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Why Jews Quote
Oral Tradition, 29/1 (2014):5-46 Why Jews Quote Michael Marmur Everyone Quotes1 Interest in the phenomenon of quotation as a feature of culture has never been greater. Recent works by Regier (2010), Morson (2011) and Finnegan (2011) offer many important insights into a practice notable both for its ubiquity and yet for its specificity. In this essay I want to consider one of the oldest and most diverse of world cultures from the perspective of quotation. While debates abound as to whether the “cultures of the Jews”2 can be regarded integrally, this essay will suggest that the act of quotation both in literary and oral settings is a constant in Jewish cultural creativity throughout the ages. By attempting to delineate some of the key functions of quotation in these various Jewish contexts, some contribution to the understanding of what is arguably a “universal human propensity” (Finnegan 2011:11) may be made. “All minds quote. Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is not a thread that is not a twist of these two strands. By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote.”3 Emerson’s reference to warp and woof is no accident. The creative act comprises a threading of that which is unique to the particular moment with strands taken from tradition.4 In 1 The comments of Sarah Bernstein, David Ellenson, Warren Zev Harvey, Jason Kalman, David Levine, Dow Marmur, Dalia Marx, Michal Muszkat-Barkan, and Richard Sarason on earlier versions of this article have been of enormous help. -
The Unknown Freud Talk Given by Robert L. Lippman to the Humanist Society of Metro Louisville on May 4, 2017
1 The Unknown Freud Talk given by Robert L. Lippman to the Humanist Society of Metro Louisville on May 4, 2017. This evening I am going to present a picture of Sigmund Freud --one radically different from the various portrayals of the father of psychoanalysis you may have read or heard. In his 1958 essay, "Psychoanalysis--Science or Party Line?," Erich Fromm asserts: unconsciously [Sigmund Freud] ... wanted to be ... one of the great cultural-ethical leaders of the twentieth century. He wanted to conquer the world ... and to lead man to the only--and very limited--salvation he was capable of: the conquest of passion by intellect. To Freud, this--not any religion or any political solution like socialism--was the only valid answer to the problem of man. [In Fromm, E. (1963). The Dogma of Christ; New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston] Freud, however, eludes Fromm. The following paraphrase conveys my radically different reading of Freud: 2 consciously [not unconsciously].Freud ] wanted to conquer the world and to lead man to the only--and very limited--salvation he was capable of: the conquest of passion by intellect. To Freud, this was the only valid answer to the Jewish problem. In other words, Freud, like the founder of modern Zionism Theodor Herzl, was bent on delivering his people from anti-Semitism—but unlike Herzl, Freud did not broadcast his messianic ambition. Whereas Herzl's Promised Land was a sovereign Jewish State [realized: Israel], Freud’s Promised Land was an enlightened secular world grounded in reason, a brotherly world in which the seed of Abraham can move freely over frontiers. -
CCAR Journal the Reform Jewish Quarterly
CCAR Journal The Reform Jewish Quarterly Halachah and Reform Judaism Contents FROM THE EDITOR At the Gates — ohrgJc: The Redemption of Halachah . 1 A. Brian Stoller, Guest Editor ARTICLES HALACHIC THEORY What Do We Mean When We Say, “We Are Not Halachic”? . 9 Leon A. Morris Halachah in Reform Theology from Leo Baeck to Eugene B . Borowitz: Authority, Autonomy, and Covenantal Commandments . 17 Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi The CCAR Responsa Committee: A History . 40 Joan S. Friedman Reform Halachah and the Claim of Authority: From Theory to Practice and Back Again . 54 Mark Washofsky Is a Reform Shulchan Aruch Possible? . 74 Alona Lisitsa An Evolving Israeli Reform Judaism: The Roles of Halachah and Civil Religion as Seen in the Writings of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism . 92 David Ellenson and Michael Rosen Aggadic Judaism . 