Skip to main content

Bill Rebiger

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Seminar für Judaistik/Jüdische Studien, Post-Doc

Followers

375

Following

152

Co-authors

5

Public Views

Armando Salvatore

McGill University

Scott R. Stroud

The University of Texas at Austin

Cristiana Facchini

Università di Bologna

University of Haifa

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

Lund University

Ucla

Francisco de Paula Souza de Mendonça Júnior

UFSM - Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Giovanni Licata

Università degli Studi "La Sapienza" di Roma

Tel Aviv University

InterestsView All (24)

Uploads

Articles by Bill Rebiger

Gerold Necker and Bill Rebiger: The One and the Many: The Structure and Versions of Keter Shem Tov According to the New Synoptic Edition with a Special Focus on MS Jerusalem, NLI, 8° 541

Editing Kabbalistic Texts, ed. by Bill Rebiger and Gerold Necker, 2024

The article focuses on the anonymous kabbalistic treatise "Keter Shem Tov" (Crown of the Good Nam... more The article focuses on the anonymous kabbalistic treatise "Keter Shem Tov" (Crown of the Good Name). This text combines two different traditions: first, speculations and gematriot about the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, especially those of the Tetragrammaton as known from the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz (German Pietists), and second, the theosophical concept of the ten sefirot as developed mainly in the pre-zoharic Spanish Kabbalah of the thirteenth century. In fact, "Keter Shem Tov", which was probably composed in Catalonia around 1260, is the first treatise we know of in which these traditions come together. Thus, the early attribution to the legendary Ashkenazi scholar Rabbi Abraham bar Axelrad of Cologne—who, according to the testimony of Rabbi Solomon ibn Adret, taught in the synagogue in Barcelona—is perfectly fitting even in the face of a lack of convincing historical evidence.

« The Christian Reception of Keter Shem Tov: Egidio da Viterbo’s Annotations in MS London, British Library, Harley 5510 »

by Emma Abate and Bill Rebiger

Editing Kabbalistic Texts, edited by Bill Rebiger and Gerold Necker, 2024

Unveiling the Secrets of Practical Kabbalah: Gottfried Selig’s German Translation of Sefer Shimmush Tehillim or “Book of the Magical Use of Psalms”

Magic and Language: Perspectives on Jewish and Christian Magic in Early Modern Europe, ed. by Yuval Harari, Gerold Necker and Marco Frenschkowski, 2024

A Magic Touch: Performative Haptic Acts in Biblical and Medieval Jewish Magic

A Touch of Doubt: On Haptic Scepticism, ed. Rachel Aumiller, Berlin/Boston, 2021

The editio princeps of Sefer Šimmuš Tehillim, Sabbioneta 1551

L'eredità di Salomone. La magia ebraica in Italia e nel Mediterraneo, ed. Emma Abate, Florence, 2019

In order to develop the field of research on printed material of Jewish magic, the article focuse... more In order to develop the field of research on printed material of Jewish magic, the article focuses on the first printing of the Sefer Šimmuš Tehillim (“Book of the Magical Use of Psalms”). The title of the work already suggests the magical use of the 150 biblical psalms. Moreover, the genre of this book resembles that of a manual, less intended to be read than to provide the reader with the appropriate instructions for an intended purpose. The subjects of these instructions are the habitual ones related to, for instance, healing, protection, love charms, dream questions, opening of the heart and aggressive magic. In 1551, the most popular magical manual in Judaism was printed for the first time in the small Italian town of Sabbioneta located in the duchy of Mantua. Regarding the editorial and redactional work of the publishers of the first edition, two different tendencies can be observed. First, the editors tried to complete the structure of the manual so that finally almost every psalm is connected with at least one benefit. Moreover, the text is presently almost completely in Hebrew, except some very common Aramaic words. Second, the editors canceled many additional uses, instructions and magical names, still attested in older manuscripts, including the fragments from the Cairo Genizah. A closer look at the proper beginning of the Sefer Šimmuš Tehillim provides a good impression of the general structure and concept of this magical manual. Furthermore, some peculiarities of this edition including errors or the use of loanwords are discussed.

