Summary in English. / Bibliography: pages 199-208. / This dissertation examines the manner in which Orthodox Judaism developed in South Africa from the foundation of the first congregation in 1841 up to about 1935, and considers what distinctive features, if any, characterised South African Judaism. Locating the emergence of South African Judaism within the context of Western and European Judaism, the dissertation examines the interaction which developed between those Jews who derived from Anglo-Jewry and, to a lesser extent, from German-Jewish stock, on the one hand, and those who came from Eastern Europe, particularly after 1880, on the other hand. At all times, the impact of the wider South African context on the nature of South African Judaism is considered. The harsh realities of the need to make a living in what was at, first an alien environment led to South African Jews having to abate, if not entirely abandon, the canons of strict religious observance. The dissertation examines in greater detail the main centres where the Jewish communities established themselves. Particular attention is given to Cape Town and Johannesburg where the larger communities had set themselves up, but the opportunity is also taken to examine smaller communities such as Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Kimberley. There were also particular features of the so called "three digit communities", i.e. those having no more than a thousand souls, which constituted an important section of the South African Jewish community, those who settled in the smaller country towns and whose religious life took on a certain character. The dissertation then proceeds to examine the principal influences which determined how the South African Jewish community took shape. Amongst these influences were the authority of the Chief Rabbinate of the United Kingdom, which was particularly important whilst the community consisted primarily of Jews of Anglo-Jewish origin; and the way in which this influence gradually lessened as the community became more independent and as the Eastern European section began to predominate. The background and mind-sets of the Jews from Eastern Europe played a very important part in the way the community shaped itself. Other influences which were brought to bear included the Zionist movement, the internal authority of the important religious figures and institutions such, as the Ecclesiastical Courts, Batei Din, and the influence of particularly important charismatic and influential lay leaders. A fairly close examination is conducted of the most important religious leaders during the period under review. A special chapter is devoted to the issue of proselytism and the way in which it presented itself and was perceived and encountered by the South African Jewish community. The dissertation concludes with some general arguments contending for the homogeneity of the South African Jewish community; with some indication as to what identifiable characteristics it assumed and how its future would have been viewed in 1935; the comments bringing the matter up to the modern day.

No description available.

