Simcha Fishbane (PhD, Social Anthropology of Religion, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 1988) is Professor of Jewish Studies in the Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Touro College. He has published extensively on Jewish subjects and texts. His publications include The Method and Meaning of the Mishnah Berurah (1991) and The Shtiebelization of Modern Jewry (2011).

• Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction Fire Symbolism in Jewish Law and Ritual Behind the Purim Mask: The Symbolic Representation of the Rituals and Customs of Purim In the Absence of Ritual: Customs of the Holiday of Shavuot Holy and Licit Magic and Halakhah: The Case of the Arukh HaShulhan The Symbolic Representation of the Sefer Torah Index

Simcha Fishbane (PhD, Social Anthropology of Religion, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 1988) is Professor of Jewish Studies in the Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Touro College. He has published extensively on Jewish subjects and texts. His publications include The Method and Meaning of the Mishnah Berurah (1991) and The Shtiebelization of Modern Jewry (2011).

• Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction Fire Symbolism in Jewish Law and Ritual Behind the Purim Mask: The Symbolic Representation of the Rituals and Customs of Purim In the Absence of Ritual: Customs of the Holiday of Shavuot Holy and Licit Magic and Halakhah: The Case of the Arukh HaShulhan The Symbolic Representation of the Sefer Torah Index

Simcha Fishbane (PhD, Social Anthropology of Religion, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 1988) is Professor of Jewish Studies in the Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Touro College. He has published extensively on Jewish subjects and texts. His publications include The Method and Meaning of the Mishnah Berurah (1991) and The Shtiebelization of Modern Jewry (2011).

• Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction Fire Symbolism in Jewish Law and Ritual Behind the Purim Mask: The Symbolic Representation of the Rituals and Customs of Purim In the Absence of Ritual: Customs of the Holiday of Shavuot Holy and Licit Magic and Halakhah: The Case of the Arukh HaShulhan The Symbolic Representation of the Sefer Torah Index