Ellen M. Umansky
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195044003
- eISBN:
- 9780199835485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195044002.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter discusses Tehilla Lichtenstein’s activities as leader of the Society of Jewish Science; she succeeded her husband Morris Lichtenstein after his death in 1938. She viewed Jewish Science ...
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This chapter discusses Tehilla Lichtenstein’s activities as leader of the Society of Jewish Science; she succeeded her husband Morris Lichtenstein after his death in 1938. She viewed Jewish Science as something that “reveals to the Jew the great treasures contained within Judaism”. She articulated her views in over 500 sermons, essays, lectures, and radio broadcasts.Less
This chapter discusses Tehilla Lichtenstein’s activities as leader of the Society of Jewish Science; she succeeded her husband Morris Lichtenstein after his death in 1938. She viewed Jewish Science as something that “reveals to the Jew the great treasures contained within Judaism”. She articulated her views in over 500 sermons, essays, lectures, and radio broadcasts.
Ellen M. Umansky
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195044003
- eISBN:
- 9780199835485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195044002.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter begins with an analysis of virtues of peace of mind as extolled by Tehilla Lichtenstein, Alfred Geiger Moses, Morris Lichtenstein, and Clifton Harby Levy. It then examines the reasons ...
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This chapter begins with an analysis of virtues of peace of mind as extolled by Tehilla Lichtenstein, Alfred Geiger Moses, Morris Lichtenstein, and Clifton Harby Levy. It then examines the reasons behind the lack of membership in the Society of Jewish Science. Finally, the emergence of Jewish community-based healing centers is discussed.Less
This chapter begins with an analysis of virtues of peace of mind as extolled by Tehilla Lichtenstein, Alfred Geiger Moses, Morris Lichtenstein, and Clifton Harby Levy. It then examines the reasons behind the lack of membership in the Society of Jewish Science. Finally, the emergence of Jewish community-based healing centers is discussed.
Rainer Liedtke
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207238
- eISBN:
- 9780191677564
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207238.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter examines the social, economic, and cultural transformation Jewish society underwent by looking into the organization of welfare in two different European cities, Hamburg and Manchester. ...
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This chapter examines the social, economic, and cultural transformation Jewish society underwent by looking into the organization of welfare in two different European cities, Hamburg and Manchester. It investigates the ‘long 19th century’ and focuses particularly on the half-century from about the late 1850s to the beginning of the First World War, i.e. the period during which the Jews' legal emancipation was accomplished practically everywhere in Central and Western Europe. It notes that elaborate systems of separate Jewish welfare organized to function as a mechanism to preserve Jewish identity and this was regarded by Jews and non-Jews as a catalyst or obstacle to the minority's integration into society at large.Less
This chapter examines the social, economic, and cultural transformation Jewish society underwent by looking into the organization of welfare in two different European cities, Hamburg and Manchester. It investigates the ‘long 19th century’ and focuses particularly on the half-century from about the late 1850s to the beginning of the First World War, i.e. the period during which the Jews' legal emancipation was accomplished practically everywhere in Central and Western Europe. It notes that elaborate systems of separate Jewish welfare organized to function as a mechanism to preserve Jewish identity and this was regarded by Jews and non-Jews as a catalyst or obstacle to the minority's integration into society at large.
Derek J. Penslar
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520225909
- eISBN:
- 9780520925847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520225909.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter talks about Jewish social policy, particularly that produced by the simultaneous intertwining of the institutional-administrative and socioeconomic aspects of Jewish society, and ...
