DOCSLIB.ORG

& Secular Judaism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
& Secular Judaism Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism Special Supplement: The December Dilemma December 2012 From BJPA Director Prof. Steven M. Cohen: With Christmas and Ḥanukkah approaching, it seems as good a time as any to highlight the secular stream in Judaism. In this context, it's noteworthy that Jews in Israel, of all inclinations, typically categorize themselves as “dati” ("religious") or “ḥiloni” ("secular"); if they're feeling particularly complex and inclusive, they'll add, “masorati” ("traditional"). In contrast, the Jews of the US are wont to categorize themselves as Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform; if they're feeling particularly pluralist, they'll add Reconstructionist, Renewal, Secular Humanism, and post-denominational. All other Jews, those without a denominational identity, are designated by the rather unflattering term, “unaffiliated.” (American Jews, notably, are the only religious or ethnic group that calls its putatively wayward members, "unaffiliated.") Thus, although large numbers of American Jews actually see themselves as secular, cultural, ethnic as well as or sometimes instead of religious, the secular-cultural-ethnic dimension to their identities has been under- recognized, under-appreciated, and maybe under-legitimated. In focusing on the secular aspects of being Jewish, this issue of the BJPA Reader's Guide takes a small step in rectifying matters. The Guide also features a section on the December Dilemma, in part because the religious and secular nature of both Christmas and Chanukah have been contested over the years, and because American Jews have played a central role in that contestation. Remember, it was Irving Berlin who wrote, "White Christmas;" and "I Have a Little Dreydl" hardly comes across as the height of Jewish religious spirituality. In any event, do enjoy this Guide. And, um, Seasons Greetings to all! (Also, a freylekhn khanike and ḥag urim sameaḥ.) Best wishes, Steven Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 2 Secularism & Religion Lives of the Ex-Haredim Joshua Halberstam. Jewish Ideas Daily, August 2, 2011 Rethinking Secularization Theory: The Case of the Hasidic Public Square David Myers, Nomi Stolzenberg. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 Religion and Secularism: Together Forever Jonathan Schorsch. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 The Decline of Religious Identity in the United States Gary A. Tobin, Sid Groeneman. Institute for Jewish and Community Research, 2004 Secular or Religious? The Outlook of London's Jews David Graham. Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), 2003 American Religious Identification Survey Egon Mayer, Barry A. Kosmin, Ariela Keysar. CUNY, December 2001 A Secular Approach to Jewish Education Zvi Lamm. AVAR ve'ATID, JAFI, April 1995 Reading Jewish Texts with Greek Eyes Jose Faur. Sh’ma, November 27, 1987 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 3 Secularism & Identity Jewishly Engaged & Congregationally Unaffiliated: The Holy Grail of Jewish Engagement Efforts Steven M. Cohen. Workmen's Circle / Arbeter Ring, September 19, 2012 Laïcité, Fraternité, and Nationalité: Discontinuities in French Jewish Discourse Kimberly Arkin. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 The Changing Population Profile of American Jews: 1990-2008 Barry A. Kosmin. World Union of Jewish Studies, August 2009 Belonging Without Believing: Jews and their Distinctive Patterns of Religiosity-and Secularity Steven M. Cohen, Lauren Blitzer. Florence G. Heller-JCC Association (JCCA) Research Center, September 2008 The Continuity of Discontinuity: How Young Jews Are Connecting, Creating, and Organizing Their Own Jewish Lives Steven M. Cohen, Ari Y. Kelman. 21/64, 2007 Assimilation, Transformation, and the Long Range Impact of Intermarriage Bruce A. Phillips. ASSJ, 2005 American Jewish Identity Survey: An Exploration in the Demography and Outlook of a People Egon Mayer, Barry A. Kosmin, Ariela Keysar. CUNY, 2001 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 4 Secularism & Identity Secular Conversion Yossi Beilin. Sh’ma, October 1999 Fear of Culture Daniel Schifrin. Sh’ma, November 15, 1996 A New Kind of Jewish Identity Michael Walzer. AVAR ve'ATID, JAFI, April 1995 The Conversion of American Jewry Samuel Z. Klausner. