Nicholas Cook
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195170566
- eISBN:
- 9780199871216
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195170566.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
A Galician Jew who came to Vienna on a government scholarship, Schenker arrived just as a fully racial anti-semitism was developing; the binary pattern of thought discussed in Chapter 3 became most ...
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A Galician Jew who came to Vienna on a government scholarship, Schenker arrived just as a fully racial anti-semitism was developing; the binary pattern of thought discussed in Chapter 3 became most pernicious when linked to the binary opposition Jew/not Jew. True to the tradition of German cultural conservatism, Schenker constructed his identity through an extreme appropriation of high German culture, while at the same time maintaining his personal adherence to the Jewish tradition. Though attempts to explain Schenker's theory in terms of that tradition are ultimately unconvincing, his situation in an increasingly anti-semitic society explains much about the motivation of Schenker's project and the way it developed. These issues of culture and race are drawn out through comparisons with two of the principal Others of Schenker's cultural and intellectual universe: Richard Wagner, to whom Schenker's entire project can be understood as a response, and Arnold Schoenberg.Less
A Galician Jew who came to Vienna on a government scholarship, Schenker arrived just as a fully racial anti-semitism was developing; the binary pattern of thought discussed in Chapter 3 became most pernicious when linked to the binary opposition Jew/not Jew. True to the tradition of German cultural conservatism, Schenker constructed his identity through an extreme appropriation of high German culture, while at the same time maintaining his personal adherence to the Jewish tradition. Though attempts to explain Schenker's theory in terms of that tradition are ultimately unconvincing, his situation in an increasingly anti-semitic society explains much about the motivation of Schenker's project and the way it developed. These issues of culture and race are drawn out through comparisons with two of the principal Others of Schenker's cultural and intellectual universe: Richard Wagner, to whom Schenker's entire project can be understood as a response, and Arnold Schoenberg.
Moulie Vidas
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691154862
- eISBN:
- 9781400850471
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691154862.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book offers a new perspective on perhaps the most important religious text of the Jewish tradition. It is widely recognized that the creators of the Talmud innovatively interpreted and changed ...
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This book offers a new perspective on perhaps the most important religious text of the Jewish tradition. It is widely recognized that the creators of the Talmud innovatively interpreted and changed the older traditions on which they drew. Nevertheless, it has been assumed that the ancient rabbis were committed to maintaining continuity with the past. This book argues on the contrary that structural features of the Talmud were designed to produce a discontinuity with tradition, and that this discontinuity was part and parcel of the rabbis‘ self-conception. Both this self-conception and these structural features were part of a debate within and beyond the Jewish community about the transmission of tradition. Focusing on the Babylonian Talmud, produced in the rabbinic academies of late ancient Mesopotamia, the book analyzes key passages to show how the Talmud's creators contrasted their own voice with that of their predecessors. It also examines Zoroastrian, Christian, and mystical Jewish sources to reconstruct the debates and wide-ranging conversations that shaped the Talmud's literary and intellectual character.Less
This book offers a new perspective on perhaps the most important religious text of the Jewish tradition. It is widely recognized that the creators of the Talmud innovatively interpreted and changed the older traditions on which they drew. Nevertheless, it has been assumed that the ancient rabbis were committed to maintaining continuity with the past. This book argues on the contrary that structural features of the Talmud were designed to produce a discontinuity with tradition, and that this discontinuity was part and parcel of the rabbis‘ self-conception. Both this self-conception and these structural features were part of a debate within and beyond the Jewish community about the transmission of tradition. Focusing on the Babylonian Talmud, produced in the rabbinic academies of late ancient Mesopotamia, the book analyzes key passages to show how the Talmud's creators contrasted their own voice with that of their predecessors. It also examines Zoroastrian, Christian, and mystical Jewish sources to reconstruct the debates and wide-ranging conversations that shaped the Talmud's literary and intellectual character.
Yaacob Dweck
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691145082
- eISBN:
- 9781400840007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691145082.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter posits Leon Modena's writing practices within the context of early modern Venice, capital of Hebrew printing and center of manuscript production. The circumstances of Modena's life as ...
