Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman World
"...a landmark book which both signals a fundamental transformation in its field and is at the same time the performer of a great element of the change. The study of Jewish art and archaeology in antiquity will not be the same after it...." -- Jaś Elsner, Oxford University
“Praiseworthy for its near encyclopedic coverage and its insights into the evolution of late antique material culture and theology, the book’s supreme virtues reside in its humane and refreshing methodology….Steven Fine’s Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman World is both learned and lovable.” -- Kalman Bland, Duke University
Art and Judaism explores the Jewish experience with art during the Greco-Roman period - from the Hellenistic period through the rise of Islam. It starts with the premise that Jewish art in antiquity was a ‘minority’ or ‘ethnic’ art and surveys ways that Jews fully participated in, transformed, and at times rejected the art of their general environment. It focuses upon the politics of identity during the Greco-Roman period, even as it discusses ways that modern identity issues have sometimes distorted and at other times refined scholarly discussion of ancient Jewish material culture.
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This Holy Place: On the Sanctity of the Synagogue During the Greco-Roman Period
"Though Fine has already made a name for himself, This Holy Place establishes his reputation as a leading scholar in synagogue Studies." -- Pieter W. van der Horst, University of Utrecht
"...an important contribution to the entire nature of late antique civilization, not just to Jewish studies." –- Peter Brown, Princeton University
Marshaling a wide variety of literary and archaeological sources dating to the Greco-Roman period, This Holy Place demonstrates how the synagogue came to be seen as sacred, rather than simply as houses of study. This volume argues that the biblical scrolls read, studied, and stored within its walls were the most important source of synagogue sanctity in the minds of the ancients, for the Scriptures offered the physical manifestation of the Divine within local congregations.
This Holy Place describes in detail the long and creative process by which holiness became ascribed to synagogues. It reaches back to the earliest history of the synagogue, over two thousand years ago, to explore the ideological development of the synagogue as well as important trends in the history of Judaism during the Greco-Roman period.
Transcending the specific genres of literature as well as geographic boundaries within the Roman and Persian empires, the author investigates numerous literary sources and dedicatory inscriptions in Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin from the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. This Holy Place brings together art and architecture from throughout the Mediterranean world with authors like Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, John Chrysostom and Yannai the synagogue poet as he traces the religious history of the ancient synagogue. Insights drawn from Rabbinic literature, Patristic literature, and Roman law read together with archaeological discoveries, support the conclusion that during late antiquity there existed a single but multi-faceted Judaism rather than the separate Judaisms some have posited.
Liturgy in the Life of the Synagogue
This volume brings together scholars from the United States, Europe and Israel to discuss ways that Jewish liturgy is intertwined with the religious life of the synagogue. From Talmudic literature to medieval Europe, contemporary Israel and America, Liturgy in the Life of the Synagogue represents the variety of voices and contexts in which Jewish liturgy thrives. Text scholarship, art and social history and musicology intermingle in this lively interaction with the synagogue through the ages.
Jews, Christians and Polytheists in the Ancient Synagogue: Cultural Interaction During the Greco-Roman Period
"Few collections boast such a tessellation of authorities as Fine's Jews, Christians and Polytheists in the Ancient Synagogue; and anyone who reads the book will see how necessary it was to write it." -- M.J. Edwards, The Classical Review
Finalist, Charles H. Revson Foundation Award in Jewish-Christian Relations of the National Jewish Book Council
Jews, Christians and Polytheists in the Ancient Synagogue explores the ways in which divergent ethnic, national and religious communities interacted with one another within the synagogue in the Greco-Roman period. It also presents new perspectives regarding the development of the synagogue and its significance of this institution for understanding religion and society under the Roman Empire.
Sacred Realm: The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World
"...it is this sacred history, beyond science and ever renewed, that lends a kind of fervent luster to even the smallest of fragments." –- Holland Cotter, The New York Times
"Accessible enough for public libraries and substantial enough for academic collections, this book belongs in every congregational library, Jewish or Christian." –- A. Thomas Kraabel, Luther College
Winner, Philip Johnson Award for Excellence in Published Exhibition Catalogues of the Society of Architectural Historians, 1997.
Sacred Realm: The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World offers a comprehensive history of the architectural and archaeological development of the synagogue from the third century BCE to 700 CE. Telling the story of ancient synagogues throughout the world and their place in the history of Judaism and of Western civilization, this book provides a fascinating representation of the cultural, intellectual, and artistic achievements of the Jewish experience in the Greco-Roman world. Informative essays detail every aspect of the ancient synagogue, while beautiful illustrations and maps take the reader to the actual historic site.
Sacred Realm is an accompaniment to a monumental exhibition organized by the Yeshiva University Museum in New York. Borrowing from museums in North America, Europe, and Israel, the exhibition presents a unique collection of artifacts and manuscripts--including many pieces never before displayed together-- and depicts for the first time an in-depth history of the synagogue during the Greco-Roman period. From a fourth-century Egyptian incense burner to inscriptions from the Roman catacombs and the Priene menorah, from Israeli mosaics to chancel screens, an inscribed bronze chandelier and piyyut (liturgical poetry) manuscripts, this collection is the most significant presentation of ancient Jewish religious life ever assembled.
Lavishly illustrated with both color and black and white photographs of the artifacts, manuscripts, maps, site diagrams, and reconstructions, Sacred Realm is not only a detailed record of this historic exhibit, but a guide to the evolution of Judaism's most sacred institution.
A Crown for a King: Studies in Memory of Prof. Stephen S. Kayser
Prof. Stephen S. Kayser (1900-1988) was a guiding force in the formation of Jewish art in America at mid-century. As founding director and curator of New York’s renowned Jewish Museum, this Heidelberg-trained German expatriate scholar set the foundations for Jewish museumship and art scholarship in America. Steven Fine was Professor Kayser’s last student, having written his MA in Art History under Kayser’s direction. A Crown For A King brings together scholars from Israel, the U.S. and Europe writing on a wide range of Professor Kayser's interests: from archaeology to ceremonial art, from the medieval period to the 20th century.
Where God Dwells: A Child’s History of the Synagogue
Through beautiful illustrations, fantasy and historical exploration, Where God Dwells: A Child's History of the Synagogue presents the results of Dr. Fine’s research on the synagogue. Here students are taken to Jerusalem and Masada, Dura Europos and Beth Alpha—then back to their own synagogue communities!
