Some Famous Jewish Proselytes
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Christian Understandings of Proselytism David A
Christian Understandings of Proselytism David A. Kerr ike the chameleon, proselytism displays itself in many who had themselves been strangers (gerim) in Egypt (Deut. L shades of color. The word has different nuances in 10:19). The bulk of Talmudic literature welcomes the proselyte individual languages and among languages. Importantly from into the full fellowship of Israel, subject to the requirements of the point of view of this article, it is used variously among circumcision, baptism, and the offering of sacrifice. Jesus criti different sectors of the Christian church. It refers both to the cized what he deemed the Pharisaic tendency of making the transfer of allegiance from one religion to another and to the proselyte a slave to the law (Matt. 23:15). From this it may be transfer of allegiancebetweenchurches. Attitudes to proselytism inferred that the matter of how a proselyte should be incorpo are conditioned by political, social, and cultural considerations, rated into Israel was a matter of controversy in Jesus' time. New and responses vary from one church to another, from one culture Testament references to Jewish proselytes among the first Chris to another. I attempt here to clarify some of the issues, particu tians indicate that they were welcome members of the early larly as they have emerged in Christian thinking through the church (Acts 2:10; 6:5; 13:43).6 The postbiblical histories of both second half of the twentieth century. I argue tha t the hard-sought Judaism and Christianity continued to honor the proselyte until consensus that has emerged within the ecumenical movement more recent times, when, roughly speaking from the eighteenth needs to extend itself further to include new global realities of century, the term came to have the negative connotations we Christianity.1 have noted in English literary usage. -
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia The Nomadic Tribes of Arabia The nomadic pastoralist Bedouin tribes inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam around 700 CE. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe the societal structure of tribes in Arabia KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points Nomadic Bedouin tribes dominated the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam. Family groups called clans formed larger tribal units, which reinforced family cooperation in the difficult living conditions on the Arabian peninsula and protected its members against other tribes. The Bedouin tribes were nomadic pastoralists who relied on their herds of goats, sheep, and camels for meat, milk, cheese, blood, fur/wool, and other sustenance. The pre-Islamic Bedouins also hunted, served as bodyguards, escorted caravans, worked as mercenaries, and traded or raided to gain animals, women, gold, fabric, and other luxury items. Arab tribes begin to appear in the south Syrian deserts and southern Jordan around 200 CE, but spread from the central Arabian Peninsula after the rise of Islam in the 630s CE. Key Terms Nabatean: an ancient Semitic people who inhabited northern Arabia and Southern Levant, ca. 37–100 CE. Bedouin: a predominantly desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans. Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabian Peninsula prior to the rise of Islam in the 630s. Some of the settled communities in the Arabian Peninsula developed into distinctive civilizations. Sources for these civilizations are not extensive, and are limited to archaeological evidence, accounts written outside of Arabia, and Arab oral traditions later recorded by Islamic scholars. Among the most prominent civilizations were Thamud, which arose around 3000 BCE and lasted to about 300 CE, and Dilmun, which arose around the end of the fourth millennium and lasted to about 600 CE. -
Download the Full Edition
Meorot A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse (formerly Edah Journal) Marheshvan 5768 CONTENTS Editor’s Introduction to the Marheshvan 5768 Edition Eugene Korn ARTICLES Farteitcht un Farbessert (On “Correcting” Maimonides) Menachem Kellner Ethics and Warfare Revisited Gerald J. Blidstein Michael J. Broyde Women's Eligibility to Write Sifrei Torah Jen Taylor Friedman Dov Linzer Authority and Validity: Why Tanakh Requires Interpretation, and What Makes an Interpretation Legitimate? Moshe Sokolow REVIEW ESSAY Maimonides Contra Kabbalah: A Review of Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism by Menachem Kellner James A. Diamond Meorot 6:2 Marheshvan 5768 A Publication of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbini cal School © 2007 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE t Meorot: A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse (formerly The Edah Journal) Statement of Purpose Meorot is a forum for discussion of Orthodox Judaism’s engagement with modernity, o published by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. It is the conviction of Meorot that this discourse is vital to nurturing the spiritual and religious experiences of Modern Orthodox Jews. Committed to the norms of halakhah and Torah, Meorot is dedicated to free inquiry and will be ever mindful that “Truth is the seal of the Holy One, Blessed be He.” r Editors Eugene Korn, Editor Nathaniel Helfgot, Associate Editor Joel Linsider, Text Editor o Editorial Board Dov Linzer (YCT Rabbinical School), Chair Michael Berger Moshe Halbertal (Israel) e Naftali Harcsztark Norma Baumel Joseph Simcha Krauss Barry Levy Adam Mintz Tamar Ross (Israel) A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse M Meorot will publish two online editions per year, and will be available periodically in hard- copy editions. -
Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council
Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council Did they conclude the Torah was not for Gentiles? ------------------------------------------------- Tim Hegg • TorahResource © 2008 TorahResource • All rights reserved • (revised from 2001 edition) “Even the Apostles admitted the Torah was a burden no one could bear!” Such a statement characterizes a common sentiment about the Torah—one based upon an equally common inter- pretation of Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council. But let us look again at Acts 15 and the decision of the Apostolic Council convened in Jerusalem. What was the issue at hand? What had brought about the need for the Council in the first place? And how should the decision of the Apostles be interpreted? What does all of this tell us about the place of the Torah among the early followers of Yeshua? The Core Issue at the Jerusalem Council The opening verses of Acts 15 give us a clear picture of the core issue around which the Jerusalem Council convened: And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circum- cised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.1 The “issue” at hand was whether or not someone who was not a Jew could be saved. To put it another way, how could a Gentile become a covenant member with Israel and share in the bless- ings of the covenant? The prevailing belief of the Judaisms in Paul’s day was that only Jews had a place in the world to come since God had made the covenant of blessing with Israel and no oth- er nation. -
Radical Dissent in Edmund Burke's Reflections on The
De Bruyn / Anti-Semitism, Millenarianism, and Radical Dissent 577 A NTI-SEMITISM, MILLENARIANISM, AND RADICAL DISSENT IN EDMUND BURKE’S REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE Frans De Bruyn The status of Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France as a classic text in political theory can be ascribed to the thoroughness with which it articulates a philosophical argument for political conservatism and to its undeni- able rhetorical and literary power.1 From its first appearance late in 1790, readers have responded to the astonishing range of cultural, historical, intellectual, and literary reference in the Reflections (as, indeed, in Burke’s other writings on the French Revolution). John Thelwall makes the point tellingly, if disapprovingly, in reviewing one of Burke’s later antirevolutionary tracts: “The rage of Juvenil, and the playful levity of Horace, are not sufficient; and Billingsgate and the shambles are forced into alliance with the muses, the classics, and the sciences, to supply him with terms and metaphors sufficiently forcible to express the mighty hatred with which he labours.”2 Thelwall shrewdly identifies an important and some- times disconcerting feature of Burke’s rhetorical virtuosity: his ability to press into service the full compass of eighteenth-century cultural discourse, from the high, polite, and exalted to the low, popular, and scurrilous. There is much to admire in this eloquence, but its copiousness and impet- uosity sometimes find display in unattractive, indeed blameworthy, modes of ex- pression. An instance of this, infrequently remarked upon, is Burke’s intermittent deployment in the Reflections of a language of anti-Semitism.3 One critic who has drawn attention to this aspect of Burke’s text is Tom Paulin, who addresses the Frans De Bruyn is Professor of English at the University of Ottawa in Canada. -
Rereading Paul on Circumcision, Torah, and the Gentiles Asha K
A Seal of Faith: Rereading Paul on Circumcision, Torah, and the Gentiles Asha K. Moorthy Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2014 © 2014 Asha K. Moorthy All rights reserved ABSTRACT A Seal of Faith: Rereading Paul on Circumcision, Torah, and the Gentiles Asha K. Moorthy It is generally held that the Apostle Paul dismissed the rite of circumcision for Gentiles. This dissertation, however, offers a different perspective. Through examination of relevant sources regarding the role of circumcision in conversion along with consideration of Philo of Alexandria’s depiction of Abraham as an exemplar of and for the proselyte, this project will suggest that Paul, in Rom 4:11‐ 12, uses the example of Abraham in order to explain the value of circumcision for Jews as well as for Gentiles. It will be argued, moreover, that Paul’s objections to circumcision, as found in Romans as well as in Galatians, Philippians, and 1 Corinthians, were not to the rite per se but rather to the notion that circumcision was necessary for entering the Abrahamic covenant, “becoming a Jew,” justification, salvation, spiritual transformation, protection or identity in Christ. A case will be made, moreover, that in Paul’s day there were two competing forms of circumcision and that Paul was opposed to the more radical procedure. Finally, divergences in Paul’s handling of the topic of circumcision in different letters will be explained through attention to particular audience concerns. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1. -
