Traditional Judaism Research Articles

Polish-Jewish Literature in the Interwar Years. By Eugenia Prokop-Janiec. Trans. Abe Shenitzer. Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2003. xx, 314 pp. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Illustrations. Photographs. $45.00, hard bound.

Polish-Jewish Literature in the Interwar Years. By Eugenia Prokop-Janiec. Trans. Abe Shenitzer. Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2003. xx, 314 pp. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Illustrations. Photographs. $45.00, hard bound. - Volume 64 Issue 4

The three temples: on the emergence of Jewish mysticism

In this ground-breaking study, Rachel Elior offers a comprehensive theory of the crystallization of the early stages of the mystical tradition in Judaism based on the numerous ancient scrolls and manuscripts published in the last few decades. Her wide-ranging research, scrupulously documented, enables her to demonstrate an uninterrupted line linking the priestly traditions of the Temple, the mystical liturgical literature found in the Qumran caves and associated directly and indirectly with the Merkavah tradition of around the second and first centuries BCE, and the mystical works of the second to fifth centuries CE known as Heikhalot literature.The key factor linking all these texts, according to Professor Elior’s theory, is that many of those who wrote them were members of the priestly classes. Prevented from being able to perform the rituals of sacred service in the Temple as ordained in the biblical tradition, they channelled their religious impetus in other directions to create a new spiritual focus. The mystical tradition they developed centred first on a heavenly Chariot Throne known as the Merkavah, and later on heavenly sanctuaries known as Heikhalot. In this way the priestly class developed an alternative focus for spirituality, based on a supertemporal liturgical and ritual relationship with ministering angels in the supernal sanctuaries. This came to embrace an entire mystical world devoted to sustaining religious liturgical tradition and ritual memory in the absence of the Temple.This lyrical investigation of the origins and workings of this supernal world is sure to become a standard work in the study of early Jewish mysticism.

How sweet the sound: music in the spiritual lives of Americans

Musical expression is at the heart of the American spiritual experience. And nowhere can you gauge the depth of spiritual belief and practice more than through the music that fills America's houses of worship. Most amazing is how sacred music has been shaped by the exchanges of diverse peoples over time. How Sweet the Sound traces the evolution of sacred music from colonial times to the present, from the Puritans to Sun Ra, and shows how these cultural encounters have produced a rich harvest of song and faith. Pursuing the intimate relationship between music and spirituality in America, Stowe focuses on the central creative moments in the unfolding life of sacred song. He fills his pages with the religious music of Indians, Shakers, Mormons, Moravians, African-Americans, Jews, Buddhists, and others. Juxtaposing music cultures across region, ethnicity, and time, he suggests the range and cross-fertilisation of religious beliefs and musical practices that have formed the spiritual customs of the United States, producing a multireligious, multicultural brew. Stowe traces the evolution of sacred music from hymns to hip-hop, finding Christian psalms deeply accented by the traditions of Judaism, and Native American and Buddhist customs influenced by Protestant Christianity. He shows how the creativity and malleability of sacred music can explain the proliferation of various forms of faith and the high rates of participation they've sustained. Its evolution truly parallels the evolution of American pluralism.

"Hardly There Even When She Wasn't Lost": Orthodox Daughters and the "Mind-Body Problem" in Contemporary Jewish American Fiction

This paper analyzes contemporary Jewish fiction to suggest that both writers and their Orthodox daughter protagonists can be viewed as the inheritors and continuation of a literary tradition questioning roles, perceptions of and opportunities for Jewish women. It also proposes that the real "mind-body" problem or dilemma that Orthodox Jewish women confront comes not from the secular world—as Rebecca Goldstein's protagonist Renee presents in The Mind-Body Problem—but from the conservative and traditional religious Jewish world they experienced as children and, in several cases, leave as adults. It is within the confining and constricting world of traditional Judaism and Orthodox Jewish religious observance—traditionally male-dominated—that they experience a kind of disconnect or come to an impasse, finding that they must be perceived as either mind or body but cannot be perceived simultaneously as both.

