Ritual Law Research Articles

Impurity / Danger!

AbstractSeveral recent monographs and articles discussing ritual purity in Islam stress the independence of Islamic notions of ritual purity from neighbouring religious traditions and highlight the fact that impurity is considered less 'dangerous' in Islam. In this article, I examine the role of angels in connection with ritual purity and suggest that a number of ahādtth contest the conventional understanding of Islamic ritual law. Impurity, I argue, is much more dangerous than the fuqahāa and many contemporary scholars have suggested.

Rabbis as Jurists: On the Representation of Past and Present Legal Institutions in the Mishnah

In light of the growing consensus that the rabbis of Late Antiquity were not a powerful and dominant group with roots in the time of the Temple, this article reexamines the portrayal of the rabbinic present and the rabbinic past in the Mishnah. The Mishnah, I propose, pictures the rabbis acting as jurists—modelled on Roman jurists—who issue opinions primarily on matters of Jewish ritual law. This claim for a legal-judicial role for the rabbis in post-destruction Jewish society, furthermore, shapes the rabbinic memory of the past in which the Court of Temple times is the predecessor to the rabbis and in which this Court has ultimate authority over Temple ritual. In their construction of both the present and the past, the rabbis make a powerful claim for authority over ritual law and ritual practice, an authority which it seems they did not yet have.

The Menstruant as “Other” in Medieval Judaism and Christianity

Both Jews and Christians in the High Middle Ages wrote descriptions of the physical dangers posed by menstruants and menstrual blood. Such fears were augmented by their readings of the translated warnings of Greek medical writers. During this period, in both Jewish and Christian circles, those literal fears became abstracted in different ways that reflected distinct theologies. Jewish mystics saw menstruants, at the onset of their flow, as possessed by the sitra aḥra, the demonic “other side,” while Christian exegetes metaphorized menstruation almost entirely, reading biblical texts as allegorical references to sinfulness. Each group applied these negative symbols to the other, but in profoundly different ways. Thirteenth-century kabbalists, who retained Judaism’s ritual purity laws, developed a rhetoric that demonized Christians by emphasizing their permanent menstrual impurity, and they used that rhetoric to attack assimilation and ward off contact between members of the two faiths. Christians, by contrast, first emphasized the metaphorical moral impurity of Jews and later came to believe that Jewish men “menstruated,” a belief that would have dire historical consequences for the Jewish communities of northern Europe.

The Dead Sea Scrolls and Violence: Sectarian Formation and Eschatological Imagination

AbstractThis article analyzes two interconnected narratives of violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls by drawing upon some recent treatments of religious violence employing social-scientific approaches—in particular, the "scarce resources" theory—and more general sociological approaches to sectarianism. The first narrative of violence revolves around the origins of the community's violent worldview as embodied in its debates with its opponents. Early sectarian literature represents sectarian debates and polemics in terms of an exclusive understanding of the meaning of Scripture, the application of ritual and cultic law, and the identity of God's elect. These aspects become focal points of ideological debate as the community attempted to convince the "outsiders" of the correctness of the sectarian way. By tracing the development of these debates in sectarian literature, however, I reveal how they are transformed from innocuous elements of disagreement into focal points for the emergence of violence as a central preoccupation of the Qumran community. The "scarce resources" theory explains why these specific points of disagreement become infused with violence. The second narrative of violence involves the continued appearance of these debates within the community's eschatological literature as a rhetorical device to legitimize its violent expectations. Unlike related groups in Second Temple Judaism (e.g., the Zealots), for the Qumran community, violence outside of the framework of the eschatological battle is not legitimized and presumably did not exist. By delaying all punishment until the eschaton, the community simultaneously defused its own violent worldview. The simultaneous infusion and defusion of violence is explained in the context of the sectarian structure of the community.

