The menorah; the seven-branched candelabrum; has traversed millennia as a living symbol of Judaism and the Jewish people. Naturally; it did not pass through the ages unaltered. The Menorah explores the cultural and intellectual history of the Western world’s oldest continuously used religious symbol. This meticulously researched yet deeply personal history explains how the menorah illuminates the great changes and continuities in Jewish culture; from biblical times to modern Israel.Though the golden seven-branched menorahs of Moses and of the Jerusalem Temple are artifacts lost to history; the best-known menorah image survives on the Arch of Titus in Rome. Commemorating the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE; the arch reliefs depict the spoils of the Temple; the menorah chief among them; as they appeared in Titus’s great triumphal parade in 71 CE. Steven Fine recounts how; in 2012; his team discovered the original yellow ochre paint that colored the menorah―an event that inspired his search for the history of this rich symbol from ancient Israel through classical history; the Middle Ages; and on to our own tumultuous times.Surveying artifacts and literary sources spanning three thousand years―from the Torah and the ruins of Rome to yesterday’s news―Fine presents the menorah as a source of fascination and illumination for Jews; Samaritans; Christians; and even Freemasons. A symbol for the divine; for continuity; emancipation; national liberation; and redemption; the menorah features prominently on Israel’s state seal and continues to inspire and challenge in surprising ways.
#1180782 in Books 2012-05-07 2012-04-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.99 x .90 x 5.92l; 1.08 #File Name: 0674064267336 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Lots of insights and very balancedBy MNhistorianIt is refreshing to read such a balanced book on this topic. Pius XII doesn't come off a totally likable character -- he's both a snob and a prude -- but he isn't the villain of Cornwell's (and others') book. This is not a conventional narrative. It is a book about the Vatican archives; and in particular those sources made available by Pope Benedict in 2006. As such; it is not necessarily a book that everyone with a passing interest in the subject is going to find easy to read. But for someone with a little background; this is an engaging read; full of memorable details and insights.15 of 17 people found the following review helpful. This book should be read by anyone who has read John Cornwell's "Hitler's Pope."By Peter S. BradleyFor anyone interested in the Pius Wars - the argument that Pius XII was somehow complicit with the Holocaust by virtue of his alleged silence or other actions - or for anyone who has read the execrable John Cornwell's "Hitler's Pope" - "Pope and Devil" by Hubert Wolf is an essential resource for arriving at a balanced assessment of the issues. Wolf's book largely refutes Cornwell's specious arguments by meticulous attention to archival material released in 2003.Not all of the relevant material have been released; but in 2003; the papacy of Pope John Paul II; released files relating to the nunciature - the diplomatic representatives of the Vatican - in Munich and Berlin during the period 1922 - 1939; as well as files relating to the Vatican's interaction with these nunciatures. This information was not available to Cornwell; and essentially disproves Cornwell's thesis that Pius XII; as Secretary of State Pacelli; pulled the strings that resulted in the Catholic Center Party supporting the Nazi Enabling Act. The proof is established by correspondence between Pacelli and the nunciatures indicating Pacelli's opposition to the Center Party's decision to dissolve itself.Wolf also brings balance and depth that is missing from Cornwell's Manichean good- liberal versus evil- conservative story. Thus; Wolf describes the case of the Amici Israel; which was an association of Catholic priests; including bishops and cardinals; that in the late 1920's was committed to eradicating anti-semitism within the Catholic Church. Part of the agenda of Amici Israel was to eliminate the Good Friday prayer's reference to "perfidious Jews." This project was unsuccessful; and Amici Israel was suppressed; not because of anti-semitism; but because of a party of anti-liberal; conservative irredentists within the curia; led by Cardinal Merry De Val; who opposed anything that smacked of "modernism." The point of the story is that the Catholic Church; and particularly its bureaucracy; has not ever been monolithic. There were parties within the church with their own agenda; entirely unrelated to the agendas that people like Cornwell want to find. Hence; the