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This chapter talks about Jewish social policy, particularly that produced by the simultaneous intertwining of the institutional-administrative and socioeconomic aspects of Jewish society, and engendered by modern social policy parallel to the melding of state and civil society. Even where and when liberalism enjoyed its greatest hegemony in Europe, the nineteenth-century Jewish community as a legal entity had never dissolved, and the provision of charity had remained one of the community's most important functions in the eyes of the host society. The purview of Jewish philanthropy widened considerably in the late 1860s. A fresh wave of crisis galvanized Jewish public opinion, stimulated wide-ranging philanthropic activity, and promoted international Jewish solidarity through concerted action on behalf of one's oppressed brethren. The sense of common fate transcended national boundaries. Despite rivalries between states and between Jews living in those states, expressions of international Jewish brotherhood were frequent and sincere.Less
This chapter talks about Jewish social policy, particularly that produced by the simultaneous intertwining of the institutional-administrative and socioeconomic aspects of Jewish society, and engendered by modern social policy parallel to the melding of state and civil society. Even where and when liberalism enjoyed its greatest hegemony in Europe, the nineteenth-century Jewish community as a legal entity had never dissolved, and the provision of charity had remained one of the community's most important functions in the eyes of the host society. The purview of Jewish philanthropy widened considerably in the late 1860s. A fresh wave of crisis galvanized Jewish public opinion, stimulated wide-ranging philanthropic activity, and promoted international Jewish solidarity through concerted action on behalf of one's oppressed brethren. The sense of common fate transcended national boundaries. Despite rivalries between states and between Jews living in those states, expressions of international Jewish brotherhood were frequent and sincere.
Derek J. Penslar
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520225909
- eISBN:
- 9780520925847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520225909.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the flourishing of commercial and industrial capitalism in nineteenth-century Europe that strengthened the historic association between Jews and Trade. For Jews, as for any ...
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This chapter discusses the flourishing of commercial and industrial capitalism in nineteenth-century Europe that strengthened the historic association between Jews and Trade. For Jews, as for any ethnic minority that falls into a particular economic niche, economic distinctiveness may engender or reinforce group identity. The Homo economicus judaicus, who was glorified by middle-class Jews in western Europe, was one of their own kind or a heroic progenitor of bourgeois Jewish society. When bourgeois Jews turned their attention from themselves to eastern Europe, their visages darkened. Impoverished eastern European Jews, particularly the millions who traveled westward, became the site of a different kind of Jewish social knowledge and the object of a new academic language: that of scientific philanthropy.Less
This chapter discusses the flourishing of commercial and industrial capitalism in nineteenth-century Europe that strengthened the historic association between Jews and Trade. For Jews, as for any ethnic minority that falls into a particular economic niche, economic distinctiveness may engender or reinforce group identity. The Homo economicus judaicus, who was glorified by middle-class Jews in western Europe, was one of their own kind or a heroic progenitor of bourgeois Jewish society. When bourgeois Jews turned their attention from themselves to eastern Europe, their visages darkened. Impoverished eastern European Jews, particularly the millions who traveled westward, became the site of a different kind of Jewish social knowledge and the object of a new academic language: that of scientific philanthropy.
Alan Rosen
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195395129
- eISBN:
- 9780199866588
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395129.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Boder was unique in his taking a wire recorder to the DP camps. But most of Boder's efforts in the aftermath were devoted to getting the interviews into print. This chapter chronicles this process in ...
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Boder was unique in his taking a wire recorder to the DP camps. But most of Boder's efforts in the aftermath were devoted to getting the interviews into print. This chapter chronicles this process in its evolving stages, from first publishing excerpts of the interviews, to fashioning a hybrid book, I Did Not Interview the Dead, to finally the freedom provided by self-publishing the interviews in Topical Autobiographies. The chapter further argues that Boder worked fastidiously to keep recording in the foreground even while rendering the recorded interviews into print. His indefatigable efforts to find the proper vehicle for the interviews—articles, academic or trade books, self-published manuscript—also illuminate the context of publishing books on the Holocaust in the late 1940s and 1950s, showing that interest was there, though publishers did not always share Boder's idiosyncratic expectations. A close examination of Boder's negotiations with The Jewish Publication Society dramatizes the problems and possibilities of his approach to publishing the DP interviews.Less
Boder was unique in his taking a wire recorder to the DP camps. But most of Boder's efforts in the aftermath were devoted to getting the interviews into print. This chapter chronicles this process in its evolving stages, from first publishing excerpts of the interviews, to fashioning a hybrid book, I Did Not Interview the Dead, to finally the freedom provided by self-publishing the interviews in Topical Autobiographies. The chapter further argues that Boder worked fastidiously to keep recording in the foreground even while rendering the recorded interviews into print. His indefatigable efforts to find the proper vehicle for the interviews—articles, academic or trade books, self-published manuscript—also illuminate the context of publishing books on the Holocaust in the late 1940s and 1950s, showing that interest was there, though publishers did not always share Boder's idiosyncratic expectations. A close examination of Boder's negotiations with The Jewish Publication Society dramatizes the problems and possibilities of his approach to publishing the DP interviews.
