Intro to Judaism Final Exam

Question 1

Great Tradition

Answer 1

Official culture, literary, taught in lessons, taught in scholarly settings, elite, static, universal, object of veneration, unifies diverse communities
Canonical works of Bible, Talmud, Midrash, etc
Often in Hebrew and Aramaic
Common heritage of Jewish people
Portable tradition
Moses; Rabbi Akiva; Maimonides; Sholom Aleichem; H.N. Bialik; Cynthia Ozick
Cultural treasures

Question 2

Little Tradition

Answer 2

Little Tradition: folk culture, oral, taught by example, taught in informal settings, includes unlearned, constantly changing, local, object of affection, expresses diversity of regional communities
Jewish songs, food, words, sayings
Stuff Jews grow up with and know

Question 3

Judaization

Answer 3

Jews incorporate feature of outside culture into their own culture ike Yiddish which is a Germanic language, Hora is a romanian dance, felafel is a middle eastern appetizer, Borscht is a Russian jew, hasidic melodies are sometimes Ukrainian shepherding songs

Modes of Judaization: Change meaning, form, function or circumstances

Question 4

De-Judaization

Answer 4

jewish practices spread to non Jews; Jewish practice spreads to non-Jews
As a result
Practice is no longer identified specifically with jews, even though Jews may continue to practice it
Practice may become anathema to Jews who wish to differentiate themselves from non-Jews

Question 5

(Reasons for diversity of Jewish practice)

Answer 5

1) oral quality of little tradition, 2) high degree of detail in little tradition, 3) prevailing conditions, 4) ambient non-Jewish culture

Question 6

Jewish vernacular languages

Answer 6

Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-french, Judeo-italian, judeo-provencal, djudezmo (judeo-spanish), yiddish(judeo-german) Lowenstein says vernaculars have disappeared, Benor says they are alive and well

Question 7

American Jewish English

Answer 7

Base language is english, hebrew syntax, influence of prior jewish vernacular: yiddish
Hebrew and aramaic loanwords, hebrew characters and calligraphy, secretive/humorous/derisive ways of talking about non-Jews and avoidance of words that seem too non-Jewish
Recognition of language as distinctly jewish

Question 8

Patronymns

Answer 8

not originally hereditary; didn’t become fixed names, sometimes in hebrew; often in vernacular

Question 9

Matronymns

Answer 9

more common in jewish culture than in many other cultures
Mother was only living parent, mother ran family business,
Mother was cooler
Matronymns used in prayer for the sick in synagogue

Question 10

Jewish dietary laws

Answer 10

Prohibition against eating blood, sciatic nerve of an animals (hindquarters), against cooking a kid in his mother’s milk, eating an animal found mangled in the field, eating an animal that has died a natural death

Question 11

The prohibition on “their laws” in Leviticus 18:3

Answer 11

Maimonides–Mishnah Torah– muvdal (Israel should be differentiated from Gentiles), yadua (identifiable), don’t wear something distinctive (ha-meyuhad)

Question 12

Cappa garment (and relevant controversies from Jewish Renaissance Italy)

Answer 12

It was a cloak, an academic gown worn in Italian universities and a physician’s robe. Two rabbis reported complaints that the wearing of cappas by Jews violated the prohibition of “their laws” In Lev 18:3

Question 13

The Maharik (Rabbi Joseph ben Solomon Colon Trabotto) and his responsum on the cappa

Answer 13

1st category, a thing whose reason is not clear; jew is doing it purely to imitate non-Jew
2nd, breaking through the fence of modesty and humility, Jew shouldn’t do it because it doesn’t befit jewish behavior
No prohibition on the cappa because it distinguishes a person’s achievements. And jewish people can’t wear clothing that is completely different from the nations in every way

Question 14

kippah

Answer 14

Hebrew word for the skullcap, from cappa. Not in the Bible, not in palestinian Talmud, practice of men’s head covering appears in Babylonian Talmud
Custom of scholars: not before marriage, not all scholars, only on public occasions, sign of piety, form of turban

Question 15

Jewish identity toolkit

Answer 15

Prohibition on shatnez
Obligation to wear fringes on the corners of the garment
Prohibition on “rounding the corner of your head”
Women’s modesty conventions and headcovering
Prohibition on cross-dressing

Question 16

covenant

Answer 16

Berit (Ashkenazic pronunciation: bris)
The concept of covenant appears in all 5 books of the Torah to describe the relationship between God and Israel
Covenant with Abraham in Gen 15-God promises land and children
No commandments or punishments, more of a promise
Covenant with israel
Strings attached- obedience for blessing

