jdst e‐journal JUDAIC STUDIES AT CWRU

Volume 1, Issue 1 May 2008

A journal published by The Judaic Studies Program & the Samuel Rosenthal Cen- Featured Faculty ter for Judaic Studies.

In this Issue: Professor Judith Neulander

Featured Faculty

Prof. Judith Neulander inter-

rupted her college career at Colum- Student Awards and Honors, p.2 bia University to move to Cleveland. Here, she raised a family and fin-

• Mark Augustine ished her undergraduate degree at Ursuline College. She went on to • Stephanie Camglia Professor Judith Neulander complete a Master degree in Folk- • Stephanie Crawley lore and Mythology in the World In 2003 she joined the faculty in • Jason Gruenberg Arts and Cultures Program at the Department of Religious Stud- • Toni Sacco U.C.L.A. In 2001 she earned her ies at Case Western Reserve Uni- • Tessa Turnbaugh Ph.D. in Folklore, with a specialty in versity. With Peter Haas, Director Judaics, at The Institute of Folklore of Religious Studies, she helped and Ethnomusicology at Indiana found the Judaic Studies Program, Recognition for University, Bloomington. Her and soon afterward became its co- Outstanding award-winning doctoral dissertation director. Achievement,p.2-3 dealt with the claims of a “secret-” or As Co-Director of the Program, crypto-Jewish survival in New Mex- Professor Neulander continues to • Chris Hernandez ico, claims she was able to disprove teach and guide students, to pub- • Zach Rubin through study of the claimants’ folk- lish widely, and to lecture in the culture and the genetic characteris- United States and abroad. She de- Student Short tics of the Hispanic population. Her signed the brochure for the Judaic Essay, p.3-4 primary research interests are in Studies Program, is the editor of folklore and religion, science and the new JDST e-journal, and was a religion, traditional arts and archi- 2008 nominee for the Carl Wittke Courses of Interest tectures, and popular culture. Award for Excellence in Under- for Fall 2008, p.5 As a grad student she became an graduate Teaching. But, according associate producer of folklore seg- to Prof. Neulander, her greatest A Sampling of ments for PBS in Indianapolis, and accolades are rarely known to any- Final Paper won an Emmy nomination for that one but herself, and tend to arrive Titles,p.5 work. While at the Folklore Insti- by e-mail: “You may not know it” a tute, she was co-curator of an exhibi- student wrote at the end of this Contact Us, p.6 tion on Turkish Traditional Art To- year, “but your passion for what day with her dissertation chair, you do has been an inspiration for Henry Glassie; the installation was me to push through a lot of prob- later commissioned by the Smith- lems I’ve been having this semes- sonian Institution. Upon graduation ter, and not give up on the things I in 2001 she returned to Ohio and love. Thank you so much!” “It worked as an adjunct professor at doesn’t get much better than that,” local universities and colleges. says Prof. Neulander.

Student Awards and Honors

The Ira and Ruth Bressler Prize

Hometown: Fairbury, Illinois Extracurricular Activities: The Ira and Ruth MSASS Harris Library Circulation Academic Interests : Assistant Bressler Prize: Double Major: Case VOX Vice President To a student who has done out- French and Francophone Studies & standing work in the area of Pre-Architecture . Minor: Judaic Studies Mark Augustine The Eudese and Elmer Paull Prizes: To one or several undergraduate The Eudese and Elmer Paull Prizes or graduate students who demonstrate an interest in Extracurricular Activities: Hometown: Jewish Studies or Jewish I am a member of Alpha Phi (a social Steubenville, Ohio contemporary life. sorority), Psi Chi (a national honor society for Psychology students), and Gamma Sigma Alpha (an honor fra- Academic Interests : Outstanding ternity). I volunteer at Rainbow Psychology and Anthropology with Babies and Children's Hospital and I Achievement: the goal of a Ph.D. in Clinical enjoy watching movies, shopping, Chris Hernandez and Zach Psychology. cooking, and yoga. Rubin have been recognized for outstanding achievement. Tessa Turnbaugh Chris is recognized for his final research paper, which was admit- Hometown: ted to the archive of The Western East Rochester, New York Reserve Historical Society, and to Extracurricular Activities: the archive of The Temple/Tifereth Case Cooperation Circle, Case Rock Israel. Academic Interests: Monkeys Climbing Club, United Religious plurality: religious com- Protestant Campus Ministries, thea- Zach is recognized for his short mitment and inter-religious engage- ter enthusiast and knitting theme paper, “A Modern Mohel’s ment in a multi-religious world extraordinaire Mitzvot,” for Introduction to Jewish Folklore – JDST 233 (Prof. Neulander). Zach later developed Toni Sacco this material into a final research paper; his final paper will be the Hometown: first student project to be entered West Bloomfield, Michigan on Digital.Case, the electronic Additional Recipients: archive of the Kelvin Smith Academic Interests : International Law Library. His short paper appears Stephanie Camglia in this edition of the JDST e-journal. Stephanie Crawley Extracurricular Activities: Sports, Movies, and Politics