Purity (Tehora) (review)

Reviewed by: Purity (Tehora) Judith R. Baskin (bio) Purity (Tehora). Directed by Anat Zuria. Israel, 2002. 63 minutes. Hebrew with English subtitles. Purity examines the traditional Jewish requirement that women immerse in a miqveh, a ritual bath, at specified moments in their lives to remove the ritual impurity associated with menstruation and childbirth. This practice originates in biblical ordinances such as Leviticus 15 that concern contraction of ritual impurity from corporeal emissions of various kinds. While immersion for most forms of ritual impurity lapsed with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 of the Common Era, the requirement of miqveh immersion for women prior to marriage, following each menstruation, and after giving birth was maintained. The Talmud, completed in the sixth century of the Common Era, expanded a woman's state of ritual impurity, adding seven "white" days after the end of menstruation before miqveh immersion could take place, effectively forbidding any physical contact between spouses for at least 12 days each month. While these practices are concerned with preserving men from contact with their ritually impure wives, calculating the time when spousal contact is forbidden depends on a woman's knowledge of the stages of her cycle and careful monitoring of her menstrual flow. These family purity regulations (taharat hamishpahah), as they have come to be known, continue [End Page 206] to be practiced today within all Jewish Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox communities. Purity, a documentary set in Israel, presents three interwoven narratives concerned with contemporary attitudes toward ritual immersion. The first vignette introduces Shoshanna, the mother of a large family, who works as a miqveh guide, overseeing women's visits to the ritual bath. Shoshannah is depicted instructing her daughter Shira, a bride-to-be, about the need for strict observance of family purity regulations, including assiduous self-examination during the "white" days. She also shows her daughter the modern and sparkling clean miqveh she administers. Shoshanna believes that ritual purity observances must simply be accepted as part of a Jewish woman's life since they are divinely ordained. Shira, who is initially repelled by the entire topic, moves in the course of the film to a neutral stance, and finally, following her marriage, to a positive acceptance that this is the "right" way of life for her husband and herself. Katy and Arie, an English-speaking couple in their 40s, are questioning the family purity regulations they have long observed. Katy is resentful that any physical expressions of affection from her husband are forbidden for almost half of each month. Her situation is complex since her menstrual periods are long and irregular; she might be in a state of ritual impurity for as long as six weeks at a time. Katy is shown visiting a physician who suggests hormone injections and the possibility of a hysterectomy but declines to offer any religious opinion. She also visits Shani, a young woman who is trained in the talmudic regulations concerning menstruation. Shani's counsel is acceptance of religious law; even though adherence to these practices can cause significant fertility and marital problems for some individual women with abnormal cycles, they cannot be questioned since they come from God. The film's third thread concerns Natalie, a divorcée, who comes from an ultra-Orthodox background. Natalie apparently engineered her exit from an unsatisfactory marriage by choosing not to visit the miqveh. According to Jewish law, a woman who persistently refuses to observe family purity regulations is a moredet (a rebellious wife) who may be divorced without any financial support from her husband. Natalie, who has integrated herself into Israel's secular world following her divorce, sees family purity practices, including the requirement that a wife sleep separately from her husband during her period of ritual impurity, as indicative of the lesser view of women in traditional Judaism. A final character in Purity is the filmmaker, herself, whose visit to the miqveh following the birth of her fourth daughter, is filmed in detail. Purity deals with a topic that will be strange and alienating to many North American viewers. Moreover, Zuria assumes considerable knowledge [End Page 207] of traditional Jewish life and social demarcations among Israeli's Orthodox communities...

Review of J. H. Charlesworth and M. A. Daise, eds., Light in a Spotless Mirror: Reflections on Wisdom Traditions in Judaism and Early Christianity

Review of J. H. Charlesworth and M. A. Daise, eds., Light in a Spotless Mirror: Reflections on Wisdom Traditions in Judaism and Early Christianity

Jewish Perspectives on Pregnancy and Childbearing

There are approximately 6 million Jewish people in the United States today. They may be affiliated with the Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform streams of Jewish practice, or they may be secular and unaffiliated. Although religious practices and levels of observance among these streams of Judaism vary widely, nurses should become familiar with the religious traditions of Judaism in order to provide the most comprehensive care for a childbearing Jewish woman and her partner. This article describes the range of practices that may be observed, and offers information that may assist the nurse in providing culturally competent care. While it is important to tailor care to the individual needs of each childbearing couple, background knowledge of customs and traditions will help provide a basic context that can be used as a basis for understanding cultural variation and specific practices.