Abraham as Paradigm in the Priestly History in Genesis

The intent of this essay is to argue that the story of Abraham, an important segment of the Priestly History in the Hexateuch (Genesis to Joshua),1 was composed with the purpose of providing those who survived the disaster of 586 b.c.e. with religious basis on which they could rebuild their lives. More specifically, the component of the History dealing with Abraham was intended to provide paradigm or model for those who aspired to return, or actually did return, to Judah once this became possible after the fall of the Babylonian empire in 539 b.c.e. I am aware that the considerable amount of ritual law in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers associated with or in secondary derivation from this narrative source is an important aspect of the theological profile of P. But since all biblical law is presented in the context of an unfolding historical process, an understanding of the function and intent of the legal material will require, or at least be greatly facilitated by, prior understanding of the History. I therefore propose to deal with the legal material only where it impinges directly on the understanding of the History and the Abraham segment of the History in particular. I. THE P HISTORY A critical consensus now exists that the P History was composed after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 and subsequent deportations. This preliminary conclusion, which will call for further definition in due course, goes back to the early pioneers of the critical study of the Pentateuch- Eduard Reuss, Karl Heinrich Graf, A. Kuenen, and Julius Wellhausen, in particular- and will be confirmed by glance at the standard introductions.2 The task of disengaging this source from the other narrative strands with which it has been combined is rendered less arduous than it might otherwise be on account of P's distinctive style, idiom, vocabulary, and theological orientation. The P historian makes generous use of lists and genealogies, which generate narrative in their own way, and for the most part the narrative itself is succinct and descriptively economical. The author has no great interest either in populating his narrative with an abundance of minor characters, is the case, for example, in the account of intrigues at the court of David in 2 Samuel, or in developing the characters of the principal dramatis personae- Sarah, Lot, Hagar, Ishmael, and Abraham himself. The focus throughout is on the unfolding drama of divine-human interaction and the destiny of Abraham.3 All the more striking, then, are the two junctures in the Abraham narrative at which we are given an extensive account complete with human interest and dialogue: the covenant of circumcision (Gen 17:1-27) and Abraham's purchase of burial plot (23:1-20). Here and elsewhere in P- the dispositions for the new world following the deluge (Gen 9:1-27) and the call of Moses (Exod 6:2-7:7) - such expansive accounts mark defining moments in the History with notable consequences for the future. The further question, which has proved not so easy to answer, is whether the History is an independent source or redactional layer added to existing narrative; whether, in other words, it is meant to be read together with an existing narrative line to which it has been added, or is fully intelligible when read on its own self-standing text. In his Prolegomena, Wellhausen described P (for which he used the siglum Q) concerned primarily with narrative links and articulations rather than content. It is, he continued, as if Q were the scarlet thread on which the pearls of JE (the Yahwist and Elohist sources combined) are hung. It is, therefore, little more than a genealogy with explanations.4 This reading was accepted by many scholars, often without argument. One of these was Frank Moore Cross, who read P systematic reworking of traditional source material available at the time of writing. If, therefore, we find no explicit reference to Sinai covenant in P, the reason must be - since it is incredible that P would not have covenant at Sinai-that the author assumed it to be known from the JE form of the Sinai story which P took over. …

