No description available.

No description available.

This thesis examines Sephardic melodies that were adopted into the liturgy of the Ashkenazic Jews in London during the early twentieth century. The work begins by presenting a history of Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews from the time they settled in England to the end of the nineteenth century. Through an analysis of social and religious changes taking place among English Jews of the nineteenth century, this thesis explicates reforms in the synagogue service that led to the inclusion of polyphonic music into the synagogue and eventually, to the incorporation of Sephardic melodies into Ashkenazic synagogue practice. The attempt to canonize the music of Ashkenazic Jews in England was manifested in the widely successful Handbook of Synagogue Music (1889, revised 1899). The second edition is the focus of this thesis. Edited by Francis Lyon Cohen and David M. Davis under the auspices of the United Synagogue and the Chief Rabbi, this volume included Ashkenazic pieces by English as well as non-English Jewish composers. Fifteen melodies of Sephardic origin from the Sephardic compilation The Ancient Melodies, compiled by David de Sola and Emanuel Aguilar in 1857, as well as from The Music Used in the service of the West London Synagogue of British Jews, compiled by Charles Verrinder in 1880 were included in the 1899 edition of the Handbook. This thesis examines the reasons these Sephardic melodies were chosen for inclusion by the editors of the Ashkenazic Handbook during a period of reform.

Deuteronomy 22:5 has sparked much interest and wonder for both readers and interpreters of the Bible, throughout Jewish history. Divided into three parts, the verse reads as follows: "A woman should not have keli gever (man's apparel, utensil or tool) on her; a man should not wear simlat isha (a woman's dress, robe, mantle, tunic); anyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God." Each part of the verse has raised questions among exegetes, like how to define its key terms simlat isha and keli gever and what is the nature of the abomination. This thesis explores the responses to these questions through a presentation of the Jewish exegetical history of Deut. 22:5 from biblical times to the present. It demonstrates how the interpretations of this verse varied the application of the biblical law derived from it and thereby affected and altered dress codes, interactions, behhviours, and daily habits of Jewish men and women throughout history.

Students of Second Temple Judaism have drawn two broad conclusions. First, Judaism of the first century is characterized by diversity. Second, the most pervasive influence on Judaism of this period was Hellenism. The present study seeks to contribute to the continuing discussion of Second Temple Judaism, bearing in mind these two factors. Specifically, the aim is to identify the shared ideas of Judaism. The thesis is concerned with the search for common features of the Jewish religion what may be termed "common denominators" within Second Temple Judaism. This should help to decide the question of how we are to understand the diversity within first-century Judaism in relation to its common shared features. In the search for these shared features two main bodies of evidence are explored: Josephus' Contra Apionem. 2. 190-219, and the letters of Paul; for differing reasons both of these documents may be used profitably. The letters of Paul are valuable since this material is all dated before the destruction of the Second Temple; whereas Contra Apionem. 2. 190-219, is one of the earliest and possibly oldest theological summaries compiled by a contemporary of the NT writers. While there are other summaries on the Jewish religion (Philo's Hypothetica. his Spec. Laws and Josephus' Antiquities 4.196-301) Contra Apionem offers a summary of a different kind because its focus is on basic Jewish principles. The method used is first to consider Ap. 2. 190-219 paragraph by paragraph in conjunction with Philo's Hypothetica and the Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides. Where appropriate appeal is also made to the DSS, the rabbis, and the apocalyptic literature. This follows an assessment of the undisputed letters of Paul. The analysis of this evidence is conducted under the following headings: Jewish autobiography; Jewish elements in Paul's Christian theology; debates with Jewish Christian opponents; Jewish ethics embraced by Gentile converts; a dialogue on the nature of the Jewish religion. Three main conclusions are reached. The first is that there are discernible common features within first-century Judaism. This is supported by an analysis of the Contra Apionem precis and related Jewish material. Second, there is a body of common opinion that may be deemed to belong to the period before AD 70. This will be argued from the letters of Paul by appeal to various criteria. The third point is that there are Jewish ideas that are both common and pre-70. This will be confirmed by appealing in a comparative way to evidence from both the letters of Paul and Contra Apionem. The criterion can be formulated in the following way: ideas may be considered both common and pre-70 whenever those found in Contra Apionem and attested in a wide variety of Jewish evidence (thus common) are also attested in the letters of Paul (and so pre-70).

No description available.

This thesis represents the result of a close study of the early Arabic sources concerning the long and violent conflict between Muhammad and the three Jewish tribes of Medina: the B. Qaynuqa, B. al-Nadir and B. Qurayzah. It is discovered that in his actions against these tribes the Prophet was not acting from a simple anti-Jewish bias but in order to protect himself and his community from these potentially very dangerous centers of opposition. Thus the elimination of the Jewish tribes from the oasis is the result of Muhammad's efforts to break up centers of opposition and thereby make secure his own community. In his long struggle with the Jewish tribes Muhammad skillfully isolated the three tribes--from each other as well as from their Arab allies-- and eliminated their dangerous presence one by one, beginning with the weakest of the three tribes. The justifications set forth by Muhammad for actions against the Jews are almost without exception political in nature (although the Jewish opposition was primarily religious in nature), and redress was usually called for under the traditional tribal law. On the rare occasions when the tribal law would not support his actions, Muhammad used revelation as justification.

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1994. / This is an electronic reproduction of TREN, #090-0059. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-130).

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-130).

Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1997. / Title from title page screen, viewed June 13, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi (chair), John B. Freed, Lawrence W. McBride, Anne M. Rosenthal. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-215) and abstract. Also available in print.