Arabia Before Islam
Arabia before Islam Richard N. Frye Just as trade had been the dominant feature of Arabia in an earlier period so now religion became the leitmotif of the era under discussion. Not that trade lost its importance, but after the fall of the Roman Empire the demand for luxury goods from the east subsided. Also there was not the great quantity of gold available to pay for the imports, and India still sought gold in payment for spices. It was not until the sixth century when the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires had become stabilized that new demands for eastern luxuries became so important that trade in silk, spices and perfumes had a great influence on the politics of the time. But common people were more concerned with religion. The written sources which have survived are almost exclusively religious, in contrast to the earlier period where secular documents are available. From the third century of our era religion usurped all other activities in the concerns of people. This is reflected not only in writings but in art and architecture and indeed in every aspect of life. The period from the fourth to the eighth century could be called the age of religions. Another difference between the earlier and later periods of the history of Arabia is that earlier the cultural influence, as well as the migrations of tribes, went from south to north, for south Arabian civilization was more advanced than the north. But from the fourth to the eighth century of our era the reverse obtains; south Arabian tribes underwent the influence of north Arabia. -
Exclusion from the Sanctuary and the City of the Sanctuary in the Temple Scroll
EXCLUSION FROM THE SANCTUARY AND THE CITY OF THE SANCTUARY IN THE TEMPLE SCROLL by LA WREN CE H. SCHIFFMAN New York University, New York, N. Y. 10012 Introduction The discovery and publication of the Temple Scroll (Yadin, 1977, 1983; abbreviated below as 11 QT) opened new vistas for the study of the history of Jewish law in the Second Commonwealth period. Immedi ately after the Hebrew edition of the scroll appeared, debate ensued about whether this scroll was to be seen as an integral part of the corpus authored by the Qumran sect, or simply as a part of its library (cf. Schiffman, 1983a, 1985c). This question was, in turn, related to the problem of whether this text reflects generally held beliefs of most Second Temple Jews, or whether its laws and sacrificial procedures represented only the views of its author(s), who were demanding a thor oughgoing revision of the sacrificial worship of the Jerusalem Temple, or, finally, whether it reflected the author's eschatological hopes. This question is crucial in regard to the laws pertaining to various classes of individuals who were to be excluded from the Temple, its city (known in the Temple Scroll as cir hammiqdiis, "the city of the sanc tuary" or "Temple city") and the other cities of Israel because of various forms of ritual impurity or other disqualifications. The editor of the scroll, Yigael Yadin, maintained that it represented a point of view substantially stricter than that of the somewhat later tannaitic sources, and that the scroll extended all prohibitions of such impurity to the entire city of Jerusalem at least. -
Converts Or Proselytes? the Crisis Over Conversion in the Early Church Andrew F
Converts or Proselytes? The Crisis over Conversion in the Early Church Andrew F. Walls he word conversion has been used in Christian history period of deep consciousness of personal sin followed by a sense Tin a multitude of ways. There have been at least two of joyous liberation dawning with realization of personal for- broad streams of usage, each with many divisions. In one stream giveness through Christ. Missionaries with this background conversion is spoken of essentially as an external act of religious expected to see a similar pattern of experience in those who came change. In this usage Christian conversion refers to movement to to Christian faith, even in societies where there had been no the Christian faith, individually or collectively, on the part of previous Christian profession. In this way, the distinction be- people previously outside it. By extension, this usage can also tween the two streams of usage—the one relating to externally indicate movement from one branch of Christian profession to recognizable adhesion to the Christian faith and the other relat- another—from Catholic to Protestant, for instance, or vice versa. ing to internal personal change—became blurred. This was not In the second stream of usage, “conversion” denotes critical the first time that such blurring occurred. There had long been internal religious change in persons within the Christian com- confusion within the first stream of usage when referring to such munity, and here the varieties of meaning raise complex issues. celebrated conversions as those of Constantine and Augustine, Sometimes “conversion” refers to subjective experience, some- where “conversion” might be used equally of their identification times to an assumed ontological change, sometimes to both. -
Three Early Biblical Translations