Hoping to Death: Baptism, Eschatology and Ethics

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Peter Gilmour, “Take Me Out,” Liturgy 21, no. 1 (2006): 51–53. In the opening verses of the sixth chapter, Paul equates baptism and being united with Christ's death (6:3), and therefore we are united with Christ's resurrection (6:4). Mark Searle, “Infant Baptism Reconsidered,” in Alternative Futures for Worship, Vol. 2, Baptism and Confirmation. ed. M. Searle (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1987), 40–43. Ellwood makes a distinction between the “great tradition” and the “little tradition.” The great tradition consists of the larger, overarching traditions of a religion, while the little tradition is comprised of local, familial, or individual practices and preferences, what one might consider “folk religion.” This distinction nicely parallels the distinction between Faith and faith I am making here. See Robert Ellwood, Introducing Religion: From Inside and Outside, 3rd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993), 121–25. Many Protest denominations have created their own catechumenal process of adult initiation, including the Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians/Anglicans. Regis Duffy, Real Presence (New York: Harper and Row, 1982): 111. Duffy cites the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus as one example of service done in Christ's name as evidence of fitness for entrance into the church. Regis Duffy, O.F.M. scholar, mentor, and friend, died on January 4, 2006 after an extended illness. He was the rare person whose actions were as poignant as his words in communicating the Gospel. Regis will be sorely missed. This essay is offered in his memory. Duffy, 115. This is especially clear in Romans 6:4 where Paul describes the baptized in Christological terms; as Christ as died, so we have died, as Christ has been raised, so we have been raised. “So you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ.” Romans 6:11 (NRSV). “…and that you, having been set free from sin, have becomes slaves of righteousness.” Romans 6:18 (NRSV). Duffy, 117. Ibid. 117. Ibid. 123. Such as the calls for sexual purity (1 Cor. 10:8), as well as for ritual purity (1 Cor. 10:14ff). Paul's description of divided table fellowship is seen as a sin against Christ, and one which has invoked God's judgment (1 Cor. 11:27–32). See 1 Corinthians 8:7–12. The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) determined that one need not follow the prescriptions of the Jewish ritual law to be a Christian. In particular males need not be circumcised before being baptized. Not all agreed with this decision, notably the group Paul addresses in Galatians which he refers to as the “circumcision party,” Galatians 2:12. This is most clear in Paul's calling Peter to task on his inconsistencies on this matter (Gal. 2:11–14). Galatians 2:9–10. Paul's litany of marks of unholy living (Gal. 5:19–21) and the subsequent marks of holy living (5:22–23) are both prefaced by the assumption that one is called to communal and ethical standards beyond personal piety. We are called into a community that stands over against the world in terms of its love for one another and its ministry to those in need (5:13–15). Paul's ironic image only underscores the seriousness with which he takes this issue. If the improper Faith is taught, in speech and in example, then those being formed in the faith will not be formed in the Christian faith, and Christ's work has been in vain. The relationship between initiation and ethical living is not peripheral but central to the Christian faith. It is through baptism that the distinctions of the world are erased through Christ's saving acts, erasing the distinction between genders, nationality, and class (Gal. 3:27–29). Rodney Clapp, A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Modern Society (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 100. Clapp, 100. In particular Clapp identifies Romans 8:15–17 and Galatians 3:26—4:6 and their use of adoption language to define baptism and inclusion in the body of Christ. For the story of Hubmaier's faith journey and an analysis of his theology of baptism see my essay “Ordination or Initiation? Balthasar Hubmaier's Rite of Baptism” Studia Liturgica 25 (1995): 68–85. Johnson, 83–85. This is especially clear in that the bestowal of the keys and the authority to bind and loose sins, which was only done at the ordination of a bishop, was done at every baptism. For examples of process models of infant initiation see, Gail Ramshaw-Schmidt, “Celebrating Baptism in Stages: A Proposal” in Searle, ed. Baptism and Confirmation, 137–55; and Todd E. Johnson, “Rethinking Infant Initiation,” Catholic Issues, http://home.adelphi.edu/∼catissue/ISSUES/JOHNSON.HTM (Accessed October 17, 2006).

Ritual Rewards: A Consideration of Three Recent Approaches to Sunni Purity Law

AbstractIn an effort to raise interest in the subject of Islam's ritual legal material, I discuss here the strengths and weaknesses of three recent studies of Sunni Islamic purity law (taharah). In light of these studies, I investigate the degree to which theories and models drawn from the fields of anthropology and comparative religion may be said to shed light on Islamic ritual law and practice. As—to varying degrees—each of my selected authors contests the theories of cultural anthropologist Mary Douglas, special attention is paid to her work. My own opinion is that, as long as we proceed cautiously, an awareness of anthropological approaches and cross-cultural data, such as that proposed by Douglas, can be helpful in understanding (the uniqueness of) Islamic ritual law; and that there are wide-ranging benefits for students of Islam, anthropology and comparative religion in doing just this.

Interiors, Intentions, and the "Spirituality" of Islamic Ritual Practice

The Arabic term niyya (intention) is prominent in texts of Islamic ritual law. Muslim jurists require niyya in the “heart” during such ritual duties as prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage. Western scholars often treat niyya as a “spiritual” component of Islamic ritual. Muslim jurists, however, consistently treat niyya as a formal, taxonomic matter, a mental focus that makes a given act into the specific named duty required by religious law. Although the effort to thrust niyya into a “spiritual” role is meant to defend Islam from charges of “empty ritualism,” it subtly reinforces the characterization of Islam as rigidly legalistic. Much scholarship on niyya belies the scholars' own definition of “proper religion” centered on an inner, individual, nonmaterial dimension of the self. Instead of trying to wash away the formalism of niyya, I argue that scholars ought to recognize that such embodied practices are properly religious rather than spiritually defective. Western ankles won't do what Muslim ankles have done for a lifetime. Asians squat when they sit, Westerners sit upright in chairs. When my guide was down in a posture, I tried everything I could to get down as he was, but there I was, sticking up. After about an hour, my guide left, indicating that he would return later.... I never even thought about sleeping. Watched by the Muslims, I kept practicing prayer posture. I refused to let myself think how ridiculous I must have looked to them. After a while, though, I learned a little trick that would let me get down closer to the floor. But after two or three days, my ankle was going to swell. —Malcolm X: 333–334

