Halakha

Jewish education has the goal to make a contribution to modern times by making tradition applicable. For Kaplan, it is not enough to blindly accept the culture in which we live, rather we must question and evolve. To evolve with our values is not to say that the values themselves are changing in their essential meaning. Evolving with our values specifically points to the idea that we must have an eternal concern with relating our understanding of our values with the values of society, and…

“Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.” (W. Somerset Maugham) This quote demonstrates that tradition can be changed, similar to the way Hasidism changed traditional Judaism. Hasidism began in Southeast Poland-Lithuania and sparked a revolution in Judaism. The breakup of Judaism paired with the lack of trust in Jewish leaders, lead Hasidism to form and pave a new way for Judaism. Kabbalah, Mass enthusiasm and ecstasy acted as the foundation for the movement and fear of separatism lead many…

On an asphalt baseball field in Brooklyn, two teams from local Yeshivah schools meet. At first, it just seems like a baseball game between two Jewish high school teams. But the game quickly turns into a holy war when the caftan and ear lock wearing Hasidic team begins to taunt and bully the less conservative “hell-bound sinners” on the other team. Hate boils as Danny Saunders, the leader of the Hasidic team, purposely hits a pitch right back at the pitcher, crushing his glasses and landing him…

Susana Pinkhasova Religious studies 103 May 19, 2016 Why is the compilation of the Mishna an important moment, and how does it mark the origin of rabbinic Judaism? In your answer refer to the following verse and explain its relevance to the moment in question: “It is a time to act for the Lord, they have violated Your teaching” (Psalms 119:126). The compilation of the Mishnah is an important moment because it would ensure that the chain of transmission would never be broken. The oral torah…

Outline the issues that Cohen and Wertheimer claim contribute to the Jewish Community’s continuity challenge. Cohen and Wetheimer claim intermarriage, lowered birth rates, and decreased social interactions between Jews are responsible for decreasing involvement in Jewish activities and in the Jewish community. While a high number of people identify as Jews, few have a strong connection to the religion or culture, belong to any Jewish communities, or do many mitzvot or rituals. The authors also…

Ruchel Dwajra Zylska; A quite, week, scared, lost, indivisual coming from an orthodox jewish family. A family that has shunned her and pronouced her dead for following her heart and being with a black man, to being sexual molistation by her own father at a young, age to almost going into prosotution, transforms into Ruth McBride a reborn Christian,stong, brave, independent loving single mother of 12. Rasing them almost all on her own and having them all go to colledge and have them later become…

As a conservative Jewish teenager growing up in a Jewish community, it should have been easy: It should have been easy finding a place to belong among the Jewish youth like myself. It should have been simple wearing pants in the summer because the only summer camp that was available at late notice was an orthodox summer camp and it (would) not be a sign of disrespectful for me to show anything above my ankles. It should have been easy, going to Hebrew School every Tuesday and Sunday to learn…

The essay written by Yehouda Shenhav on issues pertaining to the Zionistic movement has addressed the idea that the Zionistic movement has been defined by its combination of Nationalization and Religion. This is important in the case of how the members of the Zionist movement have hybridized these two aspects together in the name of spreading the movements ideas, while at the same time justifying the movement with religious text yet proclaiming the movement as being secular. This unique…

A little history and the differences according to Molloy, on Reform and Orthodox Judaism. Traditional Judaism started off as every religion did congregating together worshiping their religion. Then came the Reform Judaism religion that veered off the traditional path. “An early influence on this movement was Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786), a major thinker and writer. Mendelssohn although he was not a Reform Jew, helped shape Reform and Orthodox Judaism” (Molloy, 2010. P. 335). The bases of…

In class I learned about how the Jews were the “chosen” people of God. They were a special group of people who lived in a very exclusive and close-knit community and learning about Kashrut has just restated the same idea. Eating is something that one does every day every week. Whenever they are eating food Jewish people are reminded by the Kashrut that they are the chosen people of God (My Jewish Learning “Kashrut 101”). Being Jewish makes one enter an exclusive group of people. Eating out at a…