113 Edwin Goldberg Spring 2020 i CONTENTS Talmudic Aggadah: Illustrations, Warnings, and Counterarguments to Halachah . 120 Amy Scheinerman Halachah for Hedgehogs: Legal Interpretivism and Reform Philosophy of Halachah . 140 Benjamin C. M. Gurin The Halachic Canon as Literature: Reading for Jewish Ideas and Values . 155 Alyssa M. Gray APPLIED HALACHAH Communal Halachic Decision-Making . 174 Erica Asch Growing More Than Vegetables: A Case Study in the Use of CCAR Responsa in Planting the Tri-Faith Community Garden . 186 Deana Sussman Berezin Yoga as a Jewish Worship Practice: Chukat Hagoyim or Spiritual Innovation? . 200 Liz P. G. Hirsch and Yael Rapport Nursing in Shul: A Halachically Informed Perspective . 208 Michal Loving Can We Say Mourner’s Kaddish in Cases of Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Nefel? . 215 Jeremy R. -
The Religious Implications of an Historical Approach to Jewish Studies
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 482 214 SO 035 468 AUTHOR Furst, Rachel TITLE The Religious Implications of an Historical Approach to Jewish Studies. PUB DATE 2001-00-00 NOTE 59p.; Prepared by the Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions (Jerusalem, Israel). AVAILABLE FROM Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions,9 HaNassi Street, Jerusalem 92188, Israel. Tel: 972-2-567-1719; Fax: 972-2-567-1723; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.atid.org/ . PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Curriculum Development; Discourse Communities; *Jews; *Judaism; *Religion Studies; *Religious Factors; Research Methodology; Scholarship IDENTIFIERS Historical Methods; *Jewish Studies; *Torah ABSTRACT This project examines the religious implications of an approach to "limmudei kodesh" (primarily the study of Talmud) and "halakhah" (an integration of academic scholarship with traditional Torah study and the evaluation of the educational pros and cons of a curriculum built on such a synthesis) .In the concerted effort over the past century to develop a program of "Torah U-Madda" that synthesizes Torah and worldly pursuits, Torah scholars have endorsed the value of secular knowledge as a complimentary accoutrement to the "Talmud Torah" endeavor, but few have validated the application of secular academic tools and methodologies to Torah study or developed a model for such integrated Torah learning. The Torah scholar committed to synthesis seeks to employ historical knowledge and methodological tools in the decoding of halakhic texts as a means of contributing to the halakhic discourse. Traditional "Talmud Torah" does not address the realm of pesak halakhah, but it is nonetheless considered the highest form of religious expression. -
Germany from Luther to Bismarck
University of California at San Diego HIEU 132 GERMANY FROM LUTHER TO BISMARCK Fall quarter 2009 #658659 Class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 until 3:20 in Warren Lecture Hall 2111 Professor Deborah Hertz Humanities and Social Science Building 6024 534 5501 Readers of the papers and examinations: Ms Monique Wiesmueller, [email protected]. Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:30 to 3 and by appointment CONTACTING THE PROFESSOR Please do not contact me by e-mail, but instead speak to me before or after class or on the phone during my office hour. I check the mailbox inside of our web site regularly. In an emergency you may contact the assistant to the Judaic Studies Program, Ms. Dorothy Wagoner at [email protected]; 534 4551. CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE. Please do not eat in class, drinks are acceptable. Please note that you should have your laptops, cell phones, and any other devices turned off during class. Students do too much multi-tasking for 1 the instructor to monitor. Try the simple beauty of a notebook and a pen. If so many students did not shop during class, you could enjoy the privilege of taking notes on your laptops. Power point presentations in class are a gift to those who attend and will not be available on the class web site. Attendance is not taken in class. Come to learn and to discuss. Class texts: All of the texts have been ordered with Groundworks Books in the Old Student Center and have been placed on Library Reserve. We have a systematic problem that Triton Link does not list the Groundworks booklists, but privileges the Price Center Bookstore. -
Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism
Tbojo.rnal ofj<wisb Tho.gbt •• d Pbilosopby, Vol. 9, pp. 69-105 © 1999 Reprints available directly from the publisher Photocopying permitted by license only Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism Ken Koltun-Fromm* Department of Religion, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave., Haverford, PA 19041, USA Scholars of jewish thought have emphasized how modern jewish thinkers reread, indeed reinvent, the public character of jewish religious activity in the modern world. This essay will explore how such rereading is a political activity, one that challenges prevailing models of community, political status, and public religion. To gain admittance into European culture, education, and society, many nineteenth-century German-jews adopted a religious rather than national inheritance. They recognized themselves within a narra- tive of religious history divorced from national ties. But the stark contrast between religion and nationality should not obscure the political nature of jewish religious identity. 1 Nationalism was but one form of political commitment. For two nineteenth century German-jewish thinkers, the romantic turn to symbol offered an interpretive guide to reconceptualize jewish religious politics. The influence of the romantic concept of language and religion on the Orthodox rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) is * Tel.: (610)896-1485. E-mail: kkoltunf haverford.edu 1 For a recent discussion of how religious arguments justifY political commitments, see Ronald Thiemann, Religion in Public Life: A Dilemma for Democracy(Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1996). 69 70 Ken Koltun-Fromm well known.2 Less so the romantic impact on the Reform rabbi Samuel Hirsch (1815-1889), due in parr to the scholarly neglect of his Luxembourg writings.3 For both, however, reinterpret- ing commandment and religion symbolically helped them to reevaluate the interplay between politics and religion. -
1 Beginning the Conversation
NOTES 1 Beginning the Conversation 1. Jacob Katz, Exclusiveness and Tolerance: Jewish-Gentile Relations in Medieval and Modern Times (New York: Schocken, 1969). 2. John Micklethwait, “In God’s Name: A Special Report on Religion and Public Life,” The Economist, London November 3–9, 2007. 3. Mark Lila, “Earthly Powers,” NYT, April 2, 2006. 4. When we mention the clash of civilizations, we think of either the Spengler battle, or a more benign interplay between cultures in individual lives. For the Spengler battle, see Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996). For a more benign interplay in individual lives, see Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1999). 5. Micklethwait, “In God’s Name.” 6. Robert Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005). “Interview with Robert Wuthnow” Religion and Ethics Newsweekly April 26, 2002. Episode no. 534 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week534/ rwuthnow.html 7. Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity, 291. 8. Eric Sharpe, “Dialogue,” in Mircea Eliade and Charles J. Adams, The Encyclopedia of Religion, first edition, volume 4 (New York: Macmillan, 1987), 345–8. 9. Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald and John Borelli, Interfaith Dialogue: A Catholic View (London: SPCK, 2006). 10. Lily Edelman, Face to Face: A Primer in Dialogue (Washington, DC: B’nai B’rith, Adult Jewish Education, 1967). 11. Ben Zion Bokser, Judaism and the Christian Predicament (New York: Knopf, 1967), 5, 11. 12. Ibid., 375. -
The "Other" in Judaism
