Judaism articles from March 1995

Judaism archives from March 1995

Separation anxiety: from founders to fundamentalists. (separation between church and state)
March 22, 1995... The first time an ambitious young politician named Huey. Long ventured into southern Louisiana, the local boss who was in charge of the campaign tour warned him as follows: "Huey, you ought to remember one thing in your speeches today.... We got...

"One, walking and studying ...": nature vs. Torah. (on nature worship vs. worship of God)
March 22, 1995... Rabbi Ya'akov says: One, who while walking along the way, reviewing his studies, breaks off from his study and says, "How beautiful is that tree! How beautiful is that plowed field!" Scripture regards him as if he has forfeited his soul (Ethics...

Shmuel HaKatan and the political background to Avot 4:19.
March 22, 1995... The talmudic sages were all fond of quoting Scripture; but, quite apart from that predilection, the support of a biblical prooftext was clearly the strongest possible corroboration they could muster for any oral tradition they were transmitting,...

"Which is the merchant heere? and which the Jew?": keeping the book and keeping the books in 'The Merchant of Venice.'
March 22, 1995... The merchant of venice is a puzzle. The ways in which it has been discussed suggest that it is more problematic even than the so-called problem plays of Shakespeare.(1) Indeed, if the lovers Lorenzo and Jessica are the Troilus and Cressida. of...

Philo and midrash.
March 22, 1995... That midrash is the literary form that jewish thought and theology has most often adopted as the best medium for the exposition of ideas is an obvious but often forgotten fact. Although philosophical discourse and the midrashic style seem to be...

Isaac Bashevis Singer in America: the translation problem.
March 22, 1995... Rabbi Yehuda said: "If one translates a verse literally, he is a liar; if he adds to it, he is a blasphemer and a libeller." - Talmud, B. Kiddushin 49a I sometimes suspect that the Universe is nothing but a bad translation from God's...

Learning the lessons of studying Jewish music.
March 22, 1995... I have been active in Jewish music studies for over twenty years now, a long research cycle that has included three books and many shorter works. That experience leads me to these observations on the nature of studying Jewish music: a personal...

Creation and redemption: towards a theology of creation.
March 22, 1995... Creation and redemption are the two pillars upon which Biblical theology rests. They define the parameters within which the drama of Divine/human encounter unfolds. In considering the relationship between these two doctrines, it is important to...

My immigrant family, the popular culture, and me.
March 22, 1995... That James Joyce regarded Stephen Dedalus's ringing non serviam with heavy doses of ironic detachment was a point that escaped me entirely when I first read A Portrait of the Artist as a high school junior. After all, Stephen's quarrels seemed to...