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), August 1, 1991 On the Survival of the Secular Henry Feingold. Sh’ma, November 2, 1990 Ethnicity, American Judaism, and Jewish Cohesion Calvin Goldscheider. Social Foundations of Judaism, Prentice-Hall, inc., 1990 Identity Options for American Jews Lawrence J. Epstein. JAFI, WZO, 1984 The Quest for Jewish Identity in America John Slawson. Journal of Jewish Communal Service, Fall 1963 Secular Jewishness, The Fourth Dimension of Jewish Life Joseph C. Landis. Journal of Jewish Communal Service, Fall 1962 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 5 Secularism & Ideology Jewish Secularism and the Campaigns against Political Catholicism and Islam Ari Joskowicz. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 The "Post-Secular" Era Eliezer Schweid. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), October 15, 2000 A Response to Secular Judaism Riv-Ellen Prell. Sh’ma, June 2000 An Outside Look at Secular Judaism Harvey Cox. Sh’ma, June 2000 The Credo of a Non-Observant Jew Yehuda Nini. AVAR ve'ATID, JAFI, April 1995 The Dangers of Militant Secularism Reuel Shinnar. Sh’ma, April 4, 1986 Secularism- Is it Good for the Jews? Marian Henriquez Neudel. Sh’ma, March 22, 1985 Secular Judaism Offers an Alternative Mickey Flacks. Sh’ma, April 29, 1983 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 6 History of Secular Judaism Not in the Heavens: The Tradition of Secular Jewish Thought David Biale. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 Resisting Secularism? Grace Aguilar and Isaac Leeser on English Bibles Andrea Schatz. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 An Icon for Iconoclasts: Spinoza and the Faith of Jewish Secularism Daniel B. Schwartz. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 Walter Benjamin, the Kabbalah, and Secularism Kam Shapiro. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 Heresy: Baruch Spinoza Steven Nadler. Sh’ma, April 2010 The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Secular Judaism Jonathan D. Sarna. Contemplate: The International Journal of Cultural Thought, 2007 The Secular Yiddish Schools of North America Collection at Stanford University Zachary M. Baker. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2005 Secularization in Germany and America Reuel Shinnar. Sh’ma, March 22, 1985 The Jewish Secular School Leibush Lehrer. Jewish Social Service Quarterly, March 1936 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 7 Shlomit Levy, Elihu Katz, Hannah Levisohn More information... Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 8 Secular Israelis A Secular Return to the Bible? Reflections on Israeli Society, National Memory, and the Politics of the Past Yael Zerubavel. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 An Evolving Secularism: Yom Kippur Streets in Israel Yehuda C. Goodman. AJS Perspectives, Spring 2011 Secular-Jewish Identity and the Condition of Secular Judaism in Israel Charles S. Liebman, Yaacov Yadgar. Religion or Ethnicity? Jewish Identities in Evolution Rutgers University Press, February 8, 2009 New Identities and Connections Adina Newberg. Sh’ma, May 2006 The New Secular Jew in Israel -- A Profile Meir Yoffe. Sh’ma, May 2006 Culture as Compass: Reconnecting Secular Israelis Martin Ben-Moreh. Sh’ma, May 2006 Individual Voices and Collective History Basmat Hazan-Arnoff. Sh’ma, May 2006 Who is the Young Secular Israeli Jew?: The Challenge for Jewish Education Ezra Kopelowitz. Sh’ma, May 2006 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 9 Secular Israelis Jewish Identity: Opinions of Secular Jews in Israel Edith Elchanani. Sociological Institute for Community Studies, Bar-Ilan University, July 2005 Israeli Identity: The Jewish Component Charles S. Liebman, Yaacov Yadgar. Israeli Identity in Transition, Praeger Publishers, 2004 Secular Judaism in Israel Charles S. Liebman, 2003 The Jewish Identity of Twenty to Thirty Year Old Israelis: A Comparison between Highly Committed and Average, Secular and Religious Israeli Jews Ezra Kopelowitz, Pablo Markin. Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), October 2002 Portrait of Israeli Jewry: Beliefs, Observances, and Values among Israeli Jews 2000 Shlomit Levy, Elihu Katz, Hanna Levinsohn Avi Chai Foundation, The Israel Democracy Institute, June 2002 Being a Secular/Humanistic Jew in Israel Yehuda Bauer. Sh’ma, June 2000 Religious Zionism and Secular Judaism in Israeli Society Charles S. Liebman, 2000 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 10 Secular Israelis Jewish Identities: A Response to Yossi Klein Halevi Charles S. Liebman, 2000 The Short Run Impact of Peace on Relationships Between Secular and Religious Jews: Some Preliminary Speculations Charles S. Liebman, 2000 Who is a Secular Jew? Ruth Calderon. Sh’ma, October 1997 Jewish Identity Reconsidered A. B. Yehoshua. AVAR ve'ATID, JAFI, April 1996 A Critique of Israeli Secularism Hertzel Fishman. AVAR ve'ATID, JAFI, April 1995 The Persistence of "Canaanite" Zionism Arnold Jacob Wolf. Sh’ma, May 1, 1987 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 11 Secularism: Other AJS Perspectives Spring 2011: Secularism (Complete Issue) The Closet Lawrence Bush. Sh’ma, June 2009 The Reluctant Rebbitzen: Converting into a Secular Family James Morgan. Sh’ma, November 2008 Secular Judaism and Its Prospects Charles S. Liebman. Frank Cass & Co., 1999 Sh'ma March 22, 1985: Secularism—Complete Issues America's Silent Secularization Arnold Jacob Wolf. Sh’ma, February 8, 1985 Reader’s Guide: Secular Jews & Secular Judaism 12 The December Dilemma 13 The December Dilemma
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Fresh Perspective on the History of Hasidic Judaism
    eSharp Issue 20: New Horizons A Fresh Perspective on the History of Hasidic Judaism Eva van Loenen (University of Southampton) Introduction In this article, I shall examine the history of Hasidic Judaism, a mystical,1 ultra-orthodox2 branch of Judaism, which values joyfully worshipping God’s presence in nature as highly as the strict observance of the laws of Torah3 and Talmud.4 In spite of being understudied, the history of Hasidic Judaism has divided historians until today. Indeed, Hasidic Jewish history is not one monolithic, clear-cut, straightforward chronicle. Rather, each scholar has created his own narrative and each one is as different as its author. While a brief introduction such as this cannot enter into all the myriad divergences and similarities between these stories, what I will attempt to do here is to incorporate and compare an array of different views in order to summarise the history of Hasidism and provide a more objective analysis, which has not yet been undertaken. Furthermore, my historical introduction in Hasidic Judaism will exemplify how mystical branches of mainstream religions might develop and shed light on an under-researched division of Judaism. The main focus of 1 Mystical movements strive for a personal experience of God or of his presence and values intuitive, spiritual insight or revelationary knowledge. The knowledge gained is generally ‘esoteric’ (‘within’ or hidden), leading to the term ‘esotericism’ as opposed to exoteric, based on the external reality which can be attested by anyone. 2 Ultra-orthodox Jews adhere most strictly to Jewish law as the holy word of God, delivered perfectly and completely to Moses on Mount Sinai.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction: Origins
    Copyrighted Material Introduction: Origins In “The Non-Jewish Jew,” the Polish social revolutionary Isaac Deutscher, who began his education as a yeshiva student, argued that those who re- jected their ancestral religion and their people in favor of secular universal- ism had historical precursors. In a paradoxical formulation that captured something of his own identity, Deutscher wrote: “The Jewish heretic who transcends Jewry belongs to a Jewish tradition.”1 This “Jewry” is Judaism— not only the religion but all of the traditions built up over nearly three millennia. Yet, in transcending Judaism, the heretic finds himself or herself in a different Jewish tradition, a tradition no less Jewish for being antitradi- tional. Secular universalism for these heretics paradoxically became a kind of Jewish identity. Many of these ideas originated in the European Enlightenment, but they also often had a Jewish provenance or at least were believed by secular Jews to have such a provenance. Deutscher, for example, started his famous essay on an autobiographical note, remembering how, as a child in the yeshiva, he had read the story of the heretic Elisha ben Abuya (or Aher—the Other— as he is known). Elisha’s favorite student, Rabbi Meir, became one of the towering legal authorities of his generation, yet he never renounced his wayward teacher. By raising the question of the relationship of the Ortho- dox Rabbi Meir and the heretic Elisha, Deutscher implied that even the heretic remains somehow connected to that which he rejects, for the source of his heresy may lie within that tradition. For Deutscher, Elisha was the prototype of his modern heroes: Spinoza, Heine, Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Trotsky, and Freud.
