 |
| Ben Schachter |
Who needs the second commandment when we have the fourth?
A reframing of Jewish Aesthetics
Note: This paper was delivered on Monday, December 19, 2011 at the Association for Jewish Studies in Washington, DC.
Does Judaism really have a problem with art? The prohibition against graven images found in the second commandment has colored our relationship with the visual arts for some time. Even so, ‘graven images’ remains a convenient definitional tool. But most of the time discussion begins and ends with the second commandment leaving the issue of art unresolved or meekly suggesting that the arts will always contain an idolatrous temptation.