Engel und Dämonen im rabbinischen Denken und in der jüdischen Magie

Chilufim. Zeitschrift für jüdische Kulturgeschichte 25, 2018

Die rabbinische Literatur umfasst ein gigantisches Textkorpus ganz unterschiedlicher Texte: die M... more Die rabbinische Literatur umfasst ein gigantisches Textkorpus ganz unterschiedlicher Texte: die Mischna, die Tosefta und die beiden Talmudim, den Palästinischen oder Jerusalemer Talmud sowie den Babylonischen Talmud, wie auch die beträchtliche Bibliothek der verschiedenen Midraschim. 1 Die rabbinische Literatur kann man grob unterteilen nach halakhischen (religionsgesetzlichen) und aggadischen (erzählerischen) Textsorten. Der Entstehungszeitraum dieser Texte entspricht dem ersten Jahrtausend nach der Zerstörung des Zweiten Tempels im Jahre 70 unserer Zeit. Allerdings werden im Folgenden weder die gaonäischen Schriften des 8.-10. Jahrhunderts noch spätere, mittelalterliche Midraschim behandelt. Es ist wichtig zu betonen, dass die rabbinische Literatur die Literatur der Rabbinen und nicht die aller Juden ist. Oder um es positiv zu formulieren: Es existieren jüdische Texte aus diesem Zeitraum, die nicht zur rabbinischen Literatur gehören. Natürlich sind hier die Übergänge fließend und es ist häufig gar nicht bekannt, wer eigentlich die Autoren dieser Texte sind. Einige dieser jüdischen und wahrscheinlich nichtrabbinischen Texte gehören in die Bereiche Mystik und Magie. Hier wäre vor allem das Korpus der Texte von den himmlischen Palästen, die sogenannte Hekhalot-Literatur, zu nennen. 2 Des Weiteren sind auch Funde von (spät)antiken jüdischen Me-1 Vgl. Stemberger, Einleitung in Talmud und Midrasch. Etymologien von Engelnamen und seine Methodologie wurden kritisiert, vgl. bereits die Rezensionen von Ludwig Blau, in: Zeitschrift für Hebräische Bibliographie 2, S. 82-85 und S. 118-120; und Wilhelm Bacher, in: Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums, S. 525-528 und S. 570-572. 7 Margalioth, Mal'akhe 'elyon. Dieses Buch enthält eine alphabetische Auflistung von

Philosophie im rabbinischen Judentum, §191: Überblick, §192: ‘Sefer Jeziraʼ

Die Philosophie der Antike, Vol. 5/3: Philosophie der Kaiserzeit und der Spätantike, ed. Chr. Riedweg et alii, Basel, 2018

Sceptical Elements in a Dogmatic Stance: Isaac Polqar against Kabbalah

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2018, 2018

The Yearbook is published on behalf of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies ISBN 978-3-11-0... more

‘Write on Three Ribs of a Sheep’: Writing Materials in Ancient and Mediaeval Jewish Magic

Jewish Manuscript Cultures: New Perspectives, ed. Irina Wandrey, 2017

Writing materials used for ancient and mediaeval Jewish magic include metals, stones, animal hide... more Writing materials used for ancient and mediaeval Jewish magic include metals, stones, animal hides and bones, papyrus, paper, textiles, pottery and other objects. Inscribed finished products designated for magical purposes like amulets, magic bowls, gems, rings, pendants, seals and even skulls have been found. Moreover, numerous instruction texts are extant describing the process of writing and the producing and use of material artefacts. These instructions are attested in unsorted collections of various instructions as well as in applied manuals arranged in a more systematic manner. First and foremost, the fragments from the Cairo Geniza provide us with thousands of these texts. The question this paper tries to answer is whether there is a relationship between the choice of writing material and the intended purpose of the magical act. Another focus is on the correspondence between material artefacts and instruction texts.

Sceptical Strategies in Simone Luzzatto's Presentation of the Kabbalists in his Discorso

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2017, 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 Li... more

The Early Opponents of the Kabbalah and the Role of Sceptical Argumentations: An Outline

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2016, 2016

Wein in der jüdischen Magie des Mittelalters

Wein und Judentum, ed. Andreas Lehnardt, Berlin 2014, pp. 97-120

Auch eine Berliner Kindheit um Neunzehnhundert. Zur Biographie des jungen Gershom Scholem bis 1915

Gershom Scholem in Deutschland. Zwischen Seelenverwandtschaft und Sprachlosigkeit, ed. Gerold Necker, Elke Morlok and Matthias Morgenstern, Tübingen 2014, pp. 19-36

Judaistische Anmerkungen zu John Zorns Radical Jewish Culture

PaRDeS. Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien e.V. 20 (2014), pp. 133-147

Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbiblio---L... more Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbiblio---Layout und Satz WISSENSCHAFTLICHE ARTIKEL 13 Martha Stellmacher 33 Jascha Nemtsov 47 Daniel S. Katz 61 75 Jasmina Huber 87 Itamar Drori 99 10 INHALT Ulrike Kleinecke 117 Bill Rebiger 133 REZENSIONEN Bill Rebiger) 151 ‫סלוניקי,‬ ‫בלאדינו‬ ‫תפילות‬ ‫סידור‬ -‫נשים‬ ‫סדר‬ ‫עשרה‬ ‫השש‬ ‫המאה‬ Rafael Arnold ) 155 Rotraud Ries) 159 Dorothea M. Salzer) 162 Rafael Arnold ) 167 (Sebastian Schirrmeister) 171 INHALT 11 (Martha Stellmacher) 175 Hans-Michael Haußig) 177 LISTE AUSGEWÄHLTER NEUERSCHEINUNGEN 183 AUTORINNEN UND AUTOREN DES HEFTES 195 von Bill Rebiger -Einleitung

Non-European Traditions of Hekhalot Literature. The Yemenite Evidence

Envisioning Judaism. Studies in Honor of Peter Schäfer on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday, ed. Ra’anan S. Boustan, Klaus Herrmann, Reimund Leicht et alii, vol. 1, Tübingen 2013, pp. 685-713

More than 30 years ago, in 1981, the Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur was published by Peter Schäfe... more More than 30 years ago, in 1981, the Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur was published by Peter Schäfer. 1 Despite the fact that this edition was not the irst publication of texts of this literature, 2 it was immediately acknowledged as a seminal and trailblazing stage of research leading not only to numerous contributions but actually to a new ield of Jewish Studies. 3 The giant volume of the Synopse provided the scholarly world with a synoptic edition of no less than seven manuscripts containing different texts of this corpus of the so-called early Jewish mysticism. 4 While all these manuscripts are of European provenience, they can be differentiated into various geographical as well as cultural areas. This is indicated by the Ashkenazi, Italian, Sephardic, and Byzantine scripts in which these manuscripts were written. The manuscripts can be dated from the fourteenth to sixteenth century. The main reason for a synoptic edition of Hekhalot literature lies in the luidity not only of the boundaries but also of the conigurations of * I would like to thank irst and foremost my venerated teacher Peter Schäfer who taught me more than I could acknowledge here. Furthermore, I owe many thanks to Klaus Herrmann, Tal Ilan, Gideon Bohak, Daniel Abrams, and, last but not least, Reimund Leicht for discussing with me different aspects of different drafts of this paper. 1 P. Schäfer, ed., Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1981).

Hidden Secrets or the Mysteries of Daily Life. Hebrew Entries in the Journal Books of the Early Modern Astronomer Gottfried Kirch

by Sebastian Kühn and Bill Rebiger

European Journal of Jewish Studies, 2012

In the astronomical journal books written in German of Gottfried Kirch (1639-1710), a Christian a... more In the astronomical journal books written in German of Gottfried Kirch (1639-1710), a Christian astronomer and publisher with close connections to Pietists, several entries in Hebrew script are striking. In fact, it is not Hebrew or Yiddish but German in Hebrew characters. There is no doubt that the transcription follows more or less an orthography known from Yiddish. Since the content of these entries is rather banal and reflects daily life, it is possible that they are nothing but a kind of scholarly joke, a private pleasure, and practice of scholarly skills. While these private notes were not capable of academic discourse, perhaps Kirch playfully tried to enhance their status by using an uncommon script in contrast to the astronomical data. In this way, it was possible to cover over the triviality of daily life by a veil of mystery by transcribing it in Hebrew characters.

Judentumskunde in der Frühaufklärung. Die multikulturellen Kalender von Gottfried Kirch

Astronomie, Literatur, Volksaufklärung. Der Schreibkalender der Frühen Neuzeit mit seinen Text- und Bildbeigaben, ed. Klaus-Dieter Herbst, Bremen/Jena 2012, pp. 449-468

Gemeinschaft der Heiligen in der rabbinischen Literatur

Heilige, Heiliges und Heiligkeit in spätantiken Religionskulturen, ed. Peter Gemeinhardt and Katharina Heyden, Berlin/New York 2012, pp. 369-384

Unterweisung, Überlieferung und Aktualisierung von magischem Wissen im Judentum. Ansätze zu einer Textpragmatik

Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 36 (2010), pp. 31-55

Die jüdische Magie der Spätantike und des Mittelalters, auf deren orientalische Bezeugung wir uns... more Die jüdische Magie der Spätantike und des Mittelalters, auf deren orientalische Bezeugung wir uns im folgenden weitgehend beschränken wollen, ist uns vor allem durch Texte bekannt, die in den letzten zweieinhalb Jahrzehnten durch wissenschaftliche Editionen erschlossen wurden. Es seien hier vor allem die umfangreichen Editionen von spätantiken Metallamuletten, babylonischen Zauberschalen und magischen Fragmenten aus der Kairoer Geniza sowie der magischen Makroformen Ḣ arba de-Moshe, Sefer ha-Malbush, Sefer ha-Razim und Sefer Shimmush Tehillim genannt. 1 Angesichts dieser Fülle von edierten magischen Texten, die wiederum nur einen Bruchteil der in den erhaltenen Handschriften bezeugten Texte bilden, ist eine magische Wissenstradition im * Dieser Artikel geht auf einen Vortrag zurück, der auf dem 31. Deutschen Orientalistentag in Marburg am 21. 9. 2010 gehalten wurde. Mein herzlicher Dank gilt Dr. Dorothea Salzer für ihre wertvollen Ratschläge.

Angels in Rabbinic Literature

Angels. The Concept of Celestial Beings – Origins, Development and Reception, ed. Friedrich V. Reiterer, Tobias Nicklas and Karin Schöpflin. Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature, Yearbook 2007, Berlin/New York 2007, pp. 629-644

Gerold Necker and Bill Rebiger: The One and the Many: The Structure and Versions of Keter Shem Tov According to the New Synoptic Edition with a Special Focus on MS Jerusalem, NLI, 8° 541

Editing Kabbalistic Texts, ed. by Bill Rebiger and Gerold Necker, 2024

The article focuses on the anonymous kabbalistic treatise "Keter Shem Tov" (Crown of the Good Nam... more The article focuses on the anonymous kabbalistic treatise "Keter Shem Tov" (Crown of the Good Name). This text combines two different traditions: first, speculations and gematriot about the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, especially those of the Tetragrammaton as known from the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz (German Pietists), and second, the theosophical concept of the ten sefirot as developed mainly in the pre-zoharic Spanish Kabbalah of the thirteenth century. In fact, "Keter Shem Tov", which was probably composed in Catalonia around 1260, is the first treatise we know of in which these traditions come together. Thus, the early attribution to the legendary Ashkenazi scholar Rabbi Abraham bar Axelrad of Cologne—who, according to the testimony of Rabbi Solomon ibn Adret, taught in the synagogue in Barcelona—is perfectly fitting even in the face of a lack of convincing historical evidence.

« The Christian Reception of Keter Shem Tov: Egidio da Viterbo’s Annotations in MS London, British Library, Harley 5510 »

by Emma Abate and Bill Rebiger

Editing Kabbalistic Texts, edited by Bill Rebiger and Gerold Necker, 2024

Unveiling the Secrets of Practical Kabbalah: Gottfried Selig’s German Translation of Sefer Shimmush Tehillim or “Book of the Magical Use of Psalms”

Magic and Language: Perspectives on Jewish and Christian Magic in Early Modern Europe, ed. by Yuval Harari, Gerold Necker and Marco Frenschkowski, 2024

A Magic Touch: Performative Haptic Acts in Biblical and Medieval Jewish Magic

A Touch of Doubt: On Haptic Scepticism, ed. Rachel Aumiller, Berlin/Boston, 2021

The editio princeps of Sefer Šimmuš Tehillim, Sabbioneta 1551

L'eredità di Salomone. La magia ebraica in Italia e nel Mediterraneo, ed. Emma Abate, Florence, 2019