Joshua S. Walden
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199334667
- eISBN:
- 9780199369409
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199334667.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
For the members of the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music, founded in 1908, the rural miniature offered a crucial method of representing Jewish musical traditions including liturgy and ...
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For the members of the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music, founded in 1908, the rural miniature offered a crucial method of representing Jewish musical traditions including liturgy and klezmer for broad audiences. This chapter investigates early twentieth-century theories about the music of Russian Jewish communities, and considers the metaphorical association, invoked commonly in the writings of members of the Society and in literary and artistic depictions of Jewish culture, between the timbres of the violin and the nationalist concept of a “Jewish voice” expressed in music. The chapter focuses on a case study Joseph Achron’s “Hebrew Melody,” viewing the history of its composition, performance, and reception across the diaspora, following its adaptation in multiple new forms, including its use as a film score and recreation as a concert aria, popular song, and theremin solo.Less
For the members of the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music, founded in 1908, the rural miniature offered a crucial method of representing Jewish musical traditions including liturgy and klezmer for broad audiences. This chapter investigates early twentieth-century theories about the music of Russian Jewish communities, and considers the metaphorical association, invoked commonly in the writings of members of the Society and in literary and artistic depictions of Jewish culture, between the timbres of the violin and the nationalist concept of a “Jewish voice” expressed in music. The chapter focuses on a case study Joseph Achron’s “Hebrew Melody,” viewing the history of its composition, performance, and reception across the diaspora, following its adaptation in multiple new forms, including its use as a film score and recreation as a concert aria, popular song, and theremin solo.
Jonathan S. Ray
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814729113
- eISBN:
- 9780814729120
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814729113.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
On August 3, 1492, the same day that Columbus set sail from Spain, the long and glorious history of that nation's Jewish community officially came to a close. The expulsion of Europe's last major ...
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On August 3, 1492, the same day that Columbus set sail from Spain, the long and glorious history of that nation's Jewish community officially came to a close. The expulsion of Europe's last major Jewish community ended more than a thousand years of unparalleled prosperity, cultural vitality and intellectual productivity. Yet, the crisis of 1492 also gave rise to a dynamic and resilient diaspora society spanning East and West. This book traces the various paths of migration and resettlement of Sephardic Jews and Conversos over the course of the tumultuous sixteenth century. Pivotally, it argues that the exiles did not become “Sephardic Jews” overnight. Only in the second and third generation did these disparate groups coalesce and adopt a “Sephardic Jewish” identity. The book presents a new and fascinating portrait of Jewish society in transition from the medieval to the early modern period, a portrait that challenges many longstanding assumptions about the differences between Europe and the Middle East.Less
On August 3, 1492, the same day that Columbus set sail from Spain, the long and glorious history of that nation's Jewish community officially came to a close. The expulsion of Europe's last major Jewish community ended more than a thousand years of unparalleled prosperity, cultural vitality and intellectual productivity. Yet, the crisis of 1492 also gave rise to a dynamic and resilient diaspora society spanning East and West. This book traces the various paths of migration and resettlement of Sephardic Jews and Conversos over the course of the tumultuous sixteenth century. Pivotally, it argues that the exiles did not become “Sephardic Jews” overnight. Only in the second and third generation did these disparate groups coalesce and adopt a “Sephardic Jewish” identity. The book presents a new and fascinating portrait of Jewish society in transition from the medieval to the early modern period, a portrait that challenges many longstanding assumptions about the differences between Europe and the Middle East.