Interiors, Intentions, and the "Spirituality" of Islamic Ritual Practice

The Arabic term niyya (intention) is prominent in texts of Islamic ritual law. Muslim jurists require niyya in the "heart" during such ritual duties as prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage. Western scholars often treat niyya as a "spiritual" component of Islamic ritual. Muslim jurists, however, consistently treat niyya as a formal, taxonomic matter, a mental focus that makes a given act into the specific named duty required by religious law. Although the effort to thrust niyya into a "spiritual" role is meant to defend Islam from charges of "empty ritualism," it subtly reinforces the characterization of Islam as rigidly legalistic. Much scholarship on niyya belies the scholars' own definition of "proper religion" centered on an inner, individual, nonmaterial dimension of the self. Instead of trying to wash away the formalism of niyya, I argue that scholars ought to recognize that such embodied practices are properly religious rather than spiritually defective.

Nowa ofiara podstawą Nowego Przymierza (Hbr 8-9)

An exegesis of the central part of The Letter to the Hebrews (8, 1-9, 28) leads to the conclusion that the author of this NT message, being faithful to Biblical tradition (prophetic announcement texts and OT cultic ritual laws) as well as Gospel tradition from the Last Supper gives the conviction that the death and resurrection of Jesus fulfill the Sinai Covenant, particularly its very core, meaning the cult it aimed to attain but did not. Essentially, the earthly shrine in Jerusalem was not the way to heaven, the high priest was a sinful man and did not have a sacrifice uniting the people (man) with God. This cult had a role of a design for the fully effective and final cult. Apparently the Sinai Covenant, according to The Letter to the Hebrews, is an elapsing (aging; temporal) outline of the "New Covenant", the lasting and definitive Covenant-Testament. The autbor shows that tbe relationship between the Sinai Covenant and the New Covenant-Testament in the Letter to the Hebrews is like that between the outline of a picture and the actual picture, in effect a relationship of:- A continuation of that, which comprises the main ideas (a bond between God and people );-A lack in continuation of important institutions (the OT cult);- Radical newness (the sacrifice of Christ joining man with God through the resurrection).The Sinai Covenant is the model of the New Covenant-Testament - the only one for all peoples without exception, as well as the "new and living Way" to God for all - Jews and pagans - it is Jesus Christ, the perfect Man and true Son ofGod "The New Covenant" is not a renewal of the Sinai Covenant, but being a continuation of the old, first way, is at the same time a completely new kind of way. "The New Covenant" is centered about the High Priest, who "once and for all" offered himself as sacrifice and in this way "opened (in himself) the new and living Way" (Heb 10,20a). There is no other Way to the living God for any man on earth in order to be united with Him for ages.

Purity beyond the Temple in the Second Temple Era

(ProQuest Information and Learning: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) In the first line of the article on ritual in Encyclopedia Judaica, we read that is concept that a person or object can be in a state which, by religious law, prevents the person or object from having any contact with the temple or its cult.1 A number of more recent studies have adopted a similar view, claiming that the laws of Second Temple Judaism derive their essential warrant from the existence of the temple cult. In the present study, I refer to such a view as and argue that, in Second Temple times, there was no necessary connection between and the temple. I. Critique of the Minimalist View I must first attend to an important study that puzzlingly combines aspects of both the minimalist and maximalist views: E. P. Sanders's Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah (London: SCM, 1990). By correcting universal misconceptions about ritual and by provoking further investigations into these issues, Sanders has successfully moved the scholarly discussion of ritual laws and practices to a higher level. Sanders's principal objective was to overturn the view, represented chiefly by Gedalyahu Alon and Jacob Neusner, that the Pharisees applied the laws of priestly to their own lives. As Sanders argues, Alon and Neusner made a series of mistaken assumptions regarding both the biblical and the Pharisaic laws: is not the case . . . that the laws of the Bible affect only the temple and the priesthood. Some scholars . . . mistakenly think that 'the settled halakah' of had to do only with these, but that is not so even in biblical law.2 Unfortunately, Sanders allows the view that he is challenging to determine his options. Although he demonstrates that the halakah went beyond the temple, he continues to regard the sanctity of the temple as the motivating principle behind in general, even to the point of formulating Pharisaic practice as minor gesture toward living like priests. In this respect, even Sanders has not broken completely free of the minimalist understanding. He writes that, for most of the daily threats to ritual [t]he only consequence of the impurity is nonaccess to the temple.3 Others have charged Sanders with underestimating the daily impact of ritual purity. This charge is based on his comments on the impracticability of avoiding all forms of impurity and on his dismissal of Mark 7:1-23 as evidence for Pharisaic hand washing before meals. In deciding whether he is guilty of minimalizing the daily impact of ritual however, it should be noted that he often uses the term purity when he really refers to the hypothetical application of specifically priestly requirements to non-priests (as held by Alon, Neusner, and others). According to Sanders, People who say that the Pharisees handled all food in have not paid attention to the realities of life.4 Despite the welcome infusion of historical imagination, the difficulty that Sanders outlines obtains only with respect to the common belief that the Pharisees observed a priestly level of food purity. Given the presumed effect of their regimen of hand washing, there is nothing realistically remarkable about their efforts to eat ordinary food in purity, so long as we understand purity according to a non-priestly standard. Sanders mentions that the institution of tebul yom would have answered the problem of daily but he asserts, on the basis of their opposition to the in t. Yad. 2.20, that the Pharisees did not avail themselves of that device frequently enough to live a life of priestly purity. By dissolving the definitional monopoly of the priestly view, however, we open the question of daily to resolution through hand washing, rather than immersion. It is not unlikely that the morning bathers were simply a group of pietists who consciously opposed the Pharisaic expedient of hand washing. …

