what do we mean by judaism/american judaism?

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What is Judaism? Is it a religion, a culture, a nation, a people, a system of ethics, an ethnic group, a pre-requisite for making it as a successful comedian?

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The slideshow presentation offered on the first day of American Jewish Cultures class, Sept 27, 2011.

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Page 1: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

What is Judaism?Is it a religion, a culture, a nation, a people, a system of

ethics, an ethnic group, a pre-requisite for making it as a successful comedian?

Page 2: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

It’s a religion It’s an ethnicity

One God◦ Universal Creator◦ Specific God of Israel

System of ethical and ritual laws & practices

Sacred homelandSacred texts

◦ Torah and Hebrew Bible◦ Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah

HolidaysSacred narrative

(Moses, etc.)

Common language(s)Shared historyShared ritualsShared foodsShared humorShared roots in a

particular landSense of shared destinyShared physical

appearance attributes

Page 3: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

Ashkenazi Jews (European descent)

Sephardi Jews (trace roots back to Spain)

Mizrahi Jews (Jews descending from the Middle East, North Africa, and Persian Gulf)

Ethiopian Jews

Sabras

Jews-by-choice

Jews adopted as children

Page 4: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

“Judaism is an evolvingreligiouscivilization.”

Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan1881 - 1983

religioncuisine

homeland

art & literature

languages

history

culture

humor

Page 5: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

Centers of Jewish civilization today

1,500,000

EUROPE

Page 6: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

Jewish-Americans: population centers

Page 7: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

Politics

Page 8: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

Comedy

Page 9: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

Hollywood

Page 10: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

Different Ways of Analyzing or Surveying Contemporary American Jewish Cultures

Page 11: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

By Movement/Philosophy

OrthodoxModern OrthodoxHarediChabadOther Hasidic Sects

Conservative

Reform

Reconstructionist

Renewal

Humanistic

Secular/Cultural

“Just Jewish”

Page 12: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

How the movements differ

Beliefs about Torah & Sacred Texts

Beliefs about God

Authority of Jewish law (halakhah)

Who has authority to determine halakhic decisions or other decisions of ethics and ritual practice

Nature and purpose of the Jewish people

Ways of relating to modernity & the contemporary world

Page 13: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

By Geographic Region

Page 14: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

By Attitudes towards Israel

Page 15: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

By Sub-ethnicity

Page 16: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

By LGBT issues

Page 17: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

By In-marriage/Intermarriage

Page 18: What do we mean by Judaism/American Judaism?

By JBB or JBC