Orthodox Judaism
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Jewish Studies in the College of Arts and Letters
Jewish Studies In the College of Arts and Letters OFFICE: Arts and Letters 384 Impacted Program TELEPHONE: 619-594-5327 / FAX: 619-594-8696 The modern Jewish studies major is an impacted program. To be http://jewishstudies.sdsu.edu admitted to the modern Jewish studies major, students must meet the following criteria: Faculty a. Complete preparation for the major; Jewish studies is administered by the Modern Jewish Studies b. Complete a minimum of 60 transferable semester units; Executive Board of San Diego State University. Faculty assigned to teach courses in modern Jewish studies are drawn from the Depart- c. Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. ments of English and Comparative Literature; European Studies; To complete the major, students must fulfill the degree requirements History; Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages; and for the major described in the catalog in effect at the time they are Religious Studies. accepted into the premajor at SDSU (assuming continuous enrollment). Director and Undergraduate Adviser: Risa Levitt (Religious Studies) Committee: Major Academic Plans (MAPs) Bar-Lev (Linguistics, Emeritus) Visit http://www.sdsu.edu/mymap for the recommended courses Baron (History) needed to fulfill your major requirements. The MAPs Web site was Cayleff (Women’s Studies) created to help students navigate the course requirements for their Cummins-Lewis (English) majors and to identify which General Education course will also fulfill a Grossbard (Economics) major preparation course requirement. Koster (Management Information Systems) Modern Jewish Studies Major Levitt (Religious Studies) McIllwain (Public Affairs) With the B.A. Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences Mohammed (Religious Studies) (Major Code: 15102) (SIMS Code: 114102) Moore (Religious Studies) All candidates for a degree in liberal arts and sciences must Shapovalov (Russian) complete the graduation requirements listed in the section of this catalog on “Graduation Requirements.” Offered by Jewish Studies A minor is not required with this major. -
Orthodoxy in American Jewish Life1
ORTHODOXY IN AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE1 by CHARLES S. LIEBMAN INTRODUCTION • DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ORTHODOXY • EARLY ORTHODOX COMMUNITY • UNCOMMITTED ORTHODOX • COM- MITTED ORTHODOX • MODERN ORTHODOX • SECTARIANS • LEAD- ERSHIP • DIRECTIONS AND TENDENCIES • APPENDLX: YESHIVOT PROVIDING INTENSIVE TALMUDIC STUDY A HIS ESSAY is an effort to describe the communal aspects and institutional forms of Orthodox Judaism in the United States. For the most part, it ignores the doctrines, faith, and practices of Orthodox Jews, and barely touches upon synagogue hie, which is the most meaningful expression of American Orthodoxy. It is hoped that the reader will find here some appreciation of the vitality of American Orthodoxy. Earlier predictions of the demise of 11 am indebted to many people who assisted me in making this essay possible. More than 40, active in a variety of Orthodox organizations, gave freely of their time for extended discussions and interviews and many lay leaders and rabbis throughout the United States responded to a mail questionnaire. A number of people read a draft of this paper. I would be remiss if I did not mention a few by name, at the same time exonerating them of any responsibility for errors of fact or for my own judgments and interpretations. The section on modern Orthodoxy was read by Rabbi Emanuel Rackman. The sections beginning with the sectarian Orthodox to the conclusion of the paper were read by Rabbi Nathan Bulman. Criticism and comments on the entire paper were forthcoming from Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein, Dr. Marshall Ski are, and Victor Geller, without whose assistance the section on the number of Orthodox Jews could not have been written. -
Jewish Studies San Francisco State University Bulletin 2020-2021
Jewish Studies San Francisco State University Bulletin 2020-2021 4. Students gain knowledge of the relationships of Jews and Judaism JEWISH STUDIES to other peoples, religions, and cultures in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. College of Liberal & Creative Arts 5. Students gain knowledge of the ways that Jews and Judaism illuminate the histories, literatures, religions, and cultures of non- Dean: Dr. Andrew Harris Jews in the world. Department of Jewish Studies 6. Students gain knowledge of the ways that non-Jewish histories, Humanities Building, Room 416 literatures, religions, and cultures are necessary to understand Jews Phone: (415) 338-6075 and Judaism in the world. Website: http://jewish.sfsu.edu/ 7. Students find, read, understand, and assimilate primary and secondary research materials. Department Chair: Kitty Millet Undergraduate Advisors: Astren, Dollinger, Gross, Kaplan, Millet Professor FRED ASTREN (1996), Professor of Jewish Studies; B.E.S. (1979), Program Scope University of Minnesota; M.A. (1989), Ph.D. (1993), University of The Bachelor of Arts in Modern Jewish Studies program is designed California, Berkeley. to provide an understanding of Jews and Judaism in terms of the interactions of culture, history, and religion. The challenge of modernity MARC L. DOLLINGER (2002), Professor of Jewish Studies; B.A. (1986), faced by Jews and Judaism over the last two hundred years has University of California, Berkeley; M.A. (1989), Ph.D. (1993), University of transformed traditional Jewish societies and generated a great measure California, Los Angeles. of difference and diversity. After a history of more than two millennia, ERAN KAPLAN (2011), Professor of Jewish Studies; B.A. -