К дискуссии о евреях в древней Руси: Национальный романтизм и “улыбка чеширского кота”

SUMMARY: V. Petrukhin, one of the leading experts in ancient Russian history and in the history of Jewish-Slavic contacts, believes that the Eoffe – Pereswetoff polemics touch upon a very complex and sensitive issue. First, not all sources have yet been introduced which could help resolve it. Second, “national romanticism”, characteristic of post-Soviet Jewish historiography, has an impact on the researcher’s position, which, according to Petrukhin, Eoffe’s article illustrates sufficiently. At the same time, Petrukhin criticizes the “literary” position of Pereswetoff-Murath, who compared the “virtual” presence of Jews in ancient Russian texts with the Cheshire’s cat’s grin. Petrukhin suggests a more complex view of the problem, avoiding on the one hand its direct ideologization and nationalization, and on the other trying to avoid the creation of a sealed intertextual space of ancient Christian books. He takes into consideration different persistent motifs, which stimulated interest in Judaic tradition, and pays attention to the impact of medieval literary sources rooted in Jewish tradition upon ancient Russian culture. These subjects have practically substituted for the absent “secular” literature. At the same time, Petrukhin notes the fact that late translations in Rus’ of patristic works were directed against Jews and pagans and written several centuries before the Christianization of Slavic countries. Due to this translation, the Jewish threat became a historiographic phantom in Rus’, born out of the rigorist fever of the Russian literati. Petrukhin also notes that the presence of the anti-Judaic polemical tradition could correlate with different policies with respect to Jews. In that sense Rus’ secular authorities always followed a rigorous Orthodox line. Thus, further study of the “reality” of the Jewish presence in Rus’ and of Jewish-Slavic contacts is required as is taking into consideration newer sources and research perspectives.

Hasidism in the Age of Aquarius: The House of Love and Prayer in San Francisco, 1967–1977

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Americans encountered an unexpected group of people who, at first sight, seemed unreal: Hasidic hippies. Conceiving of Hasidic Judaism as being incompatible with the spirit of the era and of hippie culture as being far removed from the Jewish tradition, most Jews could not comprehend how anyone could try to amalgamate two such opposing cultures.Many of the young Hasidic hippies were affiliated with or influenced by the House of Love and Prayer (HLP), a Jewish outreach center that operated in San Francisco between 1967 and 1977 and promoted the mixture of traditional Hasidic Judaism with the counter-culture. It represented a new generation in American religious life: the baby boomers, with their spiritual journeys and cultural preferences, which included attempts to unite religious traditions and cultural trends that just a few years earlier had seemed too different to bridge. The HLP promoted the return to tradition and the embracing of the mystical and supernatural elements of Judaism. Together with other groups that emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s, the HLP helped bring about a revolution in the practicing of the Jewish tradition, one that gave expression to the style and values of the Jewish members of the counterculture.

Sermons and the Construct of a Jewish Identity: The Hamburg Sephardic Community in the 1620s

Trinta discursos o darazes} Thirty Discourses or Derashot, by Samuel Yahya, was published in Hamburg in 1629 and it is, in all likelihood, the earliest collection of vernacular sermons published by the Portuguese Jews in Western Europe. Unlike Hebrew sermons from the same period, which have been the subject of recent important studies, Trinta discursos as well as other Spanish and Portuguese sermons from the seventeenth century, have received only limited attention. Scholars have mentioned them in studies of the Western Sephardic communities, but most have relied on the titles and brief descriptions given in catalogues or by bibliographers only.2 These sermons are of great significance for the history of the Western Sephardic communities, as they reveal aspects of how Judaism was introduced to Qx-conversos in their own native tongue. The present essay focuses on selected topics explained in this collection of sermons and is divided into two parts. Part I introduces the book entitled Trinta discursos and examines two sermons: sermon #10, which explains to the listeners the doctrine of chosenness, or divine election, and the reasons for the exile of the people of Israel, and sermon #28, which deals with the issue of Jewish identity and whether someone born a Jew can on his own reject Judaism. Both sermons make evident the importance that preaching must have had in the return of ex-conversos to traditional Judaism

“Great escapes”: protection from violence through spiritual sources

This essay re-iterates stories from the Judaic, Christian, Islamic, Baha’i, and American Indian traditions regarding spiritually-aided escapes from violence. Escapes from death, prison, and danger have all reportedly been facilitated by spiritual forces in these traditions.

Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality: A Reader

Editors' Introduction I. JEWISH ETHICS A. Literature and Context of 1. Menachem Kellner, The Structure of Ethics: B. Theoretical Issues in 1. Louis Newman, as Law, Law as Religion. 2. David Novak, Natural Law, Halakah, and the Covenant. 3. Harold Schluweid, The Single Mirror of Images. 4. Elliot Dorff, Covenant: Transcendent Thrust in Law: C. Reconceptualizing Ethics in Modern Times: 1. S. Daniel Breslauer, Modernizing American Liberal Dilemma. 2. Eugene Borowitz, The Self. 3. Richard J. Israel, Jewish Tradition and Political Action: D. Methodological Problems: Case of Medical 1. David Elleson, How to Draw Guidance from a Heritage: Moral Choices. 2. Louis Newman, Woodchoppers and Respirators: Problem of Interpretation. 3. Elliot Dorff, Methodology for Medical Ethics. 4. Aaron Mackler, Cases and Principles in Bioethics: E. Alternative Visions of 1. Michael Morgan, Jewish Ethics After the Holocaust. 2. Laurie Zolof-Dorfman, An Ethics of Encounter: Public Choices and Private Acts. 3. Annette Aronowicz, Emmanuel Levinas' Talmudic Commentaries: II: Morality Introduction A. Traditional Virtues and Values: 1. Alfred Jospe, The Meaning of Existence. 2. Sol Roth, Towards a Definition of Humility: B. Perspectives on Sex and Family: 1. David Novak, Some Aspects of Sex, Society and God in Judaism. 2. Arthur Waskow, Down-to-Earth Judiasm: Sexuality. 3. Martha Ackelsberg, Jewish Family Ethics in Post-Halakhic Age. 4. Blu Greenberg, The Theoretical Basis of Women's Equality in Judaism: C. Perspectives on Social Problems: 1. Robert Gordis, Ecology and the Judaic Tradition. 2. Seymour Siegel, A View of Economic Justice. 3. Elie Spitz, Jewish Tradition and Capital Punishment: D. Perspectives on Medical 1. Fred Rosner, Euthanasia. 2. Byron Sherwin, Euthanasia: View. 3. David Feldman, This Matter of Abortion. 4. Sandra Lubarsky, Judaism and the Justification of Abortion for Non-Medical Reasons.: E. Perspectives on Politics and Power: State of Israel: 1. Irving Greenberg, The Ethics Of Power. 2. Judith Plaskow, Feminist Reflections on the State of Israel. 3. David Hartman, Living with Conflicting Values. 4. Einat Ramon, The Ethics of Ruling a State with a Large Non-Jewish Minority: Epilogue: Future of Ethics and Morals

A Living Covenant: The Innovative Spirit in Traditional Judaism

A Living Covenant: The Innovative Spirit in Traditional Judaism

Challenging Collective Religious/Social Beliefs About Sex, Marriage, and Family

Some religious thinkers and organizations commonly back up their conclusions about sexual morality with myths that are not supported by history or by the majority of Americans. The word myth, as used here, is defined by Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary as “an unproved collective belief that is accepted uncritically and is used to justify a social institution,” such as a sexual value system. Using an established philosophical distinction between sexual values derived from a fixed worldview (cosmology or Weltanschauung) and from a process worldview, the history of sexuality in the Judaic and Christian traditions, and current sociological data, the author challenges the validity of five myths associated with what is commonly proclaimed as “traditional American religious values.” These beliefs focus on the moral unacceptability of premarital sexual relationships; divorce and remarriage; alternatives to sexually exclusive marriage; abortion, Mifepristone (RU 486), and embryonic stem-cell research; ...

Remaining Musics: Lithuanian Karaimes

The article discusses three principal parts of the musical heritage of Lithuania’s Karaimes both in a parochial, as well as in a broader liturgical and social context. The author analyses the specificity of their locale features and compares them with analogous manifestations in other Karaime communities (emigres from Egypt and the Crimea), as well as in Judaic and Eastern Christian traditions. The comparisons confirm the authenticity of Lithuanian Karaime liturgical melodies with their original structure and the principles of sound and text harmony preserved.

