Social and Historical Developments 1 Flashcards
What is the sefer yezirah?
The book of creation, presenting 2 separate cosmologies and offering an atomic theory of nature
What is the first cosmology of the sefer yezirah based on?
The 10 sefirot, suggesting 3 phases of creation
What are the 10 sefirot?
Emanations in the Kabbalah
What is phase 1 of the first cosmology?
Emergence of the first 4 sefirot and the basic elements of air, water and fire
What is phase 2 of the first cosmology?
Engraving in the sphere of the 3 basic elements
According to phase 2 of the first cosmology, what does God engrave in Air?
22 fundamental letters of the Hebrew alphabet
According to phase 2 of the first cosmology, what does God engrave in Water?
Primordial chaos
According to phase 2 of the first cosmology, what does God engrave in Fire?
The heavenly world
What is phase 3 of the first cosmology?
God takes 3 letters and arranged them in a variety of combinations to establish the boundaries of the universe and the last 6 sefirot correspond to the 6 dimensions of finite space
What is the second cosmology?
Treats 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet as building blocks, speech calls things into being
What does Rashi believe about creation?
Proposed creation ‘de novo’, the world was a formless void lying in readiness for God to breathe life into it
What did Maimonides propose about creation?
3 different ways based on 3 different thinkers
What is Maimonides’ Mosaic creation?
God created the world ex nihilo in a free and spontaneous act
What is Maimonides’ Platonic creation?
The world was created de novo from pre-existing matter
What is Maimonides’ Aristotelian creation?
The world is eternal and its existence is best understood as an eternal emanation
What is Saadia’s view on creation?
God created the world ex nihilo out of free will with intelligent design
What is Saadia’s view on the mitzvot?
Fulfilment of the mitzvot is a form of self-fulfilment, showing gratitude for creation
What is the attitude of Reform Judaism to religious pluralism?
No one religion can claim to be the sole and exclusive source of truth, there is value in all religious traditions
How was the Alenu altered in Reform Judaism?
Changed from praising God for ‘not making me a gentile’ to thanking God ‘who made me a Jew’ - removing negative evaluation
What is the attitude toward interfaith dialogue in Reform Judaism?
Important for achieving social justice and increasing multiculturalism
What is the ICCJ?
International Council of Christians and Jews
What is the function of the ICCJ?
Promotes understanding and cooperation, countering prejudice and discrimination
What is the Orthodox view on interfaith dialogue?
God entered into an exclusive covenant with the Jewish people - particularism
Which covenants were universal?
Noah and Adam
What is the view of Rabbi Soloveitchik on interfaith dialogue?
Argued against legitimising the relationship between Jews and Christians for fear that Christianity may affirm Judaism as simply paving the way for Christianity
What is the CJCUC?
Centre of Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation
What was signed by the CJCUC?
A statement by 30 Orthodox rabbis to recognise the common mission of Judaism and Christianity
What is a cosmology?
A theory regarding the origins of the universe
What is Epstein’s view of cosmology?
The universe was created out of the pre-existing chaos of earth and water
What view of creation does Cohn-Sherbok point to?
The one in rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah)
What is the view of Genesis Rabbah on creation?
Conceives of the Torah as an architectural blueprint for creation, pre-existent
What is the Ultra-Orthodox view on creation?
Rejects as the Torah embodies eternal truths
What is the combined view of religion and evolution?
Reads evolutionary theory into the Bible, saying the describe the same thing in different languages
What is the view of Mordecai Kaplan on evolution?
Evolution may be compatible with religion if the Torah is read metaphorically
What is the view of Kabbalists on evolution?
Embrace the theory, teaching the world has gone through many cycles of history
What is the traditional Jewish belief regarding the age of the universe?
Almost 6,000 years old, year 1 dating from Genesis
What does Steinburg argue about the age of the universe?
That discrepancies between science and religion can be resolved by endorsing one and reinterpreting the other
What is classical rabbinic tradition regarding the age of the universe based on?
Chronology developed in Seder Olam, based off a literal reading of the book of Genesis
What is the view on the age of the universe in Midrash Genesis Rabbah 3:7?
Other worlds were created and destroyed before this present one
What is the view on the age of the universe in Talmud Chaggiga?
There were 947 generations before God created Adam
What is the view on the age of the universe in Midrash Psalms 90:4?