Question 17

mitzvah

Answer 17

Obligation or commandment
Requirements God imposes on Israel as the terms of God’s covenant with them
Each mitzvah can have numerous halakhot associated with it
Example: it is a mitzvah to dwell in a sukkah, and there are many halakhot governing the architecture of the sukkah

Question 18

halakhah

Answer 18

entirety of Jewish law, or a particular Jewish law

Question 19

ha Tikvah

Answer 19

national anthem of the state of Israel, claim to our land, underdog mentality, european perspective, claim of continuity

Question 20

priestly vs. deutronomistic maps of the promised land

Answer 20

Priestly:
Reflect how the province was refined under Egyptian domination
Land seen as reparation for slavery in Egypt
Jordan river serves as boundary that neatly divides up territory
Prefer limited homeland that can be kept pure and separate
Deuteronomistic:
Reflect an empire meant to rival the Babylonian empire in power at the time
Promote more inclusive territory
More imperial model
Encompass more peoples and more territories
Center in Jerusalem holds in all together

Question 21

political and practical zionism

Answer 21

Political: goal is safe haven for jews, tactic was international diplomacy, addresses anti-semitism, israel is refuge from persecution in diaspora, Herzl was a major figure
Practical: goal is safe haven for jews, tactic was bring jews to israel and create facts on the ground, addresses anti-semitism, israel is refuge from persecution in diaspora, Pinsker was major figure

Question 22

Cultural Zionism

Answer 22

Goal is Jewish cultural center that would regenerate diaspora, tactics were build hebrew language, literature, schools; Hebrew university, addressed fragmentation of jewish culture, Israel is font from which jewish culture radiates outward, leader was abad ha-am

Question 23

Religious Zionism

Answer 23

Goal is Messianic redemption, tactics were to work with secular Zionists to establish the state, addresses existence in state of exile, Israel brings redemption to the world, led by Rav Kook

Question 24

Post Zionism

Answer 24

Challenged “myths” of Zionism, tactics were historical research and academic work, addressed various kinds of inequality (religious, ethnic, gender) w/in the state of Israel, major figs were benny morris, baruch kimmerling, tom segev, ilan pappe; Jews have their “truth” and Palestinians have theirs

Question 25

The sexual prohibitions in Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13

Answer 25

The Prohibition: Leviticus 18:22 “And with male you shall lie the lyings of a woman; it is an abomination (to’evah)”
Greenberg’s translation
And a male ve-et zakhar you shall not bed lo tishkav sexually penetrate mishkeve ishah (engulfing one’s penis) as in the lyings of a woman it is abhorrent toevah hi.

What it explicitly prohibits:
Anal intercourse between men with focus on an active partner
Doesn’t mention
Women’s same sex intercourse
Male same-sex sexual intimacy that is not intercourse
Male same-sex desire
So a conclusion is that leviticus doesn’t explicitly prohibit “homosexuality”

Question 26

The 4 major explanations for the sexual prohibition in Leviticus 18:22/20:13 and Rabbi Steve Greenberg’s responses

Answer 26

1.Reproduction
Many acts of “unreproductive” sexual intercourse are permitted by Jewish law, and reproduction is often juggled with other priorities
2.Social disruption
Heterosex marriages where someone is attracted to same sex often end in depression, self-blame, and divorce. Conclusion: social disruption is caused by the forcing of homosexual women and men into marriage
3.Category confusion
people used to be disgusted by interracial marriage, sometimes we need to overcome our disgust and other times disgust in justified like when a child is victimized.
Someone born with a difference, according to the rabbis, evokes wonder rather than sadness or horror
4.Humiliation and violence
Explanation seems to endorse and legislate hatred of women, says that what is really prohibited is a sexual relationship is where one person’s intention is to humiliate or do violence to the other

Question 27

The prohibition on cross-dressing in Deuteronomy 22:5: Steve Greenberg’s and Joy Ladin’s readings

Answer 27

Ladin says that Moses is attached to binary thinking. He turned gender surveillance into religious obligation
Greenberg says Someone born with a difference, according to the rabbis, evokes wonder rather than sadness or horror

Question 28

LBGQT+ inclusion in the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jewish movements in the U.S.

