Religion: People & Places

Jewish theologian, existentialist philosopher, and scholar of Hasidism, born in Austria, whose works include I and Thou (1923), Between Man and Man (1946), and Eclipse of God (1952).

German philosopher and interpreter of Judaism. The son of a cantor, he originally studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau, but turned from rabbinics to philosophy.

Heschel’s main philosophical work is God in Search of Man (1955), where he combines a phenomenological approach (already evident in his pioneering work, Die Prophetie 1936) with an existential depth theology, dealing with the Jewish religion as an act of faith rather than a concept or representation.

Jewish theologian and philosopher, Rosenzweig was a precursor of existentialism. However, his attachment to Judaism was influenced by the neo-Kantian, Hermann Cohen.

In his Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology (1909) Schechter was the first to give a methodological presentation of Jewish theology. He founded the American Jewish Conservative Movement, which has remained the largest Jewish religious group in the USA and has therefore been of enormous influence.

As the founder of Judaism, he is said to have instituted the rite of circumcision as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jews, who are descended from Isaac, son of Abraham's old age.

King of the Hebrews 1004-965 BC. He became king of Judah on the death of King Saul at Mount Gilboa in 1004 BC, then king of Israel in 997 BC. He united the tribes against the Philistines, conquering their cities (such as Ekron), and extending his kingdom over Moab and other surrounding lands.

Divinity of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as many other world religions.

Prophetic book of the Bible. It is a collection of prophecies from a 300-year period attributed to Isaiah, who may have been a priest.

In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the name of God, revealed to Moses; in Hebrew texts it is represented by the letters YHVH (without the vowels ‘a o a’) because it was regarded as too sacred to be pronounced; other religions say the letters as Yahweh.

Hebrew lawgiver, probably b. Egypt. The prototype of the prophets, he led his people in the 13th cent. B.C. out of bondage in Egypt.

A Hebrew prophet, seer, and judge, who anointed the first two kings of the Israelites (I Samuel 1-3; 8-15).

[Heb.,=seven wells or well of the oath], city (1994 pop. 147,900), S Israel, principal city of the Negev Desert. It is the trade center for surrounding settlements and for Bedouins, who hold a weekly market in Beersheba.

The capital of Syria, in the southwest: reputedly the oldest city in the world, having been inhabited continuously since before 2000 BCE.

A city in the West Bank: famous for the Haram, which includes the cenotaphs of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.

Town in the Jordan valley, west of the River Jordan and north of the Dead Sea, 24 km/15 mi northeast of Jerusalem; population (2005 est) 19,800. The site of the old city is the center of a fertile district where palms, rose trees, grapes, and balsams are grown.

The capital of Israel, Jerusalem is an administrative, religious, educational, cultural, and market center.

Ancient mountaintop fortress in Israel, the final outpost of the Zealot Jews in their rebellion against Roman authority (A.D. 66–73).

From The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
Location of the theophany, where God revealed Himself to MOSES and the people of Israel; identified in the Bible as Horeb, “the mountain of God,” where Moses had his first encounter with God at the BURNING BUSH (Ex. 3).

Ancient rock city, in present-day Jordan, known to the Arabs as Wadi Musa for the stream that flows through it.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Ancient village on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, in what is now the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is famous for its caves, in some of which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Archaeological work at Qumran has yielded a profile of its history. In Israelite times it was the site of a small settlement and was probably called the city of Salt (Joshua 15.62).

City, ancient Palestine, on a hill NW of modern-day Nablus (Shechem). The site is now occupied by a village, Sabastiyah (West Bank). Samaria (named for Shemer, who owned the land) was built by King Omri as the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel in the early 9th century B.C.E.

The local Jewish institution for instruction in the Torah and worship, but not infringing on the ritual or sacrificial roles of the Jerusalem priesthood. In antiquity, it was the local religious focal point of individual Jewish communities.

From The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
Elevated area in the southeastern corner of the Old City of Jerusalem, site of the First and Second Temple. The area recognized today as the Temple Mount is enclosed by four large retaining walls built during the reign of Herod the Great (1st cent. BCE).

From Dictionary of Jewish Lore and Legend
The western section of the outer wall of the Temple Mount, the only remaining structure of Herod's addition to the Second Temple, which was destroyed in 70 CE.

Ancient city of Sumer, S Mesopotamia. The city is also known as Ur of the Chaldees. It was an important center of Sumerian culture (see Sumer) and is identified in the Bible as the home of Abraham.