From LISTSERV@MSU.EDU Sun Jul 28 21:43:25 1996 Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 00:06:30 -0400 From: Automatic digest processor Reply-To: H-Net Jewish Studies List To: Recipients of H-JUDAIC digests Subject: H-JUDAIC Digest - 18 May 1996 to 19 May 1996 There are 7 messages totalling 257 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. attack on Islam (Lesses) 2. journals (Prys) 3. copyright (Goldberg) 4. Films & Texts for Survey Courses (Travis) 5. dickens (Michael) 6. Writing research on Jewish Slang (Pierce) 7. The Year 922 c.e. (Landau) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 21:52:48 -0400 From: J S Online Subject: attack on Islam (Lesses) editor's note: I want to apologize for sending out an un-edited note yesterday which contained an attack on the religion of Islam. It is our community policy not to allow such material, and I want to apologize to you all and especially to any members of our group who are adherents to Islam. Below is Prof. Lesses' note, which summarizes why the earlier post was offensive. -Avi From: Rebecca Lesses Subject: attack on Islam While on this list we may debate scholarly issues about the study of Judaism, I don't believe we should be engaged in insulting the nature of other people's religious beliefs, either Jews or non-Jews. I am responding to 's remarks on "belief and experience." He distinguishes faith based on "Islam, submission" and faith based on Torah, as if "Islam," or submission to God (either the religion or the principle), was in itself a bad thing. Now, there is a history of the exaltation of faith in Judaism itself -- look only at the insistence of many Hasidic masters on the importance of "bitachon" or "emunah." I also think that it is not appropriate on a list of this sort, which is striving not to engage in religious polemics, to insult the way of another religion, in this case, Islam. 's remarks about Islam do not indicate the kind of respect that I think is demanded in a forum of this type. Rebecca Lesses, Visiting Assistant Professor Cornell University, Near Eastern Studies ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 21:53:55 -0400 From: J S Online Subject: journals (Prys) From: RJPrys@aol.com Subject: journals Could someone please send me the snail-mail address of _The Journal of Jewish Studies_? Also, could someone please send me the name and address (snail-mail and/or e-mail address) of a journal devoted to the study of Jewish mysticism? Thanks for whatever help that anyone can give to me. All best, Richard J. Prystowsky (RJPrys@aol.com) School of Humanities and Languages, Irvine Valley College ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 21:55:16 -0400 From: J S Online Subject: copyright (Goldberg) From: harvey goldberg Subject: copyright Continuing from Bernard Cooperman's last remarks, some books produced by haredi Jews in Israel have the following [my translation]: "All rights reserved by the laws of our Holy Torah and, pardon the comparison ("le-havdil" in the original), by international copyright law." Harvey Goldberg ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 21:56:04 -0400 From: J S Online Subject: Re: Films & Texts for Survey Courses (Travis) From: yakov travis Subject: Re: Films & Texts for Survey Courses Thank you for the thoughtful comments re: film & texts for survey courses. I will add two from my recent experience as a TA for the 'Foundations of Judaism' course at Brandeis taught by Reuven Kimelman. [1] Seltzer's 'Jewish People, Jewish Thought' was supplemented by Mansoor's ''Jewish History & Thought: An Introduction' with some positive feedback from students. The book presents history and ideas in a bare bones outline form which helps highlight the pivotal points discussed by Seltzer. One student described it as "a map to the world presented by Seltzer." It may also serve as a good reference guide for students to have in their libraries. Has anyone else used this text? [2] Two films were shown which students both enjoyed and benefited from: 'The Disputation' (written by Hyam Maccoby) depicting Nahmanides' theological duel with Pablo Christiani, and 'The Quarrel' (based on the short story by Chaim Grade) which dramatizes theological and moral issues that emerge from the Shoah while giving the audience a sense of the ethos of the 'musar' yeshiva world. Does anyone know of a good 'videography' for such purposes? Yakov Travis, Brandeis University ytravis@lynx.neu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 22:00:06 -0400 From: J S Online Subject: dickens (Michael) From: Robert Michael Subject: dickens I don't want to believe that dickens was antisemitic, but . . . It was not only Shylock who was compared to a devil. Fagin looked like the devil when he's got a great-coat on"; and he is described as devil and worse than devil." Dickens had inevitably to be influenced by the anti-Jewish ideas carried into the l9th century by the Bible and religious education, popular myths and sayings, novels, plays, newspapers, magazines such as Punch, songs, Parliamentary debates and laws.1 Even in his early writings, where he did not treat Jews in any extensive fashion, Dickens still regarded them negatively. In Sketches by Boz, Pickwick, the Old Curiosity Shop, Barnaby Rudge, and Dombey and Son, Dickens associated the Jews with repellent characteristics that he despised. In Dombey and Son, for example, the Jewish character was vulgar, materialistic, and insolent. As editor of Bentley's Miscellany, Dickens was insensitive at best to the antisemitic articles published therein, which indicated that Jews were sinister, hard-hearted and without conscience, hated Christians, and sold themselves to the devil "all calculated to incite prejudice and hatred" against Jews. Many of the stories in Bentley's were specifically religious in their antisemitism, e.g.,The Professor of Toledo," wherein a Jewish moneylender reminiscent of Shylock had his daughter stolen from his home and converted to Christianity. When the Jewish father and 50 other Jews entered the Cathedral of Toledo to take the daughter back, they were murdered at the cathedral altar by the Catholic congregation. At this point, a heavenly choir was heard singing, the altar became illuminated with a mystical light, and, attracted by the carnal smell of Jewish blood or perhaps miraculously sent by the saint presiding over the cathedral of Toledo," dogs entered the church and made a gory banquet of the remains of the unfortunate believers [Jews]." In The Life of Our Lord, written for the use of his children, Dickens himself attacked the Jews as crucifiers of Christ.2 And in his private letters he likewise manifested antisemitic beliefs. 