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Since the late 1700s, when the Jewish community ceased to be a semiautonomous political unit in Western Europe and the United States and individual Jews became integrated—culturally, socially, and politically—into broader society, questions surrounding Jewish status and identity have occupied a prominent and contentious place in Jewish legal discourse. This book examines a wide array of legal opinions written by nineteenth- and twentieth-century orthodox rabbis in Europe, the United States, and Israel. It argues that these rabbis' divergent positions—based on the same legal precedents—demonstrate that they were doing more than delivering legal opinions. Instead, they were crafting public policy for Jewish society in response to Jews' social and political interactions as equals with the non-Jewish persons in whose midst they dwelled. Pledges of Jewish Allegiance prefaces its analysis of modern opinions with a discussion of the classical Jewish sources upon which they draw.
Internationally recognized scholar David Ellenson shares twenty-three of his most representative essays, drawing on three decades of scholarship and demonstrating the consistency of the intellectual-religious interests that have animated him throughout his lifetime. These essays center on a description and examination of the complex push and pull between Jewish tradition and Western culture. Ellenson addresses gender equality, women’s rights, conversion, issues relating to who is a Jew, the future of the rabbinate, Jewish day schools, and other emerging trends in American Jewish life. As an outspoken advocate for a strong Israel that is faithful to the democratic and Jewish values that informed its founders, he also writes about religious tolerance and pluralism in the Jewish state. The former president of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, the primary seminary of the Reform movement, Ellenson is widely respected for his vision of advancing Jewish unity and of preparing leadership for a contemporary Judaism that balances tradition with the demands of a changing world. Scholars and students of Jewish religious thought, ethics, and modern Jewish history will welcome this erudite collection by one of today’s great Jewish leaders.
Positions Revelation within an ancient Jewish context and demonstrates how the author used humor to resist Roman power.
From National Jewish Book Award Winner and author of Israel, a bold reevaluation of the tensions between American and Israeli Jews that reimagines the past, present, and future of Jewish life Relations between the American Jewish community and Israel are at an all-time nadir. Since Israel’s founding seventy years ago, particularly as memory of the Holocaust and of Israel’s early vulnerability has receded, the divide has grown only wider. Most explanations pin the blame on Israel’s handling of its conflict with the Palestinians, Israel’s attitude toward non-Orthodox Judaism, and Israel’s dismissive attitude toward American Jews in general. In short, the cause for the rupture is not what Israel is; it’s what Israel does. These explanations tell only half the story. We Stand Divided examines the history of the troubled relationship, showing that from the outset, the founders of what are now the world’s two largest Jewish communities were responding to different threats and opportunities, and had very different ideas of how to guarantee a Jewish future. With an even hand, Daniel Gordis takes us beyond the headlines and explains how Israel and America have fundamentally different ideas about issues ranging from democracy and history to religion and identity. He argues that as a first step to healing the breach, the two communities must acknowledge and discuss their profound differences and moral commitments. Only then can they forge a path forward, together.
Can the teachings of Judaism provide a sacred framework for repairing the world? In this groundbreaking volume, leading rabbis, intellectuals, and activists explore the relationship between Judaism and social justice, drawing on ancient and modern sources of wisdom. The contributors argue that American Jewry must move beyond “mitzvah days” and other occasional service programs, and dedicate itself to systemic change in the United States, Israel, and throughout the world. These provocative essays concentrate on specific justice issues such as eradicating war, global warming, health care, gay rights and domestic violence, offering practical ways to transform theory into practice, and ideas into advocacy. Rich and passionate, these expressions will inspire you to consider your obligations as a Jew, as an American and as a global citizen, while challenging you to take thoughtful and effective action in the world. Contributors: Martha Ackelsberg, PhD • Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, PhD • Diane Balser, PhD • Jeremy Benstein, PhD • Rabbi Phyllis Berman • Ellen Bernstein • Marla Brettschneider, PhD • Rabbi Sharon Brous • Aryeh Cohen, PhD • Stephen P. Cohen, PhD • Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, PhD • Aaron Dorfman • Jacob Feinspan • Rabbi Marla Feldman • Sandra M. Fox, LCSW • Julia Greenberg • Mark Hanis • Rabbi Jill Jacobs • Rabbi Jane Kanarek, PhD • Rabbi Elliot Rose Kukla • Joshua Seth Ladon • Arieh Lebowitz • Rabbi Michael Lerner, PhD • Shaul Magid, PhD • Rabbi Natan Margalit, PhD • Ruth Messinger • Jay Michaelson • Rabbi Micha Odenheimer • Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner • Judith Plaskow, PhD • Judith Rosenbaum, PhD • April Rosenblum • Adam Rubin, PhD • Danya Ruttenberg • Rabbi David Saperstein • Joel Schalit • Rabbi Sidney Schwarz, PhD • Martin I. Seltman, MD • Dara Silverman • Daniel Sokatch • Shana Starobin • Naomi Tucker • Abigail Uhrman • Rabbi Arthur Waskow, PhD • Rabbi Melissa Weintraub