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This chapter posits Leon Modena's writing practices within the context of early modern Venice, capital of Hebrew printing and center of manuscript production. The circumstances of Modena's life as well as the cultural world of early modern Venice offer some context for why Ari Nohem (The Roaring Lion, 1840) did not appear in print in the seventeenth century. As a work of criticism, Ari Nohem reflected upon the transmission of Jewish tradition, particularly the transmission of esoteric information and the principles of Jewish law. Modena argued that the printing of legal and kabbalistic books had effected a radical change in the transmission of Jewish tradition, a change that he decried in no uncertain terms at several points. Ari Nohem polemicized against one medium, print, in the form of another, manuscript.Less
This chapter posits Leon Modena's writing practices within the context of early modern Venice, capital of Hebrew printing and center of manuscript production. The circumstances of Modena's life as well as the cultural world of early modern Venice offer some context for why Ari Nohem (The Roaring Lion, 1840) did not appear in print in the seventeenth century. As a work of criticism, Ari Nohem reflected upon the transmission of Jewish tradition, particularly the transmission of esoteric information and the principles of Jewish law. Modena argued that the printing of legal and kabbalistic books had effected a radical change in the transmission of Jewish tradition, a change that he decried in no uncertain terms at several points. Ari Nohem polemicized against one medium, print, in the form of another, manuscript.
Eli Yassif
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199206575
- eISBN:
- 9780191709678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206575.003.00015
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
This chapter emphasizes the continuity of central ideas over many centuries. Despite tremendous innovation and change within the literature, it persuasively connects folkloric motifs from a medieval ...
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This chapter emphasizes the continuity of central ideas over many centuries. Despite tremendous innovation and change within the literature, it persuasively connects folkloric motifs from a medieval Hebrew folktale with classical images from Jewish tradition. It addresses the question of the authority of narrative texts as historical documents as well as the question of narrative hermeneutics — in all its force and seriousness.Less
This chapter emphasizes the continuity of central ideas over many centuries. Despite tremendous innovation and change within the literature, it persuasively connects folkloric motifs from a medieval Hebrew folktale with classical images from Jewish tradition. It addresses the question of the authority of narrative texts as historical documents as well as the question of narrative hermeneutics — in all its force and seriousness.
Christina M. Puchalski
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195146820
- eISBN:
- 9780199999866
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195146820.003.0013
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Palliative Medicine and Older People
This chapter examines spirituality, suffering, and prayerful presence in relation to end-of-life care in the Jewish tradition, describing the Jewish mourning practices and the stand of Judaism ...
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This chapter examines spirituality, suffering, and prayerful presence in relation to end-of-life care in the Jewish tradition, describing the Jewish mourning practices and the stand of Judaism concerning euthanasia, autopsies, and transplantation. It also provides a brief guide to prayerful presence, including pastoral visitation, and explains the Jewish belief that each person has a personal and direct relationship with God. However, Judaism does not place any special sacramental status upon Jewish clergy.Less
This chapter examines spirituality, suffering, and prayerful presence in relation to end-of-life care in the Jewish tradition, describing the Jewish mourning practices and the stand of Judaism concerning euthanasia, autopsies, and transplantation. It also provides a brief guide to prayerful presence, including pastoral visitation, and explains the Jewish belief that each person has a personal and direct relationship with God. However, Judaism does not place any special sacramental status upon Jewish clergy.
Shulamit S. Magnus
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781906764524
- eISBN:
- 9781800340459
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781906764524.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines gender and class in Pauline Wengeroff's Memoirs of a Grandmother. In Volume II of Memoirs, Wengeroff asserts a stark, globalized claim of gender disparity about tradition and ...
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This chapter examines gender and class in Pauline Wengeroff's Memoirs of a Grandmother. In Volume II of Memoirs, Wengeroff asserts a stark, globalized claim of gender disparity about tradition and its loss among modernizing Russian Jews. The chapter then reflects on her life and experience in St. Petersburg. The organized Jewish community that formed in the capital in the 1860s was that of the moneyed elite; the city was the home of the elite that championed selective integration. In St. Petersburg, the Jewish leadership class was literally under the government's gaze, acutely aware of its self-appointed role as the official model for Russian Jewry and as representative of the community's interests before the authorities. The chapter also describes the struggle between Wengeroff and her husband, Chonon, over Jewish observance. It explores the notions of love and marriage in traditional Jewish culture. Whatever the divergence between Wengeroff's depictions and evidence from German Jewry, she echoes one crucial aspect of middle-class German Jewish experience: the domestication of women.Less
This chapter examines gender and class in Pauline Wengeroff's Memoirs of a Grandmother. In Volume II of Memoirs, Wengeroff asserts a stark, globalized claim of gender disparity about tradition and its loss among modernizing Russian Jews. The chapter then reflects on her life and experience in St. Petersburg. The organized Jewish community that formed in the capital in the 1860s was that of the moneyed elite; the city was the home of the elite that championed selective integration. In St. Petersburg, the Jewish leadership class was literally under the government's gaze, acutely aware of its self-appointed role as the official model for Russian Jewry and as representative of the community's interests before the authorities. The chapter also describes the struggle between Wengeroff and her husband, Chonon, over Jewish observance. It explores the notions of love and marriage in traditional Jewish culture. Whatever the divergence between Wengeroff's depictions and evidence from German Jewry, she echoes one crucial aspect of middle-class German Jewish experience: the domestication of women.
