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Authors: Witte Green Browning
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denominations split over the question of intermarriage and the definition of Jewishness, with Reform and Reconstructionism adopting a standard that incorporated both parentage (either parent Jewish) and how the child was raised (Doc. 1–61). The same sort of division can be seen with respect to same-sex unions or marriages, with the liberal denominations seeking to include these couples within the framework of Jewish marriage and the others maintaining the traditional exclusion.
Zionism, which began in the late 1800s, saw itself as a movement that was at once a continuation of the diaspora dream of return and a rejection of the traditional Judaism that had evolved in Europe. Many secular Jews acknowledged the right of Jewish tradition to regulate life-cycle events, allowing the state to establish an Orthodox chief rabbinate, an institution inherited from the Ottoman and British periods of occupation. Nevertheless, a few groups arrayed themselves into agrarian collectives, which in some cases replaced the tradi-12
m i c h a e l s . b e r g e r
tional nuclear or extended family. As Israeli society became less agrarian and more Western, it reverted to the model of the traditional family. But this West-ernization has also opened Israelis to the diversity of American Judaism, and Orthodox hegemony over marriage law and rituals has weakened over the last decade.
Despite heightened assimilation, sociologists and historians observe that American Jews are displaying a simultaneous, albeit inconsistent and paradox-ical, move toward greater tradition. Reaffirmation of ritual among liberal Jews is not uncommon, and more Jewish communities have endorsed separate Jewish schooling for children (usually up to middle or high school) during which a Jewish identity could be imprinted. But, except for the Orthodox, American mores on sex, marriage (including late marriage and high divorce rates), and family (small numbers of children) apply equally to American Jews, and increasingly to Israeli Jews via the spread of American culture through technology and globalization. Currently, one may say that among Jews the drive toward integration and accommodation is almost universally ascendant over the preservation of distinctiveness—a trend with profound implications for Jewish life.
THE HEBREW BIBLE
The Hebrew Bible, known as the TaNaKh—Torah (Pentateuch), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings)—is the first major canonical text of Judaism.
It is a compendium of books that achieved sacred status in the Jewish community over centuries, reaching its current form in the early Persian period (6th–4th centuries bce). About half the books are historical, covering time from the creation of the world until the early Second Temple period. The other texts are primarily prophetic or wisdom literature, often in poetic form.
In addition, the Torah contains significant legal portions that the Jewish tradition, since the Persian period and up to the modern period, deemed binding as God’s revealed word. Still performed regularly in synagogues and taught in Jewish schools, the Torah is a living, relevant text to most Jews, even if not regarded as revealed. Below are selections of multiple genres that deal with the origins of humans, illicit sexual unions, marriage, and the family’s central role in transmitting the covenant.
c r e a t i o n
Document 1–1
g e n e s i s 1 – 3
1:1When God began to create heaven and earth—2the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—3God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Judaism 13
4God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.
6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.” . . . 8God called the
Zionism, which began in the late 1800s, saw itself as a movement that was at once a continuation of the diaspora dream of return and a rejection of the traditional Judaism that had evolved in Europe. Many secular Jews acknowledged the right of Jewish tradition to regulate life-cycle events, allowing the state to establish an Orthodox chief rabbinate, an institution inherited from the Ottoman and British periods of occupation. Nevertheless, a few groups arrayed themselves into agrarian collectives, which in some cases replaced the tradi-12
m i c h a e l s . b e r g e r
tional nuclear or extended family. As Israeli society became less agrarian and more Western, it reverted to the model of the traditional family. But this West-ernization has also opened Israelis to the diversity of American Judaism, and Orthodox hegemony over marriage law and rituals has weakened over the last decade.
Despite heightened assimilation, sociologists and historians observe that American Jews are displaying a simultaneous, albeit inconsistent and paradox-ical, move toward greater tradition. Reaffirmation of ritual among liberal Jews is not uncommon, and more Jewish communities have endorsed separate Jewish schooling for children (usually up to middle or high school) during which a Jewish identity could be imprinted. But, except for the Orthodox, American mores on sex, marriage (including late marriage and high divorce rates), and family (small numbers of children) apply equally to American Jews, and increasingly to Israeli Jews via the spread of American culture through technology and globalization. Currently, one may say that among Jews the drive toward integration and accommodation is almost universally ascendant over the preservation of distinctiveness—a trend with profound implications for Jewish life.
THE HEBREW BIBLE
The Hebrew Bible, known as the TaNaKh—Torah (Pentateuch), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings)—is the first major canonical text of Judaism.
It is a compendium of books that achieved sacred status in the Jewish community over centuries, reaching its current form in the early Persian period (6th–4th centuries bce). About half the books are historical, covering time from the creation of the world until the early Second Temple period. The other texts are primarily prophetic or wisdom literature, often in poetic form.
In addition, the Torah contains significant legal portions that the Jewish tradition, since the Persian period and up to the modern period, deemed binding as God’s revealed word. Still performed regularly in synagogues and taught in Jewish schools, the Torah is a living, relevant text to most Jews, even if not regarded as revealed. Below are selections of multiple genres that deal with the origins of humans, illicit sexual unions, marriage, and the family’s central role in transmitting the covenant.
c r e a t i o n
Document 1–1
g e n e s i s 1 – 3
1:1When God began to create heaven and earth—2the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—3God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Judaism 13
4God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.
6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.” . . . 8God called the
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