Catherine Hezser
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199280865
- eISBN:
- 9780191712852
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280865.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
The main source of slaves in antiquity was the enslavement of war captives, which accompanied conquest of foreign territories in the course of imperialist policies. Other forms of enslavement such as ...
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The main source of slaves in antiquity was the enslavement of war captives, which accompanied conquest of foreign territories in the course of imperialist policies. Other forms of enslavement such as natural reproduction, debt slavery, child exposure and sale, and the theft of human beings seem to have been less common and dependent on particular socioeconomic conditions and behavioural patterns. They will have gained in significance in late antiquity, however, when new war captives became scarce. Slaves would be sold at slave markets but also on other occasions, on the basis of mutual sales agreements between owners. Since the category of the slave was markedly distinct from that of the free person in both Jewish and Roman society, the transition from one mode to the other was legally regulated, so that particular forms of enslavement were prohibited and others allowed. However, it is not clear whether and to what extent these legal limitations were actually followed by the populace.Less
The main source of slaves in antiquity was the enslavement of war captives, which accompanied conquest of foreign territories in the course of imperialist policies. Other forms of enslavement such as natural reproduction, debt slavery, child exposure and sale, and the theft of human beings seem to have been less common and dependent on particular socioeconomic conditions and behavioural patterns. They will have gained in significance in late antiquity, however, when new war captives became scarce. Slaves would be sold at slave markets but also on other occasions, on the basis of mutual sales agreements between owners. Since the category of the slave was markedly distinct from that of the free person in both Jewish and Roman society, the transition from one mode to the other was legally regulated, so that particular forms of enslavement were prohibited and others allowed. However, it is not clear whether and to what extent these legal limitations were actually followed by the populace.
Jonathan Ray
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814729113
- eISBN:
- 9780814729120
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814729113.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter explores the roots of the Sephardic Diaspora, particularly the amorphous structure of the Jewish community (aljama). Hispano-Jewish society was characterized by a loose association of ...
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This chapter explores the roots of the Sephardic Diaspora, particularly the amorphous structure of the Jewish community (aljama). Hispano-Jewish society was characterized by a loose association of local polities that were themselves divided by internal fissures among various factions and families. These tensions and mutual suspicions also pervaded the relationships among the rabbinic elite, popular preachers, and the general Jewish populace that both groups sought to guide. Although various factions sought leadership over Iberia's Jewish communities throughout the late medieval period, no single group emerged as the primary authority. Recognition of this internal complexity of the medieval Iberian aljama emphasizes that the reorganization of communal life in the Sephardic Diaspora was not the product of a natural solidarity inherited from the Middle Ages, and allows a greater appreciation of the individuality and effective pragmatism of the exiles.Less
This chapter explores the roots of the Sephardic Diaspora, particularly the amorphous structure of the Jewish community (aljama). Hispano-Jewish society was characterized by a loose association of local polities that were themselves divided by internal fissures among various factions and families. These tensions and mutual suspicions also pervaded the relationships among the rabbinic elite, popular preachers, and the general Jewish populace that both groups sought to guide. Although various factions sought leadership over Iberia's Jewish communities throughout the late medieval period, no single group emerged as the primary authority. Recognition of this internal complexity of the medieval Iberian aljama emphasizes that the reorganization of communal life in the Sephardic Diaspora was not the product of a natural solidarity inherited from the Middle Ages, and allows a greater appreciation of the individuality and effective pragmatism of the exiles.
David Ellenson and Daniel Gordis
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804778053
- eISBN:
- 9780804781039
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804778053.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
Since the late 1700s, when the Jewish community ceased to be a semiautonomous political unit in Western Europe and the United States and individual Jews became integrated—culturally, socially, and ...
