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[German Version] Memra, Aramaic מימר/ mymr or מימרא/ mymr' (from אמר/ 'mr, “say, speak”) means “word,” “speech,” and is found in the targumim (Bible translations: I, 4) in the stereotyped expression “the word of YHWH.” In manuscripts and printings, the tetragram is replaced by the Hebrew letters he or by two yudim, to show that it should not be pronounced but be replaced by Adonai (“Lord”). Thus, this expression is comparable to other paraphrases of God's name in rabbinic tradition, such as maqom (literally “place”, i.e. God's omnipresence), shamaim (“heaven”), ha-gevura (“power,” in…

[German Version] (from the Heb. הלך/ hlḥ; literally “to go, to walk”) described, in rabbinic usage, “the (particular) standardized religious rule, the prevailing precept” (Bacher), and later it also stood for Judaism's entire legal system. In addition to the Haggadah, i.e. the non-legal matters, the Halakhah represents one of the two main strands of rabbinic tradition. In this, the former is not of a legally binding character, and no Halakhah may be derived from the Haggadah. As for the derivation of the term Halakhah, the biblical usage of the verb הלך, as especially encountered in …

[German Version] or fringes (Heb. ṣîṣit/ tsitsit) are attached to the four ends of the Prayer shawl (tallit) as a reminder of God’s commandments. The custom of wearing these ¶ fringes or tassels is based on Num 15:37–41, a text that is also part of the Shema (esp. v. 38: “. . . . tell them to sew tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations and to put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner”) and Deut 22:12 (“You shall make tassels on the four corners of the cloak with which you cover yourself ”); i…

[German Version] (Aramaicized form, Aggada), derived from Hebrew נגד/ ngd “to recount,” “to tell,” is already defined in medieval Jewish tradition, mostly negatively, as the non-legal branch of rabbinic literature and was employed as a complement to Halakhah. The source for the Haggadah is the material of the Hebrew Bible, which is presented – sometimes simply retold, sometimes supplemented with many new details – with educational, parenetic, promissory or some other homiletic intention and interpreted i…

[German Version] I. Antiquity The Shema (שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל) is named from the initial words of Deut 6:4–9 (“Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is one”). Together with the ‘Amida (Prayer: XI, ¶ 1), it is one of the cornerstones of Jewish worship (II, 3.a; Liturgy: VII), being recited during morning prayers ( Shachari…

[German Version] (Heb. חֲנוֹך/ Ḥanôḥ, Gk Ἐνώχ/ Enṓch) is, according to the source transmitted in Gen 4:17f. and attributed by biblical scholars to the Yahwist (Pentateuch), the son of Cain after whom his father named a ¶ city; in contrast, according…

[German Version] one of the leading aristocratic families in the Second Temple period. In the time of Nehemiah and until the mid-2nd century bce it at times played an important part in the economic and political life of Judaism (I), as can be seen from documents of the archive of Zenon, an official at the court of the Ptole-¶ maic King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Ptolemaic dynasty). Joseph, Tobias’s son, was particularly influential: he contrived to turn to his own adv…

[German Version] A prayer shawl (Heb. …

[German Version] Shemoneh Esreh, “Eighteen Benedictions,” so called for the number of its berakhot; also called the Amida, “Standing,” since it is recited standing (Prayer: IX, 1), or ha-tefilla “the prayer ( par excellence)”. Together with the Shema, it is one of the cornerstones of Jewish worship (II, 3; see also Liturgy: VII). In its present ¶ form, it comprises 19 benedictions, since in Babylonian Judaism the 14th benediction, a prayer for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah, was divided into two …

[German Version] Phylacteries (Heb. tefillin) are two black cube-shaped capsules (Heb. bayit, “house”), that are “positioned” by leather straps on the left upper arm (also called “hand” or “arm phylacteries”), “over the heart,” and “between the eyes” (“head phylacteries”). Both capsules contain the four Bible passages Exod 13:1–10 (sanctification of the firstborn, Passover); Exod 13:11–16 (exodus from Egypt); Deut 6:4–9 (the one God, the call to love and obe…

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[German Version] I. Ethiopic Enoch – II. Slavonic Enoch – III. Hebrew Enoch I. Ethiopic Enoch Ethiopic Enoch (or 1 Enoch) contains the most extensive collection of apocalyptic Enoch traditions; they are preserved in their entirety only in Ethiopic, since this book enjoyed special esteem in the Ethiopian Church, and it has even been included in the Old Testament canon since the 15th century. The importance of the book in …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Christianity – V. Judaism I. Religious Studies Joy is a universal human emotion with many forms of expression, ranging from laughter to jubilation, singing, and dancing. Joy can become ritualized in religions. Nearly all religious feasts (Feasts and Festivals) offer an opportunity for communal entertainment and joy, often in conjunction with music, dancing, and singing. In a number of cases, as in the Greco-Roman cults of Attis (Cybele and Attis) or Osiris (Isis and Osiris), those who participate in the ritual are carried through the entire spectrum of emotions from sadness to joy. The deity is lost or dead, and a time of anxiety and of mourning becomes a day of joy when the deity reappears. Joy can also be evoked by humour. Ritual humor is normally characterized by an absence of social control, the breach of cultural norms, and sometimes even by mockery of sacred matters. The deities are often depicted in the mood of festive joy. Laughter is described by Homer as a characteristic feature of the Greek gods, and is also ascribed to the gods in Hindu mythology. To be filled with joy may be considered …

[German Version] I. Terminology – II.#x2002;Ancient Near East and Old Testament – III.#x2002;Greco-Roman Antiquity – IV. Judaism – V. Christianity – VI. History of Modern Science I. Terminology Cosmology is a specific culture's orientation in space and time as conceived in words, images, and rituals. The orientation combines signs that can be perceived with signs that are set. Only in the complementarity of the construed other does the “natural” phenomenon acquire the meaning of a significant marker. Thus, conventional determinations make of the daily migrating s…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Judaism – III. Christianity – IV. Islam I. Religious Studies Casuistry (from Lat. casus, “case”) is a method of practical and dialectical reasoning and argumentation in which the formulation of a specific case that is perceived to be problematic is followed by the application of general moral principles, norms, and guidelines to the specific case at hand. The purpose of this method is to arrive, under changed and changing circumstances, at a well-founded and value-oriented formulation by reflecting on as many aspects and relevant examples …

[German Version] I. General Preaching (from Lat. praedicare, “proclaim publicly”) is spiritual or religious speech, in contrast, for example, to forensic speech, political speech, or celebratory speech. Its setting is the worship of the community (Ministerial offices), church activities such as evangelism, devotions (Devotion [Attitude]), and ordinations (Consecration/Ordination/Dedication), and – in various forms – the media (see IV below). …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament– IV. Church History – V. Philosophy of Religion – VI. Dogmatics – VII. Art History – VIII. Practical Theology – IX. Judaism – X. Islam …

[German Version] I. The Concept – II. Religious Studies – III. History – IV. Philosophy of Religion – V. Practical Theology – VI. Islamic Mysticism – VII. Hindu Mysticism – VIII. Taoist Mysticism I. The Concept The concept of mysticism is closely linked to the development of the history of religion in Europe and the term must not be taken and applied uncritically as a general term for a phenomenologically determined group of phenomena in other religions (see also II, 3 below). Attempts at definition are either phenomenological or conceptual: 1. Phenomenologically, a particular (theological) understanding of mysticism is assumed, to which witnesses of elements of mystical experience and thei…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Old Testament – III. Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. History of Theology – VI. Creation and Preservation – VII. Religious Education – VIII. Islam – IX. Science – X. Art History…