Thesis advisor: Ruth Langer / The topic of covenant is perhaps the most fundamental means for humans to think about their relationship to God within a particular religious tradition. Since the time of the Second Vatican Council, the Church has gradually been reconsidering what covenant means for Catholics worldwide, especially in relation to other traditions, namely Judaism. Therefore, this paper initially aims to identify what covenant means for Jews and Catholics on an individual basis and how each tradition has historically thought about the other. Secondly, being written from a Catholic standpoint, this paper aims to redefine what covenant means for Catholicism in terms of how it addresses Judaism. Ultimately, this paper proposes a Catholic model for thinking about Judaism in a non-supersessionist manner. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Theology.

Esta pesquisa objetivou investigar como se estrutura nos enredos de quatro romances de Moacyr Scliar o diálogo ambivalente entre a memória judaica e a diáspora brasileira. Nas obras escolhidas no corpus, foi verificada a presença comum de dois planos narrativos. Um deles se ancora no passado, possui dicção memorialista e documental, retrata a longa saga do povo judeu, ficcionalizada por intermédio de vários recortes históricos. Já o segundo plano narrativo relaciona-se a distintos contextos da diáspora. Este se desenvolve no tempo presente do discurso e apresenta uma cronologia gaúcha brasileira que transcorre em meados do século XX. A metodologia adotada averiguou a possível validade da seguinte hipótese: a mescla discursiva entre elementos da memória judaica e da diáspora brasileira é responsável pela produção de um discurso híbrido de caráter multicultural. Foi realizado também o cotejo entre diversos elementos intratextuais bem como os entre-lugares e hibridismos representados nos romances. / This research aimed to investigate how the ambivalent dialogue between the Jewish memory and the Brazilian diaspora is structured in the plots of four Moacyr Scliar´s novels. In the works chosen from a corpus, the common presence of two narrative plans was verified. One of them is anchored in the past, has memorialist and documentary diction, portrays the long saga of the Jewish people, fictionalized by means of several historical cuts. The second narrative plane is related to the different contexts of the diaspora. It develops in the discourse present time and presents a Brazilian Gaucho chronology that takes place in the middle of the 20th century. The methodology adopted has validated the following hypothesis: the discursive blend between elements of the Jewish memory and the Brazilian diaspora is responsible for the production of a multicultural hybrid discourse. A comparison between several intratextual elements as well as the inter-places and hybridity represented in the novels was also made.

The aim of this study is to from a qualitative perspective develop a deeper understanding of how religiously conservative homosexuals with deeply held religious views, experience and tackle the conflict between their religiousity and sexuality. I am also interested in how this conflict might contribute to psychological distress, if at all. To settle these curiosities the essay will address the following questions: how does two homosexual orthodox jews and one homosexual muslim experience and handle the conflict between their sexuality and their religious convictions? And: Does this conflict contribute to psychological distress? If so, how does it manifest? As indicated by the first question, the study will only include a small sample size of three persons. The aforementioned people are portrayed in the documentaries ”A Jihad for love” or ”Trembling before G-d”, and their stories constitute the material that will be used to answer the research questions. To analyse this material I have chosen an inductive approach, and Festingers theory regarding cognitive dissonance is later implemented. This theory suggests that human beings constantly strive towards a sense of consistensy, and when incoherencies appear the person is automatically motivated to solve or relieve them. The result of the study found that the sample size prioritized their religiousity over their sexuality and they all described the experience of the conflict between the two identity aspects in negative terms. To handle this discrepancy two of the research subjects had tried to change their sexual attractions, or is still trying to. The third person balanced their sexual and religious identity and sought solace in LGBT events whilst staying married to her husband and engaging in orthodox jewish life. The study also manages to establish a link between the aforementioned conflict and psychological distress.

