| Creating Judaism: History, Tradition, Practice Michael L. Satlow |
Discussion Questions
This chapter introduces the approach of the book, which derives from the academic study of
religion. As you read you might want to think about the following questions:
1. What is “religion”?
2. What is “a religion”?
3. Before reading this chapter, how would you have defined “Judaism”? How similar is the
definition given in the chapter to your definition?
4. How do “first-order” definitions in religion differ from “second-order” ones?
5. What are three questions that are inappropriate for the academic study of religion? Three
appropriate questions? What makes a question appropriate for a given context but inappropriate
for another?
Resources
Despite the many books that claim to “introduce” Judaism, very few actually wrestle with the
definitional issues, and the few that do tend to adopt an implicitly essentialist perspective. The issue
of definition is defined in more detail in Michael L. Satlow, "Defining Judaism: Accounting for
'Religions' in the Study of Religion," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74/4 (2006): 837-
860. Among the best of the introductory books are Michael Fishbane, Judaism: Revelation and Its
Traditions, Religious Traditions of the World (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987); Nicholas de
Lange, An Introduction to Judaism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000); Jacob
Neusner, The Way of the Torah: An Introduction to Judaism, Religious Life of Man (Belmont, Calif.:
Wadsworth, 1988); and Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Judaism: History, Belief, and Practice (London:
Routledge, 2003). Robert M. Seltzer, Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in
History (New York: Macmillan, 1980), remains a classic introduction to Jewish history and
civilization. An excellent, edited survey of Jewish culture, in the largest sense of the term, is David
Biale, ed., Cultures of the Jews: A New History (New York: Schocken, 2002).
This chapter introduces the approach of the book, which derives from the academic study of
religion. As you read you might want to think about the following questions:
1. What is “religion”?
2. What is “a religion”?
3. Before reading this chapter, how would you have defined “Judaism”? How similar is the
definition given in the chapter to your definition?
4. How do “first-order” definitions in religion differ from “second-order” ones?
5. What are three questions that are inappropriate for the academic study of religion? Three
appropriate questions? What makes a question appropriate for a given context but inappropriate
for another?
Resources
Despite the many books that claim to “introduce” Judaism, very few actually wrestle with the
definitional issues, and the few that do tend to adopt an implicitly essentialist perspective. The issue
of definition is defined in more detail in Michael L. Satlow, "Defining Judaism: Accounting for
'Religions' in the Study of Religion," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74/4 (2006): 837-
860. Among the best of the introductory books are Michael Fishbane, Judaism: Revelation and Its
Traditions, Religious Traditions of the World (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987); Nicholas de
Lange, An Introduction to Judaism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000); Jacob
Neusner, The Way of the Torah: An Introduction to Judaism, Religious Life of Man (Belmont, Calif.:
Wadsworth, 1988); and Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Judaism: History, Belief, and Practice (London:
Routledge, 2003). Robert M. Seltzer, Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in
History (New York: Macmillan, 1980), remains a classic introduction to Jewish history and
civilization. An excellent, edited survey of Jewish culture, in the largest sense of the term, is David
Biale, ed., Cultures of the Jews: A New History (New York: Schocken, 2002).
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"Introduction" |
| Copyright Michael L. Satlow 2007 All rights reserved Comments? Suggestion? Contact the author! |