Jean Baumgarten
Jerold C. Frakes (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199276332
- eISBN:
- 9780191699894
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199276332.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Religion and Literature
Beginning in the sixteenth century, the problem of translating prayers into the vernacular was one of the important questions confronting Jewish society. The rabbinical authorities adopted an ...
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Beginning in the sixteenth century, the problem of translating prayers into the vernacular was one of the important questions confronting Jewish society. The rabbinical authorities adopted an ambivalent attitude that illustrates the tensions that this issue inevitably caused. As for the Yiddish authors, they decided in favour of a partial vernacularization of the prayers. Meanwhile, the history of bilingual holiday prayer books (makhzourim) followed a development similar to that of the other liturgical works Considered as a whole, these liturgical texts demonstrate the modest inroads made by the vernacular into Jewish religious life and testify to a transformation among the ordinary faithful of their religious experience. These texts were part of a vast religious offensive intended to organize the Jewish masses more effectively and to spread the teaching of Jewish traditions.Less
Beginning in the sixteenth century, the problem of translating prayers into the vernacular was one of the important questions confronting Jewish society. The rabbinical authorities adopted an ambivalent attitude that illustrates the tensions that this issue inevitably caused. As for the Yiddish authors, they decided in favour of a partial vernacularization of the prayers. Meanwhile, the history of bilingual holiday prayer books (makhzourim) followed a development similar to that of the other liturgical works Considered as a whole, these liturgical texts demonstrate the modest inroads made by the vernacular into Jewish religious life and testify to a transformation among the ordinary faithful of their religious experience. These texts were part of a vast religious offensive intended to organize the Jewish masses more effectively and to spread the teaching of Jewish traditions.
Jonathan Boyarin
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780691203997
- eISBN:
- 9780691207698
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691203997.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
New York City's Lower East Side has witnessed a severe decline in its Jewish population in recent decades, yet every morning in the big room of the city's oldest yeshiva, students still gather to ...
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New York City's Lower East Side has witnessed a severe decline in its Jewish population in recent decades, yet every morning in the big room of the city's oldest yeshiva, students still gather to study the Talmud beneath the great arched windows facing out onto East Broadway. This book is the author's uniquely personal account of the year he spent as both student and observer at Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, and a poignant chronicle of a side of Jewish life that outsiders rarely see. The author explores the yeshiva's relationship with the neighborhood, the city, and Jewish and American culture more broadly, and brings vividly to life its routines, rituals, and rhythms. The author describes the compelling and often colorful personalities he encounters each day, and introduces readers to the Rosh Yeshiva, or Rebbi, the moral and intellectual head of the yeshiva. The author reflects on the tantalizing meanings of “study for its own sake” in the intellectually vibrant world of traditional rabbinic learning, and records his fellow students' responses to his negotiation of the daily complexities of yeshiva life while he also conducts anthropological fieldwork. This book is the story of a place on the Lower East Side with its own distinctive heritage and character, a meditation on the enduring power of Jewish tradition and learning, and a record of a different way of engaging with time and otherness.Less
New York City's Lower East Side has witnessed a severe decline in its Jewish population in recent decades, yet every morning in the big room of the city's oldest yeshiva, students still gather to study the Talmud beneath the great arched windows facing out onto East Broadway. This book is the author's uniquely personal account of the year he spent as both student and observer at Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, and a poignant chronicle of a side of Jewish life that outsiders rarely see. The author explores the yeshiva's relationship with the neighborhood, the city, and Jewish and American culture more broadly, and brings vividly to life its routines, rituals, and rhythms. The author describes the compelling and often colorful personalities he encounters each day, and introduces readers to the Rosh Yeshiva, or Rebbi, the moral and intellectual head of the yeshiva. The author reflects on the tantalizing meanings of “study for its own sake” in the intellectually vibrant world of traditional rabbinic learning, and records his fellow students' responses to his negotiation of the daily complexities of yeshiva life while he also conducts anthropological fieldwork. This book is the story of a place on the Lower East Side with its own distinctive heritage and character, a meditation on the enduring power of Jewish tradition and learning, and a record of a different way of engaging with time and otherness.
Tina Frühauf
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195337068
- eISBN:
- 9780199852260
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195337068.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
The mass emigration of German Jews during National Socialism in 1933 had a profound impact on the identities of Jewish musicians. Because of their need for social and professional integration, they ...
