The EJ’s Even Bigger and Better the Second Time Around

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When the English-language Encyclopaedia Judaica (EJ) hit the shelves in 1972—an event almost 45 years in the making—it was praised as “a work of transcendent value” and “an indispensable reference tool.” This 16-volume work has long since been considered the authoritative source for learning about Jewish life, history and religion. But now, more than 30 years later, joint publishers Keter Publishing House and Macmillan Reference USA have released a greatly expanded second edition.

The new EJ was officially published on December 8, 2006. The editors’ guiding principle with this new edition was “to retain the broad, solid scholarship of the original edition while giving voice to the present generation.” To achieve this, their work built on annual supplements and a CD-ROM that had been released in the decades since the original publication. The result is a 22-volume second edition with more than 21,000 articles, including 2,600 new entries and 11,000 updated ones, written by an international team of scholars, 1,200 of which were new contributors to the project. Supplementing the new EJ are 600 maps, tables and illustrations, as well as more than 150 pages of full-color photographs and 30,000 new bibliographical listings.

Much of the vast amount of new material covers topics that had been short-changed in the original edition. For example, the role of Jewish women is given more prominence with the addition of more than 300 new entries. Coverage of Jewish life in the Diaspora is expanded to include more on communities in the southern hemisphere.

The expanded and multi-faceted entry on the Holocaust now spreads over 74 pages, making it second only to the entry for “Israel,” which comprises an entire volume.

New archaeological discoveries are also included in the new edition, enhancing understanding of ancient Jewish and Israelite culture.

With a price tag of $1,995 for the full set—and even more for the online version or your very own inscribed copy—the second edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica will make a hefty investment for any private individual. But the publishers seem to be hoping that people will take to heart the words of former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who said (referring to the first edition) that “every Jew should have one of these at home for the benefit of the next generation.”—D.D.R.

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Three panels from the gilded bronze doors of Florence’s Baptistery of St. John in the Piazza del Duomo will tour the U.S. this spring for the first time, visiting museums in Atlanta, Chicago and New York. The doors, which contain depictions of stories from the Old Testament, were created by Renaissance sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti between 1425 and 1452, taking 27 years to complete.

The doors were nicknamed the “Gates of Paradise” after Michelangelo’s comment that the doors were beautiful enough to be the gates of paradise. The three panels on tour come from the left door and depict the stories of Adam and Eve, Jacob and Esau, and Saul and David. They were created using the “lost-wax technique,” by which a wax model is made, set in fire-resistant clay and then burned. The wax melts, leaving a clay mold into which liquid bronze is poured. Once the bronze cools, the clay mold is broken to reveal the sculpture. These bronze panels were then gilded and set in place on the doors.

Modern bronze copies of the doors have been on display in Florence since 1990 because pollution and other natural problems—including a massive flood in 1966—had caused the original panels to deteriorate. After the flooding, a soluble salt became fixed under the gilding, causing a corrosive reaction that resulted in holes and bubbles. By the late 1990s restorers were able to use laser technology for cleaning, rather than a potentially damaging chemical bath. To demonstrate the restoration efforts to the visiting public, two out of four reliefs from the original door frame will be cleaned, while two will remain untouched.

In order to prevent further deterioration, the panels will travel in oxygen-free cases and will be similarly stored upon their permanent return to Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.

Transporting a 30,000-square-foot exhibition of precious and fragile ancient artifacts to more than two dozen U.S. cities in two years is no easy task. But that’s exactly what 12 full-time employees and hundreds of volunteers are doing with the exhibit From Abraham to Jesus. This collection, the largest of sacred texts and artifacts from the Holy Land ever to visit the U.S., has 28 cities on its tour schedule, which began in Georgia in September and will conclude in New Jersey at the end of 2008.

The exhibit includes more than 340 priceless artifacts, from 4,000-year-old inscriptions from Ur to ancient bronze weapons to Maccabean coins. Two items making their debut in the U.S. are portions of Leviticus and Deuteronomy from the Dead Sea Scrolls and an ossuary that archaeologists believe once held the remains of Simon of Cyrene, the man who helped Jesus carry his cross. Also featured will be several never-before-seen paintings by celebrated American artist Thomas Kinkade.

Endorsed by Israel’s Minister of Tourism, From Abraham to Jesus was a collaboration among Gila Hurowitz at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology and international experts in Israeli archaeology, history and storytelling. This multimedia presentation brings together thematic sets, the first 3-D video ever shot in Israel, photomurals, state-of-the-art lighting and narration combined with a musical score presented in digital surround sound, all to transport visitors virtually across space and time to the Holy Land of the Bible.

The exhibit will spend an average of three weeks in each city. Due to the limited engagement, visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance. More information is available at www.fromabrahamtojesus.com. The next few stops on the exhibition schedule include:

When the English-language Encyclopaedia Judaica (EJ) hit the shelves in 1972—an event almost 45 years in the making—it was praised as “a work of transcendent value” and “an indispensable reference tool.” This 16-volume work has long since been considered the authoritative source for learning about Jewish life, history and religion. But now, more than 30 years later, joint publishers Keter Publishing House and Macmillan Reference USA have released a greatly expanded second edition.