Jewish Studies Commons^™

Is Judaism Democratic? Reflections From Theory And Practice Throughout The Ages, Leonard J. Greenspoon

Purdue University Press Book Previews

As government by the people, democracy has always had its proponents as well as opponents. What forms of government have Jewish leaders, both with and without actual political power, favored? Not surprisingly, many options have been offered theoretically and in practice. Perhaps more surprisingly, democracy has been at the heart of most systems of governance. Biblical Israel was largely a monarchy, but many writers of the Bible were critical of the excesses that almost always arise when human kings take charge: the general populace loses its freedom. In rabbinic Judaism, the majority ruled, and many principles that support modern democratic …

The Quest For Redemption: Central European Jewish Thought In Joseph Roth's Works, Rares G. Piloiu

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Quest for Redemption: Central European Jewish Thought in Joseph Roth's Works by Rares Piloiu fills an important gap in Roth scholarship, placing Roth’s major works of fiction for the first time in the context of a generational interest in religious redemption among the Jewish intellectuals of Central Europe. In it, Piloiu argues that Roth’s challenging, often contradictory and ambivalent literary output is the result of an attempt to recast moral, political, and historical realities of an empirically observable world in a new, religiously transfigured reality through the medium of literature. This diegetic recasting of phenomenological encounters with the real is …

Borders, Territories, And Ethics: Hebrew Literature In The Shadow Of The Intifada, Adia Mendelson-Maoz

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Borders, Territories, and Ethics: Hebrew Literature in the Shadow of the Intifada by Adia Mendelson-Maoz presents a new perspective on the multifaceted relations between ideologies, space, and ethics manifested in contemporary Hebrew literature dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the occupation. In this volume, Mendelson-Maoz analyzes Israeli prose written between 1987 and 2007, relating mainly to the first and second intifadas, written by well-known authors such as Yehoshua, Grossman, Matalon, Castel-Bloom, Govrin, Kravitz, and Levy. Mendelson-Maoz raises critical questions regarding militarism, humanism, the nature of the State of Israel as a democracy, national identity and its borders, soldiers as moral …

Found In Translation: Essays On Biblical Jewish Translation In Honor Of Leonard J. Greenspoon, James W. Barker, Anthony Ledonne, Joel N. Lohr

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Found in Translation is at once a themed volume on the translation of ancient Jewish texts and a Festschrift for Leonard J. Greenspoon, the Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Professor in Jewish Civilization and professor of classical and near Eastern studies and of theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Greenspoon has made significant contributions to the study of Jewish biblical translations, particularly the ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, known as the Septuagint. This volume comprises an internationally renowned group of scholars presenting a wide range of original essays on Bible translation, the influence of culture on …

Of Levinas And Shakespeare: "To See Another Thus", Sandor Goodhart, Moshe Gold, Kent Lehnhof

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Scholars have used Levinas as a lens through which to view many authors and texts, fields of endeavor, and works of art. Yet no book-length work or dedicated volume has brought this thoughtful lens to bear in a sustained discussion of the works of Shakespeare. It should not surprise anyone that Levinas identified his own thinking as Shakespearean. "The play’s the thing" for both, or put differently, the observation of intersubjectivity is. What may surprise and indeed delight all learned readers is to consider what we might yet gain from considering each in light of the other.

Comprising leading scholars …

Vicarious Victimhood As Post-Holocaust Jewish Identity In Erica Fischer's Auto/Biography Aimée And Jaguar, Anne Rothe

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Vicarious Victimhood as Post-Holocaust Jewish Identity in Erica Fischer's Auto/Biography Aimée and Jaguar" Anne Rothe reads the Austrian-Jewish journalist's interview-based dual biography in autobiographical terms. Taking recourse to such para-texts as the preface and epilogue, in which Fischer reflects on her own subject position, in addition to the auto/biographical narrative itself, Rothe critiques the notion of constructing secular Jewish identity based on the notion of vicarious or hereditary Holocaust victimhood. This provocative new reading reveals that the biography Fischer wrote constitutes a counter-narrative to the story her main collaborator, Lilly Wust, told the author about her …

Tastes Of Faith: Jewish Eating In The United States, Leah Hochman

The Jewish Role in American Life: An Annual Review

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are," wrote the 18th Century French politician and musician Jean Brillat-Savarin, giving expression to long held assumptions about the role of food, taste, and eating in the construction of cultural identities.

