The Actuality of Sacrifice ─ Past and Present

Sacrifice is part of many religions. While the actual ritual has often been abolished, the concept remains alive through stories, rituals, calendars and art. The essays in this book discuss the concept from various social, historical and intellectual contexts ranging from the pre-historical period till today.

Alberdina Houtman, Ph.D. (1995), Utrecht University (the Netherlands), is lecturer of Semitic Languages and professor extraordinarius of Jewish studies at Protestant Theological University Amsterdam/Groningen, location Amsterdam. She has published extensively on rabbinic literature, especially Targum.Marcel Poorthuis, professor in interreligious dialogue at the University of Tilburg. published on Judaism, Christianity and Islam and their interaction. His dissertation (1992) dealt with the Talmudic commentaries of the French-Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. Joshua Schwartz, Ph.D. (1981), is Professor of Historical Geography of Ancient Israel and directs the Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies in the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. He has published extensively on the historical geography of ancient Israel and Jerusalem.Yossi Turner is a professor of modern and contemporary Jewish thought at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. His writings include a study on Franz Rosenzweig and various essays on the religious and social thought of Rabbi Nahman Krokchmal, Hermann Cohen, Aaron David Gordon, Mordecai Kaplan and others. He recently published about the relation to Zion and the diaspora in 20th century Jewish thought.