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Since the late 1700s, when the Jewish community ceased to be a semiautonomous political unit in Western Europe and the United States and individual Jews became integrated—culturally, socially, and politically—into broader society, questions surrounding Jewish status and identity have occupied a prominent and contentious place in Jewish legal discourse. This book examines a wide array of legal opinions written by nineteenth- and twentieth-century orthodox rabbis in Europe, the United States, and Israel. It argues that these rabbis' divergent positions—based on the same legal precedents—demonstrate that they were doing more than delivering legal opinions. Instead, they were crafting public policy for Jewish society in response to Jews' social and political interactions as equals with the non-Jewish persons in whose midst they dwelled. This book prefaces its analysis of modern opinions with a discussion of the classical Jewish sources upon which they draw.Less
Since the late 1700s, when the Jewish community ceased to be a semiautonomous political unit in Western Europe and the United States and individual Jews became integrated—culturally, socially, and politically—into broader society, questions surrounding Jewish status and identity have occupied a prominent and contentious place in Jewish legal discourse. This book examines a wide array of legal opinions written by nineteenth- and twentieth-century orthodox rabbis in Europe, the United States, and Israel. It argues that these rabbis' divergent positions—based on the same legal precedents—demonstrate that they were doing more than delivering legal opinions. Instead, they were crafting public policy for Jewish society in response to Jews' social and political interactions as equals with the non-Jewish persons in whose midst they dwelled. This book prefaces its analysis of modern opinions with a discussion of the classical Jewish sources upon which they draw.
Catherine Hezser
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199280865
- eISBN:
- 9780191712852
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280865.003.0014
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
Although the actual number and percentage of slaves in ancient Jewish society cannot be determined any more, one can hypothesise about the social and economic location of slaves amongst the Jewish ...
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Although the actual number and percentage of slaves in ancient Jewish society cannot be determined any more, one can hypothesise about the social and economic location of slaves amongst the Jewish inhabitants of Roman Palestine. One way to arrive at such a hypothesis is to look at the representations of slave ownership and slaves' activities in ancient Jewish sources. Another, complementary way to assess slaves' location is to look at their structural place in other Roman provinces and to use that model as an analogy. The problem with such an approach is that it may be too generalising, not taking local differences into account. If both of these approaches are combined, they may yield results which may approximate historical reality, although certainty can never be reached in this regard.Less
Although the actual number and percentage of slaves in ancient Jewish society cannot be determined any more, one can hypothesise about the social and economic location of slaves amongst the Jewish inhabitants of Roman Palestine. One way to arrive at such a hypothesis is to look at the representations of slave ownership and slaves' activities in ancient Jewish sources. Another, complementary way to assess slaves' location is to look at their structural place in other Roman provinces and to use that model as an analogy. The problem with such an approach is that it may be too generalising, not taking local differences into account. If both of these approaches are combined, they may yield results which may approximate historical reality, although certainty can never be reached in this regard.
Scott Ury
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804763837
- eISBN:
- 9780804781046
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804763837.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
This book examines the intersection of urban society and modern politics among Jews in turn-of-the-century Warsaw, Europe's largest Jewish center at the time. By focusing on the tumultuous events ...
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This book examines the intersection of urban society and modern politics among Jews in turn-of-the-century Warsaw, Europe's largest Jewish center at the time. By focusing on the tumultuous events surrounding the Revolution of 1905, this book argues that the metropolitization of Jewish life led to a need for new forms of community and belonging, and that the ensuing search for collective and individual order gave birth to the new institutions, organizations, and practices that would define modern Jewish society and politics for the remainder of the twentieth century.Less
This book examines the intersection of urban society and modern politics among Jews in turn-of-the-century Warsaw, Europe's largest Jewish center at the time. By focusing on the tumultuous events surrounding the Revolution of 1905, this book argues that the metropolitization of Jewish life led to a need for new forms of community and belonging, and that the ensuing search for collective and individual order gave birth to the new institutions, organizations, and practices that would define modern Jewish society and politics for the remainder of the twentieth century.
