This book deals with various manifestations of charity or giving in the contexts of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim medieval societies. Monotheistic charity and giving display many common features. These underlying similarities reflect a commonly shared view about God and his relations to mankind and what humans owe to God and expect from him. Nevertheless, the fact that the emphasis is placed on similarities does not mean that the uniqueness of the concepts of charity and giving in the three monotheistic religions is denied. The contributors’ diverse and heterogeneous approaches distinguish the book from other works on charity and giving in monotheistic religions.
Miriam Frenkel, Hebrew University and The Ben Zvi Institute for the Study of Jewish Communities in the East, Jerusalem, Israel; Yaacov Lev, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. |