Avoda and ʿIbāda: Ritual and Liturgy in Islamic and Judaic Traditions (review)

THE JEWISH QUARTERLYREVIEW, XCII, Nos. 1-2 (July-October, 2001) 197-199 SETH WARD, ed., Avoda and CIbiada: Ritual and Liturgy in Islamic and Judaic Traditions,special edition of MedievalEncounters:Jewish, Christian , andMuslimCulturein Confluenceand Dialogue, 5.1. Leiden:Brill, 1999. Pp. 131. This collection is the resultof a conferenceheld in 1998 atthe University of Denver and sponsoredby the Centerfor JudaicStudies, the Institutefor Islamic-Judaic Studies, and the Institute for Interfaithand Multi-cultural StudiesandSocial Concerns.These instituteshavebeen sponsoringacademic conferences, most of them dealing with the historical, intellectual, andculturalrelationsbetween JudaismandIslam,for twenty-five years.Seth Ward, directorof the Institutefor Islamic-JudaicStudies and chair of the last six of these conferences, has succeeded in attractingan internationalcommunity of scholars annuallyto Denver. Each conference is organizedarounda theme, which in 1998 was liturgy and ritual practice. Nearly thirtypapers were given, of which nine are includedin the volume (atleast one of those includedwas notgiven atthe conference ). As in most such collections, the qualityof the articlesis somewhat uneven, though Ward'ssuccessful editing can be seen in the generally high quality and overall coherence. The collection demonstrateshow far scholarshiphas moved towardobjective, comparativestudiesin religion. The earliest attemptsto comparetwo differentreligious practices-mostly found in Scripturesthemselves-were intendedas religious polemic, andpolemic has been the primarymotivatorfor comparativestudies in religion throughthe ancient, medieval, and early modernperiods. Subtle and sometimes not so subtle polemics may often be revealed even in our own generation.Thankfully , there is no attemptto establish, even subtly, a hierarchyof value between religious traditionsamong the contributionsto this collection. The advantageof comparativeanalysis is that it offers a unique means of gaining deeper insight into a particularphenomenonby noting its variation in other contexts. Not only does noting such variations tend to highlight issues thatmight otherwisebe missed, but studyingphenomenaacross religious boundariesoffers an entirely differentperspective. Despite ouraspirations for scientific objectivity, the researcherstill often observes differently when viewing phenomena "at home" as opposed to in "foreign" contexts. Only comparative studies offers the advantage of simultaneous angles of observationfromboth the "inside"andthe "outside."Most of the contributionsto this collection utilize some kind of comparativeapproach, whetherphenomenological or historical, and these offer some of the most interestinginsights. The collection opens, appropriately,with a brief appraisal of Naftali Wieder's pioneering work, Islamic Influences on Jewish Worship,on the 198 THEJEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW fiftieth anniversaryof its publication. Shalom Goldmanexamines the historical context of Wieder'swork and summarizesits contribution,particularly Wieder'swork on AvrahamMaimuni, son of Maimonides. My only disappointmentis thatGoldmandid not take the opportunityto suggest areas for furtherresearchin this importantfield. Khaleel Mohammedexamines the foundationof Muslim prayerand arrivesat the conclusion, based on a commendable reading of the indirect evidence imbedded in Qur'dan and hadith, thatits ritualroots lie within the particularheterodoxpractices of the Medinan Jewish community at the time of Muhammad.Mohammed 'ssuggestion should certainlybe followed up, with furtherstudies also taking into consideration any evidence that may be garneredor extrapolated on indigenous, pre-IslamicArabianritualworshipas well. Stefan Reif follows with an articlein two parts,the firsta summaryof Geniza research on Jewish liturgy since Solomon Schechteropened up the study of Geniza manuscriptsone hundredyears ago. The second is a suggestive examination of the impactthatthe innovationof the codex had on Jewish attitudes toward the transmission and status of rabbinic literature,in general (the previously truly "oral"Torah)and liturgy, in particular. Josef Meri'scontributionon medieval Jewish and Muslim venerationof saints centers on the issue of baraka, "an emotive and spiritualforce perceived through the senses and experienced through the religious psyche" (p. 68) thatcould be attainedthroughphysical contact with living saints or their relics, throughcertain ways of acquiringknowledge from a saint, or even throughspiritualcontact with carriersof barakathrougha dream.On the one hand,manyJews, Muslims andChristiansbenefitedfromthe baraka of each other'ssaints,while on the otherhand,some polemicized againstthe tendencytowardsaintvenerationamongtheirown co-religionists as well as amongtheirreligious competitors(including Karaitecritiquesof Rabbanite saintveneration).SethWardexaminesafatwa (formallegal opinion)of Najm al-Din ibn al-Rif'a (d. 1310) advocatingthe destructionof synagogues and churchesin Cairoduringa period of high anti-dhimmisentimentunderthe Mamlukes. Despite much supportfor al-Rif'a's position, it was ultimately rejected because, as noted by his student al-Subki, whose work Wardhas studied for years, such a practice would establish a problematicprecedent with regardto claims againstpersonalpropertyin general, whetherdhimmi or Muslim. ShimonShtoberwritesontheJewish-Islamicpolemicsregardingtheproper direction of prayer (qibla), which began in 7th-century Medina between...

