Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online

Allegorical signifiers in Christian texts and images, appearing individually or as a contrasting pair focalizing fundamental salvation-historical statements. In their juxtaposition,  Ecclesia (Church) and Synagoga (Synagogue) express a hierarchical relationship. The younger Church is distinguished positively from the older Synagogue, the “New Testament” from the “Old,” the Christians from the Jews. Ecclesia et Synagoga as an instrument of Christian teaching are central to a typological salvation-historical interpretation of the world that became a…

This designation is used to refer to a cosmopolitan arts scene active in Paris from the beginning of the 20th century until 1940, largely composed of non-French artists. Many of these were Jews who settled in Paris to take refuge from the afflictions and harassment of Eastern Europe and drew inspiration there. The diverse origins of the artists was accompanied by a diversity in modern art forms from Impressionism to Dadaism that characterized the École de Paris.1. Paris and the École de Paris Beginning in the mid-19th century, Paris acquired a reputation as a sourc…

A collective term for the reform laws enacted under Emperor Joseph II for non-Catholics in the Habsburg monarchy in the years 1781 to 1790. With regard to the position of the Jews, they lifted some legal and economic discrimination, while simultaneously asserting civic responsibilities. Although this did not amount to legal equality, the ordinances contributed to the dissolution of traditional Jewish community structures and promoted modernization processes among the Jewry. Throughout E…

Editor in ChiefDan DinerAdvisory BoardMarion Aptroot (Düsseldorf)Jacob Barnai (Haifa)Israel Bartal (Jerusalem)Omer Bartov (Providence, RI)Esther Benbassa (Paris)Dominique Bourel (Paris)Michael Brenner (Munich)Matti Bunzl (Vienna)Lois C. Dubin (Northampton, MA)Todd M. Endelman (Ann Arbor, MI)David Engel (New York)Shmuel Feiner (Ramat Gan)Norbert Frei (Jena)Saul Friedländer (Los Angeles)Sander L. Gilman (Atlanta)Frank Golczewski (Hamburg)Andreas Gotzmann (Erfurt)Michael Graetz (Heidelberg)Raphael Gross (London/Frankfurt am Main)Heiko Haumann (Basel)Joh…

The Biblical toponym and ethnonym Edom has been used in religious Jewish literature since late antiquity as a designation for the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages and into the modern era, the term was identified with Christian territories and Christian people who were hostile to the Jews. Along with Edom, other biblical toponyms and ethnonyms, such as Ishmael, Amalek, and Ashkenaz​, were used as a code to designate people and places of later times and so to interpret current experiences through …