Foodways—the cultural, religious, social, economic, and political practices related to food consumption and production—unpack and reveal the meaning of what we eat, our tastes. They explain not just our flavor profiles, but our senses of refinement and judgment. They also reveal quite a bit about the history and culture of how food operates and performs in society. …

Profile Interview With Pamela K. Sari, Keslee Diiorio

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Pamela K. Sari is a PhD candidate in American studies at Purdue University. She also is affi liated with the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Program and the Anthropology Department. Her research, teaching, and engagement interests relate to how individuals and communities navigate issues of “home” and “belonging.” Her dissertation research examines a transnational connection between a Charismatic megachurch in central Java, Indonesia, and its American church partners, particularly Indonesian immigrant churches in southern California. Through her experience living in Indonesia and the United States where religious practices are prevalent, she is interested in the intersectionality between religion and …

Olam Ha-Zeh V’Olam Ha-Ba: This World And The World To Come In Jewish Belief And Practice, Leonard Greenspoon

Studies in Jewish Civilization

Dining on Leviathan. Discoursing with Socrates. Debating the nature of existence in the afterlife. These are among the topics authors address in this wide-ranging account of how Jews have conceptualized the world to come and structured their lives in this world accordingly. Some authorities portrayed the afterlife as an endless round of feasting and drinking of chazerie that would put the fanciest Las Vegas buffets to shame. There were visionaries who mapped out otherworldly climes populated by monstrous creatures. Others, decidedly more staid, saw the world to come as a location where neither food nor wine would be consumed; instead, …

53 People In The [Hebrew] Bible Confirmed Archaeologically, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This is a list, with end-note documentation, of 53 people in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament who are strongly identified in published inscriptions of known authenticity, in most instances from during or quite close to their lifetimes. It includes people from ancient Egypt, Moab, Aram-Damascus, the northern kingdom of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah, Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia.

The intent is to include only well-grounded, strong identifications that can be trusted.

Mykytiuk's publications firmly reject the haphazard, "flying by the seat of the pants" approach of numerous online lists which are created without explicit criteria or by suspect use of …

Across The Iron Curtain: Postwar Jewish Displacement, Dispersion, And Contact, Rebekah Klein-Pejsova

Library Scholars Grant Program

No abstract provided.

From Shtetl To Stardom: Jews And Hollywood, Vincent Brook, Michael Renov

Purdue University Press Books

The outsized influence of Jews in American entertainment from the early days of Hollywood to the present has proved an endlessly fascinating and controversial topic, for Jews and non-Jews alike. From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood takes an exciting and innovative approach to this rich and complex material. Exploring the subject from a scholarly perspective as well as up close and personal, the book combines historical and theoretical analysis by leading academics in the field with inside information from prominent entertainment professionals. Essays range from Vincent Brook’s survey of the stubbornly persistent canard of Jewish industry “control” to Lawrence …

From Shtetl To Stardom: Jews And Hollywood, Vincent Brook, Michael Renov

Purdue University Press Book Previews

The outsized influence of Jews in American entertainment from the early days of Hollywood to the present has proved an endlessly fascinating and controversial topic, for Jews and non-Jews alike. From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood takes an exciting and innovative approach to this rich and complex material. Exploring the subject from a scholarly perspective as well as up close and personal, the book combines historical and theoretical analysis by leading academics in the field with inside information from prominent entertainment professionals. Essays range from Vincent Brook’s survey of the stubbornly persistent canard of Jewish industry “control” to Lawrence …

The Writers, Artists, Singers, And Musicians Of The National Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association (Omike), 1939–1944, Frederick Bondy

Purdue University Press Book Previews

In May 1938, Hungary passed anti-Semitic laws causing hundreds of Jewish artists to lose their jobs. In response, Budapest’s Jewish community leaders organized an Artistic Enterprise under the aegis of OMIKE Országos Magyar Izraelita Közművelődési Egyesület (Hungarian Jewish Education Association) to provide employment and livelihood for actors, singers, musicians, conductors, composers, writers, playwrights, painters, graphic artists, and sculptors.

Between 1939 and 1944, activities were centered in Goldmark Hall beside the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest. Hundreds of artists from all over Hungary took part in about one thousand performances, including plays, concerts, cabaret, ballet, operas, and operettas. These performances appealed …

Mishpachah: The Jewish Family In Tradition And In Transition, Leonard Greenspoon

Studies in Jewish Civilization

Dictionary definitions of the term mishpachah are seemingly straightforward: “A Jewish family or social unit including close and distant relatives—sometimes also close friends.” As accurate as such definitions are, they fail to capture the diversity and vitality of real, flesh-and-blood Jewish families.

