| Creating Judaism: History, Tradition, Practice Michael L. Satlow |
Discussion Questions:
1. What does "mitzvah" mean for the Rabbis? How is it related to their notion of covenant?
2. Are all mitzvot created equal? What are their sources of authority?
3. Do all mitzvot apply to everyone?
4. What is the "meaning" of Shabbat? Of "Kashrut"?
5. How do the practices of the liturgical year create a paradigm or lens through which the Jew
understands the process of time?
6. What is the relationship between a practice or custom and a ritual? How do customs gain
authority?
7. The chapter argues that successful rituals tend to be underdetermined. What does that mean,
and do you agree?
Resources
There are several modern guides to the mitzvot, most of which align relatively strongly with an
ideological movement. A popular Orthodox guide is Hayim Donin, To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish
Observance in Contemporary Life (New York: Basic, 1972). Some of the positions of the
Conservative movement are detailed in Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, Moreshet
Series 6 (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1979), although much has changed
since its publication. Mark Washofsky, Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice
(New York: UAHC Press, 2001), has recently produced a guide to the mitzvot for Reform Jews.
Again, perhaps surprisingly, the halakhah of the Rabbis of antiquity themselves has never been
treated synthetically and comprehensively, and the isolated discussions of it are rarely accessible
to a nonscholarly audience. Lawrence H. Schiffman, “Was There a Galilean Halakhah?” in Lee I.
Levine, ed., The Galilee in Late Antiquity (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America,
1992), pp. 143–156, gives a general account of some religious customs peculiar to the Galilee.
1. What does "mitzvah" mean for the Rabbis? How is it related to their notion of covenant?
2. Are all mitzvot created equal? What are their sources of authority?
3. Do all mitzvot apply to everyone?
4. What is the "meaning" of Shabbat? Of "Kashrut"?
5. How do the practices of the liturgical year create a paradigm or lens through which the Jew
understands the process of time?
6. What is the relationship between a practice or custom and a ritual? How do customs gain
authority?
7. The chapter argues that successful rituals tend to be underdetermined. What does that mean,
and do you agree?
Resources
There are several modern guides to the mitzvot, most of which align relatively strongly with an
ideological movement. A popular Orthodox guide is Hayim Donin, To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish
Observance in Contemporary Life (New York: Basic, 1972). Some of the positions of the
Conservative movement are detailed in Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, Moreshet
Series 6 (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1979), although much has changed
since its publication. Mark Washofsky, Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice
(New York: UAHC Press, 2001), has recently produced a guide to the mitzvot for Reform Jews.
Again, perhaps surprisingly, the halakhah of the Rabbis of antiquity themselves has never been
treated synthetically and comprehensively, and the isolated discussions of it are rarely accessible
to a nonscholarly audience. Lawrence H. Schiffman, “Was There a Galilean Halakhah?” in Lee I.
Levine, ed., The Galilee in Late Antiquity (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America,
1992), pp. 143–156, gives a general account of some religious customs peculiar to the Galilee.
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"Mitzvot" |
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