United Jewish Workers’ Cultural Society
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814757437
- eISBN:
- 9780814763469
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814757437.003.0036
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter calls for further support for the United Jewish Workers' Cultural Society to develop Yiddish language and culture, in resistance to the general trend toward Americanization. It details ...
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This chapter calls for further support for the United Jewish Workers' Cultural Society to develop Yiddish language and culture, in resistance to the general trend toward Americanization. It details the accomplishments and ongoing efforts of the Cultural Society from the past year, highlighting their goal “of preparing the warm sentiments needed for tackling our local cultural problems in their full depth and breadth, and for the creation of a beautiful, festive cultural atmosphere in our prosaic working-class life.” For its second year of activities, the Cultural Society proposes to build cultural institutions, such as schools, courses for adults, and the like, in the hopes that these will form the basis of the Society and the cultural activities of the working class.Less
This chapter calls for further support for the United Jewish Workers' Cultural Society to develop Yiddish language and culture, in resistance to the general trend toward Americanization. It details the accomplishments and ongoing efforts of the Cultural Society from the past year, highlighting their goal “of preparing the warm sentiments needed for tackling our local cultural problems in their full depth and breadth, and for the creation of a beautiful, festive cultural atmosphere in our prosaic working-class life.” For its second year of activities, the Cultural Society proposes to build cultural institutions, such as schools, courses for adults, and the like, in the hopes that these will form the basis of the Society and the cultural activities of the working class.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804757119
- eISBN:
- 9780804771405
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804757119.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
This chapter focuses on several youth-welfare experiments that were designed to transform a traumatized orphan population into the cadre of a new Jewish nation. In contrast to the goals of ...
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This chapter focuses on several youth-welfare experiments that were designed to transform a traumatized orphan population into the cadre of a new Jewish nation. In contrast to the goals of correctional education, which aimed to make “endangered youths” into useful members of German, middle-class society, the programs discussed sought to transform Jewish society itself. Jewish educators, most significantly Siegfried Bernfeld and Siegfried Lehmann, consciously positioned themselves outside the rubric of the Jewish communal welfare establishment, and were deeply influenced by the youth movement and a radical spirit of communitarianism. Employing psychoanalysis as a means to heal the psyches of troubled Jewish youth, these educators believed that the absence of emotional bonds to the family would allow orphans to fix their emotional attachments more powerfully to the Jewish Volksgemeinschaft. At the heart of these programs was the goal of socializing young Jews, in settings outside their families, in the service of the Jewish collectivity.Less
This chapter focuses on several youth-welfare experiments that were designed to transform a traumatized orphan population into the cadre of a new Jewish nation. In contrast to the goals of correctional education, which aimed to make “endangered youths” into useful members of German, middle-class society, the programs discussed sought to transform Jewish society itself. Jewish educators, most significantly Siegfried Bernfeld and Siegfried Lehmann, consciously positioned themselves outside the rubric of the Jewish communal welfare establishment, and were deeply influenced by the youth movement and a radical spirit of communitarianism. Employing psychoanalysis as a means to heal the psyches of troubled Jewish youth, these educators believed that the absence of emotional bonds to the family would allow orphans to fix their emotional attachments more powerfully to the Jewish Volksgemeinschaft. At the heart of these programs was the goal of socializing young Jews, in settings outside their families, in the service of the Jewish collectivity.
Bruce Zuckerman
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195058963
- eISBN:
- 9780199853342
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195058963.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The chapter deviates from the world of biblical scholarship and turns to a story from Yiddish literature. The chapter discusses a figure created in the image of Job—Y. L. Perets’ “Bontsye Shvayg” ...