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The mass emigration of German Jews during National Socialism in 1933 had a profound impact on the identities of Jewish musicians. Because of their need for social and professional integration, they needed to strike a balance between preserving an identity that had been shaped by the European musical tradition and adjusting to a new cultural situation. While the forced relocation and new living conditions affected the creative output of the émigré musicians, these also greatly influenced the musical life of their adopted countries. The US became a popular destination for German–Jewish artists, including musicians who found employment in synagogues to influence Jewish–American service with their organ playing and organ building. Unfortunately, the next generations of synagogue musicians apparently had no interest in further developing the organ in Jewish worship, as the German–Jewish culture seemed to have dissolved into American culture. The British Mandate of Palestine was a popular destination for Zionists from Russia and eastern European countries. Inspired by the new and different environment, German–Jewish musicians took interest in the music of Eastern Jewry and the Arabs. Many composers in the new Israel sought a musical synthesis of East and West either by combining the harmonic and compositional techniques of Western music with the rhythms, melodies, and instruments of Eastern music or by applying Eastern aesthetics without using the actual musical elements associated with Eastern music. Although organ music had not been a central part of the musical life of Palestine, many émigré musicians who were familiar with the organ from their youth in Europe revived their interest in the instrument, giving rise to an organ tradition. Unlike in the US, where organ music has almost disappeared, in Israel the music is still in a unique phase of development.Less
The mass emigration of German Jews during National Socialism in 1933 had a profound impact on the identities of Jewish musicians. Because of their need for social and professional integration, they needed to strike a balance between preserving an identity that had been shaped by the European musical tradition and adjusting to a new cultural situation. While the forced relocation and new living conditions affected the creative output of the émigré musicians, these also greatly influenced the musical life of their adopted countries. The US became a popular destination for German–Jewish artists, including musicians who found employment in synagogues to influence Jewish–American service with their organ playing and organ building. Unfortunately, the next generations of synagogue musicians apparently had no interest in further developing the organ in Jewish worship, as the German–Jewish culture seemed to have dissolved into American culture. The British Mandate of Palestine was a popular destination for Zionists from Russia and eastern European countries. Inspired by the new and different environment, German–Jewish musicians took interest in the music of Eastern Jewry and the Arabs. Many composers in the new Israel sought a musical synthesis of East and West either by combining the harmonic and compositional techniques of Western music with the rhythms, melodies, and instruments of Eastern music or by applying Eastern aesthetics without using the actual musical elements associated with Eastern music. Although organ music had not been a central part of the musical life of Palestine, many émigré musicians who were familiar with the organ from their youth in Europe revived their interest in the instrument, giving rise to an organ tradition. Unlike in the US, where organ music has almost disappeared, in Israel the music is still in a unique phase of development.
Antony Polonsky
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774716
- eISBN:
- 9781800340725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774716.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This introductory chapter discusses the larger theme of the spiritual life of Polish–Lithuanian Jewry and its relation to the wider religious history of the Jews. There are a number of problems in ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the larger theme of the spiritual life of Polish–Lithuanian Jewry and its relation to the wider religious history of the Jews. There are a number of problems in describing that history. It is obvious that Jewish history in the period from the end of Jewish statehood and, in particular, from the end of a significant Jewish presence in Erets Yisrael has a highly significant religious component. Yet there has been a tendency to write this history statically — to see normative Jewish religious practice as unchanging from the period of the Mishnah and Talmud. In addition, historical investigation is complicated by the absence in the Jewish religious tradition of a clearly formulated creed. The attempts to formulate such a credal statement, such as that of Maimonides (1135–1204), who sets out thirteen basic principles of the Jewish faith, or those of the Spanish Jews Hasdai Crescas (d. ?1412) and Joseph Albo (1380–1445), can only be seen as deviations from this norm and are not regarded by normative believers as binding, although much of the religious establishment did accept them as such.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the larger theme of the spiritual life of Polish–Lithuanian Jewry and its relation to the wider religious history of the Jews. There are a number of problems in describing that history. It is obvious that Jewish history in the period from the end of Jewish statehood and, in particular, from the end of a significant Jewish presence in Erets Yisrael has a highly significant religious component. Yet there has been a tendency to write this history statically — to see normative Jewish religious practice as unchanging from the period of the Mishnah and Talmud. In addition, historical investigation is complicated by the absence in the Jewish religious tradition of a clearly formulated creed. The attempts to formulate such a credal statement, such as that of Maimonides (1135–1204), who sets out thirteen basic principles of the Jewish faith, or those of the Spanish Jews Hasdai Crescas (d. ?1412) and Joseph Albo (1380–1445), can only be seen as deviations from this norm and are not regarded by normative believers as binding, although much of the religious establishment did accept them as such.
Shulamit S. Magnus
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781906764524
- eISBN:
- 9781800340459
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781906764524.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter explains that the central point of the second volume of Pauline Wengeroff's Memoirs of a Grandmother is the consequences of the loss of tradition in Russian Jewish families, exemplified ...