O objetivo desta dissertação é a análise, por meio de abordagem sócioliterária, da caracterização que a Bíblia Hebraica faz de três mulheres, ou grupos de mulheres, personagens de suas narrativas. Procurar-se-á entender seu comportamento sexual e sua moralidade em contraste com as exigências feitas sobre a mulher em partes desta mesma Bíblia, considerando-se a importância da mulher para as tradições da formação de Israel. Procurar-se-á também estabelecer algum contraste, ainda que superficialmente, entre o julgamento que faz o narrador bíblico quanto ao comportamento pouco ortodoxo destas mulheres e os pressupostos do judaísmo rabínico e dos primeiros pensadores do cristianismo e sua interpretação quanto a este tipo de comportamento feminino. Serão elas, as Filhas de Ló e sua relação incestuosa, Tamar, nora de Judá e sua prostituição, e a saga de Noemi e Rute no episódio da sedução de Boaz. A Bíblia Hebraica é a principal fonte de inspiração para as três religiões mais influentes e de maior capacidade de expansão no mundo desde o século II da E.C. (Era Comum). A formação sócio-cultural de grande parte do oriente e de todo o ocidente encontrou seus fundamentos nelas, as quais são: o Judaísmo, o Cristianismo e o Islamismo. Considerando-se a importância do comportamento social feminino para tais religiões, será importante procurar entender o que a Bíblia Hebraica tem a dizer sobre quais devam ser os valores que o fundamentam. As atitudes sociais são profundamente influenciadas pela maneira como se concebe a divindade. Sendo assim, torna-se extremamente relevante para o ocidente cristão, entender como, especialmente o judaísmo e o cristianismo, 6 interpretaram os textos bíblicos no que concerne às mulheres presentes nas narrativas bíblicas, para que se possa eliminar as diferenças e injustiças motivadas por interpretações religiosas equivocadas. Ao levar-se em consideração o notável \"androcentrismo\" dos autores, revisores e editores bíblicos, que segundo alguns críticos foi uma das marcas que caracterizaram sua religiosidade, determinando a forma como escreveram seus textos, e considerando-se ainda a misoginia na forma como ela se apresenta na arte da interpretação dos textos bíblicos até recentemente, é importante descobrir se a religiosidade cristã ocidental não está equivocadamente apoiada sobre fundamentos preconceituosos disfarçados de conceitos religiosos atribuídos à revelação divina, graças a interpretações até mesmo interessadas das intenções dos autores bíblicos com respeito à mulher. / The objective of this study is the analysis, by the socio-literary boarding approach, of the characterization that the Hebrew Bible mentions about three women, or women groups, characters of its narratives. Look foreword to figure out her sexual behavior and her morality in contrast with the requirements made on the woman in other parts of this same Bible, considering the woman importance for the traditions of the Israel\'s formation. It will be also looked foreword to find out some contrasts even superficially, between the judgment that makes the Biblical narrator as the apparent unorthodox behavior of these women and the rabbinical judaism arguments and the first thinkers of the Christianity and their interpretation such as, this kind of feminine behavior. Will they be Lot\'s daughters and their incestuous relation, Tamar, Juda\'s daughter-in-law and her prostitution and Noemi and Rute\'s saga in the episode of the seduction of Boaz. The Hebrew Bible is the main source of inspiration for the three most influential and growing religions in the world since second-century A. D. Part of the east and all through the west have found its socio-cultural basis in them, which are: the Judaism, the Christianity and the Islamism. Considering the feminine social behavior importance for such religions, it will be important to figure out what the Hebrew Bible has to say on which must be the values that bases it. The social attitudes are deeply influenced by the manner in how to conceive the divinity. Therefore, it becomes extremely relevant to the West christianity, to figure out, how especially the judaism and the Christianism 8 interpreted the Biblical texts with regard to the current women into the Biblical narratives, in order to eliminate the differences and injustices motivated by religious mistaken Interpretations. Taking in consideration the notable \"androcentrism\" of the authors, reviewers and Bible editors, witch according to some critics was one of the signs of their devotion, determining the way they wrote their texts, and considering still the misogyny that predominated the Biblical texts interpretation art up to now, it\'s important to find out if the West Christian devotion is not totally supported on a concealed prejudicial basis of religious concepts attributed to the divine revelation, thanks to the interested interpretations even though to the Biblical authors intentions regarding woman.