blanket accusation by Cornwell; Goldhagen and Carroll that the Church; pope and curia have all been anti-semitic is simply wrong.Moreover; irony is a constant of history. One of the results of the Amici Israel affair was that the decree of dissolution of Amici Israel in March of 1928 contained a clear condemnation of racial anti-semitism long before Kristalnacht. (p. 120.)Wolf's chapters generally are as follows:Chapter 1 - Neutralizing Evil? Vatican Prescriptions for Germany (1917 - 1929).This chapter largely deals with the Vatican's diplomatic history with Germany between 1917 and 1929. Wolf points out that the Vatican's decision to reach out to Nazi Germany was not unusual or unexpected; it had reached out on three separate occasions to conclude a concordat with Stalinist Russia. (p. 9.) No one views those efforts as recognizing the legitimacy of the Soviet Union.What was particularly interesting in this chapter was the fact that the up until the Weimar Republic; German states - including Protestant German states - were directly involved in selecting Catholic bishops. In Berlin; the Protestant state was able to choose which candidates would be put to the local church from which it could choose a bishop. Even though Weimar Germany; saw many German states give up their control over the Catholic Church; this movement was not entirely complete; and the concordat process was intended to cement the separation of church and state.Not surprisingly; the bishops that were selected under the prior arrangement tended to be more conciliatory to the state; including the Nazi state; than the bishops selected by Rome after the concordat was signed. Galen and Von Preysing were both bishops who became known for being anti-Nazi stalwarts who would not have been chosen under the prior system.Not surprisingly; this fact completely escapes Cornwell's potted history.Chapter 2 - Perfidious Jews? The battle in the Vatican over Anti-Semitism.This chapter covers the interesting; relatively unknown and important Amici Israel affair.Chapter 3 - The Pact with the Devil? The Reichskonkordat (1930 - 1933.)This chapter covers the circumstances leading to the execution of the concordat between Nazi Germany and the Vatican.Contrary to Cornwell's unsubstantiated claims that the perfidious Pacelli single-mindedly engineered the Nazi police state; Wolf's scrutiny of the dispatches between Pacelli and the nunciatures show that Pacelli was outside the loop; and that the Center Party and German Catholic bishops were running their own shows.Chapter 4 - Molto Delicato? The Roman Curia and the Persecution of the Jews.This chapter addresses the many petitions to Pius XI to speak out and condemn Nazi persecutions of the Jews. Wolf describes how both Pius XI and Pius XII desired to speak out against anti-semitism; and encouraged others to speak out; but believed that because of their position as leader of the worldwide church were required to maintain a position of public neutrality.Chapter 5 - Dogma or Diplomacy? The Catholic Worldview and Nazi Ideologies (1933 - 1939).In this chapter; Wolf looks at the compatibility of Catholic and Nazi ideological claims and concludes that those claims were not compatible. In reaching this conclusion; Wolf outlines the various occasions when the Catholic Church condemned core Nazi doctrines as being incompatible with Christianity.Wolf also tackles a "talking point" advanced by Christopher Hitchens that since the Church didn't put "Mein Kampf" on the Index of Forbidden Books; it must in some sense have endorsed Nazism. Wolf points out that although Mein Kampf was not placed on the Index; Alfred Rosenberg's "The Myth of the Twentieth Century;" which was viewed as the key ideological treatise on Nazism was put on the Index. Wolf concludes that the reason Mein Kampf was not indexed was due to the curia placing diplomacy ahead of doctrine; particularly with respect to a book "written by a head of state who had come to power through legal means and with whom the Vatican had just signed an agreement binding under international law." (p. 264.) On the other hand; "the dangerous opinions to be found Mein Kampf [were] refuted in the syllabus of the Congregation of Studies and contrasted to the true Catholic doctrine in the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge." [p. 270.] In other words; the Church compromised short of placing Mein Kampf on the Index; but it was clear to all that the noxious teachings of Mein Kampf were condemned.Finally; similar constraints prevented the excommunication of Hitler - which in 1938 Mussolini; of all people; was advocating. [p. 270.] As Wolf concludes the book; "Pronouncing a Reich chancellor and head of state anathema was simply out of the question. Hitler remained a member of the Catholic Church until the day he died. Like the pope; even the devil could be Catholic."All in all; this is a readable and balanced book that examines the real world nuances facing real people in real history; which is a far cry from the comic book version of history that is currently so popular.