In recent years, the Jewish prayer for healing, the Mi Sheberach (literally, "the one who blessed"), has become a central element of North American liberal (non-Orthodox) religious and ritual life. The growing centrality of these prayers comes at a time when American Judaism has shifted away from congregational and communal life to a more personalized approach to Jewish beliefs, practices and identities; participation in both ritual and prayer practices is now based in personal choice and the desire for an individually-meaningful experience, as well as communal obligation or belief in God. This dissertation seeks to understand the meanings and impacts of these Jewish prayers for healing, by using ethnography as a tool for understanding the lived experience of religious practices, beliefs, and identities. Based in two years of ethnographic field-work in Southern Arizona, it places the relationship between Judaism and healing within the larger social, communal and historical contexts in which both of these concepts acquire meaning. I describe the complexities and contradictions inherent in modern liberal American Jewishness, demonstrating that these modern Jewish American selves are multiply-situated, multi-voiced, and characterized by diversity and dissonance. My research shows that, among liberal American Jews, the individual's search for meaning blends with the collectivist nature of Judaism, in an ongoing process of interpretive interaction between text, tradition, personal experience, and other members of the community. I find that Jewish representations of God are also complex and contradictory. Many people have difficulty articulating their thoughts about God, and their views are dynamic and inconsistent. Furthermore, Jewish belief develops in a multifaceted relationship to Jewish ritual and communal practice. Within this context, healing prayer becomes become one site, among many, through which relationships to Jewish traditions, practices and communities are negotiated and constructed. Healing prayer leads to a feeling of connection to community, ancestors and traditions; it transforms fear and anxiety into comfort, strength and acceptance; promotes spiritual transcendence; and provides a sense of agency and control at times of vulnerability and helplessness. Healing in a liberal Jewish context may involve the physical body, but it more often involves emotions, spirit, relationships to other people, and relationships to Judaism. Prayer may refer to a dialogue with the divine, but it is also a dialogue between the individual and the community, and between Jewish history and modernity. Finally, this dissertation contributes to discussions of religion and secularism, demonstrating that these analytical categories, which emerged out of European Protestantism, are neither sufficient, nor appropriate, for the study of modern Jewish life.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p.267-285). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

In the past five years J Street, a pro-peace, pro-Israel Israel Lobby, has grown to challenge AIPAC’s dominance in lobbying Congress to support Israel. Although still small in comparison to AIPAC, J Street has become influential in opening up dialogue among American Jews on what it means to be pro-Israel in today’s world. By openly criticizing conservative Israeli policy J Street has created an environment where liberal American Jews can support both Israel and a two state solution with a Palestinian state. This paper examines American Jewish activism and the rise of AIPAC as the predominant Israel Lobby. It then argues that over the years AIPAC has supported expansionist Likud Party policy and has undermined Labor Party peace attempts. It has viciously attacked any person or organization critical of conservative Israeli policy. This paper then investigates opinion polls of American Jews and finds that, contrary to AIPAC, the majority of Jewish Americans are liberal and support a two state solution similar to J Street’s position. It then examines how J Street overcame an onslaught of attacks from conservative Jewish organizations. It argues that J Street has been successful because it has remained moderate in its policy stances and has been effective in countering attacks from conservative Jewish organizations while gaining the support of many mainstream American Jews who are frustrated with AIPAC’s policy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2008. / Thesis directed by María Rosa Olivera-Williams for the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. "March 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-215).

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