LibGuides: Michael A. Signer Collection at LMU: Dr. Signer's Writings: Selections

Scholarly Publications

Commentaria: Sacred Texts and Their Commentaries: Jewish, Christian and Islamic.

Professor Signer was one of the founding editors of this prestigious series of monographs.

Writings on Judaism

Michael A. Signer and Susan L. Graham, “Rabbinic Literature,” a special contribution, in Charles Kannengiesser, Handbook of Patristic Exegesis: The Bible in Ancient Christianity, Volume 1 (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 120-44. A nice overview of the subject.

“Do Jews Read the ‘Letter’? Reflections on the Sign (אות) in Medieval Jewish Biblical Exegesis,” in Craig A. Evans and Shemaryahu Talmon, editors. The Quest for Context and Meaning: Studies in Biblical Intertextuality in Honor of James A. Sanders, (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 613-24.

“The Land of Israel in Medieval Jewish Exegetical and Polemical Literature,” in The Land of Israel: Jewish Perspectives, ed. Lawrence A. Hoffman [Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1986], 210-233

“Trinity, Unity, Idolatry? Medieval and Modern Perspectives on Shittuf,” in Lesarten des jüdisch-christlichen Dialoges: Festschrift zum 70. Geburtstag von Clemens Thoma, ed. Silvia Käppeli (Bern: Peter Lang, 2002), 275-84.

"How the Bible Has Been Interpreted in Jewish Tradition." In New Interpreter's Bible, Vol 1, pp65-82. Nashville: Abingdon, 1994.

Parashat Va'etchanan, Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 (Commentary on the day's Bible text, posted by Brattleboro Area Jewish Community)

Signer, Michael A. 2001. "Abraham: The One and the Many" In Memory and History in Christianity and Judaism, ed. Michael A. Signer, 204 - 212. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.

"Rashi as Narrator" excerpt from Rashi et la culture juive en France du Nord au moyen age. G. Dahan, G. Nahon and Elie Nicolas, eds. Paris: E. Peeters, 1997.

Popkin, Richard H. and Michael A. Signer, Eds. Spinoza's Earliest Publication?: The Hebrew Translation of Margaret Fell's 'A Loving Salutation to the Seed of Abraham Among the Jews, Wherever They Are Scattered Up and Down Upon the Face of the Earth. Wolfeboro NH: Van Gorcum, 1978.