* * * * * * * Three Early Biblical Translations We do not have any of the original manuscripts of the books that have been included in the Bible. All we have is copies of copies. Most of the original manuscripts of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew, although a few chapters of Ezra and Daniel were recorded in Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The books of the New Testament were first written in Greek. The first translations of the Bible were of the Hebrew Bible. The Septuagint (SEP-too-a-jint) was a Greek translation written about three centuries before the birth of Christ. Two other early translations, composed after the birth of Christ, were the Peshitta in Syriac and the Vulgate in Latin. These three translations, the Septuagint, Peshitta, and Vulgate became the official translations of the Old Testament for the Greek-, Syriac-, and Latin-speaking churches respectively. Each also became the basis for other translations of the Bible. The Septuagint The Septuagint (from the Latin word septuaginta meaning seventy) was a Greek version of the Bible created during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 BCE) in Alexandria, Egypt for Diaspora Jews. Most of Jews living outside of Palestine were Greek-speaking as a result of Alexander the Great's (357-323 BCE) campaign to Hellenize his empire. First verses of Genesis (click for larger picture) At first, the Septuagint (LXX) consisted only of the Pentateuch (Torah, first five books of the Bible). Different books were translated from the Hebrew over a span of two centuries, including the books of the Apocrypha, and were added to the LXX. -
King Mob Echo: from Gordon Riots to Situationists & Sex Pistols
KING MOB ECHO FROM 1780 GORDON RIOTS TO SITUATIONISTS SEX PISTOLS AND BEYOND BY TOM VAGUE INCOMPLETE WORKS OF KING MOB WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN TWO VOLUMES DARK STAR LONDON ·- - � --- Printed by Polestar AUP Aberdeen Limited, Rareness Rd., Altens Industrial Estate, Aberdeen AB12 3LE § 11JJJDJJDILIEJMIIENf1r 1f(Q) KIINCGr JMI(Q)IB3 JECCIHI(Q) ENGLISH SECTION OF THE SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL IF([J)IF ffiIE V ([J) IL lUilII ([J) W §IFIEIEIIJ) IHIII§il([J) ffiY ADDITIONAL RESEARCH BY DEREK HARRIS AND MALCOLM HOPKINS Illustrations: 'The Riots in Moorfields' (cover), 'The London Riots', 'at Langdale's' by 'Phiz' Hablot K. Browne, Horwood's 1792-9 'Plan of London', 'The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle', 'Oliver Twist Manifesto' by Malcolm McLaren. Vagrants and historical shout outs: Sandra Belgrave, Stewart Home, Mark Jackson, Mark Saunders, Joe D. Stevens at NDTC, Boz & Phiz, J. Paul de Castro, Blue Bredren, Cockney Visionaries, Dempsey, Boss Goodman, Lord George Gordon, Chris Gray, Jonathon Green, Jefferson Hack, Christopher Hibbert, Hoppy, Ian Gilmour, Ish, Dzifa & Simone at The Grape, Barry Jennings, Joe Jones, Shaun Kerr, Layla, Lucas, Malcolm McLaren, John Mead, Simon Morrissey, Don Nicholson-Smith, Michel Prigent (pre-publicity), Charlie Radcliffe, Jamie Reid, George Robertson & Melinda Mash, Dragan Rad, George Rude, Naveen Saleh, Jon Savage, Valerie Solanas, Carolyn Starren & co at Kensington Library, Mark Stewart, Toko, Alex Trocchi, Fred & Judy Vermorel, Warren, Dr. Watson, Viv Westwood, Jack Wilkes, Dave & Stuart Wise Soundtrack: 'It's a London Thing' Scott Garcia, 'Going Mobile' The Who, 'Living for the City' Stevie Wonder, 'Boston Tea Party' Alex Harvey, 'Catholic Day' Adam and the Ants, 'Do the Strand' Roxy Music', 'Rev. -
The Jewish O&Savet
THE JEWISH BSERVER in this issue ... THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN 0021-6615) is published monthly, except July and August, by the Hope for Hard-Hit Yeshiva Parents? Menachem Lubinsky ..... 3 Agudath Israel of America, 5 Beekman Street, New York, N. Y. The Moment of Falsehood, David Schapps . ................. 8 10038. Second class postage paid The Torah-Im-Derech-Eretz Personality: Three Sketches at New York, N.Y. Subscription $12.00 per year; two years, Dr. Raphael Moller, as remembered by a grandson ....•. 12 $21.00; three years, $28.00; out The Last "Parnes" of Eiterfeld, Rabbi Nasson Lomner .. 15 side of the United States, SIJ.00 A Day in the Life of a Life of a "Tzaddik Nistar": per year. Single copy, SI.SO Dr. Shimon Askovitz, Sruly Greenwald ......•.. 17 Printed in the U.S.A. The "Aveira" of ... Doing Mitzvos, A. Scheinman ...•.•••. 21 The Calling, a poem by Rochel Leah Lazenga ................. 28 RABBI NissoN WoLPIN Editor The Latest in Juvenile Reading, books reviews •............. 31 Second Looks on the Jewish Scene Editorial Board Digging for Roots, Ezriel Toshavi .........•.•...... 34 DR. ERNST Boot:NHE!MER Chairman Zevulun on the Installment Plan ................. 37 RABBI NATHAN BuLMAN A Unique Travelers' Insurance, Meir Wik/er .•...... 39 RABBI JosrrH ELIAS Postcripts JosrrH FRJEDENSON Update on a Memo ............................. 41 RABBI MOSHE SHERER Letters to the Editor MICHAEL ROTHSCHILD The Vanishing Yeshiva Rebbe ................... 43 Business Manager THE Jrw1sH OssERVER does not assume responsibility for the Kashrus of any product or ser+ vice advertised in its pages. SEPT., 1981, VOL. XV, NO. 8 TISHREI 5742 Tuition Tax Credits: Hope for Hard-Hit Yeshiva Parents? Menachem Lubinsky 1 1 I \; I We have come a long way from the days when the portion of yeshivas' budgets-about 30%, on the traveling melamed would make his stops at the small average-and continuing double-digit inflation is reduc Shfetfach on his teaching route to instruct the children of ing this share even further.