A Guide to Jewish Studies: Life-Cycle Events

"This volume describes the major "rites of passage" of the Jewish life cycle. From birth, through circumcision, to marriage, divorce, sickness, death and mourning, Daniel Sperber presents detailed descriptions of the major customs attending these events. These customs are examined in light of their original sources, their integration and evolution in varying Jewish communities, and the popular explanations given for their practice, both historically and today." "This book draws on the whole spectrum of rabbinic literature, comparing its stories and explanations with folk beliefs of other cultures throughout the world. Sperber makes use of a wide range of resources - medieval and modern, legal, folkloristic, anthropological and literary - in his discussion of customs, proving that Jewish communities were never isolated from their environment. He also examines in depth the earliest origins of many of our well-known and commonly practiced Jewish customs." "This book makes use of iconographic material found in illustrated books written by non-Jews describing Jewish practice. These illustrations are analyzed in detail, constituting yet another rich source for the understanding of the evolution of Jewish customs. Customs, by their nature, are often taken for granted. In this book, Daniel Sperber offers an expert, detailed, and lively analysis of some of the most and least commonly practiced customs in Jewish tradition." - from the publisher

"This is a comprehensive and authoritative resource with ready answers to questions about almost all aspects of Jewish life and practice: life-cycle events, holidays, ritual and prayer, Jewish traditions and customs, and more. Ronald Eisenberg has distilled an immense amount of material from classic and contemporary sources into a single volume, which provides thousands of insights into the origins, history, and current interpretations of a wealth of Jewish traditions and customs."
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"Divided into four sections—Synagogue and Prayers, Sabbaths and Festivals, Life-Cycle Events, and Miscellaneous (a large section that includes such diverse topics as Jewish literature, food, and plants and animals)—this is an encyclopedic reference for anyone who wants easily accessible, accurate information about all things Jewish. Eisenberg writes for a wide, diversified audience, and is respectful of the range of practices and beliefs within today's American Jewish community—from Orthodox to liberal." - from the publisher

Editor's Note: See "Birth," "Circumcision," "Names," and "Pidyon ha-Ben," on pages 3-22.

Editor's Note: Volume 4, pp. 730-735.

"According to Jewish law, the ritual practice of circumcising male infants signals the male child’s entry into the covenant his forefather Abraham made with God. Circumcision, now a common medical procedure for male infants in the United States, has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Some medical professionals have challenged its purported health benefits, ethicists have raised concerns about the degree of pain involved, and Jewish feminists have questioned the implications of a covenantal rite centered on the male genitals. The sixteen essays in this volume, by exploring the history, cultural interpretations, and contemporary significance of circumcision from a Jewish perspective, make a major contribution to the informed discussion of current issues and controversies." - from the publisher

Editor's Note: In addition to these resources on brit milah (circumcision) see also the subject headings su: Circumcision Religious aspects Judaism and su: Berit milah.

"The traditions, laws and customs of this momentous occasion presented by a leading Mohel. Includes explanations and backgrounds; a section answering many questions concerning the naming of a child; laws pertaining to adoptiions; medical causes for postponement; a Bris on the Sabbath and Festivals, etc.; text of the ritual and prayers with translation and commentary." - from the publisher

"The Jewish coming-of-age ceremony of bar mitzvah was first recorded in thirteenth-century France, where it took the form of a simple statement by the father that he was no longer responsible for his thirteen-year-old son. Today, bar mitzvah for boys and bat mitzvah for girls are more popular than at any time in history and are sometimes accompanied by lavish celebrations. How did bar mitzvah develop over the centuries from an obscure legal ritual into a core component of Judaism? How did it capture the imagination of even non-Jewish youth? Bar Mitzvah is a comprehensive history of the ceremonies and celebrations for both boys and girls. As cultural anthropology informed by rabbinic knowledge, it explores the origins and development of the most important coming-of-age milestone in Judaism. Rabbi Michael Hilton has sought out every reference to bar mitzvah in the Bible, the Talmud, and numerous other Jewish texts spanning several centuries, extracting a fascinating miscellany of information, stories, and commentary."-- Provided by publisher."How the bar mitzvah developed over the centuries from an obscure legal ritual into a core component of Judaism and how it captured the imagination of everyone, including many non-Jewish youth." - from the publisher

Editor's Note: See "Bar Mitzvah," and "Bat Mitzvah," on pages 23-26.

