3. How did Judaism develop?

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780199687350.003.0004 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Norman Solomon

Keyword(s):

Jewish Life ◽

Social Value ◽

The Bible

It is interesting that a people subjected to so much harassment, persecution, denial, and exile managed to produce a culture of great vitality. ‘How did Judaism develop?’ examines the stories of eight men and two women that illustrate some aspect of spiritual, intellectual, or social value in Jewish life. The Talmud is the heart of Judaism. After the Bible, it is the book most studied by Jews, but it is not known who put it together and edited it. Every generation has its Stamaim, the anonymous scholars and humble practitioners who actually shape and implement the inspirations of the ‘named ones’ who came before them.

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The Paris Disputation, 1240

Judaism on Trial ◽

10.3828/liverpool/9780197100462.003.0002 ◽

1984 ◽

pp. 19-38

Keyword(s):

Religious Experience ◽

Jewish Life ◽

Main Line ◽

Historical Experience ◽

The Bible ◽

Actual Content ◽

Set Up

This chapter discusses the Paris Disputation of 1240, which shows a less developed concept, on the Christian side, of how Judaism could be attacked than is seen in the two subsequent disputations. The less sophisticated approach of the Paris Disputation is shown in the line actually taken against the Talmud. The main line taken was that the Talmud had no right to exist, since its claim to sanctity set up a rival to the unique authority of the Scriptures. Christians thought of the Talmud as a book, which had somehow usurped the role in Jewish life that ought to be occupied by the Bible alone. They did not realise that the Talmud is not a book, but a whole library of books, covering many centuries of continuous Jewish religious experience, all centring on the Scripture, but interpreting that Scripture in the light of changing historical conditions. Thus, in attacking the Talmud, the Christians were not attacking a book, as they thought, but the Jewish Church and Jewish historical experience. The chapter then considers the two categories of charges against the actual content of the Talmud: the charges of anti-Christian content; and the charges of stupidity, obscenity, and blasphemy against God.

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Legend in Jewish Children's Literature

Judaica Librarianship ◽

10.14263/2330-2976.1239 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 97-99

Author(s):

Ellen Frankel

Keyword(s):

Children's Literature ◽

Subject Matter ◽

Jewish Life ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

Family Members ◽

The Bible ◽

Recent Interest ◽

The Subject ◽

Children's Stories

Until recent times, Jewish children's legends did not exist as a separate literature. Children learned stories either from classical Jewish sources, family members, or traveling story tellers. Recent interest in and publication of Jewish children's stories represent both a boon and a danger. Contemporary versions of traditional tales blur the distinctions between fiction and folklore, challenging the inherent conservatism of the folk process. What makes a particular story Jewish? Jewish tales attempt to find meaning and divine purpose in national and personal events. They also resonate with old voices—"proof-texts" from the Bible and rabbinic writings—as well as new voices continuing ancient conversations and debates. The tales are often driven by the process of midrash, amplifying and interpreting older narratives. The subject matter of Jewish legends has changed in the wake of national exile and persecution. Post-exilic tales reflect the "double-edged" experience of Jewish life the triumph of Jewish wit and the shame of Jewish powerlessness. Today's tales continue this tradition but add to the folkloric process the new element of individual authorship.

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Exile and Diaspora in the Bible

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190240943.013.10 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 21-38

Author(s):

Adele Berlin

Keyword(s):

Ethnic Identity ◽

Jewish Identity ◽

Jewish Life ◽

The Bible ◽

Babylonian Exile

This essay focuses on biblical views of exile as portrayed in historiographic narrative and in prophetic and poetic literature. It considers the pre-exilic idea that exile is a punishment for unfaithfulness to God and the broader postexilic concept of the ongoing exile as a way to describe the Jewish condition in the restored Judah. Drawing on Mesopotamian documents as well as on the Bible, it constructs a picture of Jewish life in the Babylonian exile and discusses the diaspora stories of Esther and Daniel, where Jews preserved their ethnic identity and flourished. In the Bible, exile transcended the historical deportations and became an important element in postexilic Jewish identity.

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