Halakha

Chaim Potok, born February 17, 1929, was a Jewish Rabbi and author. After his Jewish education and rabbinic ordination, Potok graduated with a phd in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. Shortly afterward, he published his first book, The Chosen. In the Chosen, Chaim Potok uses setting and its description to emphasize the character’s change and growth, symbolism to convey to the reader Danny’s difficult upbringing, and in the end expresses the motivation behind such a method of…

In Chaim Potok’s novel, The Chosen, a reader is shown three significant events that affect the friendship of Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter. The first event that affects Danny and Reuven’s relationship is the conversation that Danny and Reuven have in the hospital after the baseball game in chapter one. The second event is when Reb Saunders places a communication ban between Reuven and Danny. The third event is when Danny, Reuven, and Reb Saunders meet to discuss Danny’s future. The first…

Judaism and Islam both have dietary rules. Many Jewish people keep a Kosher home and follow the dietary rules outlined in the Torah. Certain food such as pork and shellfish are not allowed to be eaten, the mixing of meat and dairy products is also not allowed, and animals must be slaughtered according to special rules. Strict Jews that practice Kosher today will often have two sets of dishes, utensils and cooking pans, two different refrigerators , and two preparation areas to ensure dairy and…

In year ca. 1160 Rabbi Benjamin, son of Jonah, started off on his journey from his native city of Saragossa, Spain and then travelled through many cities in what is now known as Asia, Europe and Africa. This travelogue was first written in Hebrew by Benjamin but was then much later translated and complied by Marcus Nathan Adler. Benjamin documented his travels through explanation of the people, geographical nature, culture and the existence of the Jewish populations. He was connected to his…

The Chosen is a film many people can benefit from watching, as we are given a detailed view of a day in the life of Hasidic- Orthodox and Conservative-Zionist Jews. Observing their day to day lifestyle give us an understanding of their culture and traditions. We see many differences from these two religions, from their dress codes to their very core belief. In the film two young boys, Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter, become unexpected friends through a common passion of baseball. Both boys live…

“The Holocaust refers to the period from 1933 to 1945. Jews were subjected to progressively harsher persecution that led to the murder of 6,000,000 Jews (1.5 million of these being children). These deaths represented two-thirds of European Jewry and one-third of all world Jewry” (The Holocaust). Although one would believe that the Jewish faith would have harsh ethical standards regarding abortion due to the devastation that diminished their population, this paper reveals that the religion does…

The Pinch: A Tale of Jewish Self-Determination Steve Stern weaves a mystical-historical tale of “The Pinch”, a small area in the north of downtown Memphis populated by Jews. Stories within the story, a theme begins to rise: although life may appear as preordained or on a certain trajectory, one can chart another course. It is the theme of self-determination. Subsequently, as a reader of Steve Stern’s book, one is taken back and forth in time and given detailed background stories about…

Cohen and Wertheimer claim that the main issues contributing to the challenges of Jewish continuity are intermarriage, falling birthrates, and the differences between the Jewish denominations. According to the Pew survey, around 2,100,000 American people who are of a Jewish parent who has intermarried do not identify as Jewish. Another issue is the falling birthrates. A major component of this is the fact that any people are “coupling off” during or after prime childbearing years. For…

How Will We Live Impressions and judgement of people we don’t even know are fairly common. We might hear a rumor about someone, or just hear of someone’s actions. Judgement is very common, and it prevents many relationships. Whether it’s someone race, religion, hobbies or interest we form our opinions about that person, but we do not truly know that person. Throughout first year seminar judgement was found in a lot of the texts we read. Judgement was found early in the course when we discussed…

Section A 1. A) Define the term religion in such a way that your definition includes the following characteristics: deity, community/congregation, morality, ritual. B) Some people argue that the world would be better off without religion. Others think that religion is very useful to society. Which view do you agree with and why? Religion is a system of beliefs driven by the feeling that some questions can only be answered by faith; for instances, questions such as where did we come from? and…