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This chapter explains that the central point of the second volume of Pauline Wengeroff's Memoirs of a Grandmother is the consequences of the loss of tradition in Russian Jewish families, exemplified by what transpired in her marital home. Her main narrative line is dramatic, accessible, and seductive. In it, she and her fellow Jewish women are victims — of Chonon/Jewish husbands, and of the overwhelming forces of modernity. Well before all this, however, Wengeroff was a prime agent of subverting tradition. She thus felt culpable and guilty not only for the sins of her youth but for those of her married adulthood that resulted in the failure to transmit tradition to her children. The chapter then considers the complexity of Wengeroff's and Chonon's Jewishness and of their relationship. It also looks at how Wengeroff found outlets for her Judaism as well as her need for meaningful activity outside the home as a bourgeoise before she wrote Memoirs. Both Chonon and Wengeroff participated in the trend of Russian Jewish philanthropy by supporting trade schools for poor children.Less
This chapter explains that the central point of the second volume of Pauline Wengeroff's Memoirs of a Grandmother is the consequences of the loss of tradition in Russian Jewish families, exemplified by what transpired in her marital home. Her main narrative line is dramatic, accessible, and seductive. In it, she and her fellow Jewish women are victims — of Chonon/Jewish husbands, and of the overwhelming forces of modernity. Well before all this, however, Wengeroff was a prime agent of subverting tradition. She thus felt culpable and guilty not only for the sins of her youth but for those of her married adulthood that resulted in the failure to transmit tradition to her children. The chapter then considers the complexity of Wengeroff's and Chonon's Jewishness and of their relationship. It also looks at how Wengeroff found outlets for her Judaism as well as her need for meaningful activity outside the home as a bourgeoise before she wrote Memoirs. Both Chonon and Wengeroff participated in the trend of Russian Jewish philanthropy by supporting trade schools for poor children.
Edward Portnoy
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774730
- eISBN:
- 9781800340732
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774730.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter explores religious iconography in cartoons of the Polish Yiddish press. Alongside the mainstream press, a Jewish satirical press began to flourish in the Yiddish language in both eastern ...
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This chapter explores religious iconography in cartoons of the Polish Yiddish press. Alongside the mainstream press, a Jewish satirical press began to flourish in the Yiddish language in both eastern Europe and America. In addition to jokes, humorous stories, poems, and many parodies, Yiddish satirical journals would come to include numerous cartoons and caricatures. Never having been seen previously in Jewish life, such visual parody was an unprecedented innovation among Yiddish-speaking Jews in Poland, partly because of its sheer novelty and partly because art without a religious connection was discouraged among Jews. Moreover, the vast majority of Jewish texts, particularly those used on a daily basis, did not contain illustrations of any kind. The cartoonists of the Yiddish press were therefore engaged not only in a radical subversion of Jewish tradition but also in a reassessment of what Jewish caricature should be, as opposed to the antisemitic caricature of the non-Jewish satirical press. In addition, Jewish cartoonists frequently applied traditional Jewish themes to critical commentary on current cultural and political events.Less
This chapter explores religious iconography in cartoons of the Polish Yiddish press. Alongside the mainstream press, a Jewish satirical press began to flourish in the Yiddish language in both eastern Europe and America. In addition to jokes, humorous stories, poems, and many parodies, Yiddish satirical journals would come to include numerous cartoons and caricatures. Never having been seen previously in Jewish life, such visual parody was an unprecedented innovation among Yiddish-speaking Jews in Poland, partly because of its sheer novelty and partly because art without a religious connection was discouraged among Jews. Moreover, the vast majority of Jewish texts, particularly those used on a daily basis, did not contain illustrations of any kind. The cartoonists of the Yiddish press were therefore engaged not only in a radical subversion of Jewish tradition but also in a reassessment of what Jewish caricature should be, as opposed to the antisemitic caricature of the non-Jewish satirical press. In addition, Jewish cartoonists frequently applied traditional Jewish themes to critical commentary on current cultural and political events.
Keith Ward
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263937
- eISBN:
- 9780191682681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263937.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, World Religions
This part of the book explores the four scriptural traditions: the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Christian, and the way in which they are interpreted by theologians. The chapter attempts to articulate ...
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This part of the book explores the four scriptural traditions: the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Christian, and the way in which they are interpreted by theologians. The chapter attempts to articulate and reconceptualize existing beliefs by a positive interaction with those of others. The Jewish tradition is one of the oldest, from which sprang Christian and Muslim views. Tracing the history of this tradition should give a greater understanding of some of the strands of belief which continue to shape later formulations, and which may significantly influence them.Less
This part of the book explores the four scriptural traditions: the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Christian, and the way in which they are interpreted by theologians. The chapter attempts to articulate and reconceptualize existing beliefs by a positive interaction with those of others. The Jewish tradition is one of the oldest, from which sprang Christian and Muslim views. Tracing the history of this tradition should give a greater understanding of some of the strands of belief which continue to shape later formulations, and which may significantly influence them.