In order to develop the field of research on printed material of Jewish magic, the article focuse... more In order to develop the field of research on printed material of Jewish magic, the article focuses on the first printing of the Sefer Šimmuš Tehillim (“Book of the Magical Use of Psalms”). The title of the work already suggests the magical use of the 150 biblical psalms. Moreover, the genre of this book resembles that of a manual, less intended to be read than to provide the reader with the appropriate instructions for an intended purpose. The subjects of these instructions are the habitual ones related to, for instance, healing, protection, love charms, dream questions, opening of the heart and aggressive magic. In 1551, the most popular magical manual in Judaism was printed for the first time in the small Italian town of Sabbioneta located in the duchy of Mantua. Regarding the editorial and redactional work of the publishers of the first edition, two different tendencies can be observed. First, the editors tried to complete the structure of the manual so that finally almost every psalm is connected with at least one benefit. Moreover, the text is presently almost completely in Hebrew, except some very common Aramaic words. Second, the editors canceled many additional uses, instructions and magical names, still attested in older manuscripts, including the fragments from the Cairo Genizah. A closer look at the proper beginning of the Sefer Šimmuš Tehillim provides a good impression of the general structure and concept of this magical manual. Furthermore, some peculiarities of this edition including errors or the use of loanwords are discussed.

Engel und Dämonen im rabbinischen Denken und in der jüdischen Magie

Chilufim. Zeitschrift für jüdische Kulturgeschichte 25, 2018

Die rabbinische Literatur umfasst ein gigantisches Textkorpus ganz unterschiedlicher Texte: die M... more Die rabbinische Literatur umfasst ein gigantisches Textkorpus ganz unterschiedlicher Texte: die Mischna, die Tosefta und die beiden Talmudim, den Palästinischen oder Jerusalemer Talmud sowie den Babylonischen Talmud, wie auch die beträchtliche Bibliothek der verschiedenen Midraschim. 1 Die rabbinische Literatur kann man grob unterteilen nach halakhischen (religionsgesetzlichen) und aggadischen (erzählerischen) Textsorten. Der Entstehungszeitraum dieser Texte entspricht dem ersten Jahrtausend nach der Zerstörung des Zweiten Tempels im Jahre 70 unserer Zeit. Allerdings werden im Folgenden weder die gaonäischen Schriften des 8.-10. Jahrhunderts noch spätere, mittelalterliche Midraschim behandelt. Es ist wichtig zu betonen, dass die rabbinische Literatur die Literatur der Rabbinen und nicht die aller Juden ist. Oder um es positiv zu formulieren: Es existieren jüdische Texte aus diesem Zeitraum, die nicht zur rabbinischen Literatur gehören. Natürlich sind hier die Übergänge fließend und es ist häufig gar nicht bekannt, wer eigentlich die Autoren dieser Texte sind. Einige dieser jüdischen und wahrscheinlich nichtrabbinischen Texte gehören in die Bereiche Mystik und Magie. Hier wäre vor allem das Korpus der Texte von den himmlischen Palästen, die sogenannte Hekhalot-Literatur, zu nennen. 2 Des Weiteren sind auch Funde von (spät)antiken jüdischen Me-1 Vgl. Stemberger, Einleitung in Talmud und Midrasch. Etymologien von Engelnamen und seine Methodologie wurden kritisiert, vgl. bereits die Rezensionen von Ludwig Blau, in: Zeitschrift für Hebräische Bibliographie 2, S. 82-85 und S. 118-120; und Wilhelm Bacher, in: Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums, S. 525-528 und S. 570-572. 7 Margalioth, Mal'akhe 'elyon. Dieses Buch enthält eine alphabetische Auflistung von

Philosophie im rabbinischen Judentum, §191: Überblick, §192: ‘Sefer Jeziraʼ

Die Philosophie der Antike, Vol. 5/3: Philosophie der Kaiserzeit und der Spätantike, ed. Chr. Riedweg et alii, Basel, 2018

Sceptical Elements in a Dogmatic Stance: Isaac Polqar against Kabbalah

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2018, 2018

The Yearbook is published on behalf of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies ISBN 978-3-11-0... more

‘Write on Three Ribs of a Sheep’: Writing Materials in Ancient and Mediaeval Jewish Magic

Jewish Manuscript Cultures: New Perspectives, ed. Irina Wandrey, 2017

Writing materials used for ancient and mediaeval Jewish magic include metals, stones, animal hide... more Writing materials used for ancient and mediaeval Jewish magic include metals, stones, animal hides and bones, papyrus, paper, textiles, pottery and other objects. Inscribed finished products designated for magical purposes like amulets, magic bowls, gems, rings, pendants, seals and even skulls have been found. Moreover, numerous instruction texts are extant describing the process of writing and the producing and use of material artefacts. These instructions are attested in unsorted collections of various instructions as well as in applied manuals arranged in a more systematic manner. First and foremost, the fragments from the Cairo Geniza provide us with thousands of these texts. The question this paper tries to answer is whether there is a relationship between the choice of writing material and the intended purpose of the magical act. Another focus is on the correspondence between material artefacts and instruction texts.

