local community (the provision of qualified ritual slaughterers) and to the private domestic arena (the preparation of food and requirements for separate utensils); c. the impact of the Emancipation of Jews in Europe, beginning in the 18 th century, on adherence to traditional Jewish religious practice. The modern period has also seen the rise of external threats to the traditional practice of Jewish ritual slaughter from animal rights organisations, sometimes allied with antisemitic political movements.
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Papers by Jonathan Magonet