Halakhic Process 25 – Open Orthodoxy Sources
Halakhic Process Open Orthodoxy I. The Values of Open Orthodoxy 1. R. Avi Weiss – From Spiritual Activism Perhaps the most fundamental principle in Judaism is that every person is created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). Just as God gives and cares, so too do we – in the spirit of imitation Dei, "imitating god" – have the natural capacity to be giving and caring. In utilizing this capability, we reflect how God works through people. It is these spiritual underpinnings that are so crucial in carrying out political activism in the moral and ethical realms. The challenge for activists is to ignite the divine spark present in the human spirit and thereby impel people to do good for others. (P. XVIII) 2. R. Avi Weiss – From Women at Prayer A second area of development, concerns the view of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik zt"l. In a recent article in Tradition by Rabbis Aryeh and Dov Frimer, they concluded that while the Rav did not criticize these groups from a technical halakhic perspective, he had serious public policy concerns about them. The Rav himself, always encouraged me and my colleagues in the rabbinate to pasken for our respective communities on these matters, for he realized that it is the individual Rav who has the responsibility to decide what is best for his community, as he often knows what is best for his constituency. This was the position of Rav Moshe Feinstein, as his grandson Rabbi Mordechai Tendler confirmed to me about two years ago. In any event, as Rav Aaron Soloveitchik has pointed out, public policy can be fluid, and what was a bad policy years ago might now be beneficial, or the contrary. -
Princeton University Ronald O
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY RONALD O. PERELMAN INSTITUTE FOR JUDAIC STUDIES Program in JUDAIC STUDIES SPRING 2018 RONALD O. PERELMAN INSTITUTE FOR JUDAIC STUDIES I am delighted to have the opportunity to establish this program, which will shape intellectual concepts in the eld, promote interdisciplinary research and scholarship, and perhaps most important, bring Jewish civilization to life for Princeton students— Ronald O. Perelman In 1995 nancier and philanthropist Ronald O. Perelman, well known as an innovative leader and generous supporter of many of the nation’s most prominent cultural and educational institutions, gave Princeton University a gi of $4.7 million to create a multidisciplinary institute focusing on Jewish studies. e establishment of the Ronald O. Perelman Institute for Jewish Studies produced the rst opportunity for undergraduate students to earn a certicate in Jewish Studies, strengthening Princeton’s long tradition of interdisciplinary studies and broad commitment to Jewish culture. e gi from Mr. Perelman, chairman and chief executive ocer of MacAndrews and Forbes Inc., also supports a senior faculty position—the Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Jewish Studies— and a wide variety of academic and scholarly activities that bring together leading scholars to examine Jewish history, religion, literature, thought, society, politics and cultures. FACULTY Executive Committee Leora Batnitzky, Religion Lital Levy, Comparative Literature Yaacob Dweck, History Laura Quick, Religion Jonathan Gribetz, Near Eastern Studies Marina Rustow, Near Eastern Studies Martha Himmelfarb, Religion Esther Schor, English William C. Jordan, History Moulie Vidas, Religion Eve Krakowski, Near Eastern Studies ASSOCIATED FACULTY David Bellos, French and Italian Daniel Heller-Roazen, Comparative Literature Jill S. Dolan, English, Dean of the College Stanley N. -
Recent Trends in Jewish Food History Writing
–8– “Bread from Heaven, Bread from the Earth”: Recent Trends in Jewish Food History Writing Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus Over the last thirty years, Jewish studies scholars have turned increasing attention to food and meals in Jewish culture. These studies fall more or less into two different camps: (1) text-centered studies that focus on the authors’ idealized, often prescrip- tive construction of the meaning of food and Jewish meals, such as biblical and postbiblical dietary rules, the Passover Seder, or food in Jewish mysticism—“bread from heaven”—and (2) studies of the “performance” of Jewish meals, particularly in the modern period, which often focus on regional variations, acculturation, and assimilation—“bread from the earth.”1 This breakdown represents a more general methodological split that often divides Jewish studies departments into two camps, the text scholars and the sociologists. However, there is a growing effort to bridge that gap, particularly in the most recent studies of Jewish food and meals.2 The major insight of all of these studies is the persistent connection between eating and Jewish identity in all its various manifestations. Jews are what they eat. While recent Jewish food scholarship frequently draws on anthropological, so- ciological, and cultural historical studies of food,3 Jewish food scholars’ conver- sations with general food studies have been somewhat one-sided. Several factors account for this. First, a disproportionate number of Jewish food scholars (compared to other food historians) have backgrounds in the modern academic study of religion or rabbinical training, which affects the focus and agenda of Jewish food history. At the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, my background in religious studies makes me an anomaly. -