Sceptical Strategies in Simone Luzzatto's Presentation of the Kabbalists in his Discorso

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2017, 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 Li... more

The Early Opponents of the Kabbalah and the Role of Sceptical Argumentations: An Outline

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2016, 2016

Wein in der jüdischen Magie des Mittelalters

Wein und Judentum, ed. Andreas Lehnardt, Berlin 2014, pp. 97-120

Auch eine Berliner Kindheit um Neunzehnhundert. Zur Biographie des jungen Gershom Scholem bis 1915

Gershom Scholem in Deutschland. Zwischen Seelenverwandtschaft und Sprachlosigkeit, ed. Gerold Necker, Elke Morlok and Matthias Morgenstern, Tübingen 2014, pp. 19-36

Judaistische Anmerkungen zu John Zorns Radical Jewish Culture

PaRDeS. Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien e.V. 20 (2014), pp. 133-147

Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbiblio---L... more Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbiblio---Layout und Satz WISSENSCHAFTLICHE ARTIKEL 13 Martha Stellmacher 33 Jascha Nemtsov 47 Daniel S. Katz 61 75 Jasmina Huber 87 Itamar Drori 99 10 INHALT Ulrike Kleinecke 117 Bill Rebiger 133 REZENSIONEN Bill Rebiger) 151 ‫סלוניקי,‬ ‫בלאדינו‬ ‫תפילות‬ ‫סידור‬ -‫נשים‬ ‫סדר‬ ‫עשרה‬ ‫השש‬ ‫המאה‬ Rafael Arnold ) 155 Rotraud Ries) 159 Dorothea M. Salzer) 162 Rafael Arnold ) 167 (Sebastian Schirrmeister) 171 INHALT 11 (Martha Stellmacher) 175 Hans-Michael Haußig) 177 LISTE AUSGEWÄHLTER NEUERSCHEINUNGEN 183 AUTORINNEN UND AUTOREN DES HEFTES 195 von Bill Rebiger -Einleitung

Non-European Traditions of Hekhalot Literature. The Yemenite Evidence

Envisioning Judaism. Studies in Honor of Peter Schäfer on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday, ed. Ra’anan S. Boustan, Klaus Herrmann, Reimund Leicht et alii, vol. 1, Tübingen 2013, pp. 685-713

More than 30 years ago, in 1981, the Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur was published by Peter Schäfe... more More than 30 years ago, in 1981, the Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur was published by Peter Schäfer. 1 Despite the fact that this edition was not the irst publication of texts of this literature, 2 it was immediately acknowledged as a seminal and trailblazing stage of research leading not only to numerous contributions but actually to a new ield of Jewish Studies. 3 The giant volume of the Synopse provided the scholarly world with a synoptic edition of no less than seven manuscripts containing different texts of this corpus of the so-called early Jewish mysticism. 4 While all these manuscripts are of European provenience, they can be differentiated into various geographical as well as cultural areas. This is indicated by the Ashkenazi, Italian, Sephardic, and Byzantine scripts in which these manuscripts were written. The manuscripts can be dated from the fourteenth to sixteenth century. The main reason for a synoptic edition of Hekhalot literature lies in the luidity not only of the boundaries but also of the conigurations of * I would like to thank irst and foremost my venerated teacher Peter Schäfer who taught me more than I could acknowledge here. Furthermore, I owe many thanks to Klaus Herrmann, Tal Ilan, Gideon Bohak, Daniel Abrams, and, last but not least, Reimund Leicht for discussing with me different aspects of different drafts of this paper. 1 P. Schäfer, ed., Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1981).

Hidden Secrets or the Mysteries of Daily Life. Hebrew Entries in the Journal Books of the Early Modern Astronomer Gottfried Kirch

by Sebastian Kühn and Bill Rebiger

European Journal of Jewish Studies, 2012

In the astronomical journal books written in German of Gottfried Kirch (1639-1710), a Christian a... more In the astronomical journal books written in German of Gottfried Kirch (1639-1710), a Christian astronomer and publisher with close connections to Pietists, several entries in Hebrew script are striking. In fact, it is not Hebrew or Yiddish but German in Hebrew characters. There is no doubt that the transcription follows more or less an orthography known from Yiddish. Since the content of these entries is rather banal and reflects daily life, it is possible that they are nothing but a kind of scholarly joke, a private pleasure, and practice of scholarly skills. While these private notes were not capable of academic discourse, perhaps Kirch playfully tried to enhance their status by using an uncommon script in contrast to the astronomical data. In this way, it was possible to cover over the triviality of daily life by a veil of mystery by transcribing it in Hebrew characters.