A historical tour de force that demolishes the myths and taboos that have surrounded Jewish and Israeli history, The Invention of the Jewish People offers a new account of both that demands to be read and reckoned with. Was there really a forced exile in the first century, at the hands of the Romans? Should we regard the Jewish people, throughout two millennia, as both a distinct ethnic group and a putative nation—returned at last to its Biblical homeland? Shlomo Sand argues that most Jews actually descend from converts, whose native lands were scattered far across the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The formation of a Jewish people and then a Jewish nation out of these disparate groups could only take place under the sway of a new historiography, developing in response to the rise of nationalism throughout Europe. Beneath the biblical back fill of the nineteenth-century historians, and the twentieth-century intellectuals who replaced rabbis as the architects of Jewish identity, The Invention of the Jewish People uncovers a new narrative of Israel’s formation, and proposes a bold analysis of nationalism that accounts for the old myths. After a long stay on Israel’s bestseller list, and winning the coveted Aujourd’hui Award in France, The Invention of the Jewish People is finally available in English. The central importance of the conflict in the Middle East ensures that Sand’s arguments will reverberate well beyond the historians and politicians that he takes to task. Without an adequate understanding of Israel’s past, capable of superseding today’s opposing views, diplomatic solutions are likely to remain elusive. In this iconoclastic work of history, Shlomo Sand provides the intellectual foundations for a new vision of Israel’s future.
With the simultaneous rise of New Atheism and popularity of fundamentalist movements, a rational, open-minded debate on the role of religion today is sorely needed. Why Faith Matters is an excellent start – an articulate, nondenominational defense of established religion in America by the man Newsweek named the #1 Pulpit Rabbi in America. David J. Wolpe makes a strong case in favor of faith, replacing both the cold reason of atheism and the virulent hatred of fanaticism with a vision of religion that is informed by faith, love, and understanding. He explores the origins and nature of faith, the role of the Bible in modern life, and the compatibility of God and science. Why Faith Matters shows that there is still a place for God, faith, and religion in today’s world. Named the #1 Pulpit Rabbi in America by Newsweek, David J. Wolpe is a senior rabbi at the Sinai Temple of Los Angeles and a teacher at UCLA. Rabbi Wolpe writes for many publications, including New York Jewish Week, Jerusalem Post, Los Angeles Times, and Beliefnet.com. He has appeared as a commentator on CNN and “CBS This Morning”, and has been featured on the History Channel’s “Mysteries of the Bible.” He is the author of six previous books, including the national bestseller Making Loss Matter: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times. Rabbi Wolpe lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. “A reasoned argument and spiritual autobiography. Rabbi Wolpe is a graceful writer, an insightful thinker, and a wide reader.” – Jewish Week
Covenant and the Jewish Conversion Question reevaluates conversion and Jewish identity through the lens of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s dual conception of the Covenants of Fate and Destiny. By studying an array of key rabbinic texts through this lens, the book explores the boundaries and interplay between these biblical covenants through apostasy, holiness and the key elements relating to conversion law. This understanding provides a relevant framing device to deal with the conversion and Jewish identity crises faced in the State of Israel and beyond.
The prohibition against pigs is one of the most powerful symbols of Jewish culture and collective memory. Outlawed Pigs explores how the historical sensitivity of Jews to the pig prohibition was incorporated into Israeli law and culture. Daphne Barak-Erez specifically traces the course of two laws, one that authorized municipalities to ban the possession and trading in pork within their jurisdiction and another law that forbids pig breeding throughout Israel, except for areas populated mainly by Christians. Her analysis offers a comprehensive, decade-by-decade discussion of the overall relationship between law and culture since the inception of the Israeli nation-state. By examining ever-fluctuating Israeli popular opinion on Israel's two laws outlawing the trade and possession of pigs, Barak-Erez finds an interesting and accessible way to explore the complex interplay of law, religion, and culture in modern Israel, and more specifically a microcosm for the larger question of which lies more at the foundation of Israeli state law: religion or cultural tradition.