Benjamin D. Sommer è professore di Bibbia presso il Jewish Theological Seminary. Il suo lavoro approfondisce la comprensione dei testi biblici e la loro rilevanza per il pensiero contemporaneo. Sommer esplora le complesse questioni teologiche ed etiche che sorgono dalla lettura e interpretazione delle scritture. Il suo approccio offre una prospettiva nuova sui testi antichi e sul loro impatto duraturo.
The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel uncovers a lost ancient Near Eastern perception of divinity, according to which a god has more than one body and fluid, unbounded selves. Sommer's book has important repercussions not only for biblical scholarship and comparative religion but for... číst celé
By examining literary allusion in Isaiah 40-66, the author illuminates the changes that led to the demise of biblical prophecy and the rise of hermeneutically based religions in the post-biblical era.
Argues that in understanding the ways Jews construct scripture, we begin to understand the ways Jews construct themselves
Winner of the 2016 Goldstein-Goren Award for the best book in Jewish Thought At once a study of biblical theology and modern Jewish thought, this volume describes a "participatory theory of revelation" as it addresses the ways biblical authors and contemporary theologians alike understand the process of revelation and hence the authority of the law. Benjamin Sommer maintains that the Pentateuch's authors intend not only to convey God's will but to express Israel's interpretation of and response to that divine will. Thus Sommer's close readings of biblical texts bolster liberal theologies of modern Judaism, especially those of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Franz Rosenzweig. This bold view of revelation puts a premium on human agency and attests to the grandeur of a God who accomplishes a providential task through the free will of the human subjects under divine authority. Yet, even though the Pentateuch's authors hold diverse views of revelation, all of them regard the binding authority of the law as sacrosanct. Sommer's book demonstrates why a law-observant religious Jew can be open to discoveries about the Bible that seem nontraditional or even antireligious.
Die Arbeit thematisiert die Vergänglichkeit des Menschen, inspiriert durch den Slogan des Friseurladens "vanitas.hair". Sie beleuchtet, wie Georg Philipp Telemann in seiner Solo-Kantate und das Buch Kohelet die Eitelkeit und das Streben nach Glück kritisieren. Kunstwerke, wie die Vanitas-Stillleben von Chris Peters, sowie moderne Musikstücke, darunter Johnny Cashs "Hurt" und Ringsgwandls "Nix mitnehma", werden analysiert, um die anhaltende Relevanz des Vanitas-Gedankens in der heutigen Kultur zu verdeutlichen.
Entstehung, Vorbilder, Botschaften
Vier mitteldeutsche Flügelretabel, Meisterwerke des Spätmittelalters, stehen im Zentrum dieses Bandes. Sie stammen aus Pfarr- und Klosterkirchen in Erfurt, Leipzig und Stendal und entstanden im Zeitraum der 1470er bis 1490er Jahre. Der Autor setzt bei den Ergebnissen bisheriger stilgeschichtlicher Forschungen an. Demnach gingen diese Altaraufsätze aus der Kooperation der jeweils gleichen Bildschnitzer mit wechselnden Malern hervor. Die Ausweitung des methodischen Ansatzes um das Studi- um schriftlicher Quellen oder die systematische Vorbildrecherche und die Einbeziehung der Fragen nach Auftraggebern und Funktionen führen zu einer Fülle neuer Erkenntnisse.