Jewish Elders Research Articles

Colonial Justice and the Jews of Venetian Crete. By Rena N. Lauer (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019) 292 pp. $69.95

<i>Colonial Justice and the Jews of Venetian Crete</i>. By Rena N. Lauer (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019) 292 pp. $69.95

The seventy-two elders of Aristeas: An evaluation of speculation

The Letter of Aristeas recounts the translation of the Jewish Law into Greek by seventy-two Jewish elders. That number of elders (seventy-two) has been the subject of considerable discussion, and several competing explanations for the origin of the number have been proposed. Some scholars claim the number is derived from Hellenistic (specifically grammatical or arithmological) traditions, whereas others see precedent for the number seventy-two in the details of Exod 24 or Num 11. This paper evaluates several such hypotheses (most of them relatively recent), showing most to be speculative and lacking explanatory power. Rejecting such hypotheses, this paper argues that the number seventy-two emerges from a compromise between two of Pseudo-Aristeas’s interests—a hypothesis rendered all the more plausible by its appearance in Epiphanius. All this justifies an appeal for scholars to exercise both diligence and restraint regarding Jewish and Christian engagement with exodus traditions.

Factors that bring meaning to mementos created by elders

ABSTRACTObjectives: Reminiscing activity groups are commonly seen in various elder care settings This study addresses the impact of reminiscence activity groups, specifically a program where group members create their own mementos, on healthy Jewish elders’ sense of satisfaction and meaning. In particular, this research focused on the specific factors involved in creating the mementos themselves.Method: In this mixed methods study, occupational therapy graduate students synthesized relevant aspects of commonly used activity analysis forms into a matrix to analyze the activities. From a pool of 30 activities, students chose seven representing many factors and levels of complexity. With a matrix composed of a Likert scale and open-ended questions, students and Jewish elders explored the elders’ perceptions of factors significantly related to their experiences when creating the seven mementos.Results: Memento-making was most satisfying when elders were replicated in some way, such as with hand casting. Least satisfying activities were those that could lead to talents being appraised, such as painted self-portraits. Unanticipated factors such as social participation and educating others appeared to be as important as making the mementos themselves.Conclusion: While the research questions were partially answered, factors such as meaning and creativity were difficult constructs to measure because they lacked clear definitions. However, this preliminary exploration supports the concept that the use of an activity analysis matrix can enable activities directors and occupational therapists to systematically ascertain which factors positively impact well-being and social participation to meet the unique needs of aging client populations.

Is Elder Abuse and Neglect a Social Phenomenon? Data from the First National Prevalence Survey in Israel

This article discusses findings from the First National Survey on Elder Abuse and Neglect in Israel, conducted during 2004–2005 under the sponsorship of The Association for Planning and Development of Services for the Aged in Israel (ESHEL) and the National Insurance Institute. The goals were to examine the prevalence and severity of various forms of abuse and neglect from the victims' perspective, to examine correlates and predictors, and to develop profiles of elders at risk. Data were collected through personal interviews from a national representative sample of community urban dwellers age 65 and older, using cluster sampling techniques and sampling proportionately both Arab and Jewish elders. The sample was composed of 392 males and 650 females, 89% were Jews and 11% were non-Jews. The instrument included sociodemographic data, health and activities of daily living (ADL), a measure of safety, and a battery to examine seven types of abuse (physical, emotional, verbal, limitation of freedom, financial exploitation, sexual, and neglect). Findings indicate that 18.4% of the respondents were exposed to at least one type of abuse during the 12 months preceding the interview, the highest form being verbal abuse followed by financial exploitation. The rates were quite similar between Jews and Arabs. Women were more exposed to physical violence and Arab women were the most vulnerable. Physical, emotional, verbal, limitation of freedom, and sexual abuse occurred mostly among partners. The rates of physical, sexual, and limitation of freedom abuse, however, were relatively low. Financial exploitation was mostly inflicted by adult children. Partners as perpetrators had more chronic health problems and physical and mental disabilities. Children as perpetrators were unemployed, had various mental health problems, and were substance abusers, often in a process of separation or divorce and tended to live with the victims. Neglect in answering primary needs was found among 20% of the sample, regarding the 3 months preceding the interview. This high rate might be related to elders tending to avoid seeking help or sharing their needs with their families. When victims sought help it was mostly from medical and health services. The findings thus corroborate that elder abuse and neglect is a social problem in Israeli society and has to be addressed in policy discourse and service developments.