Alan L. Mittleman
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176277
- eISBN:
- 9781400865789
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176277.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book explores one of the great questions of our time: How can we preserve our sense of what it means to be a person while at the same time accepting what science tells us to be true—namely, that ...
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This book explores one of the great questions of our time: How can we preserve our sense of what it means to be a person while at the same time accepting what science tells us to be true—namely, that human nature is continuous with the rest of nature? What, in other words, does it mean to be a person in a world of things? This book shows how the Jewish tradition provides rich ways of understanding human nature and personhood that preserve human dignity and distinction in a world of neuroscience, evolutionary biology, biotechnology, and pervasive scientism. These ancient resources can speak to Jewish, non-Jewish, and secular readers alike. Science may tell us what we are, the book says, but it cannot tell us who we are, how we should live, or why we matter. Traditional Jewish thought, in open-minded dialogue with contemporary scientific perspectives, can help us answer these questions. The book shows how, using sources ranging across the Jewish tradition, from the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud to more than a millennium of Jewish philosophy. Among the many subjects the book addresses are sexuality, birth and death, violence and evil, moral agency, and politics and economics. Throughout, the book demonstrates how Jewish tradition brings new perspectives to—and challenges many current assumptions about—these central aspects of human nature. A study of human nature in Jewish thought and an original contribution to Jewish philosophy, this is a book for anyone interested in what it means to be human in a scientific age.Less
This book explores one of the great questions of our time: How can we preserve our sense of what it means to be a person while at the same time accepting what science tells us to be true—namely, that human nature is continuous with the rest of nature? What, in other words, does it mean to be a person in a world of things? This book shows how the Jewish tradition provides rich ways of understanding human nature and personhood that preserve human dignity and distinction in a world of neuroscience, evolutionary biology, biotechnology, and pervasive scientism. These ancient resources can speak to Jewish, non-Jewish, and secular readers alike. Science may tell us what we are, the book says, but it cannot tell us who we are, how we should live, or why we matter. Traditional Jewish thought, in open-minded dialogue with contemporary scientific perspectives, can help us answer these questions. The book shows how, using sources ranging across the Jewish tradition, from the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud to more than a millennium of Jewish philosophy. Among the many subjects the book addresses are sexuality, birth and death, violence and evil, moral agency, and politics and economics. Throughout, the book demonstrates how Jewish tradition brings new perspectives to—and challenges many current assumptions about—these central aspects of human nature. A study of human nature in Jewish thought and an original contribution to Jewish philosophy, this is a book for anyone interested in what it means to be human in a scientific age.
John M. Efron
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300083774
- eISBN:
- 9780300133592
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300083774.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter describes the complementary relationship enjoyed by science and Judaism. The Jewish scientist was not swayed by the nineteenth-century French philosopher Auguste Comte, who proclaimed ...
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This chapter describes the complementary relationship enjoyed by science and Judaism. The Jewish scientist was not swayed by the nineteenth-century French philosopher Auguste Comte, who proclaimed that in the coming positivist order, scientists, rather than priests, would be canonized. Few Jewish scientists have ever suggested that a man in a lab coat would or should replace the rabbi in his long, black coat. On the contrary, among Central European Jews in the nineteenth century, there were many who sought to make use of science in order to help them bolster their links to Jewish tradition. What this means is that for Jews in the modern period, science and religion have proven to be perfectly compatible, which raises a number of other questions. All of these questions are addressed here.Less
This chapter describes the complementary relationship enjoyed by science and Judaism. The Jewish scientist was not swayed by the nineteenth-century French philosopher Auguste Comte, who proclaimed that in the coming positivist order, scientists, rather than priests, would be canonized. Few Jewish scientists have ever suggested that a man in a lab coat would or should replace the rabbi in his long, black coat. On the contrary, among Central European Jews in the nineteenth century, there were many who sought to make use of science in order to help them bolster their links to Jewish tradition. What this means is that for Jews in the modern period, science and religion have proven to be perfectly compatible, which raises a number of other questions. All of these questions are addressed here.
Willi Goetschel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823244966
- eISBN:
- 9780823252510
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823244966.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines the works of some of the most notable Jewish philosophers during the Enlightenment Period. It traces themes that unite and divide the projects of Baruch Spinoza, Moses ...