Jewish Studies 1
Jewish Studies 1 JEWISH STUDIES With courses in ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern Jewish history, religion, culture, law, literature, and contemporary society, the Jewish studies minor provides students with a nuanced understanding of the living and historical traditions of Judaism, the Jewish people, and the modern State of Israel. Jewish studies at Fordham seeks to introduce students to Jewish history and culture within the larger framework of Jews’ interaction with other people, with a focus on Jewish-Christian relations, thereby furthering Fordham’s mission to foster in its students an understanding of different cultures and ways of life so they may be prepared “for an increasingly multicultural and multinational society.” Courses in Jewish studies are integrated across Fordham’s curriculum, and across its campuses and departments, among them History; Theology; Sociology and Anthropology; Art History; English; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and Fordham Law. Many of the courses are part of Fordham’s Core Curriculum. With a minor in Jewish studies students will be able to follow a coherent course of study outside their majors and acquire cross-cultural literacy, while fulfilling their Core requirements. By enrolling in a Jewish studies minor students will acquire: • knowledge and understanding of Jewish culture and history across a broad chronological and geographic scope; • the ability to question dominant social assumptions by gaining cross- cultural literacy; • an awareness of interaction and mutual influence among Jews and their Christian, Muslim, and other neighbors over the course of history; • an awareness of the complexity of social identities, as well as of social divisions and prejudice; • the ability to understand how minority cultures live, adapt, and retain their identities among majority cultures; • the skills necessary to find and interpret complex sources and apply them to a larger project; • the ability to apply methods and theories from several disciplines to their studies. -
AJS Perspectives: the Magazine TABLE of CONTENTS of the Association for Jewish Studies President from the Editor
ERSPECTIVESERSPECTIVES AJSPPThe Magazine of the Association for Jewish Studies IN THIS ISSUE: Orthodoxy Then and Now SPRING 2008 AJS Perspectives: The Magazine TABLE OF CONTENTS of the Association for Jewish Studies President From the Editor. 3 Sara R. Horowitz York University Editor From the President . 5 Allan Arkush Binghamton University From the Executive Director . 7 Editorial Board Howard Adelman Orthodoxy Then and Now Queen's University Alanna Cooper University of Massachusetts Amherst Becoming Orthodox: The Story of a Denominational Label Jonathan Karp Jeffrey C. Blutinger . 8 Binghamton University Heidi Lerner Historicizing Orthodoxy Stanford University Frances Malino Jay Berkovitz . 12 Wellesley College Vanessa Ochs Thoughts on the Study of the Orthodox Community: University of Virginia After Thirty-Five Years Riv-Ellen Prell Samuel Heilman . 16 University of Minnesota Shmuel Shepkaru University of Oklahoma Religious Feminism in Israel: A Revolution in Process Abe Socher Irit Koren. 20 Oberlin College Shelly Tenenbaum Haredi Counter History: Some Theoretical Clark University and Methodological Aspects Keith Weiser York University Nahum Karlinsky . 26 Steven Zipperstein Stanford University Haredim and the Study of Haredim in Israel: Managing Editor Reflections on a Recent Conference Karin Kugel Kimmy Caplan and Nurit Stadler. 30 Executive Director Rona Sheramy Graphic Designer Perspectives on Technology: Matt Biscotti Wild 1 Graphics, Inc. Researching Orthodox Judaism Online Heidi Lerner . 36 Please direct correspondence to: Association for Jewish Studies Ethnographic Sketches from the Future of Jewish Studies Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th Street Marcy Brink-Danan . 42 New York, NY 10011 Voice: (917) 606-8249 Reflections on Jewish Studies, Twenty Years Later Fax: (917) 606-8222 E-Mail: [email protected] Howard Tzvi Adelman. -
Jewish Studies 1
Jewish Studies 1 The study of Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, or Yiddish is encouraged Jewish Studies and is essential for some but not all of the courses. However, there is no language requirement for the Jewish Studies minor and only advanced Minor language courses are applicable to the minor. The Jewish Studies minor is open to all UC Berkeley students and is Requirements designed to give students an overview of some of the major themes in JEWISH 100 Introduction to Jewish Religion, Culture, and 4 Jewish Studies. Students may choose offerings from a large number People of disciplines including arts and humanities, social sciences, and law. After completing an introductory survey course, participants in the Select four upper division elective courses (consult academic minor may take classes, seminars, and language courses (Hebrew adviser) in the Near Eastern Studies Department, and Yiddish in the German Department), engage in hands-on experiential learning through the To Declare Jewish Studies Minor Magnes Collection for Jewish Art and Life, and take relevant courses Students must meet with the JS minor adviser to declare the minor. Bring offered in various departments including Jewish Studies, Comparative your complete application to the meeting. This includes: Literature, History, Music, Near Eastern Studies, Political Science, and Sociology. The program allows students to work closely with members • A completed Jewish Studies Minor Application Form (https:// of the faculty, to be mentored by graduate students, and to participate in jewishstudies.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/JS-minor- the intellectual life of the broader Jewish Studies community on campus. infoapplication-packet_2020.pdf). -