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Pius XI throws away an opportunity; to Hitler's benefitBy Lewis M. WeinsteinProf. Wolf has done a sterling job of assembling details of the Catholic Church's attitudes and actions before and during the Nazi era. So far I have focused on the chapter regarding a group called Amici Israel (Friends of Israel); formed in 1926 and disbanded in a humiliating way by Pius XI in 1928.Amici Israel was initiated by Cardinal Faulhaber of Munich (and others) and grew in two years to include 1800 cardinals; bishops and priests. In 1928; they produced a document called Pax super Israel (Peace over Israel) which; among other things; recommended eliminating the pejorative word "perfidious" from the Good Friday liturgy. The Vatican's most respected liturgical scholar reviewed the recommendations contained in Pax super Israel and gave all of them his approval.Then ... a Cardinal named Merry del Val; the head of the Holy Office of Inquisition; reviewed the document at the request of Pius XI and rendered an excoriating judgment.Merry del Val wrote ...*** "The entire attitude of this little book is decidedly positive toward the Jews with rather adverse imputations about the Church and its servants. It is as if the bride of Christ stood accused of negligence; or even worse of unjustified aversion toward the people which is called the Chosen."*** the activities of the "so-called Friends of Israel" must be stopped once and for all*** the reform of the Good Friday prayer is completely unacceptable and nonsensical; not even a matter for discussion*** the liturgy aptly (and correctly) expresses "the abhorrence for the rebellion and treachery of the chosen; disloyal and deicidal Jewish people"*** the Good Friday prayers are not about individual Jews; they are about stiff-necked jewish people burdened with the curse that they as a people (properly) bear for having spilled the blood of the holiest of the holyThe Holy Office of the Inquisition then rejected the reform of the Good Friday prayer and all the other Amici Israel recommendations with very little discussion; repeating Merry del Val's demand that Amici Israel be disbanded.Pius XI very quietly issued a decree incorporating Merry del Val's recommendations and dissolving Amici Israel. He later asked his close associate Enrico Rosa; publisher of the more or less official journal of the Catholic Church called Civilta Cattolica; to write a public defense of his actions. Rosa wrote ...*** the Church must protect against the appearance of friendship with the Jews; to which Amici Israel has fallen prey*** the danger emanating from the Jews should never be underestimated*** Jews have become presumptuous and powerful since their emancipation at the turn of the 19th c*** Jews have come to dominate large portions of the world's economic life and to build up their hegemony in many sectors of public life*** Jews have manipulated all revolutionary activity from the French Revolution of 1789 up to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution*** Jews are forging plans for world hegemonyLMW COMMENT:THESE WORDS OF CARDINAL MERRY DEL VAL AND ENRICO ROSA; ENDORSED BY POPE PIUS XI; ARE OF COURSE PRECISELY THE SAME JEW-HATING MESSAGE OF HITLER AND THE NAZIS; ADOPTED WITH ENTHUSIASM BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1928.Amici Israel was a huge opportunity for the Catholic Church; upon the recommendation of high-ranking Cardinals and approval by its own foremost liturgical experts; to change the whole tone of antisemitism that had pervaded Catholic liturgy and sermons for centuries. This change; if adopted in 1928; would have sent a message to Germans and others that Hitler’s hysterical Jew-hatred was unacceptable to the Church; and perhaps there is every reason to speculate that Hitler would not have come to power in 1933.The bishops of Germany; led by Cardinal Faulhaber; were pleading for support in their efforts to hold back the Nazi surge. The Vatican in Rome sent exactly the opposite message: Hitler’s Jew-hatred was fine with them.In my view; Pius XI deserves to be condemned for this clear act of antisemitism and its awful consequences.AFTER NOTE … The elimination of the word “perfidious†and all of the other changes recommended by Amici Israel; which had been rejected in 1928; were adopted by the Catholic Church in 1965 in the conclave known as Vatican II.