Avoda and 'Ibada: Ritual and Liturgy in Islamic and Judaic Traditions

Avoda and 'Ibada: Ritual and Liturgy in Islamic and Judaic Traditions

Jewish Ethics for the Twenty-First Century: Living in the Image of God (review)

Reviewed by: Jewish Ethics for the Twenty-First Century: Living in the Image of God Louis E. Newman Jewish Ethics for the Twenty-First Century: Living in the Image of God, by Byron Sherwin. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000. 203 pp. $19.95. In this book, Sherwin wishes (1) to demonstrate that Jewish ethics is irreducibly theological, “defined by the beliefs, practices, and significant literature of Judaism,” (2) to acquaint the reader with some of the specific “theological claims upon which the ethics of Judaism rests,” (3) to show that Jewish tradition “may be effectively applied to the ethical problems of the present,” and (4) to illustrate the application of traditional Jewish texts to selected contemporary ethical problems (p. xviii). The book admirably fulfills all these goals through close readings of a wide array of traditional Jewish sources as they bear on a range of ethical topics—from health care, euthanasia, and reproductive technologies (including cloning) to social welfare, repentance, and honoring parents. It offers an extremely rich presentation of the classical sources, with special emphasis on those reflecting the mystical and hasidic traditions. Though Sherwin breaks no new ground here in terms of methodology, his clear and well founded analyses of moral issues make an important contribution to the growing literature in the field of contemporary Jewish ethics. Sherwin’s treatments of these wide-ranging topics are united by his view, captured in the subtitle of the volume, that Jewish ethics is fundamentally about “living in the image of God.” By this he means not only that Jewish ethics is theocentric, but that its key principle concerns honoring each human being as created in God’s image, and striving to emulate God in our relations with one another. Thus, whatever the topic at hand, Sherwin draws our attention to the ways in which this key principle expresses itself in Judaism’s moral teachings. As a result, he implicitly demonstrates that there is a profound coherence in this system of ethics, that what classical Jewish texts teach about how to treat parents, how to help the poor, and how to care for a dying patient are all of a piece. Yet, highlighting the theological nature of Jewish ethics, as Sherwin does so effectively, may tend to obscure the distinctly non-theological dimensions of this ethical tradition. The distinctive ways in which each rabbi or exegete within the tradition [End Page 145] interprets all that has come before, and adds to the collective legacy, reflects the particular social, historical, and economic circumstances of the time. But sensitive as Sherwin is to the theological tensions within the tradition, he offers us no guidance in discerning the diverse historical contexts that are surely reflected in these divergent theological streams. Moreover, the theological debates within the tradition themselves could be explicated more fully. There are perennial issues that underlie the entire moral tradition in Judaism—for example, between particularist and universalist ways of understanding morality, between more hierarchical and more mutual models of the covenant between God and Israel. Demonstrating how these pervasive issues play out in debates about the many specific moral problems he treats would have enhanced his discussion of them significantly. While Sherwin’s consistent focus on the theological foundations of Jewish ethics is one of the book’s important strengths, it also leads the author to distinguish, perhaps too sharply, between Jewish ethics, on the one hand, and both secular and Christian ethics, on the other. In his discussion of euthanasia, for example, he insists that, in sharp contrast to Anglo-American law and philosophy, Judaism lacks a concept of “rights.” Hence, any talk about the rights of patients to control the circumstances of end-stage medical care would be “almost meaningless” in Jewish discourse (p. 40). Insofar as Jewish sources do not use the language of “being endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights,” he is probably on solid ground here. Yet, as many have recognized, the language of obligation (which is pervasive in these sources) implies corresponding rights. Some, like David Novak, have even argued that Judaism has a notion of human rights grounded in natural law. Sherwin’s discussion of this issue would have been...