Families have been part of Jewish life for as long as there have been Jews. It is useful to recall that the family is the basic narrative building block of the stories in the biblical book of Genesis, which can be interpreted in the light of ancient literary traditions, archaeological discoveries, and rabbinic exegesis. Rabbinic literature also is …

Mishpachah: The Jewish Family In Tradition And In Transition, Leonard J. Greenspoon

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Dictionary definitions of the term mishpachah are seemingly straightforward: “A Jewish family or social unit including close and distant relatives—sometimes also close friends.” As accurate as such definitions are, they fail to capture the diversity and vitality of real, flesh-and-blood Jewish families.

Families have been part of Jewish life for as long as there have been Jews. It is useful to recall that the family is the basic narrative building block of the stories in the biblical book of Genesis, which can be interpreted in the light of ancient literary traditions, archaeological discoveries, and rabbinic exegesis. Rabbinic literature also is …

Eleven Non-Royal Jeremianic Figures Strongly Identified In Authentic, Contemporaneous Inscriptions, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Using established criteria, this article identifies nine persons mentioned in the book of Jeremiah and two high priests in 1 Chronicles, all of whom were contemporaries of Jeremiah. These persons are identified with virtual certainty in inscriptions of known authenticity contemporaneous with that prophet. Some these inscriptions came to light as recently as 2005 and 2008.

Authentic bullae from excavations in the City of David refer to several Hebrew people named in the Bible. These are: Gemaryahu the king’s minister and his father Shaphan the scribe, Yehukal the king’s minister and his father Shelemyahu, Gedalyahu the king’s minister and his …

Sephardi And Mizrahi Jews In America, Saba Soomekh

The Jewish Role in American Life: An Annual Review

Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews in America includes academics, artists, writers, and civic and religious leaders who contributed chapters focusing on the Sephardi and Mizrahi experience in America. Topics will address language, literature, art, diaspora identity, and civic and political engagement.

When discussing identity in America, one contributor will review and explore the distinct philosophy and culture of classic Sephardic Judaism, and how that philosophy and culture represents a viable option for American Jews who seek a rich and meaningful medium through which to balance Jewish tradition and modernity. Another chapter will provide a historical perspective of Sephardi/Ashkenazi Diasporic tensions. Additionally, …

Wealth And Poverty In Jewish Tradition, Leonard Greenspoon

Studies in Jewish Civilization

Economic inequity is an issue of worldwide concern in the twenty-first century. Although these issues have not troubled all people at all times, they are nonetheless not new. Thus, it is not surprising that Judaism has developed many perspectives, theoretical and practical, to explain and ameliorate the circumstances that produce serious economic disparity. This volume offers an accessible collection of articles that deal comprehensively with this phenomenon from a variety of approaches and perspectives.

Within this framework, the fourteen authors who contributed to Wealth and Poverty in Jewish Tradition bring a formidable array of experience and insight to uncover interconnected …

Documentation And Fiction In Hameiri's Accounts Of The Great War, Tamar S. Drukker

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Documentation and Fiction in Hameiri's Accounts of the Great War" Tamar S. Drukker discusses the only surviving Hebrew-language docu-novel of the Great War, written by Avigdor Hameiri (1890-1970), a Hungarian Jewish officer. His 1930 memoir The Great Madness is a wartime personal journal about his life at the Russian front. Many of the episodes described in The Great Madness receive a more styled treatment in Hameiri's wartime short stories which appeared in three collections during the 1920s. These stories are sometimes surreal, symbolic, and carefully crafted. Drukker's study of Hameiri's wartime life writing and his literary rendition …

A Female Adolescent Bystander's Diary And The Jewish Hungarian Holocaust, Gergely Kunt

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "A Female Adolescent Bystander's Diary and the Jewish Hungarian Holocaust" Gergely Kunt analyzes the unpublished diary manuscript of Margit Molnár, a Hungarian Roman Catholic adolescent girl born in 1927 who kept a diary between 1941 and 1949. Kunt's analysis shows how Molnár viewed Jews, the persecution of Jews, and the anti-Jewish terror in Budapest. As the diary documents, Molnár's views of the Jews temporarily changed during the Arrow Cross's reign of terror in October 1944 when she received news of the Arrow Cross murdering Jews en masse in Budapest. However, once the war was over, Molnár's deep-seated …

