Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions, Columbia, S.C., 1994. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-102).

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.

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Matthew S. Monnig / Thesis advisor: Thomas D. Stegman / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The journey of self-discovery is unique to human beings, and quests to resolve any existing problem entails taking steps leading to solutions, even if one may not have a guarantee that the steps would automatically bring a solution, acting instead based on hope. The perceived incompleteness of the hand-down of Christianity to Africa from the West when it comes to the daily realities led some early African converts to discover that the Bible presented a holistic worldview that addressed their challenges better. The emergence of African indigenous/ initiated/ independent churches (AICs) to fill the gap in preaching the gospel with cultural sensitivity and integration was the consequence of the lapses of the mainline churches.

Note:

Modern methods of education pertaining to Jewish prayer services in schooling had been seen to be lacking when looking at the connection students feel while praying. Students will often be distracted or deliberately avoiding prayer since they are unaware of what is happening. The following research hopes to propose a system to increase engagement and connection by having individuals follow the prayers during the orated portions of prayer. By exposing a set of participants with limited knowledge of the Jewish prayer services to repeated exposure of reading while following along with the words, we hope to show an increase in connection and retention of the prayer to take with them to the next service they attend so they can feel a part of the community.

No description available.

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-162).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-166).