Sh'ma Ed, "I Feel Distress for You My Brother Jonathan." I I I Have Learned Much from Jonathan, "My Brother"
biblical David and Jonathan; of Jonathan, David lament- , Sh'ma ed, "I feel distress for you my brother Jonathan." i i I have learned much from Jonathan, "my brother". He ! a journal of Jewish responsibility has taught me much about Jewish pride, about admit- 23/453 APRIL 30, 1993 ting wrong in the most difficult of circumstances, about inner strength in the face of unbearable prison condi- tions. about going on and believing in our people even as certain segments of the American Jewish leadership and, in earlier years the Israeli government, abandoned him. Over the course of these years, I've tried to step back to reflect on Jonathan's human condition. What follows is an attempt to connect with Jonathan's soul, to under- stand his inner feelings and to articulate what I believe to be Jonathan's sentiments on some of the key issues and conflicts he faces. For those in government who may read this piece, let it be said clearly, none of the thoughts here are Jonathan's unless otherwise indicated. One can only truly understand the moral dilemma Jona- than Pollard faced as a U.S. Naval Intelligence officer when one takes into account the background of his With jonathan pollard early years. Avi Weiss "If Not Me, Who?" When Jonathan Pollard first asked me to serve as his Jonathan Pollard was raised in a family where loyalties personal rabbi in May of 1987, 1 did so with a sense of as a Jew and as an American were one. Jonathan was rabbinic responsibility. -
Jewish Communal Affairs T J
Jewish Communal Affairs T J. AKING SERIOUSLY ITS ROLE as the world's largest and most powerful Jewish community, organized American Jewry concentrated its energies outward in 2002, focusing on the threats to Israel's security and the alarming rise of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment elsewhere in the world. Domestically, controversy swirled over the basic demographic facts of American Jewish life and their meaning, while the downturn of the American economy placed serious constraints on Jewish organiza- tions as they sought to carry on their work. FOCUS ON THE MIDDLE EAST Gauging the Administration The events of September 11, 2001, generated apprehension in the ranks of many pro-Israel organizations. That day's catastrophe, the theory went, would induce the U.S. to bolster relations with the world of main- stream Islam so as to isolate and attack Al Qaeda and other Islamic ex- tremists, and the most obvious way to accomplish this was pressure on Israel to offer new concessions to the Palestinians. But this anticipation also gave new life to the more dovish sectors of the American Jewish com- munity, which had never been comfortable with the hard-line policies of the Sharon government in Israel. As the year 2002 began, Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine and long-time supporter of the Israeli left, announced the founding of the Tikkun Community, "a new multi-issue national organization of lib- eral and progressive Jews" for which Israeli concessions were part of a far broader agenda. Its inaugural conference took place January 19-21 in New York. -
Children of the Movements:Differences Among American Jewish University Students Raised in Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Homes
Children of the Movements:Differences among American Jewish University Students Raised in Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Homes Mervin F. Verbit The popular perception ofthe three major religious movements in American Juda ism is that they constitute a continuum of involvement in Jewish life, with Orthodox at the maximal pole, followed, in order, by Conservative and Reform. Indeed, the movements are usually named in that order rather than alphabetically or in the chro nological order of their formal organization. Regarding many aspects of ritual observance and traditional doctrine, the official positions ofthe movements - as these are embodied in the writings ofthe movements' leaders and in formal resolutions adopted by the respective rabbinical and congrega tional organizations - do in fact, constitute such a continuum, as they also do in the emphasis which they place on intensive Jewish education. On many other aspects of Jewish self-expression, however, the official mainstream positions of the movements are the same. All three movements encourage their adherents to participate in syna gogue services, at least on Sabbaths and holidays. All three advocate belief in God, the cultivation of religious feelings, and the transmission of Jewish values. All three postulate a special historic role for the Jewish people, and all agree that the content ofthat role is religious and ethical. All three movements (today ifnot throughout their histories, and in their mainstreams if not unanimously) recognize the special impor tance ofthe State of Israel in Jewish life, and all three assert the special character and importance of the Sabbath, even as they differ over its proper celebration.