Jewish and Christian Elites in Frankfurt: Power and Control in an Early Modern German City

Two crucial events took place in the history of Frankfurt Jewry in the early seventeenth century. The first was the Fettmilch Uprising, a rebellion of the guilds, directed against the patrician government, which also led to a temporary expulsion of the Jews. The second was an internal revolt inside the Judengasse in the years following the return of the Jews. It was directed against the Jewish elders who governed the Jewry in nearly the same absolutist manner as the city council ruled the city at large. Both movements, aiming for political participation, Med because they provoked the intervention of superior powers, the emperor and the city council. Both were interested in maintaining public order and the status quo.

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens

Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything Christopher Hitchens. New York: Twelve/Hachette Book Group USA, 2007. There is most certainly demonstrable market these days for books concerning religion and its excesses and its discontents, especially books about jihadists and Moslem terrorists in paranoid America fraught with fear; so it is not at all so surprising maverick journalist Christopher Hitchens might risk possible fatwa against himself by using title proclaims God Is Not contrary to what terrorist might declare before immolating himself to praise his Creator of choice. Hitchens comes not to praise Him but to bury Him. So, is an act of courage, or simply insanity? At very least, Hitchens earns points for courage. Hitchens is an iconoclast who attempts to knock Mother Teresa off her canonical pedestal (see, e.g., 45-48) after having already attacked Henry Kissinger as war criminal in another nasty little book. More recently, he even took on Harry Potter, beloved of all devoted little readers; but if even is not great, can Rawling's junior wizard hope to come out much better? Christopher Hitchens is flip-flopping champ among journalist who have worked both sides of political street-now you see him in pages of The Nation, now you do not-but he certainly knows how to get attention, like chimp at zoo, who throws pooh at you to get your attention and rile you up. He is an in-your-face provocateur, as likely to insult as to inform. Some will read him because they will be amused by his reckless invective. I recently approached Stephen Prothero's Religious Literacy as an optimistic agnostic, hoping to be illuminated, and I was not disappointed. I lowered my expectations for Is Not Great, however, since Hitchens is more bare-knuckled polemical street fighter, not scholar given to illuminating manuscripts. An accomplished sophist possessed of rhetorical tricks, Hitchens is master of outrageous opinions, as when, for example, he refers (110) to The Passion of Christ as a soap-opera film about death of Jesus ... produced by an Australian fascist and ham actor named MeI Gibson. Readers of this book may also expect to find violations of taste, as when Hitchens writers of Church of Rome (41) befouled by its complicity with unpardonable sin of child rape, or, as it might be phrased in Latin form, 'no child's behind left.' In this instance both sense and syntax are strained for shameless cynical humor. Understandably, some Roman Catholics may not exactly find it hilarious. Others may be outraged. Perhaps to book's advantage, bile is somewhat balanced. Catholics and Jews both become objects of ridicule, as when (on 111) Hitchens gives Jewish perspective on Crucifixion, when he cites Maimonides as describing the punishment of detestable Nasarene heretic as one of greatest achievements of Jewish elders, insisting that name Jesus never be mentioned except when accompanied by curse, and announcing that his punishment was to be boiled in excrement for all eternity, then exclaims: What good Catholic Maimonides would have made! …

The Sydney Holocaust study: Posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychosocial morbidity in an aged community sample