The first ‘week’ of Genesis may not have been the same time reckoning as we know today
What did Maimonides write about the challenge of science? (3)
- If Judaism were not open to investigation and philosophical reflection then it likely would contain heretical ideas
- Metaphysics can only be properly understood using physics
- If science and religion misalign it is because one has been misunderstood
What is the mission of Israel according to the Pittsburgh Platform?
To stand as an example of the highest standards of ethics and make the world aware of ethical monotheism
What is Liberationist Thought?
The movement which attempts to address the problems of poverty and injustice
What is Tikkun Olam?
Repairing the world through the pursuit of social justice
How did Reform Judaism begin in 1824 in the USA?
A small group of congregants in Charlestown attempted to introduce some of the German reforms into synagogue worship
What were the dates and role of Rabbi Isaac Mayer?
- 1819-1900
- credited with guiding RJ to a position of strength like publishing a new Reform Prayer Book
When was the Pittsburgh Platform?
1885
What is the Pittsburgh Platform?
An authoritative statement establishing the principles of Reform Judaism
What are 4 key points of the Pittsburgh Platform?
- Religious community
- Ritual vs. Moral laws
- No dress
- Necessitates diaspora
What were Rabbi Abraham Geiger’s dates?
1810-74
What were Rabbi Geiger’s contributions to Reform Judaism?
The concept of Progressive Revelation, and the argument that Reform was not a new denomination but just bringing Judaism up to date
What does Reform Judaism believe about the Torah? (3)
- contains divine truth
- authored by divinely inspired humans
- mitzvot may be re-interpreted
Why was the Jewish way of life rarely questioned in the Middle Ages within the community?
Heresy was confronted by excommunication from the community for 30+ days, causing economic and social hardship
What were the options for Jews in 18th Century Western Europe?
- Assimilate (lose identity)
- Maintain traditions (lose civil rights)
- Change and modernise
How did 18th Century Jews change and modernise? (3)
- made worship more beautiful and relevant
- cut out irrelevant practices
- prayer said in German
When was the first successful Reform Temple erected?
1818
What do Haredi Jews believe about the state of Israel?
It is established without the Torah and mitzvot at its heart and so is secular, Jewish nationality should be ordained only by the will of God
What percentage of the population of Israel are Haredi?
10%
How do Haredi populations live in Israel?
In closed communities
What does the epithet ‘Haredi’ mean?
Fearful
What is the view of Haredi Judaism toward Zionism?
While the Torah teaches a return to Zionism, this must be proceeded by messianic redemption - the acceleration of divine deliverance is forbidden
Where did the term ‘Antisemitism’ come from?
Coined by Wilhelm Marr in the 1870s
What was antisemitism originally based on?
The religious justification claiming Jews were responsible for putting Jesus to death
What did Wilhelm Marr claim about Jewish people?
They were biologically alien and could never assimilate in Europe
What was the economic justification for antisemitism?
Jews were in control of financial institutions and thus economic difficulties
When did pogroms begin and how many Jewish communities were destroyed?
- 1881
- 160
What is the name ‘Zion’?
A biblical name for Jerusalem that may refer to Israel as a whole
What is the history of Mount Zion?
King David made Jerusalem his capital by Mount Zion, which became the location for sacrificial worship
What is ‘Zion Theology’?
The idea that Zion will become the central place on earth, as prophesised by Isaiah
When and where was the first Zionist conference?
Basel, 1897
What were the 4 goals of the First Zionist Conference?
- Promote settlement in Israel
- Unite Jews
- Foster Jewish national sentiment
- Obtain consent of governments to reach goals
What was formed following the First Zionist Conference?
World Zionist Organisation
Which country did the British Government first approve for a Jewish homeland and why was this abandoned?
- Uganda
- protestors encouraged Herzl to declare Palestine as the only possible site
Who was Alfred Dreyfus?
Jewish French army officer
When was the Dreyfus Affair?
1894-9
What was the Dreyfus Affair?
- Dreyfus accused of high treason, as being part of a Jewish conspiracy to undermine the stability of France
- It was later discovered that documents had been forged
- He was still tried and found guilty 5 years later
What did the Dreyfus affair highlight?
Antisemitism was at the heart of the nation
Who was Theodore Herzl?
Austrian journalist born into an assimilated Jewish family in Vienna
What did Herzl write in 1896?
