| Creating Judaism: History, Tradition, Practice Michael L. Satlow |
Discussion Questions:
1. What are the ideological differences between modern Jewish denominations?
2. Are is the relationship between these ideologies and actual Jewish practices?
3. What are the issues that most divide and unite Jews today?
4. Do you think that American Jews are more similar to Israeli Jews, or to non-Jewish Americans of
their same social and economic backgrounds?
5. Messianic Jews (e.g., Jews who accept Jesus as the messiah) and Black Hebrews (genealogical
non-Jews who adhere to biblical precepts) claim their religion to be Judaism. By what criteria
should such claims be evaluated?
Resources
For a snapshot of American and Israeli Jews today, see Samuel G. Freedman, Jew Versus Jew:
The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000). Jack
Wertheimer, A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America (New York: Basic, 1993) still
offers an excellent picture of the state of the Jewish movements in America. Several ethnographic
accounts of modern Jews are indispensable. Samuel C. Heilman’s many works, especially
Synagogue Life: A Study in Symbolic Interaction (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976),
remain classics; look also at his new book, Sliding to the Right: The Contest for the Future of
American Jewish Orthodoxy (Berkeley: University of California Press). Several books offer sensitive
sociological analyses of American and Israeli Judaism: Charles S. Liebman and Steven M. Cohen,
Two Worlds of Judaism: The Israeli and American Experiences (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1990); Steven M. Cohen and Arnold M. Eisen, The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in
America (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000); and Charles S. Liebman and Elihu Katz,
eds., The Jewishness of Israelis: Responses to the Guttman Report (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1997). For the history of American Jews, see the magisterial Jonathan D. Sarna,
American Judaism: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994).
All the movements have an active web presence:
Orthodox Judaism:
Conservative Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reconstructionist Judaism
There are a large number of other online resources for studying contemporary Judaism. The
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Forward, and the Jerusalem Post track developments in modern
Judaism. Then, of course, there are the blogs: At the moment, one that I like is Canonist. The
North American Jewish Data Bank is a gold mine of data for serious inquiry of American Jews.
Multimedia Resources
1. What are the ideological differences between modern Jewish denominations?
2. Are is the relationship between these ideologies and actual Jewish practices?
3. What are the issues that most divide and unite Jews today?
4. Do you think that American Jews are more similar to Israeli Jews, or to non-Jewish Americans of
their same social and economic backgrounds?
5. Messianic Jews (e.g., Jews who accept Jesus as the messiah) and Black Hebrews (genealogical
non-Jews who adhere to biblical precepts) claim their religion to be Judaism. By what criteria
should such claims be evaluated?
Resources
For a snapshot of American and Israeli Jews today, see Samuel G. Freedman, Jew Versus Jew:
The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000). Jack
Wertheimer, A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America (New York: Basic, 1993) still
offers an excellent picture of the state of the Jewish movements in America. Several ethnographic
accounts of modern Jews are indispensable. Samuel C. Heilman’s many works, especially
Synagogue Life: A Study in Symbolic Interaction (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976),
remain classics; look also at his new book, Sliding to the Right: The Contest for the Future of
American Jewish Orthodoxy (Berkeley: University of California Press). Several books offer sensitive
sociological analyses of American and Israeli Judaism: Charles S. Liebman and Steven M. Cohen,
Two Worlds of Judaism: The Israeli and American Experiences (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1990); Steven M. Cohen and Arnold M. Eisen, The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in
America (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000); and Charles S. Liebman and Elihu Katz,
eds., The Jewishness of Israelis: Responses to the Guttman Report (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1997). For the history of American Jews, see the magisterial Jonathan D. Sarna,
American Judaism: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994).
All the movements have an active web presence:
Orthodox Judaism:
- Orthodox Union: http://www.ou.org
- Yeshiva University: http://www.yu.edu
- Rabbinic Council of America: www.rabbis.org
- Habad (Lubavitch): http://www.chabad.org
Conservative Judaism
- United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism: http://www.ucsj.org
- Rabbinical Assembly: http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org
- Jewish Theological Seminary of America: http://www.jtsa.edu
- University of Judaism: http://www.uj.edu
Reform Judaism
- Union for Reform Judaism: http://www.urj.org
- Central Conference of American Rabbis: http://www.ccarnet.org
- Hebrew Union College: http://www.huc.edu
Reconstructionist Judaism
- Jewish Reconstructionist Federation: http://www4.jrf.org
- The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association: http://www.theRRA.org
- Reconstructionist Rabbinical College: http://www.rrc.edu
There are a large number of other online resources for studying contemporary Judaism. The
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Forward, and the Jerusalem Post track developments in modern
Judaism. Then, of course, there are the blogs: At the moment, one that I like is Canonist. The
North American Jewish Data Bank is a gold mine of data for serious inquiry of American Jews.
Multimedia Resources
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"Promised Lands" |
| Copyright Michael L. Satlow 2007 All rights reserved Comments? Suggestion? Contact the author! |
View of the mehitzah from the women's
section, Providence Hebrew Day
School.
section, Providence Hebrew Day
School.