We investigated the psychological status and social functioning of Holocaust survivors. From 814 responses to a community survey of Jewish elders (aged 60 years or older), survivors (n = 100), refugees who had not experienced the Holocaust (n = 50), and Australian/English-born persons (n = 50), were randomly selected for semistructured interview, which included Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) assessment, ratings on the General Health Questionnaire, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Impact of Event Scale, Mini-Mental Status Examination, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Social Functioning. On all psychological measures, survivors were functioning worse than refugees and Australian/English-born persons. The 3 groups were similar in social and instrumental functioning. The more severe the trauma the greater the level of psychological morbidity. Despite normal social and daily functioning, psychological morbidity following massive trauma endures.

Promoting Peace Through Intergenerational Tourism

This article advocates the concept of intergenerational tourism as a means of promoting peace, and provides a specific example of this concept put into practice. During the spring 1998 semester, Israel Arab and Jewish elders, together with Jewish and Arab college students, and Arab girls aged 12 and 13 joined together to participate in a programme of recreational activities which included a variety of games and other activities. Pre-test questionnaires were administered to control and experimental groups in February, and again in June. The results of the research indicate that the programme had a significantly positive effect on the attitudes of Arabs and Jews towards each other. The Jewish elders in the programme displayed a significant readiness to invite Arabs to their home, and decrease in hatred towards Arabs. The attitudes of the Arab elders toward Jews also showed lower hatred towards Jews. This study provides evidence that a programme of ‘intergenerational tourism’ of this nature can indeed have positive effects on attitudes of one group toward another, thereby helping to promote peaceful relations.

A FOLLOW UP STUDY TO PEACE-MAKING: THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF INTERGENERATIONAL RECREATION PROGRAMS ON THE ATTITUDES OF ISRAELI ARABS AND JEWS

Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine whether positive outcomes of intergenerational recreation programs have had lasting effects from one conducted a year earlier. Attitudes between Israeli Arabs and Jews towards each other were compared. Data were derived from questionnaires that focused on hosting in the home, acceptability of being neighbours, and attitudes towards friendship, trust and hate. It was found that intergenerational activities conducted a year earlier had enduring positive impacts on the attitudes of Israeli Arabs and Jewish elders towards each other. In experimental/control comparisons, the data indicated that the experimental group had statistically significant more positive attitudes than the control group. It was concluded that intergenerational recreation is an excellent means of fostering positive attitude change and better relations between Israeli Arabs and Jews.