KOL HAMEVASER The Jewish ThoughT Magazine of The Yeshiva universiTY sTudenT BodY THE "OTHER" IN JUDAISM REMEMBERING RABBI OZER GLICKMAN Z"L VOLUME X, ISSUE 3 MAY 2018 FEATURING: A Tribute to Rabbi Ozer Glickman Rabbi Yosef Blau, Dr. Steven Fine, Gabi Weinberg, & Ari Friedman Page 1 Symposium: Balancing Responsibilities Towards Medinat Yisrael Rabbi Daniel Feldman, Shayna Goldberg, & Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot Page 11 Revisiting Classical Essays Avraham Wein Page 15 Book Reviews Matt Lubin, Tzvi Aryeh Benoff, & David Selis Page 19 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Leah Klahr Avraham Wein THE "OTHER" IN JUDAISM ASSOCIATE EDITORS Brielle Broder KOL HAMEVASER KOL Reuven Herzog Mindy Schwartz Ilan Lavian Letter from the Editor 3 Avraham Wein COPY EDITOR A Tribute to Rabbi Ozer Glickman Z"L Eitan Lipsky Rabbi Ozer Glickman Z"L: An Unusual & Remarkable Rosh Yeshiva 4 EVENT COORDINATORS Rabbi Yosef Blau David Selis Doniel Weinreich Kad Demakh ha-Rav Ozer...Remembering my Friend, Rabbi Glickman 4 Steven Fine LAYOUT EDITOR Elana Rabinovich Refections from Members of the Chabura 5 Gabi Weinberg and Ari Friedman WEBMASTER Racheli Moskowitz Articles Why Did Ruth Convert? 6 Daniel Gottesman The Non-Jewish Soul 8 Issac Bernstein Symposium: Balancing Responsibilities Towards Medinat Yisrael The Challenges of Long-Distance Zionism 11 Rabbi Daniel Feldman Aliyah: Personal, Complex... and Wonderful 12 Shayna Goldberg Libi Ba-Mizrach and the Delicate Dance of Our Lived Reality 13 Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot Revisiting Classical Essays: Rupture, Reconstruction, and Revolution: Dr. Haym Soloveitchick's Landmark Essay on the Contemporary State of Orthodoxy 15 Avraham Wein Book Reviews: Judaism's Encounter with Other Cultures: Rejection or Integration? Edited by Rabbi J.J. -
Good Chemistry James J
Columbia College Fall 2012 TODAY Good Chemistry James J. Valentini Transitions from Longtime Professor to Dean of the College your Contents columbia connection. COVER STORY FEATURES The perfect midtown location: 40 The Home • Network with Columbia alumni Front • Attend exciting events and programs Ai-jen Poo ’96 gives domes- • Dine with a client tic workers a voice. • Conduct business meetings BY NATHALIE ALONSO ’08 • Take advantage of overnight rooms and so much more. 28 Stand and Deliver Joel Klein ’67’s extraordi- nary career as an attorney, educator and reformer. BY CHRIS BURRELL 18 Good Chemistry James J. Valentini transitions from longtime professor of chemistry to Dean of the College. Meet him in this Q&A with CCT Editor Alex Sachare ’71. 34 The Open Mind of Richard Heffner ’46 APPLY FOR The venerable PBS host MEMBERSHIP TODAY! provides a forum for guests 15 WEST 43 STREET to examine, question and NEW YORK, NY 10036 disagree. TEL: 212.719.0380 BY THOMAS VIncIGUERRA ’85, in residence at The Princeton Club ’86J, ’90 GSAS of New York www.columbiaclub.org COVER: LESLIE JEAN-BART ’76, ’77J; BACK COVER: COLIN SULLIVAN ’11 WITHIN THE FAMILY DEPARTMENTS ALUMNI NEWS Déjà Vu All Over Again or 49 Message from the CCAA President The Start of Something New? Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 on the successful inaugural summer of alumni- ete Mangurian is the 10th head football coach since there, the methods to achieve that goal. The goal will happen if sponsored internships. I came to Columbia as a freshman in 1967. (Yes, we you do the other things along the way.” were “freshmen” then, not “first-years,” and we even Still, there’s no substitute for the goal, what Mangurian calls 50 Bookshelf wore beanies during Orientation — but that’s a story the “W word.” for another time.) Since then, Columbia has compiled “The bottom line is winning,” he said. -
The Jewish Center SHABBAT BULLETIN MAY 5, 2018 • PARSHAT EMOR • 20 IYAR 5778
The Jewish Center SHABBAT BULLETIN MAY 5, 2018 • PARSHAT EMOR • 20 IYAR 5778 SHABBAT SCHEDULE The Jewish Center EREV SHABBAT Centennial Dinner 7:00PM Minchah Tuesday, June 5th, 2018 at The Plaza 7:00PM Young Leadership (5th floor) Honoring: 7:36PM Candle lighting Rabbi Dr. Leo Jung z”l Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm SHABBAT Rabbi Isaac Bernstein z”l 7:45AM Hashkama Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter 8:30AM Israel Silverstein Rambam shiur with Rabbi Yosie Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman Levine Rabbi Yosie Levine 9:00AM Shacharit 9:15AM Hashkama Shiur with Rabbi Noach Goldstein, Is Scholar In Residence Weekend with Sally Mayer Yom Kippur a Festival or a Shabbat Shabbat, May 4-5th 9:23AM Sof Zman Kriat Shema The Jewish Center is excited to welcome back our former Education Director 9:30AM Young Leadership Sally Mayer to deliver the Annual Martha Sonnenschein Memorial Lecture. Shabbat Morning Public Lecture 11AM 9:30AM Teen Minyan Israel at 70: Personal Reflections on Life After Aliyah 10:00AM Youth Groups Shabbat Afternoon