Creating Judaism

Additions to Site

Administrator — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:22:47 +0000

One syllabus, “Judaism,” has been updated, and Powerpoint presentations have been attached.

I have also added pdf and Word versions of a new undergraduate course, “The Jews: History, Culture, and Religion (Bible to Middle Ages).”

Both syllabi are best accessed by clicking here.

“Choice” Review

Administrator — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:07:13 +0000

The book was reviewed in Choice (June, 2007):

Satlow, Michael L. Creating Judaism: history, tradition, practice. Columbia, 2006. 340p bibl index afp ISBN 0-231-13488-6, $69.50; ISBN 0231134894 pbk, $24.50; ISBN 9780231134897 pbk, $24.50. Reviewed in 2007jun CHOICE. According to Satlow (Brown Univ.), “Judaism” cannot be the name of a single phenomenon; it marks a diverse set of religious conceptions and practices that has evolved in unpredictable ways for over 2,000 years and will continue to evolve in the future. The best that can be said–though it is important to say this much–is that the term indicates communities that identify with the historical people of Israel, seek religious authenticity through interpreting a known (though not completely fixed) canon of sacred texts, and act out their beliefs through a similarly familiar (though also not quite fixed) set of practices. This approach accounts for the remarkably varied history of Judaism and the strikingly varied character of Jewish life in the modern world without having to choose certain phenomena as more authentic or more righteous than others, and without falling into a shapeless relativism in which one thing is as good as anything else. Despite occasional errors of fact and lapses of style, this book will give readers a new perspective on a very old product of human creativity. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-/upper-level undergraduates, professionals/practitioners, and general readers. – R. Goldenberg, SUNY at Stony Brook

I have asked Professor Goldenberg to forward me the mistakes he found. I will post them when I receive them.

Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York

Administrator — Fri, 18 May 2007 15:54:55 +0000

On page 33 of Creating Judaism there is a picture of the sanctuary of Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, at 1 East 65th St., which the congregation generously supplied. I recently had an opportunity to actually go into the sanctuary, which has recently been redone (the reconstruction is documented in the museum there). The picture does not even begin to do justice to the majesty and awe of the sanctuary, which outstrips many of the gothic cathedrals of Europe. From the enormous soaring roof to intricate mosaic windows to the imposing dais in front of a vast number of pews, it is quite a structure. The virtual tour can be seen through the congregation’s website, but I highly recommend a visit.

Incidentally, at least on the day that I visited (no religious services were being held then) there was an American but no Israeli flag on the dais. It has become common for modern synagogues to have both, and I suspect that the absence of an Israeli flag hearkens back to the Congregation’s history without making a modern statement about the importance of Israel.

Sabbatai Tzvi and the Doenmeh

Administrator — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:52:00 +0000

An article in the Forward by Jay Michaelson discusses the anticipated destruction of Sabbatai Tzvi’s former residence in Turkey and, more surprisingly, the reaction of the doenmeh, who continue to see the house as a shrine:

Far away from the eyes of the Jewish mainstream, in modern-day Turkey there live hundreds, if not thousands, of crypto-Jews — and today, one of their most sacred shrines is in danger.