Biblical Motifs in Chingiz Aitmatov’s The Placeof the Skull

The 1968 publication of Chingiz Aitmatov's Plakha (The Place of the Skull, in Natasha Ward's translation) created a heated discussion around the controversial topics of drug smuggling and ecology, the author's choice of a pair of wolves and a former seminarian as the main protagonists, and the complex juxtaposition of three separate story lines in one novel.l One of the most controversial questions proved to be Aitmatov's introduction of Biblical materials into the otherwise contemporary plot, and its significance for the novel's philosophical and ethical interpretation. In assessing the role of Biblical references in The Place of the Skull, the critics reproached Aitmatov for his arbitrary treatment of the Bible. Vadim Kozhinov admonished the author for his distortion of the Biblical story of Pilate's interrogation of Jesus, his incorrect portrayal of Pilate as the chief culprit, and his depiction of Jesus as a liberal humanist strongly opposed to the Roman Empire.2 Similarly, Igor Zolotussk admonished Aitmatov for his oversimplification of the Biblical narrative of Pilate and Jesus, which Aitmatov presented as a polemic on the question of power and authority versus individual free will. He was also criticized for his depiction of Christ as a social revolutionary, who questioned the authority of the state, while defending the interests of the poor and the oppressed.3 The sharpest censure of Aitmatov's treatment of the Bible came from Sergo Lominadze, who accused the writer of misrepresentation of Biblical ideas, and the debasement of Christian teaching, particularly with regards to his rejection of the idea of the Last Judgment.4 The second major criticism of Aitmatov's treatment of the Biblical material was directed towards the striking similarity between The Place of the Skull and Mikhail Bulgakov's Master i Margarita. Lev Anninsk considered the Biblical episode in The Place of the Skull a paraphrase of the same story in The Master and Margarita,5 while Natalia Ivanova criticized Aitmatov for placing the figures in exactly the same positions as did Bulgakov fifty years earlier.6 And Sergei Averintsev reproached Aitmatov for following too closely Bulgakov's approach to Jesus as a historical figure, a tradition which, according to the critic, has been exhausted in Russian literature by The Master and Margarita.7 The criticism of Aitmatov's dependence on Bulgakov and its purported distortion of the Biblical story of Jesus and Pilate was carried out in a polemical fashion, without substantial analysis of the questions concerned.8 The purpose of this article is to examine these questions closely by juxtaposing Aitmatov's Biblical story with the New Testament and Bulgakov in order to identify both similarities and differences. More importantly, the article will also examine the links between the Biblical story and the rest of the narrative, and assess the role Biblical references play in a novel dealing with contemporary issues.9 The Biblical motifs are introduced into The Place of the Skull both in overt and covert forms. The most obvious instance is the embedded story of Pilate's interrogation of Jesus, inserted into the subplot that deals with Avd Kalistratov's attempts to change the world into his Christian ideals. The embedded story appears as Avd's delirium, following his confrontation with drug smugglers who throw him from a moving train. Lying semi-conscious by the railroad tracks, Avd hallucinates about Pilate's interrogation of Jesus. The link between the Biblical story of Jesus and the contemporary story of Avd is not coincidental, since Avd is portrayed in the novel as a modern Christ-like figure, preaching Christian ideas of forgiveness and love, and the rejection of evil. Reconstructed in the mind of the delirious protagonist, the story of Pilate and Jesus retains most of the elements of the New Testament version.I0 For example, it preserves the same participants: Pilate and Jesus appear as the main protagonists; Caiaphas, the Jewish elders, Judas, and Pilate's wife are secondary characters. …

The Feminine Unconventional: Four Subversive Figures in Israel's Tradition (review)