1 Harry Stone, "Dickens and the Jews," Victorian Studies (March l959), pp. 223, 225-8. 2 Stone, "Dickens and the Jews," pp. 228-33. When he was caught short by his friend,a jewish woman who had bought dickens' house, he did act surprised that she felt that oliver twist contained anti-jewishness. i know that in response he wrote a novel that portrayed a jew as perfectly good. trouble is, our mutual friend has not been made into a broadway play nor into a film because it is BORING. i remember when Israeli pm begin was introduced to the u.s. public by time or newsweek, as "begin, rhymes with fagin." dickens may or may not have been antisemitic, but his early work surely calls forth the possbility, perhaps probability. what should surprise us? that another famous literature was consciously or unconsciously hostile to jews and fallen into anti-jewish stereotype. what is surprising, is that a few of these writers were NOT antisemitic. if anyone is interested, i can list the american writers that clearly manifest antisemitism and those that don't, primarily because they don't deal with jews at all. shalom, bob m. robert michael, prof. european history/umass dartmouth ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 22:02:55 -0400 From: J S Online Subject: Writing research on Jewish Slang (Pierce) From: Rev. Cecil Pierce Subject: Writing research on Jewish Slang Since preparing lessons and assignments for my Creative and Religious Writing Course students I find that I need to do further research myself, for this I need discussion and advice on probable events of some 1,960 years ago, please, let me explain: The lessons and assignments I prepared require students to write a story set in a village near Jerusalem around the year 32 AD - I have to find out what Jewish year this would have been. The scenario is a group of children, mostly Jewish playing games. A stranger and several of his friends approaches and gives a certain boy a hand carved wooden toy, and departs. The boys then enter into conversation concerning why this happened. My question is: In that time period would the boys have used what we call slang in their conversation? If so, the students need to refer to it in the dialogue they write. This question has become important because the stories that my students write will be turned into a series of radio plays. The radio actors have raised the question as to how they can make the plays more authentic in the dialogue. Is it reasonable to say that those boys most probably spoke Hebrew, would experts agree with this? Of course they might well have spoken Greek as well. It is unlikely that they would have spoken Latin. One language expert has suggested that they might well have spoken an early form of Yiddish, what do you say about this? If it can be established that some form of slang was used; especially by the boys, then I would need to know the Hebrew or Greek words with English equivalents, we shall overcome the problem that there that there are no exact English equivalents for the Hebrew and Greek language. Some language experts might complicate this scenario by suggesting that Chaldean or Aramaic was the appropriate language of the time period. What I am aiming at is to give the feel of a Jewish presence to readers of the stories and create a radio atmosphere of early Hebrew folklore to listeners, and since radio is all audio the language becomes very important. There are several Jewish students doing this course but these matters are beyond their range of understanding; at least at this stage. I am happy to give credits in my tutorial on this subject. Shalom, Rev. Cec (skypilot), Tutor Rev. Cecil Pierce ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 22:06:16 -0400 From: J S Online Subject: The Year 922 c.e. (Landau) From: Remy Landau Subject: The Year 922 c.e. Not too long ago, we discussed the Aaron ben Meir - Saadia ben Yosef controversy which erupted in 920 c.e. At issue was a calendar modification proposed by Aaron ben Meir which pushed back by 2 days the date for Rosh Hashannah in the year 922 c.e. so as to properly accommodate his desired change to the second rule for postponing the start of Rosh Hashannah in the year 923 c.e. (4824H). One of the problems noted was that ben Meir's proposed calendar change created a new keviyyah which consisted of a 352 day year beginning on Thursdays. And as pointed out, this would have been true for the Hebrew year 4683 (922/3 c.e). Overlooked in this fact finding, was another peculiarity of the current fixed Hebrew calendar, apparently completely unknown, and which I would like to share with you. All serious studies of the fixed Hebrew calendar point to the fact that the difference in length between the average Hebrew year and the mean tropical solar year amounts to approximately one day in every 216 solar years. Hence, Rosh Hashannah is being celebrated today about 4 and one half days later, on average, than at the time of the Ben Meir - Saadia controversy of 920 c.e. Because of this drift through the solar year, it is possible to think in terms of an earliest possible date for Rosh Hashannah at a given point in time, and also a latest possible date for the start of Rosh Hashannah at any given point in time. Assuming the continued existence of the Gregorian calendar, then today, the first day of Rosh Hashannah can occur no earlier than September 5. As well, the latest possible date for the first day of Rosh Hashannah is today October 5. Similarly, in 922 c.e. the traditional date for the first day of Rosh Hashannah occured on October 1 (Gregorian). By one of these remarkable coincidences this was also the first time in the history of the fixed Hebrew calendar that Rosh Hashannah was observed so late in the year. And that latest possible date at that point in time would last until replaced by October 2, 1302 (corresponding to the Hebrew year 5063). It would be fun to speculate if Saadia had actually known that about the Hebrew year 5683 and because of it had actually wanted to maintain this particular status for the year, among other things. Remy Landau ------------------------------ End of H-JUDAIC Digest - 18 May 1996 to 19 May 1996 ***************************************************