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), a refugee scholar from Hitler's Europe, became a significant Jewish theologian and a famous social activist in the United States of America. The thesis begins with a brief biography, which puts his work into context, personally, culturally, and historically. There follows an examination of the style and method of presentation of Heschel's thought, asking why it is that some commentators reject him as a serious thinker. He is then located within the tradition and discipline of theology, with an examination of what he calls "depth-theology". Part II begins with an examination of Heschel's major contribution to modem theology-"the divine pathos"-and its place in the impassibility/passibility controversy. Its influence on other (Christian) theologians is demonstrated, together with a response to major criticism (from Eliezer Berkovits). Heschel's theological anthropology is then shown to be entirely dependent upon the concept of the divine pathos, and to have lasting value. Finally, the thesis explores Heschel's commitment to interfaith dialogue (specifically with Christians) made possible by the universal applicability of his insights into the nature of God, humankind, and the relationship between them.

While it is widely recognized that Zionism was inspired and shaped by modern European nationalism, Orthodox responses to Zionism (whether nationalist or anti-nationalist) are typically viewed as internal Jewish affairs. This dissertation argues that these responses, like Zionism itself, must be understood in their Eastern and Central European contexts. When appropriately contextualized, the anti-Zionist Agudat Yisrael and the Zionist Mizrahi movement take on a different meaning than that assigned them in the conventional narrative. In particular, these movements were not the natural and inevitable results of preexisting ideological differences but, rather, were a product of power struggles that, themselves, shaped and consolidated differing ideological positions.

What Stephen Shapin and Simon Schaffer’s Leviathan and the Air Pump demonstrates to be the case in early modern scientific culture is no less true of the experimental ethic of Jewish feminists today: epistemology and politics are inseparably linked and are projected onto the material of everyday life. In this study of transnational Jewish theopolitics and biopolitics, I show how women enlist their reproductive bodies to develop new forms of spiritual leadership, medical expertise, and religious knowledge and authority as they work to reshape American Judaism. I situate Jewish feminist claims to authenticity and authority within the entangled networks of bio-capital, nationalisms, the logics of classical liberalism and religious subjectivity, and scientific and Rabbinic moral economies. By contextualizing Jewish feminisms in technoscience’s politicization of the sexual body and Christianity’s elevation of the spirit over material, I elucidate how sexual, religious, and epistemic hierarchies structure formations of American religion. This dissertation contributes to growing literatures on religion and science; gender, secularism, and spirituality; transnational American studies; and feminist approaches to medicine and the body. While previous studies on religion and science have highlighted the inseparability of the categories in Euro-American Protestant history or showcased the participation of Jewish men in the development of modern science, this project draws on the “lived religion” methodology to move beyond the activities of elites in institutional spaces. In doing so, it shows how knowledge production happens in intimate, holy places and is structured by sacred and bodily cycles. By stretching the temporal and spatial boundaries of the study of American Judaism, this dissertation reveals how interconnected feminist projects are remaking Judaism as an American religion.