Der Judenstaat
What did Herzl believe?
Jews will never be accepted in society so antisemitism will only cease if the Jews had a land of their own
What is labour Zionism?
The belief in founding the Jewish national home on Jewish labour (Zionism + Socialism)
What is a Kibbutz?
A society dedicated to mutual aid and social justice
What was the first Kibbutz established?
1909
What did Eliezer ben Yehuda believe?
That Jewish people should speak their own language (Hebrew)
What were the 3 points of Eliezer ben Yehuda’s plan to spread Hebrew?
- Hebrew in the home
- Hebrew in the school
- Words, words, words
How was Eliezer be Yehuda successful?
Supported by the community and created a newspaper in which he introduced new Hebrew terms which lacked equivalents in other languages
When was Hebrew recognised as the official language of Jews in Palestine?
1922
How many Holocaust survivors settled in the homeland?
250,000
Which 3 countries experienced the greatest loss of Jewish communities to Israel?
Libya, Yemen, Iraq
Throughout its existence, how many Jews have come to live in Israel?
1.5 million
What was the 1950 Law of Return?
Passed by Israel’s Parliament giving Jews, people of Jewish ancestry and their spouses the right to migrate and settle in Israel without formal naturalisation procedures
What did the Law of Return provide?
Legal basis for the objectives of the Zionist movement
When was the Balfour Declaration and what did it pledge?
- 1917
- British government pledged support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine
When was the State of Israel proclaimed?
14th May 1948
Zionism is a specifically Jewish movement:
- Antisemitism
- Abrahamic covenant
- Messianic Age
What was the Mizrachi party?
Political party presenting a link between religious and political Zionism, preserving the Jewish character of the state
Zionism is not a specifically Jewish movement:
- Haredi and Reform rejection
- Political vs religious Zionism
- Religious identity vs national
There are strong links between Zionism and Judaism:
- Abrahamic covenant
- Scripture and worship
- Messianic
There are not strong links between Zionism and Judaism:
- Solution to discrimination
- Palestine not only option
- Hasidic and Reform
Judaism is compatible with science:
- Maimonides
- Metaphorical / Progressive revelation
- Midrash Genesis Rabbah and Talmud
Judaism is not compatible with science:
- Evolution
- Age of the universe
- Undermines eternal truth
The Pittsburgh Platform is effective toward poverty:
- Moral over ritual practice
- Interfaith cooperation
- Tikkun Olam - new impetus
The Pittsburgh Platform is not effective toward poverty:
- Has always been important
- Tzedakah and Gemilut Hasadim
- Dangers of interfaith dialogue
Jewish responses to Pluralism are effective:
- ICCJ
- Pittsburgh Platform
- Alenu revision
Jewish responses to Pluralism are not effective:
- Particularism - covenant
- Soloveitchik
- Jews and Christians only
Judaism is successful in meeting challenges of science:
- Eternal truths
- Maimonides
- Compatibility
Judaism is not successful in meeting challenges of science:
- Diversity within Judaism
- Evolution
- Outdated
What does the school of Shammai state about creation?
Heavens were created first
What does the school of Himmel state about creation?
Heaven and Earth created simultaneously
Progressive revelation - Close
‘Judaism then is evolutionary, a living faith which must change and grow’
Pittsburgh Platform
‘We consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community’
1999 Pittsburgh Platform, pluralism
‘seek dialogue and joint action with people of other faiths in the hope that together we can bring peace, freedom and justice to our world’
Deuteronomy 15:11
‘I command you to be open-handed toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needed’
Zionism in Amidah
‘Blessed are you, O Lord, who gathers the dispersed of his people Israel’
Zionism - Herzl
‘It is a universal idea, old as the people, which never, even in the time of bitterest calamity ceased to cherish it. This is the restoration of the Jewish state’
Proclamation of the State of Israel
‘the Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and national identity was formed’
Second cosmology, Sefer Yezirah
‘the twenty-two sounds and letters are the foundation of all things’
Torah as literature - Epstein
‘its purpose is to discuss folk beliefs, not science, and to transmit a moral vision’
Evolution - Schwab
‘what Darwin sees as random, we see as the miraculous and natural unfolding of God’s subtle and beautiful plan’
Age of the universe - Steinburg
‘both are possible with no hard evidence to the contrary, either by science or Judaism’