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This chapter examines the works of some of the most notable Jewish philosophers during the Enlightenment Period. It traces themes that unite and divide the projects of Baruch Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, and Salomon Maimon in the context of the Enlightenment trajectories in modern philosophy beginning with Michel de Montaigne and Etienne de La Boëtie. It analyzes Spinoza's controversial place in the history of Jewish philosophy and the legacy of the Jewish Enlightenment philosophers. This chapter suggests the Jewish philosophers saw themselves as developing projects that would embrace Jewish tradition as an emancipatory and progressive force and contribute to the project of critically rethinking the problem of the universal claim of philosophy in the face of the particularity that defines the universal terms of the project of modernity.Less
This chapter examines the works of some of the most notable Jewish philosophers during the Enlightenment Period. It traces themes that unite and divide the projects of Baruch Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, and Salomon Maimon in the context of the Enlightenment trajectories in modern philosophy beginning with Michel de Montaigne and Etienne de La Boëtie. It analyzes Spinoza's controversial place in the history of Jewish philosophy and the legacy of the Jewish Enlightenment philosophers. This chapter suggests the Jewish philosophers saw themselves as developing projects that would embrace Jewish tradition as an emancipatory and progressive force and contribute to the project of critically rethinking the problem of the universal claim of philosophy in the face of the particularity that defines the universal terms of the project of modernity.
Roberta Rosenthal Kwall
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195373707
- eISBN:
- 9780190226589
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373707.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History, Comparative Law
A myth exists that Jews can embrace the cultural components of Judaism without appreciating the legal aspects of the Jewish tradition. This myth suggests that law and culture are independent of one ...
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A myth exists that Jews can embrace the cultural components of Judaism without appreciating the legal aspects of the Jewish tradition. This myth suggests that law and culture are independent of one another. In reality, however, much of Jewish culture has a basis in Jewish law. Similarly, Jewish law produces Jewish culture. A cultural analysis paradigm provides a useful way of understanding the Jewish tradition as the product of both legal precepts and cultural elements. This paradigm sees law and culture as inextricably intertwined and historically specific. This perspective also emphasizes the human element of law’s composition and the role of existing power dynamics in shaping Jewish law. In light of this inevitable intersection between culture and law, this book argues that Jewish culture is shallow unless it is grounded in Jewish law. It develops and applies a cultural analysis paradigm to the Jewish tradition that departs from the understanding of Jewish law solely as the embodiment of Divine command. Its paradigm explains why both law and culture must matter to those interested in forging meaningful Jewish identity and transmitting the tradition.Less
A myth exists that Jews can embrace the cultural components of Judaism without appreciating the legal aspects of the Jewish tradition. This myth suggests that law and culture are independent of one another. In reality, however, much of Jewish culture has a basis in Jewish law. Similarly, Jewish law produces Jewish culture. A cultural analysis paradigm provides a useful way of understanding the Jewish tradition as the product of both legal precepts and cultural elements. This paradigm sees law and culture as inextricably intertwined and historically specific. This perspective also emphasizes the human element of law’s composition and the role of existing power dynamics in shaping Jewish law. In light of this inevitable intersection between culture and law, this book argues that Jewish culture is shallow unless it is grounded in Jewish law. It develops and applies a cultural analysis paradigm to the Jewish tradition that departs from the understanding of Jewish law solely as the embodiment of Divine command. Its paradigm explains why both law and culture must matter to those interested in forging meaningful Jewish identity and transmitting the tradition.
Cass Fisher
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804776646
- eISBN:
- 9780804781008
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804776646.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book challenges the long-standing view that theology is not a vital part of the Jewish tradition. For political and philosophical reasons, both scholars of Judaism and Jewish thinkers have ...
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This book challenges the long-standing view that theology is not a vital part of the Jewish tradition. For political and philosophical reasons, both scholars of Judaism and Jewish thinkers have sought to minimize the role of theology in Judaism. This book constructs a new model for understanding Jewish theological language that emphasizes the central role of theological reflection in Judaism and the close relationship between theological reflection and religious practice in the Jewish tradition. Drawing on diverse philosophical resources, the book's model of Jewish theology embraces the multiple forms and functions of Jewish theological language. The book demonstrates the utility of this model by undertaking close readings of an early rabbinic commentary on the book of Exodus (Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael) and a work of modern philosophical theology (Franz Rosenzweig's The Star of Redemption). These readings advance the discussion of theology in rabbinics and modern Jewish thought and provide resources for constructive Jewish theology.Less
This book challenges the long-standing view that theology is not a vital part of the Jewish tradition. For political and philosophical reasons, both scholars of Judaism and Jewish thinkers have sought to minimize the role of theology in Judaism. This book constructs a new model for understanding Jewish theological language that emphasizes the central role of theological reflection in Judaism and the close relationship between theological reflection and religious practice in the Jewish tradition. Drawing on diverse philosophical resources, the book's model of Jewish theology embraces the multiple forms and functions of Jewish theological language. The book demonstrates the utility of this model by undertaking close readings of an early rabbinic commentary on the book of Exodus (Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael) and a work of modern philosophical theology (Franz Rosenzweig's The Star of Redemption). These readings advance the discussion of theology in rabbinics and modern Jewish thought and provide resources for constructive Jewish theology.