Ethics After the Holocaust: Perspectives, Critiques, and Responses (review)

Ethics After the Holocaust: Perspectives, Critiques, and ResponsesInitial Jewish religious responses to the Shoah either affirm or challenge the authority of Jewish religious tradition on issues of belief and morality. From Richard L. Rubenstein's death of God theology, i.e., letting go of traditional Judaism's doctrine of God for a new symbol of God's reality conducive to lessons learned from the Shoah,(1) to Eliezer Berkovitz and hasidic masters who argue classical Orthodox belief rooted in religious experience.(2) Elie Wiesel maintains that the Shoah transcends history, and the living are neither capable nor worthy of recovering its mystery; nonetheless, he relates witness stories, which bear testimony to the depths of Jewish suffering and the dignity of the Jewish dead, while promoting Jewish survival as an unshakable dogma. Emil Fackenheim's 614(th) Commandment, no posthumous victory to Hitler, suggests that the Shoah claims another victim whenever a Jew doubts his/her Jewishness; conversely, when a Jew lives up to Judaism's creeds and deeds, s/he advances tikkun `olam (repairing the world). Also, Irving (Yitz) Greenberg's recognition that we live in ever-present faith but in of faith, moments when Redeemer and vision of redemption are present, interspersed with times when the flames and smoke of the burning children blot out faith -- though it flickers again,(3) signals that Israel's covenant is no longer obligatory but voluntary.Not surprisingly, Jewish belief one generation after Auschwitz says more about the concern for a meaningful Jewish present and future than about the agenda for Judeocide. What connects these theological views is the Jewish potential and self-accountability in bridging the chasm between God and the Jews and the Jews and the world. This in turn spawns a plethora of other issues, including questions of morality and emanating from the Shoah. What theory of morals and ethical questions can we ask about the Event? What to do with the mainstream of European civilization (religion, philosophy, ethics) that participated or stood idly by in the unprecedented destruction of Europe's Jews, and other innocents? When we hear the appeal of the accused, not guilty; was following orders, or the contrite confession, I am truly sorry; shall repeat this crime, shall we forgive? When ordinary people do extraordinary evil, what does this say to us, especially when we look at our own lives and play our actions out on a mental stage and are routinely confronted by George Santayana's admonition that history repeats itself. Pondering Ethics Lost after the Shoah, are we to agree with this learning from Koheleth: Again saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed -- with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power -- with no one to comfort them. And thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; but better than both is the one who has yet been, and has seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.(4) If yes, why? And if not, then doubly why?The book under review, arising from an ethics working group in the Goldner Holocaust Symposium, held at the Fairleigh Dickinson University's Wroxton College campus in Oxfordshire, England (1996, 1998), consists of six chapters, whose titles describe the process of assessing before the Shoah, its radical transformation during the Shoah, and imagining good and evil after the Shoah. Leonard Grob (Fairleigh Dickinson University) finds Western philosophic tradition wanting in intent and purpose in dealing with the lessons from the Shoah; and unless it radically rethinks its direction, it will be a force to combat present and future genocidal activity. Peter Haas (then at Vanderbilt University) talks of the scientific and technological application of the Nazi ethic and its appeal to the masses and intelligentsia alike; a clear warning to a post-Shoah world of what can happen when the intellectual enterprise of science is allowed to become the unchallenged and unchallengeable source of human values. …

Artificial nutrition and hydration in the patient with advanced dementia: is withholding treatment compatible with traditional Judaism?

Several religious traditions are widely believed to advocate the use of life-sustaining treatment in all circumstances. Hence, many believe that these faiths would require the use of a feeding tube...