Writings on Jewish-Christian Relations

Nostra Aetate after 40 Years: A Decisive Change
A .pdf file of an essay by Rabbi Signer on the Vatican II document that opened up possibilities for interreligious dialogue. See also the "Questions for Discussion" regarding this document posted by Reform Judaism's Commission on Interreligious Affairs at http://interreligious.rj.org/nostra%20aetate/discussion%20questions.htm
“Speculum Concilii: Through the Mirror Brightly.”
Chapter in Unanswered Questions: Theological Views of Jewish-Catholic Relations. ed. Roger Brooks (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1988), 105-127
“The Rift that Binds: Hermeneutical Approaches to the Jewish-Christian Relationship.”
Chapter in Ecumenism: Present Realities and Future Prospects. ed. Lawrence Cunningham (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1990), 95-115
“Peshat, Sensus Litteralis, and Sequential Narrative: Jewish Exegesis and the School of St. Victor in the Twelfth Century.”
Chapter in The Frank Talmage Memorial Volume I. ed. Barry Walfish (Haifa: Haifa University Press, 1993), 203-216
“The Glossa ordinaria and the Transmission of Medieval Anti-Judaism.”
Chapter in A Distinct Voice: Medieval Studies in Honor of Leonard E. Boyle, O.P.
ed. Jacqueline Brown and William P. Stoneman (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997), 591-605.
“Communitas et Universitas: From Theory to Practice in Judaeo-Christian Studies.”
Chapter in When Jews and Christians Meet. ed. Jakob J. Petuchowski (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1998), 59-83
“One Covenant or Two: Can We Sing a New Song?”
Chapter in Reinterpreting Revelation and Tradition: Jews and Christians in Conversation. ed. John T. Pawlikowski and Hayim Goren Perelmuter (Franklin, WI: Sheed and Ward, 2000), 3-25.
A Jewish Response to Dominus Iesus: On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church
A response in 2000 to the encyclical, which did not include any discussion regarding Judaism, seemingly a backwards step. From Jewish-Christian Relations, a publication of the International Council of Christians and Jews.
Catholic-Jewish Relations: HUC-JIR Alumni Perspectives (p. 17)
Reflections in 2004 on Rabbi Signer's response to The Passion of the Christ, and the threat its reception posed to Christian-Jewish relations, with an eye towards education and reconciliation.
"God's Love for Israel: Apologetic and Hermeneutical Strategies in Twelfth-Century Biblical Exegesis"
Essay in Jews and Christians in Twelfth-Century Europe edited by Michael A. Signer and John Van Engen. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001. Pp. 123-149.
“Tradition in Transition: Approaches to Jewish-Christian Relations.”
Chapter in Jews and Christians in Conversation: Crossing Cultures and Generations. ed. Edward Kessler, John Pawlikowski, Judith Herschcopf Banki, and Barbara Ellen Bowe (Cambridge: Orchard Academic, 2002), 123-40
Relationships and Obligations: The Future of Jewish-Christian Dialogue
From the January, 2003 panel discussion for the Midstream magazine Symposium: A New Christian Document on Christian-Jewish Relations
“Restoring the Narrative: Jewish and Christian Exegesis in the Twelfth Century.”
Chapter in With Reverence for the Word: Medieval Scriptural Exegesis in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ed. Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Barry D. Walfish, and Joseph W. Goering (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 70-82
Dabru Emet: Sic et Non (2002)
Talk written in October, 2002. On the Dialogika Web site, focused on Jewish-Christian relations.
Some Reflections on Dabru Emet
A lecture delivered by Rabbi Michael A. Signer (University of Notre Dame) at the Institut Kirche und Judentum, Berlin, 26 July 2001.
“The Role of the Local Bishop in Catholic-Jewish Relations.”
Chapter in Unfailing Patience and Sound Teaching: Reflections on Episcopal Ministry in Honor of Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B. ed. David A. Stosur (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003), 133-49
“Consolation and Confrontation: Jewish and Christian Interpretation of the Prophetic Books.”
Chapter in Scripture and pluralism: reading the Bible in the religiously plural worlds of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. ed. Thomas J. Heffernan and Thomas E. Burman (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 77-93.
Way into the Relationship Between Jews and Non-Jews: Searching for Boundaries and Bridges
Jewish Lights, 2008 (On order for the Library).
"Words of Peace and Truth: A-Dieu, Levinas"
In The Exorbitant: Emmanuel Levinas Between Jews and Christians, edited by Kevin Hart and Michael A. Signer. New York: Fordham University Press, 2010, pp. 230-242.
"Seeing the Sounds: Intellectual Humility and the Process of Dialogue."
Chapter in Learned Ignorance: Intellectual Humility among Jews, Christians and Muslims. Oxford University Press, 2011.

Writing on the Holocaust

Michael A. Signer, editor. Humanity at the Limit: The Impact of the Holocaust Experience on Jews and Christians. Indiana University Press, 2000.

Hanspeter Heinz and Michael A. Signer, editors. Coming Together for the Sake of God: Contributions To Jewish-Christian Dialogue From Post-Holocaust Germany. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2007.

Michael A. Signer "The Image of Man after Auschwitz: Imago Dei?" Presentation, Oswiecim, Centre for Dialogue and Prayer, 4.10.2002.

A sense of Rabbi Signer's contributions

This introductory essay by Franklin T. Harkins to the festschrift in honor of Rabbi Signer, The Transformative Work of Michael A. Signer, gives some idea of Rabbi Signer's contributions to theological, biblical and interreligious scholarship.

Introduction: The Transformative Work of Michael A. Signer

More of Rabbi Signer's Writings

For a more complete list of Rabbi Signer's writings, see the bibliography ("Publications of Michael Signer") on pages 445-451 in this festschrift (celebratory writing) published in his honor:

Transforming Relations: essays on Jews and Christians throughout history in honor of Michael A. Signer

A Note regarding Basement Storage

Necessitated by the relatively small 'footprint' of the Hannon Library and the need for group study rooms, much of the collection is in Basement Storage. This designation does not imply any negativity regarding quality! Most graduate level monographs and many good books at the undergraduate level are in Basement Storage, as they are used less than the books shelved on Level 2 and Level 3. Basement Storage books are retrievable for guests as well as the LMU Community. A bonus: books in Basement Storage are in a much more tightly controlled environment regarding temperature and humidity, which means they will last longer!

A Note on Book links

Note that some of the links in the book lists lead to WorldCat locations rather than LMU. The Hannon Library is in the process of purchasing copies of books in these lists we do not own, when available.