Larry Abbott Golemon
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780195314670
- eISBN:
- 9780197552872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195314670.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Judaism
The fourth chapter describes the rise of Jewish seminaries in America and their reconstruction of the tradition in the light of modern scholarship. Two traditions of schooling—one Reformed the other ...
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The fourth chapter describes the rise of Jewish seminaries in America and their reconstruction of the tradition in the light of modern scholarship. Two traditions of schooling—one Reformed the other Conservative—are explored. The founder of Hebrew Union College (HUC), Isaac Wise, developed a curriculum for a “progressive and enlightened” Judaism that could engage with American education and culture. Moses Mielziner prepared a widely used introduction to the Talmud that argued for the reasoned development of halakah (law) from a more historical reading of the Torah. HUC included reforms of the Siddur or prayer book, egalitarian synagogue life for men and women, and a view of an “American Zion” as the best hope for Jewry. Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) was founded by the Orthodox rabbi Sabato Morais to advance a unified, developmental understanding of Judaism according to the Breslau school in Germany. Under Solomon Schechter, JTS became one of the world centers of Wissenschaft des Judentums (or modern study of) as it mobilized rigorous text-critical scholarship, historical studies, and the Hebrew language to advance the Jewish tradition.Less
The fourth chapter describes the rise of Jewish seminaries in America and their reconstruction of the tradition in the light of modern scholarship. Two traditions of schooling—one Reformed the other Conservative—are explored. The founder of Hebrew Union College (HUC), Isaac Wise, developed a curriculum for a “progressive and enlightened” Judaism that could engage with American education and culture. Moses Mielziner prepared a widely used introduction to the Talmud that argued for the reasoned development of halakah (law) from a more historical reading of the Torah. HUC included reforms of the Siddur or prayer book, egalitarian synagogue life for men and women, and a view of an “American Zion” as the best hope for Jewry. Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) was founded by the Orthodox rabbi Sabato Morais to advance a unified, developmental understanding of Judaism according to the Breslau school in Germany. Under Solomon Schechter, JTS became one of the world centers of Wissenschaft des Judentums (or modern study of) as it mobilized rigorous text-critical scholarship, historical studies, and the Hebrew language to advance the Jewish tradition.
Yaacov Shavit
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774259
- eISBN:
- 9781800340879
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774259.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter focuses on how ‘Greek wisdom’ is treated in Jewish culture. It shows that the term ‘Greek wisdom’ had a long history, and the maskilim (men of letters and thinkers) turned to it to seek ...
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This chapter focuses on how ‘Greek wisdom’ is treated in Jewish culture. It shows that the term ‘Greek wisdom’ had a long history, and the maskilim (men of letters and thinkers) turned to it to seek support and legitimization for their views in the Jewish intellectual tradition. The term ‘wisdom’ was the main — perhaps even the only positive signal with which the Jews marked part of the Greek-Hellenistic culture, and the one with the longest and most consecutive history; it was generally identified with Greek wisdom. It meant the heritage and legacy of classical antiquity and Hellenism in philosophy, sciences, and the arts; it also symbolized a lost Jewish heritage and the proper relationship between the Jewish world and the world of the Gentiles. Moreover, wisdom became a multipurpose and multivalent concept that in the intellectual utopia of the maskilim was intended to serve as a bridge and intermediary between the Jewish intellectual tradition and the outside world.Less
This chapter focuses on how ‘Greek wisdom’ is treated in Jewish culture. It shows that the term ‘Greek wisdom’ had a long history, and the maskilim (men of letters and thinkers) turned to it to seek support and legitimization for their views in the Jewish intellectual tradition. The term ‘wisdom’ was the main — perhaps even the only positive signal with which the Jews marked part of the Greek-Hellenistic culture, and the one with the longest and most consecutive history; it was generally identified with Greek wisdom. It meant the heritage and legacy of classical antiquity and Hellenism in philosophy, sciences, and the arts; it also symbolized a lost Jewish heritage and the proper relationship between the Jewish world and the world of the Gentiles. Moreover, wisdom became a multipurpose and multivalent concept that in the intellectual utopia of the maskilim was intended to serve as a bridge and intermediary between the Jewish intellectual tradition and the outside world.
