The book analyses the theme ``Abraham in the Furnace`` from a historical and contextual perspective by means of more than ninety written Jewish story versions. The personal story of Abraham, as a rebellious individual, merges with the national story of the discovery of monotheism and the birth of a new nation. The story versions, dating from the 5th century C.E., create a Jewish myth whose traces are evident in contemporary Israeli literature. From the series Thema - Thematological Studies in the Literature of the Jewish People. הספר עוקב אחר גלגוליה של התימה היהודית `אברהם בכבשן האש` באמצעות עשרות גרסאות

The possibility of the existence of original theology in modern Hebrew literature has not been systematically researched by contemporary scholars. Hebrew literature was considered to be a product of secular modernity, and consequently devoid of independent, profound theological statements. In contrast to these assumptions, this study aims to reveal the importance of theological foundations and their ensuing developments in four of Agnon`s short stories. The author points to Agnon`s radical outlining of the evil Godly worlds and to his understanding that, as a result of the widespread secularization of Jewish society, the Shekhina, the lowest part in the Sefirotic Godhead, has died. From the series Thema - Thematological Studies in the Literature of the Jewish People. בספר זה מוצע דיון עקרוני בנושא הקשר ב&#

``The Jewish Pope``, the story of Elchanan, the son of R. Shimeon of Mayence, who was kidnapped from his home, grew up as a Christian, became a pope, and finally returned to his father`s home and to Judaism, is one of the most famous Jewish folktales. This book employs the methodology of thematology in order to research the sources of this legend and its transformations and appearances, from the oldest sources in medieval manuscripts up to its appearance in the 19th-century historical novel by M. Lehman, Rabbi Elchanan. From the series Thema - Thematological Studies in the Literature of the Jewish People. האפיפיור היהודי` הוא סיפור אגדה היסטורי על אלחנן, בנו של ר` שמעון מ–

This book is a continuation of the first volume, which was published in 2004, and it contains twice the number of entries as the first one. These encyclopedic entries trace the development of the different versions of the Jewish story from the Talmud period until the beginning of the twentieth century. The entries contain details on the sources of the versions, their historical and bibliographical background, and are accompanied by notes linking the stories to world literature and comparative research in literature and folklore. The volume also includes an innovation: a representative version of each story from rare editions and manuscripts, as well as abstracts of the stories in Hebrew and in English.

A collection of studies on the Jewish story encompassing the post-biblical period, medieval literature, mussar literature, Kabbalah, Hasidism, and modern Hebrew literature. From the series Thema - Thematological Studies in the Literature of the Jewish People.