Maimonides

“It is in accordance…with basic principles of liberty and self-determination, and by allowing a dying person to satisfy his or her own values without posing serious harms to others, it satisfies the requirements of consequentialist, utilitarian moral systems” (Battin, nd). Many people with a terminal illness are dealing with unspeakable suffering, and can do nothing but attempt to control their pain. People want to live a life of dignity and die with dignity. People go through their lives living…

Foundation - Judaism was founded in the ancient region of Canaan, which is the biblical name for the land that lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The area is modern day Israel and Palestinian territories. Abraham is regarded by the Jewish people as the father of the religion. They believe that God spoke to Abraham, and told him that he would be the leader of a great people, but only if Abraham followed God’s instructions. Moses was a biblical figure who led the Jews out of…

Throughout history, Judaism existed as a small group of people, constantly under pressure and influence of larger cultures. We learned how massive empires and nations including Babylonia, Rome, and Greece influenced the Jewish religion and culture until it evolved into current day Judism. As time progressed, a massive shift from Judaism being influenced by other nations to Judaism being altered by popular monotheistic religions. Ironically, these monotheistic religions were rooted in Judaism.…

Defining Statesmanship When assigned the task of defining statesmanship, one may attempt to use Occam's razor. All things being equal, the simplest solution is usually the best one. According to the Blackwell Dictionary of Political Science, the definition of statesmen simply states "see politician". This leads to two conclusions: First, Occam's razor is not always correct. Secondly, Blackwell's accuracy is questionable, at best. Statesmanship is said to be a “tricky, elusive matter-hard to…

Followers of the Jewish faith follow thirteen main principles, the first one being the belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists. Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel describes throughout his memoir Night his curiosity and profound belief of God and Judaism. Before he and his family are deported to Auschwitz, Wiesel explains the disbelief and doubt the Jewish people had about the…

The Spanish Reconquista The history of Spain is a tale of both the blending and the clashing of cultures. When Muslims, Jews, and Christians could maintain peace, Spanish culture would exceed that of all the rest of Europe. When persecution and strife broke out, wars that amounted to crusades were the result. Ultimately Spain was united as a nation under triumphant Christian monarchs whose exploits went beyond anything medieval Europeans could even imagine. The result was the foundation of…

The Ignorance and Arrogance of Rabbi Avi Shafran I was not surprised by the vile views expressed by Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman for Agudath Israel of America. I was surprised that he decided at this most sensitive time to publically blame Jews for the crime of trying to pray on the Temple Mount. There is no doubt that such an attitude both legitimizes and strengthens Arab violence with a rabbinic stamp of approval! In my eyes, Shafran’s comments border on the criminal and he should be…

Build on What You Know Have you ever read a book or seen a movie that changed the way you look at things? In this chapter, you will learn how new ideas and discoveries helped to change the way people in Europe viewed the world. Classical Science ESSENTIAL QUESTION How did classical ideas about astronomy, mathematics, and medicine shape European thought? Between 600 B.C. and A.D. 200, Greek scientists developed many ideas on how the world worked. They used an approach called rationalism. In this…

School Uniforms: Friend or Foe ? Discussions abound about the direction in which our school systems are leading our children and if they are truly providing what is best for them. Countless debates can be found ranging from what to include in school lunches, to what types of drinks can be found in vending machines, to the variety of extracurricular activities that should be offered, to what books should be taught, to what types of assessments should be used to truly gauge student learning.…

Terms are not innocent, objective tools, but often carry within them assumptions of older scholarship. Since the answer to any question already lies, to a certain degree, within the question itself, the conclusions we give birth to become the offspring of the language we use. Terminology is pregnant with meaning often unnoticed in the analytical process, which it nevertheless controls from within. Rethinking the way we speak may therefore result in the discovery of new landscapes. A cursory…