Moral values of the Ukrainian people and the ritual law of the Church in the poetic folklore of the nineteenth century

The problem of self-knowledge, originally ethnic, and then national, always excited and continues to worry humanity. At different times, she was sharper, then she calmed down, then stepped forward, then she became one in line with other issues of political, economic and social life. But this problem was inevitable. It was one of the sources of the spirit and activities of the people.

Shame and Honor in the Book of Esther (review)

Hebrew Studies 41 (2000) 303 Reviews the nature of llQPsll cannot be made on internal arguments alone. but must be part and parcel of a more comprehensive theory about the development of the text of scripture. The length of this review gives some indication of how important I consider this book to be for scholars of the scrolls. for text critics. and for all who work on the Psalter. We are indebted to Peter Flint for his diligence and care in presenting this complex and challenging material, and can look forward to many years of lively debate on these issues. Eileen Schuller McMaster University Hamilton. Ontario schuller@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca SHAME AND HONOR IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER. By Timothy S. Laniak. SBLDS 165. pp. 205. Atlanta. GA: Scholars Press, 1998. Cloth. $34.95. Honor and shame are established analytical categories in modem anthropology and have, for some time now. been employed in biblical studies. Timothy S. Laniak has used the rubrics of honor and shame with sound sense to focus a reflection on the social dynamics of the story of Esther. The fIrst chapter introduces the approach and methodological issues. beginning with a brief survey of previous research on the book of Esther. Next, Laniak outlines two patterns in biblical literature, a "guilt and reconciliation " pattern (most common in the prophetic literature, in ritual laws of sacrifice, and in some narrative material), and a "challenge and honor" pattern. This pattern is based on a "crisis of suffering and shame 'without cause'" (p. 9), in which the protagonist faces a crisis and challenge after initial favor, which is reversed by divine intervention and leads to a new status. This pattern can be found in the stories of, for example, Joseph, Daniel. Moses, Job, and Esther. Laniak suggests that because this pattern transcends formal literary boundaries. there is also a corresponding social pattern that mirrors the self-understanding of the community. This gives good reasons for exploring the concepts of honor, shame. and status so central to these stories. The author then goes through a number of biblical terms that are relevant to the understanding of the concepts of honor and Hebrew Studies 41 (2000) 304 Reviews shame. This careful analysis and concentrated presentation functions as a lexicographic foundation for the understanding of honor and shame in the Bible and anchors these elusive tenns in the textual material. The introductory chapter concludes with a presentation and critique of honor and shame studies in anthropology and psychology as applied to the study of cultures. The main body of the book is divided into four parts, each treating two chapters of the book of Esther (the fmal part deals with Esth 8-10). Each of these parts corresponds to one movement in the socio-literary "challenge and honor" pattern. The author summarizes the narrative and provides a commentary that focuses on capturing the "structural and thematic centrality of honor and shame." Comparisons are drawn to other biblical stories and to the individual psalms of lament. Anthropological concepts are introduced throughout, interspersed at appropriate points in the analysis in a way that ties in well with the commentary. The theoretical material is integrated critically, with admirable ease and always with priority on the biblical text. Chapter 1, "Context," describes the setting of the book of Esther and introduces the ftrst phase of the pattern, favor. The story begins in the court of King Ahasuerus, richly portrayed. The king's honor is challenged by the disgraceful behavior of his queen, Vashti. Esther, a Jew in the Persian Diaspora, receives unexpected favor by being appointed queen. Referring back to the introduction, the question of binary opposition between honor and shame in the biblical literature is demonstrated. In accordance with the introductory survey on the semantics of honor, the analysis of the king's status is organized according to the categories Substance , Status, Splendor, and Self. The reciprocal dynamics of honor and shame as something that is "fact" (royal splendor, riches, banquets) and also something that is seen by an Other is demonstrated by the analysis of the public responses to each of the meanings of honor: Dependence, Respect , Awe, and Reputation. The movement of Esther...