    [Show full text]
  • Secular Bodies, Affects and Emotions: European Configurations
    Gutkowski, Stacey. "Love, War and Secular ‘Reasonableness’ among hilonim in Israel-Palestine." Secular Bodies, Affects and Emotions: European Configurations. Ed. Monique Scheer, Nadia Fadil and Johansen Schepelern Birgitte. London,: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019. 123–138. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 3 Oct. 2021. <http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350065253.ch-009>. Downloaded from Bloomsbury Collections, www.bloomsburycollections.com, 3 October 2021, 00:07 UTC. Copyright © Monique Scheer, Nadia Fadil and Birgitte Schepelern Johansen and Contributors 2019. You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher, and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. 9 Love, War and Secular ‘Reasonableness’ among hilonim in Israel-Palestine Stacey Gutkowski In his 2002 lecture How to Cure a Fanatic, Israeli novelist and peace activist Amos Oz suggested that a combination of cool rationalism on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, along with humour, imaginative empathy and the ability to feel comfortable with ambiguity, could sustain a two-state solution. He condemned the renewed rise of violent ethno-national ‘religious fanaticism’ among both Jews and Palestinians during the Second Intifada. The conflict is, he said, about ‘real estate not religion’ (Oz 2012: 43–81). This emotio-political antidote resonated particularly with hilonim, secular Jewish Israelis, Oz’s own religio-class constituency, after the collapse of the Oslo peace process.1 It remains popular across the political spectrum, not just among leftists like Oz keen to see a two-state solution. It also resonates among Jewish Israelis on the right and centre who do not share the left’s enthusiasm for Palestinian statehood, but who mobilize the formula of humour and empathy among Jewish Israelis towards, as they see it, cool, collective endurance of and solidarity in the face of Palestinian and Arab political violence.
    [Show full text]
  • Authenticity, Identity and the Politics of Belonging: Sephardic Jews from North Africa and India Within the Toronto Jewish Community
    AUTHENTICITY, IDENTITY AND THE POLITICS OF BELONGING: SEPHARDIC JEWS FROM NORTH AFRICA AND INDIA WITHIN THE TORONTO JEWISH COMMUNITY KELLY AMANDA TRAIN A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIOLOGY YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO AUGUST 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-46016-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-46016-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • On Learning from the Margins: Jewish Nonreligious Grammars Within a Secular-Protestant Landscape
    Sheldon, R. 2019. On Learning from the Margins: Jewish Nonreligious Grammars within a Secular-Protestant Landscape. Secularism and Nonreligion, 8: 8, pp. 1–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/snr.107 RESEARCH ARTICLE On Learning from the Margins: Jewish Nonreligious Grammars within a Secular-Protestant Landscape Ruth Sheldon This contribution to the special issue draws on ethnographic fieldwork exploring pluralities of Jewish life across adjacent urban neighbourhoods in London in order to engage with the conceptual questions and empirical omissions that are currently of concern to scholars of nonreligion. Learning from some illustra- tive moments in my fieldwork in which articulations of non-belief in God serendipitously arose, I first consider how marginal Jewish perspectives trouble the conceptual framing of ‘religion/nonreligion’ within (post)Protestant cultures. I then show how an ethnographic approach focused on the specific contexts in which piety or belief in God is othered can deepen understanding of the heterogeneous formations of ‘nonreligion’, even within relatively well-researched settings such as contemporary London. Introduction home to people of mixed Jewish and Christian parentage, This contribution to the special issue has been born and those of patrilineal Jewish descent (Orthodox Judaism out of my ethnographic study engaging with plurali- defines Jewish identity as matrilineal), how it welcomed ties of Jewish life across two London neighbourhoods: couples in mixed Jewish/non-Jewish relationships, and one widely represented
    [Show full text]
  • Spiritual Care of American 'Jews of No Religion'