This dissertation conducts a theological study of Ancient Jewish and Pauline views of revelation and of revealed mysteries. Part one offers first a general introduction consisting of a summary of Old Testament antecedents to the post-biblical topic under discussion, and some observations about the nature and delineation of the 'Judaism' under examination. The following seven Chapters then address the understanding of revelation in general, and of revealed mysteries in particular, in various bodies of Jewish writings: apocalyptic literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls, wisdom literature, Philo, Josephus, the Targums and Greek versions, and early Rabbinic literature. Part One concludes with a brief synthetic statement outlining commonalities and distinctions in the different writings surveyed, highlighting the derivative nature of revelation (and the corresponding role of Biblical interpretation), and pointing out the significance of soteriological mysteries for questions of theodicy. After a short introduction, Part Two traces our theme in the letters of Paul. Chapter 8 offers a thematic treatment of Paul's fundamental view of revelation according to its past, present, and future dimensions, together with a brief assessment of the remaining revelatory value of the Old Testament. This is followed by an analysis of some specific passages dealing with the theme of a revelation of mysteries in the Roman and Corinthian correspondence (Chapter 9) and in Colossians (Chapter 10). The Conclusion begins with a short evaluation of previous research into relevant notions of revelation and of mystery. This is followed by a summary of the overall argument. The final observations evaluate the significance of the results for Jewish and Pauline studies, suggesting <i>inter alis</i> both a paradigmatic difference in the substance of revelation and yet a certain logical symmetry in the manner of its apprehension and development.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg 1982 / No contemporary Jewish theology can be meaningful i f i t ignores the two d e c isiv e w atershed events fo r tw entieth century Ju d a ier, namely, the H olocaust and the re-estab lish m en t o f the S ta te of I s r a e l. Richard L. R ubeustein'a theology is rooted in th ese two k a iro i. In addition to th is , h is theology is highly su b jectiv e and the o rig in s of traumas in h is own l i f e are seen to be re fle c te d in those of the l i f e o f h is people For th is reason, d e ta ils of h is l i f e and work are presented in the in tro d u c tio n to t h is th e s is . With th e Holocaust as h is focus and point of d ep artu re, Rubenstein has declared the death o f the God-who—a c ts -in -h is to ry . He was unable to rec o n cile the Nazi attem pt a t Judenvevnichtung with the existence of the tr a d itio n a l God of theism who chose I s r a e l and who a cts purposefully in h is to ry . His m ajor statem ent of the nineteen s ix tie s was se t out in A fte r A ueohvits. D espite the death of the tra d itio n a l God of theism,*he in s is te d on observance of tra d itio n a l Jewish r i t u a l , p a rtic u la rly p r ie s tly r i t u a l , fo r the attainm ent of au th en tic Jewish selfhood. Two c e n tra l m otivations fo r both the re je c tio n of the tra d itio n a l God of theism and fo r the re te n tio n of r i t u a l , were h is in siste n c e on the capacity of the ir r a tio n a l to move men, and the b e lie f in the c e n tra lity of g u i lt fe e lin g s in men. L ife was seen as bracketed between two o b liv io n s. His theology was devoid o f e sch ato lo g ical hope. A God-concept remained in th e form of Holy Nothingness o r the cannibal Earth Mother. Je was deeply influenced by Freud and the E x is te n t ia li s ts . Great s tr e s s was placed on the ir r a tio n a l aspect of the Holocaust, and C h ris tia n ity ’ s mythic stru c tu re which designated the Jew as d e ic id e , was seen as one of the potent causative fa c to rs fo r anti-Sem itism . R ubenstein's c u rre n t thought has moved beyond the confines of the Jewish im plications of the Holocaust to probe i t s wider im plicstiona for the world. He now views the Holocaust in terms of 'c a lc u la tin g r a tio n a lity ' as the culm ination of a ra d ic a l se c u la ris a tio n of consciousness which he secs as having o rig in a te * in the B ible. His concern is w ith a fu n c tio n a lly 'godless* world in which a Holocaust could take p lac e. The Holocaust and other la rg e -sc a le massacres are perceived in terms of b u re a u c ra tic a lly organised population riddance in the face of th e in tra c ta b le problem of global population redundancy. The aim of th is th e s is i s to examin e and r e f le c t the progression of Rubenetein* s thought from the nineteen s ix tie s to the present and to evaluate h is theology as a v iab le way of l i f e fo r modern se c u la risin g Jews. Section One c o n s titu te s an attem pt to present Rubenetein's th eo lo g ical and i n te lle c tu a l development. Chapters I I , IV, V and VI deal with various asp ects o f h is thought such as h is views on s e c u la ris a tio n , on man and r e lig io n , on God, eechatology and h is to ry , and on power. Chapter I deals w ith the ro o ts o f s e c u la ris a tio n and the a th e is tic tren d in modern th e o lo g ic a l thinking as a backdrop to R ubenstain's theology. An excursus in to the psychoanalytic th eo ries of Freud was undertaken in Chapter I I I because of the immense influence of Freud on Rubenetein's e arly thought. Section Two c o n s titu te s a c ritiq u e of R ubenetein's views in re la tio n to o th er th e o lo g ic a l responses to the H olocaust. I t also examines the v ia b ility of h is th e o lo g ica l proposals for a meaningful Jewish lif e a fte r the H olocaust. The conclusion of th is th e s is is th a t although the normative Jewish theology of h is to ry shows the most au th en tic path fo r Jews to follow , R ubenstein's views of the nineteen s ix tie s c o n s titu te a meaningful option fo r Jews who, a f t e r the Holocaust, are unable to re ta in b e lie f in the th e i s t ic God of h is to ry . This was made p o ssib le by R ubenstein's emphasis on the need fo r ongoing Jewish p ra c tic e . His cu rren t theology is too p e ssim istic to o ffe r any r e a l is ti c options fo r continuing Jewish l i f e . I t s main c o n trib u tio n is th a t i t gives us in sig h t in to the possible causes of our w o rld 's m alaise in an attem pt to contain man's d e stru ctiv e n ess.