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The chapter deviates from the world of biblical scholarship and turns to a story from Yiddish literature. The chapter discusses a figure created in the image of Job—Y. L. Perets’ “Bontsye Shvayg” also known as Bontsye the Silent. Perets tries to make implications by placing Joban themes in the background of his tale so readers will see the connection between two characters. There is a huge difference between the two though because Job was once rich with family, friends, and honor while Bontsye suffers silently with virtually no respite from the time he was born until he dies. Even though he is far more unfortunate than Job, he has never complained making him “Super-Job.” Perets aim to present that suffering is an ordinary phenomenon but what makes Bontsye exceptional was that he suffered in silence. It is also interesting to read about the incident when Bontsye was faced with the Presiding Judge and the implications of what he asked for in exchange for all the suffering he endured, revealing his true nature and the true meaning of his silence. The chapter explains Perets anger to the Jewish society who thinks that a noble silence is the only pious response to the afflictions the community endures.Less
The chapter deviates from the world of biblical scholarship and turns to a story from Yiddish literature. The chapter discusses a figure created in the image of Job—Y. L. Perets’ “Bontsye Shvayg” also known as Bontsye the Silent. Perets tries to make implications by placing Joban themes in the background of his tale so readers will see the connection between two characters. There is a huge difference between the two though because Job was once rich with family, friends, and honor while Bontsye suffers silently with virtually no respite from the time he was born until he dies. Even though he is far more unfortunate than Job, he has never complained making him “Super-Job.” Perets aim to present that suffering is an ordinary phenomenon but what makes Bontsye exceptional was that he suffered in silence. It is also interesting to read about the incident when Bontsye was faced with the Presiding Judge and the implications of what he asked for in exchange for all the suffering he endured, revealing his true nature and the true meaning of his silence. The chapter explains Perets anger to the Jewish society who thinks that a noble silence is the only pious response to the afflictions the community endures.
Renée Levine Melammed
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814732182
- eISBN:
- 9780814733110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814732182.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines women's lives in medieval Jewish societies based on recently discovered documents pertaining to the lives of two groups, namely women in medieval Mediterranean (“Genizah ...
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This chapter examines women's lives in medieval Jewish societies based on recently discovered documents pertaining to the lives of two groups, namely women in medieval Mediterranean (“Genizah society”) and in 15th- and 16th-century crypto-Jewish society. Because of the separations created by living in a mobile society, letter writing was the primary means of communication, and women appeared in the letters as recipients and as senders. Sometimes women's voices are heard indirectly, as in a letter written by a husband to his wife, frequently with references to comments made by the wife in her letters to him. Some express love and nostalgia for their homes, families, and/or mates. By contrast, women's voices can be heard directly in the letters they themselves wrote or dictated.Less
This chapter examines women's lives in medieval Jewish societies based on recently discovered documents pertaining to the lives of two groups, namely women in medieval Mediterranean (“Genizah society”) and in 15th- and 16th-century crypto-Jewish society. Because of the separations created by living in a mobile society, letter writing was the primary means of communication, and women appeared in the letters as recipients and as senders. Sometimes women's voices are heard indirectly, as in a letter written by a husband to his wife, frequently with references to comments made by the wife in her letters to him. Some express love and nostalgia for their homes, families, and/or mates. By contrast, women's voices can be heard directly in the letters they themselves wrote or dictated.
Hasia Diner and Gennady Estraikh (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814720202
- eISBN:
- 9781479878253
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814720202.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
The year 1929 represents a major turning point for interwar Jewish society, proving to be a year when Jews, regardless of where they lived, saw themselves affected by developments that took place ...