    Volume 12 Number 11 November 17, 2015 Spiritual Care of American "Jews of No Religion" Editor’s Note: This is part 3 of a 3-part series. Abstract Culturally appropriate spiritual care of Jews who are not religious shares some characteristics with spiritual care of other nonreligious Americans, and differs significantly in other ways, due to Judaism’s uniqueness as a tradition. Mapping a Jewish patient’s location in the wide expanse of belief, behaviors that are based in Jewish values or ritual, and sense of belonging, is essential to providing appropriate spiritual care. Chaplains’ awareness should include “Jews of No Religion” as a significant identifier within American Jewish pluralism. In addition, a chaplain needs spiritual assessment models sufficiently inclusive to guide their work with this subset of Jews, and a culturally appropriate toolkit of spiritual care interventions. Because professional chaplains are usually religiously socialized and seminary or rabbinical school trained, the spiritual care of “Jews of No Religion” requires intentional empathy and cultural humility. Given the historical abuses of Jews by Christians, professional chaplains affiliated with Christian denominations often face the additional challenge of establishing their credibility as trustworthy caregivers willing to support Jews on the patients’ own terms. Keywords: spiritual care, Jews of No Religion, Jews By Religion, secular Jews, chaplains In 2007, the Pew Research Institute began a landmark study of the American religious landscape (Pew, 2007). By 2014, 22.8 percent of Americans surveyed by Pew were religiously unaffiliated, up from 16.1 percent seven years earlier (Pew, 2014). The unaffiliated were the fastest growing “religious” group in the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • At Rutgers the Allen and Joanstudibildner Center for the Study of Jeewish Lifs E • Department of Jewish Studies
    CSJLNL2009newsletterV10:CSJLNL2007 8/19/09 9:51 AM Page 1 Jewish Number 13 Fall 2009 at Rutgers The Allen and JoanStudiBildner Center for the Study of Jeewish Lifs e • Department of Jewish Studies Center Launches INSIDE Interfaith Dialogue hile the landscape of Jewish-Christian relations Whas undergone a positive transformation since the signing of Vatican II in 1965, interaction between the two groups has remained varied and complex. On the initiative of longtime friends of the Bildner Center, Harriet and Joseph Tabak , the Center saw the iFaith opportunity to move the discussion forward by Jewish-Catholic Rabbi Yakov Hilsenrath, Bishop Paul Bootkoski, and Student Dialogue launching an interfaith dialogue here at Rutgers. Rabbi Eliot Malomet with Joseph and Harriet Tabak With generous support from the Tabaks, the and Rutgers president Richard L. McCormick Bildner Center and the Diocese of Metuchen organized a public event entitled “Jewish-Christian the Catholic-Jewish Studies Program at the Broad range of Relations Today: A Historical Transformation” in University of Chicago. programs on Israel the fall of 2008. Rutgers Hillel, the Rutgers Catholic The thinking behind the initial interfaith Page 7 Center, and the Rutgers Department of Religion forum was straightforward: to stress the cosponsored the program. importance of bringing Jews and Christians Master Teacher The evening opened with a small gathering together on a grassroots level. Following the Institute in attended by Rutgers president Richard L. success of this first program, students’ requests led Holocaust McCormick , faculty, and representatives of both the Bildner Center to take this concept one step Education faiths. Nearly 300 guests and college students then further, creating opportunities for them to engage Page 8 joined an open discussion between Eugene Korn , a in face-to-face dialogue with their peers.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Studies (JST) 1
    Jewish Studies (JST) 1 Jewish Studies (JST) Courses JST 0802. Race & Identity in Judaism. 