Religious Law in a Secular State: the Jurisdiction of the Shari'a Courts of Palestine and Israel

This article's aims consist of assessing the position of divinely revealed law in a territory the history of which has spun full circle. The political organisation of Palestine as part of the Ottoman Empire, moulded and adapted by the British Mandatory administrators, and culminating in Israel's formation, have all contributed to the legal, political and social substructures currently exisiing. The politico-legal history of Palesiine and Israel is unique precisely because of the religious dimension providing as it does a justification for each respective ruler. The perpetually swaying emphasis placed on religion in general, and on religious law in particular, reflected in the political climate of the day, will be examined. For both Islam and Judaism purport to contain within their tenets self-sufficient legal systems, capable of functioning autonomously and covering every aspect of public and private life. Both religions uphold their divinely revealed law as immutable, and yet, for practical purposes, susceptible to interpretation by human bodies properly versed in the Koran and the Torah. The legitimacy of claims by Islam and Judaism regarding the all-encompassing coherence and adaptability of the respective legal systems to the modern-day State are beyond the reach of this article. Rather we shall look at the indisputably inviolable core of both Islam and Judaism: the law of personal status, in which succession shall be included. Family law constitutes the heart of the two religions, almost representing another facet of worship or ritual law. So deeply rooted is it in culture and national identity that it is even observed by the otherwise religiously non-observant. This article is thus devoted to the application of Islamic family law ln Palestine and Israel, including the jurisdiciion enjoyed by the Islamic law (ShanHa) courts It attempts to draw conclusions from the degree of correlation between judicial and political autonomy in the Muslim community under the Ottoman Muslims, the Briesh Christian-secularists and the Israeli Jews. The first part examines the aciiviiies surrounding the establishment of the Supreme Muslim Council, which evolved from a purely administraiive to a largely political organisation, and which effectively oversaw the Shari'a courts. Israeli interference with Muslim personal status law is examined, and conclusions drawn from the nonadherence to, and avoidance of, Israeli statutes by leaders of the community. The

Salt Content of Kosher Meat

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> The letter to the editor by Burns and Neubort¹about reduction in the salt content of kosher meat through soaking presents important practical information for those treating Jewish patients. I should like to call to the attention of the correspondents and of the readers a letter that appeared in a December 1953 issue of<i>JAMA</i>from Dr Bruno Kisch²who carried out similar but somewhat more detailed experiments with similar results. From his data it appears to be useful to advise the patient who "koshers" his meat by salting to use the minimal amount of salt acceptable by ritual law, for the minimal period of time before soaking or boiling. It is also preferable to purchase meat that is obtained from a butcher who salts an entire side of animal rather than to "kosher" small household portions individually, because the amount of salt per gram

Women in Modern Judaism

AbstractThis article attempts a brief sketch of the modern Jewish views of women. To explain modernity, however, it must first survey the major biblical and talmudic themes. Although both the Bible and talmudic materials are densely layered, one quickly sees that the dominant, official texts gave modern Jewish women an ambitious heritage. Only with the Breslav Conference of Reform Judaism in 1846 did a clear call for Jewish women's equality with men in institutional religion sound forth. Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati became an American rallying point among the Reformed, but the Conservative and Orthodox hung back. In recent times sympathetic religious lawyers have attempted halakahic reforms, but Jewish feminists feel that much remains to be done in such realms as divorce, religious ritual, and Israeli civil law.

Contraception and Religiousness in a General Practice Population in Israel

One hundred and seventy-three Jewish women of child-bearing age attending their family doctor were asked about their contraceptive practices and attitudes. Medical means of contraception were used by 42% of the women and coitus interruptus by 44%. Although coitus interruptus is prohibited by Jewish ritual law, its use in fact applies to all age groups of women, irrespective of religiousness or family size. The small group of contraceptive pill users (17%) were younger, had smaller families and expressed a greater readiness to consider abortion in case of accidental pregnancy than the rest of the sample. They were less observant of the religious laws and might be described as 'modern' compared with the larger group of 'traditional' women. The latter preferred the intrauterine device and had larger families, but would not consider abortion, which is forbidden by Jewish law in most cases. The evidence demonstrated that the mainly traditional patients do not conform to the pattern of behaviour prescribed by their religion as closely as expected. As a result of this survey the authors are actively advocating the intrauterine device as a more effective, acceptable alternative to coitus interruptus.

