במסתרי הסאטיריה: פרקימ בסאטירה העברית החדשה במאות הײת והײט כרך. מאת יהודה פרידלנדר [Bemisterei Hasatira: Hebrew Satire in Europe in the Eighteenth & Nineteenth Centuries, Vol. 2] (review)

Hebrew Studies 32 (1991) 88 Reviews Material currently available on distribution disks includes texts from Terqa, Khana, and the Middle Assyrian Laws. It is hoped that programs that will allow an effective interactive use of the data will be available shortly. John H. Sailhamer ("A Database Approach to the Analysis of Hebrew Narrative," pp. 319-335) proposes a method of marking Hebrew narrative texts for database purposes by using more than the traditional grammatical markings of morphology (e.g., tagging words as "perfect" or "imperfect"). The text should be marked to indicate matters like the presence or absence of the waw, the position of the predicate, and changes in place, time, and characters. All in all, because of its content and quality, this Festschrift of Northwest Semitic studies, represents a fitting tribute to its honoree. It will no doubt be frequently cited in many future studies on Northwest Semitic. David Marcus Jewish Theological Seminary New York, NY 10027 I~'''m M"'il n1~~ iltDTlil n'i~il i1i'c!)~O:l C'Pi!) :ili'~Oil 'iMOO:l ."'",'''5) irnil' nMC .:l 1i:> [BEMISTEREI HASATIRA: HEBREW SATIRE IN EUROPE IN THE EIGHTEENTH & NINETEENTH CENTURIES, Vol. 2]. By Yehuda Friedlander. Pp. 207. Ramat Gan: Bar-Han University, 1989. Cloth. Professor Yehuda Friedlander continues to publish his series of texts on the satire of the Hebrew Haskalah, presented with introductions and annotations . As the third book in the series, the present volume includes two works written in two different periods. The first is a partial edition of Nezed Hadema<-JJc1il ,o-by Israel ben Moshe Halevi of ZamoSc (170071772 ), belonging to the early period (first edition: 1773). The second is a complete edition of a manuscript entitled Megilat Yol)asin-l'cr", n"~by Mendel Landsberg of Kremnitz (1786-1866) which was written in 1834. The common denominator of these two works is that they are satires as well as works of polemics and dispute. Hebrew Studies 32 (1991) 89 Reviews Nezed Hademac has been widely discussed by such scholars as Gratz. Dinur. Zinberg. and Scholem who tried to decipher its satiric goal in the context of the spread of the Hasidic movement in Eastern Europe. Hayim Lieberman. on the other hand. argued against the identification of this text as satiric. After reviewing the positions of various scholars about the alleged Hasidic orientation of this piece. the editor concludes that although this work has something of the Maqama in it and contains a dominant polemic foundation. it is essentially a work of satire directed at the maladies of Jewish society at the end of the eighteenth century. He believes that the alleged criticism of Hasidism is only part of the general criticism of the phenomena of moral deterioration of the Jewish Kehilah. Friedlander's conclusion is convincing within the limitation of hermeneutics. As is the case with many a sophisticated satire, the author's satiric implications were so surreptitious and so complex that the modern reader is unable to identify his original targets. Lacking the contextual background of the controversies , Friedlander gives up on an attempt to identify the author's enemies. The editor provides the two satiric pieces with introductions that review the background and essence of each of them. He argues against the need or the ability to defme works of polemics, but nevertheless usefully sets forth ten characteristics of such a work. His abundant annotations show the verse sources from which the writers borrowed biblical Melitzot. Nezed Hademac is so saturated with euphuism, that one hopes that the editor would have discussed the use of the r':J1D which constitutes a major literary and stylistic feature of this piece. The editor discusses the title Nezed Hademac; attempts to decipher the intent of the satire; examines the theme of several of its fables; and, fmally, studies the image of the woman as presented in this piece. He also implies an influence of Rabbi Israel of Zamo§c on the Maskilim, which should have been examined and proven in the text. The two satires belong to two different periods, and one wonders why the two were brought together. It is further unclear just how this volume continues the previous two. This is especially puzzling in light of Professor Friedlander's own statement in the introduction to the effect that Nezed Hademac may be placed, from the point of view of its style and contents, between the medieval literature of ethics and morality and modern Hebrew literature in the eighteenth century. Hebrew Studies 32 (1991) 90 Reviews Nevertheless, one cannot but admire the expert knowledge and scholarly effort that went into the publication of this edition. It is hoped that many more volumes in this series will follow. MoshePelli University ofCentral Florida Orlando, FL 32816 HOLINESS IN ISRAEL. By John G. Gammie. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Pp. xv + 215. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989. Paper, $12.95. John Gammie's contribution to the well-received Overtures to Biblical Theology series is an important study of holiness as a theological theme in the Hebrew scriptures. Readers familiar with the recent excellent work of Jon Levenson, Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible (1985), will be most appreciative of Gammie's additional contribution to our understanding of a fundamental and surprisingly under-treated aspect of biblical theology. Gammie's book, however, focuses directly on the question of holiness and appropriate responses holiness calls forth as attested across the breadth of Hebrew Scripture traditions. In this work Professor Gammie carefully supports a major thesis arising from his examination of holiness in the literary traditions. He contends that among all three groups contributing to scriptural traditions-priestly, prophetic, and sapiential-holiness is a significant theological concept. Thus holiness provides a unity between otherwise remarkably diverse streams of theological traditions. But that is only half the truth Gammie uncovers. Within this unity around holiness abides distinctiveness and diversity. While the holiness of God is perceived by priests, prophets, and sages, each group, Gammie believes, developed its own normative response to the experience of God's numinous presence. For the Priestly writers, the holiness of God demanded separation and ritual purity; for the prophets, holiness required social justice as response; and for the sages, holiness called forth a personal morality and integrity befitting God's omniscience. In the apocalyptic writings Gammie sees these three streams flowing together so that the ethical requirements of holiness in apocalyptic may be said to offer a recapitulation of biblical ethics. ...