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1906 1972) importante filósofo do judaísmo de século XX no livro Torá Min Ha-shamaim Be-Aspaklaria shel Ha-Dorot, voltou sua atenção diretamente para a literatura rabínica tradicional, em especial para aquela contida no Talmude e no Midrash. Desta leitura hescheliana da literatura rabínica emerge uma visão dialética das correntes teológicas que animam os debates dos primeiros rabínicos sobre questões como o elemento humano e o divino na revelação, a imanência versus a transcendência de Deus, a relação entre a observância religiosa e o espírito por trás da observância, a noção de milagre e muitos outros temas do debate rabínico. Heschel identifica a partir de duas escolas de pensamento rabínico dos séculos I e II da era comum a escola de rabi Akiva de tendência mística e a escola de rabi Ishmael de tendência racionalista os dois grandes paradigmas que tencionaram dialeticamente o pensamento rabínico desde o final da Antiguidade e durante a Idade Média. Segundo Heschel, as duas tendências têm permeado o pensamento rabínico desde então. Desta leitura dialética Heschel tira várias conclusões sobre a relação entre razão e misticismo na experiência religiosa judaica, que além de aprofundarem o debate moderno sobre a natureza da experiência religiosa são também uma poderosa crítica contra as leituras fundamentalistas dos textos tradicionais judaicos. / Abraham Joshua Heschel (1906 1972), important philosopher of Judaism of the twentieth century, turned his attention direct to the traditional rabbinic literature in the book Torah Min Ha-shamaim Be-Aspaklaria Shel Ha-Dorot. He addressed especially the Talmud and the Midrash. From the Heschelian reading of rabbinic literature emerges a dialectical approach of the theological trends that animated the debates of the first rabbis Those debates review issues like the human and divine elements in revelation, Gods immanence and transcendence, the relationship between religious observance and the spirit behind it, the ideas on miracle and many other themes of rabbinic debate. Heschel identifies in two schools of thought of the first and second centuries of the Common Era, the mystical School of Rabbi Akiva and the more rationalistic School of Rabbi Ishmael the two main paradigms that dialectically tensioned rabbinic thought from the ending of Antiquity and during Middle Ages. According to Heschel, the two tendencies permeate rabbinic thought since them. Heschel makes several conclusions on the relationship between reason and mysticism in Jewish religious experience from this dialectical reading. These conclusions deepen the modern debate on the nature of religious experience. They are also a powerful critique against fundamentalist readings of Jewish traditional texts.

This analysis aims to examinate, with a comparative method, how the religions of Judaism and Islam are portrayed within three Swedish textbooks from 1979, 1998 and 2015 for use in upper secondary school. The three curriculums for upper secondary school from 1970, 1994 and 2011, will be used as to determined how appropriate the contents are in the textbooks. The three textbooks have all been used at different times and places in the Swedish upper secondary school’s subject of Religionskunskap (Religious education). This paper has three research questions: (1) How does the textbooks depict Judaism and Islam, (2) how are the believers and practitioners displayed in the contents and (3) to what extent does the textbooks correlate to the curriculums. The analysis showed that there are great differences between each textbook and how detailed the depictions are about the religions. Some of the depictions were negative stereotypes which did not fit the guidelines within the responding curriculum. / <p>Uppsats av didaktisk karaktär i Religionshistoria C</p>

This thesis takes a different approach to the contested topic of Jesus and the Torah in Matthew's Gospel. Rather than asking whether or not Jesus' radical teaching on the Torah (Matt 5:17-48) affirms the validity of the Torah, surpasses it, or if it situates the Matthean community within or outside the bounds of Judaism, this thesis examines the Matthean Jesus' radical teaching as an example of first-century Torah interpretation. Specifically, it examines Second Temple writing strategies used to present interpretations as an authoritative representation of the Torah and compares them with the way Matthew authorises Jesus' teaching on the Torah. This comparison shows that Matthew uses inherited writing strategies to participate in the Second Temple and late first-century Jewish phenomenon of innovating the Torah to meet the needs of a specific context. Chapter 1 examines the phenomenon of Torah interpretation in the Second Temple period, both the contexts that caused it and the logic behind it. Chapter 2 analyses Matthew's Gospel to see if it exhibits a similar context and logic as other Second Temple texts that interpret the Torah. Chapter 3 then uses Hindy Najman's concept of Mosaic Discourse as a lens to observe the writing strategies Matthew uses to present Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount as an authoritative representation of Sinaitic Revelation. Chapter 4 then considers how the genre of biography was used to legitimise a historical figure in a polemical context. Chapter 5 then examines how Matthew similarly used the opportunities of biographical writing to legitimise Jesus as an authority on the Torah in a polemical context and, therefore, authorise his teaching on the Torah as the correct way to follow God's commandments.