Judentumskunde in der Frühaufklärung. Die multikulturellen Kalender von Gottfried Kirch

Astronomie, Literatur, Volksaufklärung. Der Schreibkalender der Frühen Neuzeit mit seinen Text- und Bildbeigaben, ed. Klaus-Dieter Herbst, Bremen/Jena 2012, pp. 449-468

Gemeinschaft der Heiligen in der rabbinischen Literatur

Heilige, Heiliges und Heiligkeit in spätantiken Religionskulturen, ed. Peter Gemeinhardt and Katharina Heyden, Berlin/New York 2012, pp. 369-384

Unterweisung, Überlieferung und Aktualisierung von magischem Wissen im Judentum. Ansätze zu einer Textpragmatik

Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 36 (2010), pp. 31-55

Die jüdische Magie der Spätantike und des Mittelalters, auf deren orientalische Bezeugung wir uns... more Die jüdische Magie der Spätantike und des Mittelalters, auf deren orientalische Bezeugung wir uns im folgenden weitgehend beschränken wollen, ist uns vor allem durch Texte bekannt, die in den letzten zweieinhalb Jahrzehnten durch wissenschaftliche Editionen erschlossen wurden. Es seien hier vor allem die umfangreichen Editionen von spätantiken Metallamuletten, babylonischen Zauberschalen und magischen Fragmenten aus der Kairoer Geniza sowie der magischen Makroformen Ḣ arba de-Moshe, Sefer ha-Malbush, Sefer ha-Razim und Sefer Shimmush Tehillim genannt. 1 Angesichts dieser Fülle von edierten magischen Texten, die wiederum nur einen Bruchteil der in den erhaltenen Handschriften bezeugten Texte bilden, ist eine magische Wissenstradition im * Dieser Artikel geht auf einen Vortrag zurück, der auf dem 31. Deutschen Orientalistentag in Marburg am 21. 9. 2010 gehalten wurde. Mein herzlicher Dank gilt Dr. Dorothea Salzer für ihre wertvollen Ratschläge.

Angels in Rabbinic Literature

Angels. The Concept of Celestial Beings – Origins, Development and Reception, ed. Friedrich V. Reiterer, Tobias Nicklas and Karin Schöpflin. Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature, Yearbook 2007, Berlin/New York 2007, pp. 629-644

Review: Ivan G. Marcus, Sefer Hasidim and the Ashkenazic Book in Medieval Europe

European Journal of Jewish Studies, 2021

Review: Tzahi Weiss, Sefer Yeṣirah and Its Contexts: Other Jewish Voices

Speculum, 2020

Review: Jens Kamlah et al. [eds.], Zauber und Magie im antiken Palästina und seiner Umwelt

Theologische Literaturzeitung, 2019

Review: Emma Abate, Sigillare il mondo. Amuleti e ricette dalla Genizah: manoscritti magici ebraici della biblioteca della Alliance Israelite Universelle di Parigi

Henoch, 2017

E. ABATE, Sigillare il mondo. Amuleti e ricette dalla Genizah: manoscritti magici ebraici della b... more

Review: Ithamar Gruenwald, Apocalyptic and Merkavah Mysticism

Theologische Revue, 2017

Review: Martha Himmelfarb, Between Temple and Torah. Essays on Priests, Scribes, and Visionaries in the Second Temple Period and Beyond

PaRDeS. Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien e.V. 20, 2014

Review: Piergabriele Mancuso, Shabbatai Donnolo’s Sefer Ḥakhmoni. Introduction, Critical Text, and Annotated English Translation

PaRDeS. Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien e.V. 19, 2013

Review: Stephen G. Burnett, Christian Hebraism in the Reformation Era (1500-1660). Authors, Books, and the Transmission of Jewish Learning

Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 38, 2013

Review: Peter Schäfer, The Origins of Jewish Mysticism

Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 36, 2010

Review: Gideon Bohak, Ancient Jewish Magic. A History

Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 35, 2009

Review: Giuseppe Veltri, Libraries, Translations, and ‘Canonic’ Texts. The Septuagint, Aquila and Ben Sira in the Jewish and Christian Traditions