Editor's Note: "Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah," Volume 3, pp. 164-167.

"Illustrates the complex and diverse ways that Jews in the United States and Israel are reshaping dating, marriage, and family life-with some surprising consequences. The concepts of gender, love, and family-as well as the personal choices regarding gender-role construction, sexual and romantic liaisons, and family formation-have become more fluid under a society-wide softening of boundaries, hierarchies, and protocols. Sylvia Barack Fishman gathers the work of social historians and legal scholars who study transformations in the intimate realms of partnering and family construction among Jews. Following a substantive introduction, the volume casts a broad net. Chapters explore the current situation in both the United States and Israel, attending to what once were considered unconventional household arrangements-including extended singlehood, cohabitating couples, single Jewish mothers, and GLBTQ families-along with the legal ramifications and religious backlash. Together, these essays demonstrate how changes in the understanding of male and female roles and expectations over the past few decades have contributed to a social revolution with profound-and paradoxical-effects on partnering, marriage, and family formation. This diverse anthology-with chapters focusing on demography, ethnography, and legal texts-will interest scholars and students in Jewish studies, women's and gender studies, Israel studies, and American Jewish history, sociology, and culture."

Editor's Note: See "Marriage," "Sex," and "Divorce," on pages 28-70.

Editor's Note: Volume 13, pages 563-574.

"Did ancient Jews view Gentiles as ritually impure, capable of communicating defilement to Jews with whom they interacted? For more than a century, scholars of ancient Judaism and early Christianity have answered this question implicitly and explicitly in the affirmative, and have assumed the operation of an ancient principle of Gentile ritual impurity that led to a strict and burdensome policy of separation between Jews and non-Jews. In Gentile Impurities and Jewish Identities, Christine E. Hayes sweeps aside decades of erroneous scholarship on the question of Gentile ritual impurity and rewrites the history of Jewish perceptions of Gentiles in antiquity." - from the publisher

"Drawing on historical research, ethnography, and original interviews, Beyond Chrismukkah describes and analyzes how interfaith Christian-Jewish families were understood, viewed, and treated in the larger American social milieu from 1965 through the present. [Mehta] shows how during the latter half of the twentieth century, interfaith marriage was subject to much the same dynamic and dramatic change that took place generally in American culture: from 1965 to 2010, the rate of intermarriage for American Jews rose from less than 10% to its current rate of between 40-50%. She argues that the understanding of ethnicity, and, in particular, the turn to multiculturalism in the 1990s, generated significant cultural and political change over time." - from the publisher

"A basic tenet of Judaism is the obligation to value and serve the deceased, to extend dignity beyond death. In Judaism, a death is the affair of the entire community. Preparation of the dead for burial is undertaken by a community organization called the Chevra Kadisha, the Sacred Society. The volunteers of the Sacred Society quietly and privately wash, purify and dress the deceased. They simultaneously recite lyrical prayers from Psalms, thereby bearing witness to death as the last of life's important passages." "Dignity Beyond Death examines the rituals of preparing the dead for burial from the point of view of those volunteers who undertake it, including chapters on the Holocaust and terrorism. For the first time, through personal interviews, the author shares a wealth of anecdotal material that will engage the reader in the humanity and ultimate dignity of this time-honored deed." - from the publisher

"After One-Hundred-and-Twenty provides a richly nuanced and deeply personal look at Jewish attitudes and practices regarding death, mourning, and the afterlife as they have existed and evolved from biblical times to today. Taking its title from the Hebrew and Yiddish blessing to live to a ripe old age--Moses is said to have been 120 years old when he died--the book explores how the Bible's original reticence about an afterlife gave way to views about personal judgment and reward after death, the resurrection of the body, and even reincarnation. It examines Talmudic perspectives on grief, burial, and the afterlife, shows how Jewish approaches to death changed in the Middle Ages with thinkers like Maimonides and in the mystical writings of the Zohar, and delves into such things as the origins of the custom of reciting Kaddish for the deceased and beliefs about encountering the dead in visions and dreams." - from the publisher