This thesis comprises an introduction to the life and works of Victorinus of Pettau, a translation of his commentary on the Apocalypse and a select commentary on that work.

Once regarded as a vibrant centre of intellectual, cultural and spiritual Jewish life, Lithuania was home to 240,000 Jews prior to the Nazi invasion of 1941. By war's end, less than 20,000 remained. Today, 4,000 Jews reside there, among them 108 survivors from the camps and ghettos and a further 70 from the Partisans and Red Army. Against a backdrop of ongoing Holocaust denial and a recent surge in anti-Semitic sentiment, this thesis presents the history and experiences of a group of elderly survivors in modern-day Vilnius through the lens of their stories and memories, their special places and their biographical objects. Incorporating interdisciplinary elements of cultural anthropology, social geography, psychology, narrative and sensory ethnography, it is informed, at its core, by an overtly spiritual approach. Drawing on the essentially Hasidic belief that everything in the material world is imbued with sacred essence and that we, as human beings, have the capacity through our actions to release that essence, it explores the points of intersection where the individual and the collective collide, illuminating how history is lived from the inside. Glimpses of the personal, typically absent from the historical record, are afforded prominence here: a bottle of perfume tucked into a pocket before fleeing the ghetto, a silent promise made beside a mass grave, a pair of shoes fashioned from parachute material in the forest. By tapping the material for meaning, a more embodied, emplaced, experiential level of knowing, deeper and richer than that achieved through traditional life history (oral testimony and written documents) methods, can emerge. In moving beyond words and gathering a bricolage of story, legend, artefact, document, monument and landscape, this research suggests a multidimensional historiography that is of particular relevance in grasping the lived reality of survivors in Lithuania where only the faintest traces of a once thriving Jewish heritage now remain.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Judaism stresses the concept of education continuously. It has been important in the past. It is important in the present. It will be important in the future. Education is one of the bulwarks within the Jewish religion. From the time one is old enough to understand until the day one dies, the Jew is expected to study - to continually expand his knowledge and broaden his horizons and awareness. In fact, religious education is stressed to such a degree that it has become one of the sancta within Judaism. Such weight is placed upon this activity that it overshadows many other important religious activities. In traditional Judaism, one is to recite prayers from the prayerbook every day. It is stated in rabbinic literature, however, that if one is deeply absorbed in studies, he should not interrupt his studying even though it is time to pray. Thus we can perceive on what a high level Jewish education was and is still held. Education covers a whole lifetime. This thesis, however, will discuss one area of this range - Jewish religious school education. It will be the task within the following pages to analyze and discuss the aims and objectives vis-a-vis the curriculum. There are three curricula examined within this thesis. They represent each of three major movements within Judaism - Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Each curriculum is the official curriculum of each movement. This means that the curriculum is that one which has been published by the educational staff of the movement. It does not signify, however, that each and every temple or synagogue uses one of the three. There is no dogma or policy stating that Reform temple has to use the official Reform curriculum. The same is also true for the Conservative and Orthodox groups. The official curriculum is only a suggested one. Each temple or synagogue is autonomous. It does what it wants to do. It can use this curriculum completely. It can use only selections from it. It cannot use it at all. Simply, for the sake of order and comparison, the three official curricula have been chosen. Within each curriculum, the aims and objectives are stated. These will be analyzed and discussed. The major point to which this thesis is directed is that of the relationship between aims and objectives and the actual curriculum. Are the aims and objectives carried out in the curriculum? Is there an attainable rapport between the two? What kind of philosophy of education do the curricula reflect, and how is this related to the expressed goals? Young boys and girls spend many hours within religious schools. The Jewish boy and girl goes both to a secular school and a religious school. It may be said that in one instance they experience one type of culture while in the next instance they experience another culture. The latter culture, that found in the religious school, has a certain purpose - specific aims and goals. Are these aims and goals reflected within and attained from the curriculum? / 2031-01-01

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stanford University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (DNSc.)--University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-109). Also available on the Internet.