Strengthening Biblical Historicity Vis-A`-Vis Minimalism, 1992–2008 And Beyond. Part 2.3: Some Commonalities In Approaches To Writing Ancient Israel’S History, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This series of articles covers scholarly works in English which can, at least potentially, be associated with a generally positive view of biblical historicity regarding periods preceding the Israelites’ return from exile. Part 2 covers works that treat the methodological issues at the center of the maximalist–minimalist debate. Parts 2.1 and 2.2 selectively survey the works of 24 non-minimalist scholars during two decades. In the absence of consensus, this article analyzes the works in Parts 2.1 and 2.2, tracing elements of approach that are held in common, at least among pluralities of non-minimalists (possible majorities are not noted). The first …

Beyond Stereotypes: American Jews And Sports, Ari F. Sclar

The Jewish Role in American Life: An Annual Review

In the decades after the Civil War, sports slowly gained a prominent position within American culture. This development provided Jews with opportunities to participate in one of the few American cultures not closed off to them. Jewish athleticism challenged anti-Semitic depictions of Jews supposed physical inferiority while helping to construct a modern American Jewish identity. An Americanization narrative emerged that connected Jewish athleticism with full acceptance and integration into American society. This acceptance was not without struggle, but Jews succeeded and participated in the American sporting culture as athletes, coaches, owners, and fans.

The diversity of topics in this volume …

Cumulative Index Of Clcweb: Comparative Literature And Culture (1999-), Steven Tötösy De Zepetnek

CLCWeb Library

No abstract provided.

Who Is A Jew?: Reflections On History, Religion, And Culture, Leonard Greenspoon

Studies in Jewish Civilization

Jewish identity is a perennial concern, as Jews seek to define the major features and categories of those who “belong,” while at the same time draw distinctions between individuals and groups on the “inside” and those on the “outside.” From a variety of perspectives, scholarly as well as confessional, there is intense interest among non-Jewish and Jewish commentators alike in the basic question, “Who is a Jew?”

This collection of articles draws diverse historical, cultural, and religious insights from scholars who represent a wide range of academic and theological disciplines. Some of the authors directly address the issue of Jewish …

Greenberg's Prose And Poetry About World War I, Chanita Goodblatt

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Greenberg's Prose and Poetry about World War I" Chanita Goodblatt analyzes the literary response of Uri Zvi Greenberg to the war. His volume of poetry Krieg oyf der Erd— largely untranslated to English — can be read as part of a multicultural literary response to World War I, particularly in juxtaposition with the poems of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Goodblatt posits that a study of shared esthetic strategies and literary traditions underlines the way in which Greenberg created an "alienated wanderer" who witnesses and stands helpless in the face of the violence and destruction of …

Introduction To History, Memory, And The Making Of Character In Roth’S Fiction, Victoria Aarons, Gustavo Sánchez-Canales

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Akedah, The Holocaust, And The Limits Of The Law In Roth's "Eli, The Fanatic", Aimee L. Pozorski

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Akedah, the Holocaust, and the Limits of the Law in Roth's 'Eli, the Fanatic'" Aimee L. Pozorski argues that Philip Roth's 1957 short story dramatizes the tension between the law on the one hand and the philosophy of ethics, on the other hand with the story's protagonist ultimately choosing ethics as evidenced by his identification with a displaced Hasidic Jew near the story's end. In reading the story through the inter-textual references to the Genesis story of the Akedah, Pozorski discusses the limits of the law in the face of vulnerable children and within the context of …

European Literary Tradition In Roth's Kepesh Trilogy, Gustavo Sánchez-Canales

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

in his article "European Literary Tradition in Roth's Kepesh Trilogy" Gustavo Sánchez-Canales discusses the significance of European literature in Philip Roth's novels. Sánchez-Canales analyses the influence of Nikolai Gogol's "The Nose" and Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" on Roth's The Breast and in Roth's The Professor of Desire of Anton Chekhov's tales and Franz Kafka's "A Hunger Artist" and The Castle. Further, Sánchez-Canales elaborates on the impact of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and W.B. Yeats's poem "Sailing to Byzantium" on Roth's The Dying Animal.

Philip Roth, Henry Roth And The History Of The Jews, Timothy Parrish

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Philip Roth, Henry Roth and the History of the Jews" Timothy Parrish argues that while Roth's status as a Jewish American writer has been a pressing issue since his career began and that while in recent scholarship Roth's achievement as a US-American writer is stressed, the durability of Roth's work depends more on its implied submission to a Jewish tradition. From "The Conversion of the Jews" (1959) to Nemesis (2010), his characters challenge endlessly the ethical and moral constructs of their Jewish community to acknowledge the fact that they exist inside of it. One might choose any …