3 Credit Hours. Investigate the relationship between race and Judaism from Judaism's early period through today, looking both at how Jews have understood their own racial identity and how others have understood Jews' racial identity. You will explore the idea of racial identity in Judaism in order to examine the complex network of connections between racism and anti-Semitism, as you read primary and secondary texts in Jewish philosophy and history and in the study of race and racism. We hope to illuminate these complex issues as well as to engage with them on a personal and political level, examining the relationship between issues of race, religion, identity, and social justice and injustice, and inquiring into how we, as informed citizens in a global society, can affect change for the better. NOTE: This course fulfills the Race & Diversity (GD) requirement for students under GenEd and Studies in Race (RS) for students under Core. Students cannot receive credit for this course if they have successfully completed any of the following: Jewish Studies 0902 or Religion 0802/0902. Course Attributes: GD Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits. JST 0868. World Society in Literature & Film. 3 Credit Hours. Learn about Israeli culture by taking a guided tour of its literature and film. You don't need to speak a language other than English to take this exciting course, and you will gain the fresh, subtle understanding that comes from integrating across different forms of human expression.
    [Show full text]
  • World Jewish Population, 2012
    Berman Institute – North American Jewish Data Bank University of Connecticut World Jewish Population, 2012 Number 7 - 2012 CURRENT JEWISH POPULATION REPORTS Reprinted from the American Jewish Year Book 2012 Sergio DellaPergola The Hebrew University Edited by Arnold Dashefsky of Jerusalem University of Connecticut Sergio DellaPergola The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ira Sheskin University of Miami Published by North American Jewish Data Bank in cooperation with Jewish Federations of North America and the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry Data Bank Staff: Arnold Dashefsky, Director Ron Miller, Associate Director Mandell L. Berman Institute – Cory Lebson, Associate Director for Information Technology North American Jewish Data Bank Lorri Lafontaine, Program Assistant A Collaborative Project of the Graphic Designer: Jewish Federations of North America Carla Willey and the Center for Judaic Studies and Fact Checker: Contemporary Jewish Life Sarah Markowitz and the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research Mandell L. Berman Institute both at the North American Jewish Data Bank University of Connecticut Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life Publication funded in part by a grant from The Mandell L. University of Connecticut and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation in support of the Berman Institute – North American Jewish Data Bank. 405 Babbidge Rd Unit 1205 Storrs, CT 06269-1205 Web: www.jewishdatabank.org Email: [email protected] copyright 2013 The American Jewish Year Book This Report derives from Chapter
    [Show full text]
  • Leaving Orthodox Judaism
    Chapter 11 Leaving Orthodox Judaism David Belfon 1 Introduction Leavetaking in Judaism is a deeply individual experience, very much informed by personal choices, power dynamics, as well as complex mechanics of iden- tity change. My ongoing research study investigates the ways in which this process occurs in a Canadian context through interviews with twenty leavetak- ers from several varieties of Jewish observance in the Greater Toronto Area (gta). Participants run the gamut of observant Judaism from the moderately- observant to highly-traditionalist former haredim (ultra-Orthodox). They range in age from early twenties to late forties, relating their experiences in an Orthodox community, the process of leaving, and their current lifestyle and self- identification. This chapter presents some preliminary findings of this work, wherein I have endeavored to give careful attention to the numerous identities that exist in-between and beyond the standard poles of observant Judaism—experiential categories that add a new dimension to studying lea- vetaking and disaffiliation. There is no formal mechanism in place for leaving Judaism wholesale. Ac- cording to longstanding Orthodox Jewish ethos (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 44a; Yevamot 47b), if a person is born Jewish or has undergone an authorised conversion into the tradition, they are considered Jewish in perpetuity. This standing remains immutable, regardless of their intent to leave the religion or if their community shuns them for divergent beliefs or activities. Renouncing religious beliefs does not correlate to leaving Judaism either, unlike in some Christian contexts (Roof and Hoge 1980), given that faith is not necessarily the core criterion for Jewish membership. Furthermore, there are no records of members “on the rolls” or officially “active,” aside from synagogue affiliations (Lazerwitz and Harrison 1980).