Tanach Shiur 6:15PM 11:00AM Public Lecture with Sally Mayer, Israel at 70: Megillat Ruth: “Hyperlinks” in Tanach Personal Reflections on Life After Aliyah Seudah Shlishit 7:45PM 4:00PM Bikkur Cholim/Bikkur in the Home Counting up to my Matan Torah: Sefirat HaOmer and Making (meet at 730 Columbus Ave.) Torah Personal 6:15PM Tanach Series with Sally Mayer, Megillat Ruth: “Hyperlinks” in Tanach The Jewish Center Centennial 6:30PM Daf Yomi Hachnasat Sefer Torah th 6:30PM Parent-Child learning with Ora Weinbach Sunday, May 6 7:15PM Minchah Join us for The JC Centennial Seudah Shlishit with Sally Mayer, Counting up to my Matan community-wide Sefer Torah Torah: Sefirat HaOmer and Making Torah Personal Dedication. -
HJC-Bulletin-Jan-201
January 2019 / Tevet - Shevat 5779 Bulletin Friends and members, old and new, gathered at the Sisterhood Membership Dinner in October. Todah Rabah to Rachel Saks for being our guest speaker for the evening! Mazal Tov to Marilyn Klein, HJC Sisterhood’s Woman of Achievement ! Rabbi Ari Saks Vicki Perler Sisterhood News Rabbi President by Evelyn Abraham 631-423-5355 631-427-1089 Cantor Israel Gordan Maxine Fisher Director, Synagogue Programming Religious School Administrator MEMBERSHIP And Religious School Innovation 631-427-1157 Join Us and Support the Sisterhood of HJC 631-427-1089 ext. 22 New members to HJC receive a complimentary Sisterhood Ilene Brown Neil Kurshan Director, Early Childhood Center membership for their first year. It is not too late to return the Rabbi Emeritus 631-427-1089 ext. 15 Membership Dues Letter. Checks are payable to: Barbara Axmacher Sisterhood of the Huntington Jewish Center. Executive Director $45 regular membership 631-427-1089 ext. 23 $40 Z’havah HJC Board of Trustees / 2018-2019 $30 senior membership Vicki Perler, President Dan Schoeffler, 1st V.P. Jack Rubin, Treasurer Michael Richter, 2nd V.P. Leslie Hantverk, Secretary VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Brian Cooper, 3rd V.P. Donna Fleiss, Admin V.P. We are always looking for help with Extended Kiddushes, Shari Feibel Sandy Lynn Karow Ofer Rind Programming and Fund-Raising. It is an opportunity to Arthur Frischman Danny Klein Marvin Rosenthal make new friends and reconnect with old ones. Please con- AJ Hepworth Ora Kriegstein Debbie Stein tact Evelyn Abraham if you are interested. Stephen Holbreich Lauren Kupersmith Cari Schueller Todd Houslanger Jim Lodge Ellen Steinberg Marsha P. -
In This Issue
THE JEWISH OBSERVER IN THIS ISSUE SHARING THE BURDENS OF OUR FELLOWS THE JEWISH OBSERVER 7 (ISSN) 0021-6615 IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY, EXCEPT JULY & AUGUST AND A COMBINED ISSUE FOR JANUARy/FEBRUARY. BY THE ACUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICA, .., BROADWAY. NEW YORK. NY 10004. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID IN NEW YORK, NY. SUBSCRIPTION $25.00/ YEAR; 2. YEAHS, 548.00; j YEARS, 16 S69.00. OUTSIDE OFTHE UNITED STATES (US nYNDS DRAWN ON A US BANK ONLY) $I5.00 SURCHARGE PER YEAR. SINGLE COPY $3.50; OUTSIDE NY AREA $3.95; FOREIGN $4.50. 42 THE CLUlTERED POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHA!'\GES TO: TEL 212-797-9000, FAX 646-'154 1600 PRINTED I~ THE ljSA LETTER FROM JERUSALEM RABBI ~ISSON WOLPIN. Eaitor 19 LESS QBVOUS LESSONS Editorial Board FROM THE MAYORAL RABBI ABBA BRUDNY RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS Yonoson f?Qsenb/~JlTi JOSEPH FRIEDENSON RABBI YISRO'El. MEIR KIRZNER RABBI NOSSON SCHER\.-fAN PRO'F. AARON T\VERSKI HIGHER LIGHTS OF CHANUKAH Founders THE CVJDtES :HF DR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER Z"L 23 ~.ND RABBI MOSHE SHERER Z"L Rabbi Yonason Go/dson Management Board 27 WAKE Up AND NAFTOLI HIRSCH. ISAAC KIRZNER. RABBI SHLOMO LESlN. DAVID SINGER, NACHUM STEIN 31 P,-[J.\SE KEEP THE SHADES DOWN! MRS. LEAH ZAGELBAUM. AdvelTising Manager Rabbi Sho!orn Srn.ith PUBLISHl':D BY .A POEM BY AGUDATH ISRAEL OF AMEHTCA 32 Zos U.S. TRADE DISTRIBUTOR REAlLY MISSING A POEM BY Bracha fELDHEIM PUBLISHERS 33 II ISH YWUDI"; THE LIFE LEGACY' OF A TORAH BRITISH REPRESE!'i'TATIVE M.l: BlBELMAN Grosvenor Works Mount Pleasant Hill 39 REMEM!3ERlt~G THE PONOIfEZHER London ENGL4ND CHAPTER OF FRENCH REPHESE!\!TATIVE RABBI ISHAEL) HEPRESENTATIVE INTNL MEDIA PLACEMENT Boltshauser) BELGIAN REPRESENTATIVE MR.