European Journal of Jewish Studies 1.1, 2007

Review: Rachel Elior and Peter Schäfer (eds.), Creation and Re-Creation in Jewish Thought. FS Joseph Dan

European Association for Jewish Studies newsletter, 2005

Review: Colette Sirat, Hebrew Manuscripts of the Middle Ages

European Association for Jewish Studies newsletter, 2003

Review: Michael Becker, Wunder und Wundertäter im frührabbinischen Judentum. Studien zum Phänomen und seiner Überlieferung im Horizont von Magie und Dämonismus

Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 30, 2003

Editing Kabbalistic Texts: Contents

Bill Rebiger and Gerold Necker, eds., Editing Kabbalistic Texts, 2024

These conference proceedings present the current state of the art in the field of editing kabbali... more These conference proceedings present the current state of the art in the field of editing kabbalistic texts and features the lectures given at the online conference on this topic on February 2022 at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. The contributions cover fundamental editorial questions that result from recent research, such as the re-evaluation of individual manuscript transmission by copyists who were also kabbalists, or case studies that range from the early to the Lurianic Kabbalah and serve different genres. An initial editorial concept is presented for the main work of medieval Kabbalah, Sefer ha-Zohar (Book of Splendor). The editorial challenges of the treatises and commentaries of Christian kabbalists are also discussed. Textual theories, hermeneutics and the problem of translating kabbalistic texts, which often have multiple versions in the context of their historical reception, are linked to two key elements: first, philological approaches that broaden the way we read and interact with kabbalistic texts, and second, digital solutions that meet the multiple demands of studying and presenting texts.
Open access: https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/ddo/artikel/87220/978-3-447-12241-2_Free%20Open%20Access%20Download.pdf

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2018

The Yearbook mirrors the annual activities of staff and visiting fellows of the Maimonides Centre... more The Yearbook mirrors the annual activities of staff and visiting fellows of the Maimonides Centre and reports on symposia, workshops, and lectures taking place at the Centre. Although aimed at a wider audience, the yearbook also contains academic articles and book reviews on scepticism in Judaism and scepticism in general. Staff, visiting fellows, and other international scholars are invited to contribute. Only frontmatter and content are uploaded. The entire volume is available as open access, follow the link:
https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/497751

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2017

The Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies mirrors the annual activities of staff... more The Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies mirrors the annual activities of staff and visiting fellows of the Centre and reports on symposia, workshops, and lectures. Although aimed at a wider audience, the yearbook also contains academic articles and lectures on scepticism in Judaism and scepticism in general. Only frontmatter and content are uploaded. The entire volume is available as open access, follow the link:
https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/482246

Yearbook of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies 2016

by Bill Rebiger, Libera Pisano, Martina Mampieri, and Paolo Luca Bernardini

The Yearbook mirrors the annual activities of staff and visiting fellows of the Maimonides Centre... more The Yearbook mirrors the annual activities of staff and visiting fellows of the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies and reports on symposia, workshops, and lectures taking place at the Centre. Although aimed at a wider audience, the yearbook also contains academic articles and book reviews on scepticism in Judaism and scepticism in general. Only frontmatter and content are uploaded. The entire volume is available as open access, follow the link: https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/467151

Jewish Berlin. Culture, Religion, Daily Life Yesterday and Today

Sefer Shimmush Tehillim. Buch vom magischen Gebrauch der Psalmen

Das jüdische Berlin. Kultur, Religion und Alltag gestern und heute

Sefer ha-Razim I und II. Das Buch der Geheimnisse I und II, vol. 2: Einleitung, Übersetzung und Kommentar, ed. Bill Rebiger and Peter Schäfer in collaboration with Evelyn Burkhardt and Dorothea Salzer

Sefer ha-Razim I und II. Das Buch der Geheimnisse I und II, vol. 1: Edition, ed. Bill Rebiger and Peter Schäfer in collaboration with Evelyn Burkhardt, Gottfried Reeg and Henrik Wels

Jüdisches Berlin. Photos aus Kaiserzeit und Weimarer Republik. Jewish Life in Berlin. Photos from the German Empire and Weimar Republic

Gittin - Scheidebriefe

Übersetzung des Talmud Yerushalmi, vol. III/5, 2008

Magische Texte aus der Kairoer Geniza, vol. 3, ed. Peter Schäfer and Shaul Shaked in collaboration with Reimund Leicht, Bill Rebiger and Irina Wandrey