The Matthean Community and the Gentile Mission

The importance that Matthew attached to the gentile mission is clear from the climactic position in which he has placed the universal mission mandate. From this, however, it cannot be inferred that all the members of the evangelist's community were in agreement on this issue. Indeed, Matthew's inclusion of a particularist form of the mission mandate in his Central Section suggests that the gentile mission was controverted at the time of the gospel's composition. A consideration of the development of Christianity's relationship to Judaism before and after the year 70 provides an opportunity to test this conclusion, insofar as the turning to the gentiles was connected with the separation from Judaism. The teaching and practice of the historical Jesus provided the post-Easter community with no clear directive with regard to missionizing gentiles. His attitude of "expectant universalism" could be taken to authorize the gentile mission, since in Jesus' coming the endtime had arrived, but it also could be understood to exclude it, since only if impenitent Israel were converted could the kingdom of God be revealed and the eschatological pilgrimage of the gentiles take place. The first missionaries to the gentiles were the Hellenists, who were suited to this task both by their use of Greek and by their attitude towards the ritual law, which may have been derived from community tradition concerning Jesus' stance on this matter. The actual catalyst for the admission of gentiles to baptism-without circumcision-may have been the appearance of charismatic phenomena among the "friends of the synagogue" of the Hellenists. Paul's radical rejection of the law as a way of salvation led to serious misunderstanding with the Jerusalem leaders in the attempt to resolve the controversy over the circumcision of gentile converts in Antioch. These leaders saw in Paul's missionary successes a sign that God was raising up from the gentiles a new people to his name, and on this basis they withheld their support from the Judaizers. For Paul, on the other hand, the agreement to separate missions and the acceptance of the collection for the Jerusalem poor was a sign of the leaders' recognition of the ΧΟνωνία between Jews and gentiles in the one people of God. It was on this basis that he opposed Cephas in Antioch for respecting James' insistence that Jewish Christians observe the kosher laws and abstain from table fellowship with gentile Christians. Neither Peter nor Barnabas could accept Paul's view of the matter, which amounted to an attempt to force Jewish Christians to live as gentiles, abandoning the law as a way of salvation. At this point Jewish Christianity and Pauline Christianity seem to have gone their separate ways, although Peter did not ally himself unambiguously with either extreme. A sign of Jewish Christian fidelity to the law after Antioch is to be found in the "apostles' decree," which demands of gentile Christians living in predominantly Jewish (or Jewish Christian) localities that they refrain from the same four things that are forbidden to "sojourners" in the Holiness Code. No observant Jewish Christian community living in Palestine during the two decades prior to the outbreak of the Jewish War had occasion to embark on a mission to gentiles, and the character of Matthew's special tradition points to just such a community. As a result of the Jewish War the Matthean church settled in a Greek-speaking area, probably Syria, where the gentile mission was already established. But the immediate catalyst for turning to the gentiles was the campaign of vilification and persecution to which the community was subjected by post-70 Pharisaism, which was no longer satisfied with merely halakic conformity on the part of Jewish Christians. However, the decision at Jamnia seems not yet to have been taken, and some of Matthew's community, in hope of a reconciliation, held back from the fateful step of the gentile mission. Such a step would not have meant the incorporation of gentiles into a Jewish Christian community but rather a definitive break with Judaism, and this is why the issue of circumcision, which had been the center of controversy in connection with earlier gentile conversions, does not arise in Matthew's gospel. The evangelist represents those in his community who believed that the time had come to move in a new direction, but in his initiative he was unable to appeal to the example of Peter, whose authority lies behind the special tradition of the community. Rather, by placing the universal mission mandate on the lips of Jesus as he addresses the Eleven Disciples in the gospel's final scene, the evangelist uses a "deus ex machina" to gain acceptance for the gentile mission and to heal the divisions within the community which had arisen over this issue.

