The Life of Religion

Harvey E. Goldberg, Harvey E. Goldberg

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2001
• ISBN:
  9780520935723
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

Approximately thirteen million people around the world define themselves as Jews, with the majority residing in the United States and Israel. This collection portrays the diversity of Jewish experience as it is practiced and lived in contemporary societies. The book's attention to material culture offers a much-needed addition to more traditional views advanced in the study of Judaism. Through ethnographic and autobiographical perspectives, the essays provide an appreciation of Judaism in daily activities, from domestic food preparation to worshipping; Jewish attachment to the cultures of specific communities, be they in Russia or Morocco; the impact of the Holocaust; the place of the State of Israel in Jewish life; and the role of women. Harvey E. Goldberg, a leading scholar in the anthropology of Judaism, provides an introduction to each chapter that demonstrates the links among the various themes. Ease of communication and travel has resulted in frequent contact--and at times, conflict--between Jews of similar and diverging backgrounds around the world. Visiting distinctive Jewish spaces has become a way of cultivating specific identities and senses of a Jewish past. As ritual, prayers, and attitudes toward authority undergo new constructions and interpretation, Judaism of "the book" also takes on new forms. These essays go a long way in helping us understand a contemporary and multifaceted Judaism, along with its history and texts.

Table of contents

• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The Ethos of an Eastern European Community
• Chapter 2 Preparing for Passover in North Africa
• Chapter 3 Religious Roles of Elderly Women
• Chapter 4 Synagogue Life among American Reform Jews
• Chapter 5 Orthodoxy in an American Synagogue
• Chapter 6 Worship in the Havura Movement
• Chapter 7 Turning to Orthodox Judaism
• Chapter 8 Tradition and Innovation in the Marriage Ceremony
• Chapter 9 A Bat Mitzvah among Russian Jews in America
• Chapter 10 Books as a Path to Jewish Identity
• Chapter 11 Memory and the Holocaust: Two Perspectives
• Chapter 12 Meanings of the Western Wall
• Chapter 13 A Moroccan Jewish Shrine in Israel
• Chapter 14 Religion, Study, and Contemporary Politics
• Chapter 15 Ethiopian Jewry and New Self-Concepts
• GLOSSARY
• SOURCES OF THE SELECTIONS
• CONTRIBUTORS
• INDEX