    [Show full text]
  • Secular-Jewish Identity and the Condition of Secular Judaism in Israel*
    Secular-Jewish Identity and the Condition of Secular Judaism in Israel* Charles S. Liebman and Yaacov Yadgar The term hiloni (secular) is commonplace in Israel as a means of identifying a type of Jew, a type of Jewish identity, and a type of Judaism. It carries different meanings to different people and different meanings depending on the context. This essay is devoted to seeking to understand the different meanings, or at least the major meanings that the term secular carries in Israel. We will look at this from the perspective of those who use the term in a positive or a neutral fashion. We refer, only by indirection to the meaning of the term in hostile circles. Very often, especially but not exclusively in extreme religious circles the term evokes an image of libertinism (prikat ol), at the moral, especially the sexual level and an absence of any commitment to Judaism or the Jewish people or to family values. Many traditionalists (masortim) whom we describe in an accompanying essay associate the term hiloni with emptiness; a vacuum (reykanut). The leaders of secular organizations dedicated to a Jewish renaissance (there are probably close to one hundred such organizations in Israel), find that among their potential audience the term secular bears negative connotations1 although evidence presented in this essay points in the opposite direction. The term certainly bears negative connotations among many secular intellectuals which may point to their idiosyncratic nature. More on this below. We are concerned with secular Judaism in Israel. Our topic is the secular Jew, not the secularization of Judaism.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion Or Ethnicity?
    RELIGION OR ETHNICITY? Jewish Identities in Evolution EDITED BY ZVI GITELMAN RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS New Brunswick, New Jersey, and London Contents Introduction: Jewish Religion, Jewish Ethnicity—The Evolution of Jewish Identities ZVI GITELMAN I Parti Jewishness and Judaism in the Premodern Era 5 1 Secularism, Hellenism, and Rabbis in Antiquity YARON Z. ELIAV 7 2 What Is a Judaism? Perspectives from Second Temple Jewish Studies GABRIELE BOCCACCINI 24 3 Crypto-Jewish Criticism of Tradition and Its Echoes in Jewish Communities MIRIAM BODIAN 38 4 Spinoza and the Origins of Jewish Secularism STEVEN NADLER 59 Part II Challenges of Secular Jewishness in Modern Times 67 5 Yiddish Schools in America and the Problem of Secular Jewish Identity DAVID E. FISHMAN 69 6 Beyond Assimilation: Introducing Subjectivity to German-Jewish History SCOTT SPECTOR 90 7 Jewish Self-Identification and West European Categories of Belonging: From the Enlightenment to World War II TODD ENDELMAN 104 8 People of the (Secular) Book: Literary Anthologies and the Making of Jewish Identity in Postwar America JULIAN LEVINSON 131 CONTENTS Part III Secular Jewishness in Israel Today 147 9 Secular-Jewish Identity and the Condition of Secular Judaism in Israel CHARLES S. LIEBMAN AND YAACOV YADGAR 149 10 Beyond the Religious-Secular Dichotomy: Masortim in Israel YAACOV YADGAR AND CHARLES S. LIEBMAN - 171 11 What Kind of Jewish State Do Israelis Want? Israeli and Arab Attitudes toward Religion and Politics MARK TESSLER 193 12 The Construction of Secular and Religious in Modern Hebrew Literature SHACHAR PINSKER 221 Part IV Secular Jewishness in the Diaspora Today 239 13 Jewish Identity and Secularism in Post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine ZVI GITELMAN 241 14 Judaism, Community, and Jewish Culture in American Life: Continuities and Transformations CALVIN GOLDSCHEIDER 267 15 Beyond Apikorsuf.
    [Show full text]