Justin Gruenberg

Recognition for Outstanding Achievement

Chris did his final research paper ,“Temple Tifereth Israel: Evolution and Reform” for Jewish Traditional Art and Architecture, JDST 220 (Prof. Neulander). He studied parallels between the changing ideology of Cleveland’s Tifereth Israel congregation and changes to their synagogue archi- tecture from 1850 to 1924, culminating with The Temple at East 105th Street near University Circle. Chris contextualized his findings in ancient Israelite synagogue traditions, in European and American liturgical patterns, and in subsequent American-Jewish developments. Chris’s paper was admitted to the archive of The Western Reserve Historical Society by Sean Martin, Associate Curator for Jewish History, and to the archive of The Temple/Tifereth Israel congregation by Sue Koletsky, Chris Hernandez Curator of Collections.

2 A Modern Mohel’s Mitzvot Recognition for Outstanding Achievement Zachary Rubin

In the , it is written, "For all done in Chicago history, with a class requirement in- generations to come every male size of 10. The course met weekly volves saying a among you who is eight days old for 3 months to learn the religious prayer and per- must be circumcised” (Gen. 17:12). aspects, but everyone in the class forming the cir- For thousands of years, the Jewish was a physician who already knew cumcision. people have performed a ritual cir- how to perform the , Then the Kid- cumcision called a , or and to take the class you had to dush prayer is bris, as a means to satisfy the cove- prove that you had hospital privi- recited over nant made between God and Abra- wine, and an- Zach Rubin ham. This sacred ceremony is usu- other prayer is ally performed by a specially trained “The entire Jewish community said to name the baby. But within mohel, or ritual circumciser. About of Dixon, all 40 of them, came this framework my Dad has devel- 15 years ago, my was con- oped his own practices: “I explain cerned that a growing number of ru- to a barn where the brit milah the ritual to all before I start. I offer ral families were not performing the was held.” handouts for the family and friends ceremony. He approached my fa- to follow along. I pass the baby ther, Dr. Ira Rubin, who is a pediatri- leges, accordingly. At the end of the around the room to welcome him to cian. My Dad subsequently under- program, I completed a series of the community, and I repeat every- went special training, and he now questions that were submitted to the thing I say in Hebrew, and in Eng- serves as a mohel for rural communi- Reform Board of Brit Milah, and lish, for all to understand.” after that one test, I was ordained in a Traditionally, the baby was held Chicago synagogue.” on the lap of the sandak, an honored In rural position awarded to a godfather, but Illinois many When a baby boy is born to Jew- in modern times the sandak is usu- babies wear ish parents, some have a physician ally the baby’s grandfather. What elaborate perform the circumcision, and hire a still persists is preparation of an gowns, rabbi to perform the ritual. Parents empty chair to seat the Prophet sometimes who prefer to hire a mohel usually Elijah; in Jewish folk belief Elijah inherited from look for one who is affiliated with acts as a guardian angel for babies earlier their own synagogue, or their own being circumcised (Sherman generations branch of . In big cities un- affiliated can find a mohel 1992:35). Most families like to add through hospital registries, or a speech about the significance of ties outside of Chicago. To inves- through newspaper advertisements. the baby’s , which is tigate the folkloric aspects of the But according to my Dad, rural com- usually given to memorialize a de- ritual, I interviewed him about his munities search differently: “Usually ceased family member. My Dad training, and how people learn a mohel is hired because someone also noticed that “many families about his services; about any prac- knows someone, or a person who want to use their own Kiddush cups, tices that constitute his own tradi- attended a bris knew the mohel. For used during their wedding, and tion, and about family traditions he me, most parents come through word many families want the baby has encountered in modern, rural of mouth.” dressed in the gown used for the Illinois. For Jewish families, the duties of father when he had a bris.” Use of According to my Dad, the Or- a mohel satisfy a very important heirloom christening gowns is well thodox and Conservative move- mitzvah (pl. mitzvot), a word mean- documented in Christian tradition, ments train mohels through ap- ing both a “commandment” and a but there is a need for further re- prenticeships, and trainees are or- “blessing.” Therefore, my Dad does search on material culture at the brit dained by a local Brit Milah Board. not accept money for his services. milah. According to my Dad, some By contrast, his training consisted Instead, he asks that parents make a practices are unique to each family: of a special mohel class sponsored donation to their synagogue. The “One family had a sing-along, one by the Reform branch of Judaism. typical ceremony is usually brief, family wanted to take shots of “It was only the second time it was lasting about ten minutes. The basic vodka. In one family the father

