Jewry between Tradition and Secularism

Jewry between Tradition and Secularism PDF Author: Eliezer Ben-Rafael
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047409647
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Are Jews today still the carriers of a single and identical collective identity and do they still constitute a single people? This two-fold question arises when one compares a Hassidi Habad from Brooklyn, a Jewish professor at a secular university in Brussels, a traditional Yemeni Jew still living in Sana’a, a Galilee kibbutznik, or a Russian Jew in Novossibirsk. Is there still today a significant relationship between these individuals who all subscribe to Judaism? The analysis shows that the Jewish identity is multiple and can be explained by considering all variants as “surface structures” of the three universal “deep structures” central to the notion of collective identity, namely, collective commitment, perceptions of the collective’s singularity, and positioning vis-à-vis “others.”

Jewry between Tradition and Secularism

Jewry between Tradition and Secularism PDF Author: Eliezer Ben-Rafael
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047409647
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
Are Jews today still the carriers of a single and identical collective identity and do they still constitute a single people? This two-fold question arises when one compares a Hassidi Habad from Brooklyn, a Jewish professor at a secular university in Brussels, a traditional Yemeni Jew still living in Sana’a, a Galilee kibbutznik, or a Russian Jew in Novossibirsk. Is there still today a significant relationship between these individuals who all subscribe to Judaism? The analysis shows that the Jewish identity is multiple and can be explained by considering all variants as “surface structures” of the three universal “deep structures” central to the notion of collective identity, namely, collective commitment, perceptions of the collective’s singularity, and positioning vis-à-vis “others.”

Not in the Heavens

Not in the Heavens PDF Author: David Biale
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691168040
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Not in the Heavens traces the rise of Jewish secularism through the visionary writers and thinkers who led its development. Spanning the rich history of Judaism from the Bible to today, David Biale shows how the secular tradition these visionaries created is a uniquely Jewish one, and how the emergence of Jewish secularism was not merely a response to modernity but arose from forces long at play within Judaism itself. Biale explores how ancient Hebrew books like Job, Song of Songs, and Esther downplay or even exclude God altogether, and how Spinoza, inspired by medieval Jewish philosophy, recast the biblical God in the role of nature and stripped the Torah of its revelatory status to instead read scripture as a historical and cultural text. Biale examines the influential Jewish thinkers who followed in Spinoza's secularizing footsteps, such as Salomon Maimon, Heinrich Heine, Sigmund Freud, and Albert Einstein. He tells the stories of those who also took their cues from medieval Jewish mysticism in their revolts against tradition, including Hayim Nahman Bialik, Gershom Scholem, and Franz Kafka. And he looks at Zionists like David Ben-Gurion and other secular political thinkers who recast Israel and the Bible in modern terms of race, nationalism, and the state. Not in the Heavens demonstrates how these many Jewish paths to secularism were dependent, in complex and paradoxical ways, on the very religious traditions they were rejecting, and examines the legacy and meaning of Jewish secularism today.

Jewish Secularity

Jewish Secularity PDF Author: David M. Gordis
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 0761857931
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
A growing number of Jews identify themselves as secular or "somewhat secular." Is this expansive definition of Jewishness a new phenomenon? What are its roots? This insightful book provides an overview of a profound development in the evolving history of Jewish life in America.

A Provocative People

A Provocative People PDF Author: Sherwin T. Wine
Publisher: IISHJ-NA
ISBN: 0985151609
Category : Jews
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description


Secular Judaism

Secular Judaism PDF Author: Yaakov Malkin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
The majority of Jews throughout the world are secular. However, few can define their secular beliefs. Secular Judaism: Faith, Values, and Spirituality attempts to articulate these beliefs and the practice of Secular Judaism. It discusses Secular Humanist values, Judaism as Culture and examines Judaism as both a religion and a "nation". It also raises the "Who is a Jew?" issue and presents the Bible as source of collective memory and the foundation of Jewish culture and civilization, going on to examine classic texts and the secular view on "God as Literary Hero." The idea of pluralism as being not merely desirable, but as having existed in accord with ancient life and tradition is dealt with and the Talmudic mechanisms of debate and implied democratic values are described. Finally the difference between pluralism and relativism and the danger of the latter is discussed together with a secular humanistic perspective on the need for "spirituality," with emphasis on community and principles of education. Secular Judaism proposes an orientation and guidelines for a curriculum in "Judaism as Culture" studies and deals with both theoretical issues and practical experiences of secular Jewish communities.

The End of Jewish Secularism

The End of Jewish Secularism PDF Author: Irving Howe
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Jews
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description


Secularism and Religion in Jewish-Israeli Politics

Secularism and Religion in Jewish-Israeli Politics PDF Author: Yaacov Yadgar
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136939938
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Offering a fresh approach to the study of contemporary Jewish identity, the author explores the implications of this identity from the perspective of traditionism, covering issues of religion, tradition, modernity and secularisation within Jewish Israeli society and politics.

God-Optional Judaism

God-Optional Judaism PDF Author: Judith Seid
Publisher: Citadel Press
ISBN: 9780806521909
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Here is a handbook for Jews looking for creative & meaningful new ways to express their own ways of being Jewish. The book discusses the historical evolution of the Jewish religion and takes up the question of what it means to be a 'cultural Jew'. God-optional Judaism provides alternative, nontheistic ways to celebrate every Jewish holiday and all the rites of passage in life, including baby naming ceremonies, bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings and funerals

Festivals, Folklore & Philosophy

Festivals, Folklore & Philosophy PDF Author: Max Rosenfeld
Publisher: Sholom Aleichem Club Press
ISBN:
Category : Fasts and feasts
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description


Radical Poetics and Secular Jewish Culture

Radical Poetics and Secular Jewish Culture PDF Author: Stephen Paul Miller
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817355634
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 474

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Book Description
This collection of essays is the first to address this often obscured dimension of modern and contemporary poetry: the secular Jewish dimension. Editors Daniel Morris and Stephen Paul Miller asked their contributors to address what constitutes radical poetry written by Jews defined as "secular," and whether or not there is a Jewish component or dimension to radical and modernist poetic practice in general. These poets and critics address these questions by exploring the legacy of those poets who preceded and influenced them--Stein, Zukofsky, Reznikoff, Oppen, and Ginsberg, among others.