User:Tul10616/Aniconism in Judaism

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Aniconism in Judaism is widespread. In Judaism, portrayal of God in any kind of human or concrete form is strictly prohibited. Therefore, Jewish art generally does not include iconography.

Contributions to the Differences Across Media section
Notably, the 12th century rabbi Maimonides advocated against artistic portrayals of the human form in the Mishneh Torah. He believed that images of any human form for decorative purposes was idolatrous because he believed that they let others view those images as icons. Portraying the human form in wood, cement, stone, or sculpture was to be strictly prohibited and those who violated it would be subjected to lashes. In contrast, portraits of non-deities that were engraved, painted, or part of a tapestry were fine and not deemed idolatrous.

Contributions to the In Historical Periods section
The Duras synagogue in Syria had a mysterious case of iconoclasm. The walls of the synagogue are painted with murals of stories from the Torah. Notably, some of the figures in the murals had their eyes gouged out. However, scholars are unsure about who gouged their eyes out. Interestingly, some scholars have suggested that Jews weren't the ones who committed this form of iconoclasm and were thus relatively okay with these figures being depicted. This suggests that perhaps the Jewish view against iconography at the time was something that was viewed only in the context of the story of Moses in Exodus and was not applicable to their beliefs.

Contributions to the Recent scholarship section
Due to the Second Commandment and its historic interpretations in Jewish law, Jewish people historically have historically created art that is different from the dominant societies that they've lived in. Particularly in stark contrast to Christian art, Ashkenazi Jews in Europe strayed from depictions of images from the Tanakh. Instead, their artwork often focused on elaborate ritual objects, embroidery, jewelry, ceramics, amulets, boxes and tombstones. This led to Jews being socially viewed as "a People of a Book rather than a People of the image" and "an artless people." However, many art historians have come to refute this misconception, describing it as an antisemitic construction.