The Matthean Community and the Gentile Mission

AbstractThe importance that Matthew attached to the gentile mission is clear from the climactic position in which he has placed the universal mission mandate. From this, however, it cannot be inferred that all the members of the evangelist's community were in agreement on this issue. Indeed, Matthew's inclusion of a particularist form of the mission mandate in his Central Section suggests that the gentile mission was controverted at the time of the gospel's composition. A consideration of the development of Christianity's relationship to Judaism before and after the year 70 provides an opportunity to test this conclusion, insofar as the turning to the gentiles was connected with the separation from Judaism. The teaching and practice of the historical Jesus provided the post-Easter community with no clear directive with regard to missionizing gentiles. His attitude of "expectant universalism" could be taken to authorize the gentile mission, since in Jesus' coming the endtime had arrived, but it also could be understood to exclude it, since only if impenitent Israel were converted could the kingdom of God be revealed and the eschatological pilgrimage of the gentiles take place. The first missionaries to the gentiles were the Hellenists, who were suited to this task both by their use of Greek and by their attitude towards the ritual law, which may have been derived from community tradition concerning Jesus' stance on this matter. The actual catalyst for the admission of gentiles to baptism-without circumcision-may have been the appearance of charismatic phenomena among the "friends of the synagogue" of the Hellenists. Paul's radical rejection of the law as a way of salvation led to serious misunderstanding with the Jerusalem leaders in the attempt to resolve the controversy over the circumcision of gentile converts in Antioch. These leaders saw in Paul's missionary successes a sign that God was raising up from the gentiles a new people to his name, and on this basis they withheld their support from the Judaizers. For Paul, on the other hand, the agreement to separate missions and the acceptance of the collection for the Jerusalem poor was a sign of the leaders' recognition of the ΧΟνωνία between Jews and gentiles in the one people of God. It was on this basis that he opposed Cephas in Antioch for respecting James' insistence that Jewish Christians observe the kosher laws and abstain from table fellowship with gentile Christians. Neither Peter nor Barnabas could accept Paul's view of the matter, which amounted to an attempt to force Jewish Christians to live as gentiles, abandoning the law as a way of salvation. At this point Jewish Christianity and Pauline Christianity seem to have gone their separate ways, although Peter did not ally himself unambiguously with either extreme. A sign of Jewish Christian fidelity to the law after Antioch is to be found in the "apostles' decree," which demands of gentile Christians living in predominantly Jewish (or Jewish Christian) localities that they refrain from the same four things that are forbidden to "sojourners" in the Holiness Code. No observant Jewish Christian community living in Palestine during the two decades prior to the outbreak of the Jewish War had occasion to embark on a mission to gentiles, and the character of Matthew's special tradition points to just such a community. As a result of the Jewish War the Matthean church settled in a Greek-speaking area, probably Syria, where the gentile mission was already established. But the immediate catalyst for turning to the gentiles was the campaign of vilification and persecution to which the community was subjected by post-70 Pharisaism, which was no longer satisfied with merely halakic conformity on the part of Jewish Christians. However, the decision at Jamnia seems not yet to have been taken, and some of Matthew's community, in hope of a reconciliation, held back from the fateful step of the gentile mission. Such a step would not have meant the incorporation of gentiles into a Jewish Christian community but rather a definitive break with Judaism, and this is why the issue of circumcision, which had been the center of controversy in connection with earlier gentile conversions, does not arise in Matthew's gospel. The evangelist represents those in his community who believed that the time had come to move in a new direction, but in his initiative he was unable to appeal to the example of Peter, whose authority lies behind the special tradition of the community. Rather, by placing the universal mission mandate on the lips of Jesus as he addresses the Eleven Disciples in the gospel's final scene, the evangelist uses a "deus ex machina" to gain acceptance for the gentile mission and to heal the divisions within the community which had arisen over this issue.

Loi Rituelle et Structuration de l'Attitude Religieuse chez l'Enfant

The author bases himself on a series of previous broader research work, concerning the religious mediations in the world of the 6-to-12-year old child. He takes up once again some of the data which he thinks may help him understand the impact of ritual laws and norms in the structuring of the socialized religious attitude. The results reveal sharp differen ces between boys and girls in the degree of interest in ritual laws as well as in the function allotted to them. The religious attitude tends to be more socialized and ritualized among boys, while it tends to be loosely and subjectively structured among girls. An analysis of how boys and girls approach respectively the Divine makes this clear. Among girls, it discloses a close presence relationship with God that is experienced as being with and, among boys, an identification oriented life relation ship which mediates through necessarily ritualized acts. The stability and the function of the law are obviously correlated with this double perception of the divine and shape the resultant religious attitude. This study among children shows that any socio-cultural structure as the religious rite does not shape some unique attitude automatically, but that it is assimilated by the in dividual according to his desire and deep psychological tendencies.