Ars Judaica is an annual publication of the Department of Jewish
Art at Bar-Ilan University. It showcases the
Jewish contribution to the visual arts and architecture from antiquity to the
present from a variety of perspectives, including history, iconography,
semiotics, psychology, sociology, and folklore. As such it is a valuable
resource for art historians, collectors, curators, and all those interested in
the visual arts.



In this volume, Avraham Faust considers a unique phenomenon in the
material culture of ancient Israel during the biblical period: pottery without
painted decoration. Moshe Idel, an expert on Jewish mysticism, sheds new light
on the figure of Helios in the Hammath Tiberias synagogue mosaic, comparing it
to descriptions of angel ‘Anafi’el in the Heikhalot literature and medieval
Kabbalistic texts. Rahel Fronda attributes a group of medieval Ashkenazi Bible
manuscripts containing similar micrographic ornaments to the same scribal workshop,
possibly near Würzburg. Alexander Mishory reveals a Scroll of Esther
illuminated by one of the first Bezalel artists, Shmuel Ben-David, and focuses
on his use of fowl and fox imagery deriving from an Arab fable. Artur
Tanikowski discusses social awareness and humanist values in the work of Polish
modernists of Jewish origin. The Special Item
by Nurit Sirkis Bank is dedicated to hasidic wedding rings. A silver ring,
square on the outside, round within, and engraved with the Hebrew letter he is understood as a symbol of unity
and harmony between man and woman, the human and the Divine, nature and
culture, and even good and evil.

Contributor Information:

Walter Cahn, Professor, History of Art Department, Yale University, Avraham Faust, Director, Tel 'Eton Excavations, Institute of Archaeology, Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Rahel Fronda, Hebraica and Judaica Subject Librarian, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Carole Herselle Krinsky, Professor, Art History Department, New York University, Moshe Idel, Professor, Department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Senior Researcher, Shalom Hartman Institute, David Malkiel, Professor, Department of Jewish History, Bar-Ilan University, Alec Mishory, independent scholar, Israel, Ilia Rodov, Lecturer, Department of Jewish Art, Bar-Ilan University, Nurit Sirkis Bank, Curator, Wolfson Museum of Jewish Art, Hechal Shlomo; doctoral candidate, Bar-Ilan University, David Stern, Professor, Jewish Studies Faculty, University of Pennsylvania, Artur Tanikowski, Graphic Department, Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw; Faculty of Humanities, Fryderyk Chopin Uiversity of Music, Warsaw; Curator, Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw



Volumes of Ars
Judaica are distributed by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
throughout the world, except Israel. Orders and enquiries from Israeli
customers should be directed to:



Ars Judaica



Department of Jewish Art



Bar-Ilan University



Ramat-Gan 52900



Telephone: 03 5318413



Email: ajudaica@mail.biu.ac.il