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The year 1929 represents a major turning point for interwar Jewish society, proving to be a year when Jews, regardless of where they lived, saw themselves affected by developments that took place around the world, as the crises endured by other Jews became part of the transnational Jewish consciousness. In the United States, the stock market crash brought lasting economic, social, and ideological changes to the Jewish community and limited its ability to support humanitarian and nationalist projects in other countries. In Palestine, the anti-Jewish riots in Hebron and other towns underscored the vulnerability of the Zionist enterprise and ignited heated discussions among various Jewish political groups about the wisdom of establishing a Jewish state on its historical site. At the same time, in the Soviet Union, the consolidation of power in the hands of Joseph Stalin created a much more dogmatic climate in the international Communist movement, including its Jewish branches. This book surveys the Jewish world in one year offering clear examples of the transnational connections which linked Jews to each other—from politics, diplomacy, and philanthropy to literature, culture, and the fate of Yiddish—regardless of where they lived. The book argues that, whether American, Soviet, German, Polish, or Palestinian, Jews throughout the world lived in a global context.Less
The year 1929 represents a major turning point for interwar Jewish society, proving to be a year when Jews, regardless of where they lived, saw themselves affected by developments that took place around the world, as the crises endured by other Jews became part of the transnational Jewish consciousness. In the United States, the stock market crash brought lasting economic, social, and ideological changes to the Jewish community and limited its ability to support humanitarian and nationalist projects in other countries. In Palestine, the anti-Jewish riots in Hebron and other towns underscored the vulnerability of the Zionist enterprise and ignited heated discussions among various Jewish political groups about the wisdom of establishing a Jewish state on its historical site. At the same time, in the Soviet Union, the consolidation of power in the hands of Joseph Stalin created a much more dogmatic climate in the international Communist movement, including its Jewish branches. This book surveys the Jewish world in one year offering clear examples of the transnational connections which linked Jews to each other—from politics, diplomacy, and philanthropy to literature, culture, and the fate of Yiddish—regardless of where they lived. The book argues that, whether American, Soviet, German, Polish, or Palestinian, Jews throughout the world lived in a global context.
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804770644
- eISBN:
- 9780804777247
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804770644.003.0013
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
This chapter discusses the emergence of the “New Woman” in Jewish society and culture at the beginning of the twentieth century, and examines the ways in which women, especially the figures of ...
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This chapter discusses the emergence of the “New Woman” in Jewish society and culture at the beginning of the twentieth century, and examines the ways in which women, especially the figures of emancipated New Women, were depicted in modernist Hebrew fiction. One example is Yosif Chaim Brenner's first novel, Ba-choref, which shows the ways that the Jewish New Woman is presented through the lens of the male protagonists and narrators.Less
This chapter discusses the emergence of the “New Woman” in Jewish society and culture at the beginning of the twentieth century, and examines the ways in which women, especially the figures of emancipated New Women, were depicted in modernist Hebrew fiction. One example is Yosif Chaim Brenner's first novel, Ba-choref, which shows the ways that the Jewish New Woman is presented through the lens of the male protagonists and narrators.
Jefferey Shandler
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300084269
- eISBN:
- 9780300130218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300084269.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter shows how Zionism was domesticated for American Jews who were invited to consume the agricultural products of Zionist pioneers, especially wines, olives, and even cigarettes, and ...
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This chapter shows how Zionism was domesticated for American Jews who were invited to consume the agricultural products of Zionist pioneers, especially wines, olives, and even cigarettes, and investigates incorporated Zionist songs and dances into pageants based on Zionist pioneering. The producers of these representations of Zionist society expected their shows to anchor European-born Jews in America rather than induce them to immigrate to Palestine, and clearly assumed that support for Zionism was an American value. The chapter finds that from Louis Brandeis around World War I to Abba Hillel Silver after World War II, Zionism has been defined as a form of American liberalism, and argues that loyalty to Zionist goals has been viewed as consistent with devotion to American ideals.Less
This chapter shows how Zionism was domesticated for American Jews who were invited to consume the agricultural products of Zionist pioneers, especially wines, olives, and even cigarettes, and investigates incorporated Zionist songs and dances into pageants based on Zionist pioneering. The producers of these representations of Zionist society expected their shows to anchor European-born Jews in America rather than induce them to immigrate to Palestine, and clearly assumed that support for Zionism was an American value. The chapter finds that from Louis Brandeis around World War I to Abba Hillel Silver after World War II, Zionism has been defined as a form of American liberalism, and argues that loyalty to Zionist goals has been viewed as consistent with devotion to American ideals.