Hebrew Studies 35 (1994) 171 Reviews pp.38-39 p.51,n.6 pp. 75-82 p. 79 p.85,n.67 p.87 p.88 Hand-leaning is not "an act of dedication to sacrificial death," but an act of identification of the sacrifice's offerer (my commentary , pp. 150-153.) Overlooked is 21:24, whose important purpose is to indicate that the instructions to the priests are not their exclusive law but belong to all of Israel. I oppose the function of "appease" for reah niMh. This expression does not appear in any of the exclusively expiatory sacrifices, the purification and reparation offerings (with the exception of 4:31, where it is probably an intrusion)--even though one of their functions is to appease! The connection between hand-leaning and atonement (v. 4) is that the former is indispensable for the latter. I prefer "burnt offering" for 'Blah (my commentary, pp. 72-74). The text presumes one officiating priest and others to assist him, as proven by 7:8, but only the officiant receives the animal's skin (my commentary, p. 163). The verb Sohal means "slit the throat" (my commentary, pp. 154-155), and the other verbs are equally precise. To this reviewer's unskillful eye, the text is free of typos with the exception of the Hebrew on pp. 63 and 88. Jacob Milgrom University o/California at Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94707 THE FEMININE UNCONVENTIONAL: FOUR SUBVERSIVE FIGURES IN ISRAEL'S TRADITION. By Andre LaCocque. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Pp. xvi + 144. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 1990. Paper. Written to celebrate four female characters from Israel's tradition and the contributions they made to Israel's salvation history, LaCocque's book suggests that each is at the center of a story which is part of a "Second Commonwealth subversive literature" (p. xlii). Part of the concern of this literature of protest. according to LaCocque, was to return to the halcyon days Hebrew Studies 3S (1994) 172 Reviews at the beginning of Israel's history when, he believes, equality reigned, including equality between the sexes. He explains, relying on Norman Gottwald and Carol Meyers, how this equality eroded over time, leading to the subordination of women, although he does not explain how the Second Temple coinmunity would have been aware of the lost equality. While LaCocque argues convincingly that all four stories are products of the Second Temple period and are protest literature against the rules and regulations of the Jewish hierarchy, specifically the demand to divorce foreign wives, and while his portrayals of these women are positive and respectful , there is little by way of feminist analysis of the stories. To be fair, the book makes no pretensions of being from a feminist perspective per se, but the title and subject would lead one to expect it, and such a perspective would have strengthened the author's case. This is most glaringly illustrated by LaCocque's praise for the feminine (read: gentle and refined, never strident ) methods used by each woman, which betrays an acceptance of stereotypical standards of appropriate female behavior. The stories of the four women are preceded by a rambling and somewhat unfocused second chapter. Its goal is to acquaint the reader with the situation of women in the ancient Near East and in Israel. However, the author weakens his discussion by venturing into other topics, such as theories about the beginning of human history and culture, and explanations about what he believes are the basic differences between women and men, neither of which seem apropos of the subject at hand. The first of the four female characters he discusses is Susanna. This is the most difficult story to fit into his thesis, since Susanna must be painted as a "feminine unconventional" when all she does is refuse to commit adultery and then wait to be rescued by Daniel, who is wise and clever. The woman is righteous, the child wise; the child triumphs against the evil men and saves the woman. The story may be subversive as LaCocque says, with a prophetic child challenging the Jewish elders; but nothing is subversive about Susanna, who does no more than protect her sexuality. The author...

Adrienne Rich, Ruth Whitman, and Their Jewish Elders

Adrienne Rich's portraits of her paternal, Jewish elders confirm the view that elders who suppress their ties to Judaism suffer psychologically as they age; however, Rich's depiction of her Jewish mother-in-law shows that elders who maintain their ties can also suffer depression in later stages. In contrast, Ruth Whitman shows that her Jewish grandmothers maintained ties and were content in old age; at the same time, her paternal Jewish grandfather aged peacefully even though he rebelled against Judaism. The portraits drawn by these poets come from a breadth of thinking that tolerates ambiguities, goes beyond generalities to individual differences, and permits sympathy in the midst of criticism.

Jesus' Attitude to the Old Testament: An Exposition of Mark 7:1-23

Did Jesus accept Old Testament as unquestioned authority for himself and others, or was he a critic of Old Testament teaching ? This question must be of genuine interest to Christian people until some considerable agreement is reached concerning its answer. If Jesus did not question precepts of Old Testament, but, instead, approved them without qualification as a standard of authority, many Christians will continue to feel that his example is authoritative for Christians now. If, on contrary, Great Teacher was a critic of scriptures of his age and accepted or rejected their teachings according to whether those teachings were or were not in accord with another standard to which he adhered, then we shall have not only precedent of his example in study of Old Testament, but also a fruitful suggestion as to its meaning and value. What, then, was Jesus' attitude to Old Testament ? For an answer to this question perhaps no better material can be found than that which is offered by first twenty-three verses of seventh chapter of Mark. The narrative has often been understood to mean that Jesus repudiated tradition of Jewish elders as it had been developed through scribal interpretation, and, by his approval of a quotation from Isaiah and of Fifth Commandment, gave whole Old Testament authoritative sanction as the word of God. Recently Mr. J. H. A. Hart, in The Jewish Quarterly Review (July, 1907), has put forth a learned argument to show that Jesus not only criticized Decalogue and declared Fifth Commandment not binding if Korban vow had been taken as a supreme dedication of one's life to God, but also approved scribal dialectics which supported this position. Is either of these views correct, or must they both give place to a third which evidence seems better to support ?