Jewish Passages - Cycles of Jewish Life

1. Auflage 2003
ISBN: 978-0-520-20693-9
Verlag: University of California Press

Buch, Englisch, 392 Seiten, Cloth Over Boards, Format (B × H): 162 mm x 231 mm, Gewicht: 721 g

American or Middle Eastern, Ashkenazi or Sephardi, insular or immersed in modern life—however diverse their situations or circumstances, Jews draw on common traditions and texts when they mark life's momentous events and rites of passage. The interplay of past and present, of individual practice and collective identity, emerges as a central fact of contemporary Jewish experience in Harvey E. Goldberg's multifaceted account of how Jews celebrate and observe the cycles of life. A leading anthropologist of Jewish culture, Goldberg draws on his own experience as well as classic sources and the latest research to create a nuanced portrait of Jewish rituals and customs that balances the reality of "ordinary Jews" with the authority of tradition.

Looking at classic rites of passage such as circumcision and marriage, along with emerging life-milestone practices like pilgrimage and identity-seeking tourism, Jewish Passages aptly reflects the remarkable cultural and religious diversity within Judaism. This work offers a new view of Jewish culture and history with the individual firmly situated at their center by blending anecdote and historical vignettes with rabbinic, midrashic, and anthropological insights; by exploring Sephardi and Ashkenazi traditions as well as modern ideologies; and by bringing into sharp relief the activities of women and relations with Gentile neighbors. As such, this book provides a unique window on the particulars—and the significance—of personal and communal acts of identification among Jews past, present, and future.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Goldberg, Harvey E.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums Geschichte des Judentums: Moderne & Gegenwart
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums Geschichte des Judentums außerhalb Israels/Palästinas
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Kultursoziologie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Soziologie des Brauchtums und der Traditionen
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionssoziologie und -psychologie, Spiritualität, Mystik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte des Judentums (Diaspora)
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Religionssoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

1. Being Jewish
2. Beginnings: Birth, Circumcision, and Naming
3. Rituals of Education
4. Marriage
5. Pilgrimage and Creating Identities
6. Death, Mourning, and Remembering
7. Bonds of Community and Individual Lives

Appendix 1. Outline of a Circumcision Ceremony (Brit Milah)
Appendix 2. Ceremony for Naming a Daughter (Zeved Ha-bat)
Appendix 3. Tefillin and the Shma
Appendix 4. Elements of the Marriage Service and Blessings
Notes
Glossary
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Harvey E. Goldberg is Professor of Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the editor of The Life of Judaism (California, 2001). He is the author of Jewish Life in Muslim Libya: Rivals and Relatives (1990), and Cave Dwellers and Citrus Growers: A Jewish Community in Libya and Israel (1972).