Answer 28

Small but growing number of US orthodox rabbis officiating same-sex weddings, Conservative: Rabbinic assembly passes resolution advocating for queer civil rights, inclusion of queers in congregation, seminaries can amit queer students, Reform: Central Conference of American Rabbis CCAR and URJ support rights for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals

Question 29

Leo Frank

Answer 29

Jewish factory manager in Atlanta accused of raping and murdering a white girl
Captured anti-semitic energies in the South, he was a scapegoat for hard times in the south
Frank was killed by a lynch mob

Question 30

“Faith-Jew” vs. “Race-Jew”

Answer 30

Self-descriptions by American Jewish leaders, religious jew vs ethnic jew

Question 31

US Supreme Court Opinion, May 18, 1987, Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb

Answer 31

Maryland synagogue was painted with anti-semitic slogans and symbols so the congregation pressed charges, and SC decided that Jews can state a claim of racial discrimination since they were considered to be among distinct races when the statue was passed.

Question 32

Jew vs. Hebrew vs. Israelite

Answer 32

Israelite means descendant of ancient Hebrews (claim that black people are actually Israelites)–”the notion of an Israelite allows you to not have to dispense with your African American cultural heritage and identity”, there’s a narrative that Jews are white

Question 33

Black jewish racial project

Answer 33

Goals
Articulation of race has aim of better outcomes and visibility for their communities
…race grounds the community in history, in sacred sources, in cohesiveness
…race challenges dominant narrative about jews and whiteness; rabbinic hegemony; challenge
who is the chosen people

Question 34

black jewish reading of psalm 68:32

Answer 34

“Let notables come from Egypt; Ethiopia will raise its hands to God”
“Peshat” : international praise for God and tribute from all the kings of the world, where Mt. Zion is the religious center of the world
“Derash” : prophecy of exaltation of African peoples

Question 35

Young Ham Fish

Answer 35

Went to Harvard and was a legacy student

Question 36

Annie Nathan Meyer

Answer 36

Helped found Barnard; Judaism was a religion to her, and was not too occupied by Jewish acceptance in America

Question 37

The bayit

Answer 37

Communal housing run by jewish students near Columbia’s main campus. All of the students living there used to be Israel supporters, but now it’s not assumed that everyone supports Israel.

Question 38

ZBT

Answer 38

Jewish fraternity inspired by a Columbia professor who was also a leader in the early American Zionist movement; ZBT (Zeta Beta Tau) stood for “zion shall in judgement be redeemed”; eventually adopted the features of a regular american college fraternity

Question 39

What are some of the reasons for the diversity of Jewish cultural practices?

Answer 39

1) oral quality of little tradition, 2) high degree of detail in little tradition, 3) prevailing conditions, 4) ambient non-Jewish culture

Question 40

Discuss the process by which a Jewish vernacular language is born.

Answer 40

Originally learned from non-Jews → picked up informally, often written in Hebrew characters → Mixes hebrew and aramaic words into it → mixes previous jewish vernaculars into it → distinctively jewish version of the ambient language develops, though still resembling that ambient language → carried elsewhere, where totally unfamiliar to non-Jews

Question 41

What role has Hebrew played within Jewish linguistic culture?

Answer 41

Hebrew loanwords, characters, calligraphy, secretive/humorous/derisive ways of talking about non-Jews and avoidance of words that seem too non-Jewish

Question 42

Describe the features of “American Jewish English” according to Sarah Bunin Benor.

Answer 42

Base language is english, hebrew syntax, influence of prior jewish vernacular: yiddish. Recognition of language as distinctly jewish

Question 43

what were the forces affecting Jewish last name choices in modernity?

Answer 43

1)Bureaucratic pressures 2) cultural Pressures 3) Word Sound 4) Ideology

Question 44

What are some of the paths by which Jews have chosen first names?

Answer 44

Biblical names, hebrew names (non-biblical), vernacular names with certain patterns (avoid Mary and Muhammad), differed by gender

Question 45

What are some of the Pentateuch’s laws related to food consumption?

Answer 45

Prohibition against eating blood, sciatic nerve of an animal (hindquarters), against cooking a kid in his mother’s milk, eating an animal found mangled in the field, eating an animal that has died a natural death. Animals must have split hooves and chew the cud; fish must have fins and scales; certain wild birds and winged insects are prohibited

Question 46

What are some modern theories explaining why the Rabbis prohibited the cooking, consumption, and serving together of milk and meat?

Answer 46

Jews not the only people to observe this prohibition
Separation of male/female and life/death
Separation of temple/non-temple
Separation of rabbi/non-rabbi
Roman rejection of the barbarian

Question 47

What are some of the later rabbinic innovations to the Hebrew Bible’s food laws?

Answer 47

From cooking to eating and even serving
From goat to all animals
From animal in his own mother’s milk to any animal in any milk