3 played a guitar.” knit the community was, and how they held their tra- Only a handful of mohels serve rural Illinois, and it is re- ditions more closely than anywhere else he had been. markable how far some must travel. One of my Dad’s most This seems to support Anderson’s paradoxical find- memorable brit milahs took place three hours away from ing of “archaism at the fringes,” showing that people home in a farming town called Dixon, the birthplace of hold onto traditions more steadfastly, the more dis- Ronald Reagan. He was asked to do this brit milah because tant they are from their place of origin, or from the he was the mohel in closest proximity to them. The entire broader community (1923). Jewish community of Dixon, all 40 of them, came to a barn My research shows that the mohel’s duties persist where the bris was held. My Dad was struck by how tight- through special training and certification within the different branches of Judaism. In rural areas espe- cially, mohels are located by word of mouth. Mod- ern mohels, and the families they serve, retain much of the ancient tradition and also develop their own practices within the ritual. Failure of rural communi- ties to perform the ceremony does not necessarily indicate disinterest, but more clearly reflects a lack of opportunity, since rural communities seem to hold their traditions more closely, the greater their dis- tance from more populated centers of Jewish life.

References Cited

Anderson, Walter. 1923. Kaiser und Apt: Die Geshichte Eines Schwanks. Copenhagen: Folklore Fellows Communications 42 (qtd. by Neulander, class lecture, 2008).

Sherman, Josepha. 1992. A Sampler of Jewish-American Folklore. Little The baby is held by the sandak, beside an empty chair prepared for Rock: August House Publishers, Inc. the Prophet Elijah; the mohel, Dr. Ira Rubin, is on the left.

Courses of Interest for Fall 2008

JDST 201: HBRW 101: Introduction to Judaic Studies Elementary Modern Hebrew I Peter J. Haas (T/R 1:15-2:30) Yoram Daon (MWF 10:30-11:20)

An introduction to the academic study of Judaic religion and Emphasis on basic communicative skills in standard culture, this course does not presuppose any previous study, or modern Hebrew. experience with, Judaism. Through a variety of methods used in the Social Sciences and Humanities, students will examine the diverse issues and questions that are driving the current field of Judaic Studies and come to conclusions about the state

of the questions. There will be some “field” experience includ- ing a visit to a synagogue and to a Jewish museum. The course HBRW 102: is required for the minor in Judaic Studies. Intermediate Modern Hebrew I Yoram Daon (MWF 11:30-12:20)

JDST 268: Emphasis on modern conversational Hebrew: reading Women in the Bible—Ethnographic Approaches to Rite and writing skills. and Ritual, Story, Song and Art Judith S. Neulander (T/R 10:00-11:15)

From Ishtar to Esther, from the Christian Marys to the Muslim Mary, we will explore the strategic and creative ways that HBRW 301: women in sacred history have reflected and reinforced changing Advanced Modern Hebrew I values over time and across space, through rite and ritual, story, Yoram Daon (MW 12:30-1:45) song and art. Using folkloristic theory and ethnographic method we will come to understand how these various views of Class conducted in Hebrew. Emphasis on advanced women inform, reflect and challenge gender roles in modern language skills; active, creative use of Hebrew. society.

4 A Sampling of Final Paper Titles

A sampling of titles for final research papers in Jewish Folklore 233 re- flects the diversity of interests in a typical JDST classroom:

• The Role of Elijah in Jewish Folklore John Hill

• No Laughing Matter: Interpreting Jewish Humor Jordan Silver

• Klezmer!: Jewish Folk Music Ernest Durbin

• Food for Thought: the Relationship between Jewish Food and Identity Tessa Turnbaugh

• The World to Come: The Afterlife in Jewish Folklore Joe Smetona

• Joha the Sephardic Trickster Lila Robinson

• Temple Tifereth Israel: Creating a Jewish-American Identity Toni Sacco

• The Wedding Canopy: A Study of the ‘Chuppa’ Jaclyn Danoff

• Poland’s Wooden Synagogues: Ongoing Life in American Fine and Folk Art Shawn White

• The Passover Festival: Tradition and Transformation Avanti Jakatdar

5 GOING OFF TO GRAD SCHOOL! Congratulations to:

Ben Blackwood Joe Smetona

London School of Economics, Columbia University, London, UK New York, NY

Master of Science, Local Master of Science, Financial Economic Development Engineering

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Editor: Judith Neulander Co-Director, Judaic Studies Program Department of Religious Studies [email protected] 216/ 368-4156

Contributing Peter J. Haas Mather House, Home of the Judaic Studies Program Editor: Abba Hillel Silver Professor of Jewish Studies Chair, Department of Religious Studies Contact Information Director, Samuel Rosenthal Center for Judaic Studies [email protected] Judaic Studies Program 216/ 368-2741 www.case.edu/artsci/jdst/ 216.368.2741 Design: Taylor Hall Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Centers Samuel Rosenthal Center for Judaic Studies College of Arts and Sciences rosenthal.case.edu [email protected] 216.368.2741

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