Judaism Viewed from Within and from Without

Harvey E.Goldberg

Description

Judaism Viewed from Within and from Without presents three themes. The first applies anthropological analyses to classic textual material in Judaism, the second presents studies of different expressions of Jewish life in America, while the third portrays varieties of Judaism among different cultural groups in contemporary Israel.

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438404288
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 58 Mo

Extrait

Judaism Viewed From Within and From Without
9781438404288.pdf 2 2/17/2011 2:16:30 AMSUNY Series in Anthropology and Judaic Studies
Walter P. Zenner, Editor
9781438404288.pdf 3 2/17/2011 2:16:32 AMJudaism Viewed from
Within and From Without
Anthropological Studies
Edited and with introductions by
HARVEY E. GOLDBERG
State University of New York Press
9781438404288.pdf 4 2/17/2011 2:16:35 AMChapter 4 of the present work appeared in a slightly different version in The Anthropol­
ogy of Experience, edited by James W. Turner and Edward Bruner, copyright 1986 by the
Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
Parts of chapter 9 of the present work appeared in Studies in Judaism and Islam, edited by
Shlomoh Morag, Issachar Ben-Ami, and Norman Stillman, Jerusalem, Magnes Press,
1981, pp. 293-345.
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
<0 1987 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews.
For information, address State University of New York
Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Judaism viewed from within and from without.
{SUNY series in anthropology and Judaic studies)
Includes index.
I. Jewish law- Interpretation and construction. 2. Judaism-United States. 3. Jews­
United States- Social conditions. 4. Judaism-Israel. 5. Anthropology. I. Goldberg, Har­
vey E. II. Series.
BM520.2.J83 1986 306'.6 86-5877
ISBN 0-88706-354-3
ISBN 0-88706-356-X {pbk.}
9781438404288.pdf 5 2/17/2011 2:16:37 AMTo the memories of
Victor Turner
and
Barbara Myerhoff­
colleagues, teachers, and friends
9781438404288.pdf 6 2/17/2011 2:16:40 AM9781438404288.pdf 7 2/17/2011 2:16:42 AMContents
ix Preface
Introduction: Reflections on the Mutual
Relevance of Anthropology and Judaic
Studies Harvey E. Goldberg
Part I. History and Patterning
Introduction to Part I 46
l. The Laws of Mixture: An
Anthropological Study in Halakhah Samuel Cooper 55
2. The Consumption of Sabbatical Year
Produce in Biblical and Rabbinic
Literature Zvi Zohar 75
3. Torah and Children: Symbolic Aspects
of the Reproduction of Jews and
Judaism Harvey E. Goldberg 107
Part II. Judaism in America
132 Introduction to Part II
4. "Life, Not Death in Venice":
Its Second Life Barbara Myerhoff 143
5. Sacred Categories and Social Relations:
The Visibility and Invisibility of
Gender in an American Jewish
Community Riv-Ellen Prell 171
vii
9781438404288.pdf 8 2/17/2011 2:16:44 AMContents viii
6. Drama on a Table: The Bobover
Hasidim Piremshpiyl Shifra Epstein 195
Part III. Judaism in Israel
Introduction to Part III 220
7. Life Tradition and Book Tradition
in the Development of Ultraorthodox
Judaism Menachem Friedman 235
8. The Symbolic Inscription of Zionist
Ideology in the Space of Eretz Israel:
Why the Native Israeli is Called Tsili
Tsabar Doleve-Gandelman 25 7
9. Dreams and the Wishes of the Saint Yoram Bilu 285
Epilogue: Text in Jewish Society and the
Challenge of Comparison Harvey E. Goldberg 315
Glossary 331
Contributors 343
Index 345
9781438404288.pdf 9 2/17/2011 2:16:47 AM­
Preface
he idea for this book was first suggested by Victor Turner during T his visit to Jerusalem in 1980 as guest of the Israel Anthropologi­
cal Association. Some of the papers presented at that occasion form the
kernel of the present work. The project was given impetus by Barbara
Myerhoff's visit a year later, and began to take final shape during a se­
cond visit to Israel by Vic and Edie Turner during the first half of
1983.
The completion of this volume has been inspired by the extraor­
dinary combination of warmth and incisiveness that these scholars
shared. Vic, bringing an extensive exposure to, and sensitivity toward,
many of the world's religions was to have written the epilogue to this
volume, but his untimely death left that task undone. Barbara, whose
commitment to the study of Jews and Judaism followed a penetrating
involvement in a Native American culture, continued to encourage this
project throughout her own illness. Each, in a characteristic manner,
showed the importance of viewing a tradition from without and from
within, and it is to the memories of Vic and of Barbara that this
work is dedicated.
In the initial stages of the project I was assisted by a selection com­
mittee consisting of Shlomo Deshen, Don Handelman, and Haim
Hazan. The introduction, at different stages of its development, was
read by various colleagues and teachers, including Virginia Dominguez,
Moshe Greenberg, David Weiss Halivini, Don Handelman, and Ismar
Schorsch. Gershon Bacon was kind enough to go over the section in­
troductions with a historian's eye. The final product also benefited con
siderably from the comments of several anonymous reviewers, and
from the editorial skills of Haim Goldgraber which were combined with
a keen appreciation of the subject. I am grateful for all the advice
ix
9781438404288.pdf 10 2/17/2011 2:16:50 AMX Preface
received: that which was incorporated into the work and that which I
am still considering.
Edgar Siskin of the Jerusalem Center for Anthropological Studies
made a grant available for translation, editing, and the final preparation
of the manuscript. It is my hope that the volume will serve as a tribute
to his concern for, and support of, the fields of anthropology and Jew­
ish studies.
Judy, my wife, helped me in more ways than I can tell. Her par­
ticipation has taught me that the phrase 'ez.er k'negdo !Genesis 2:20),
which the rabbis knew could be understood in different ways, has yet to
exhaust its plenitude of meanings.
The field created by the intersection of Judaic studies and anthro­
pology has grown since this project was initiated, and the volume in no
way pretends to be representative of the present state of work under­
way, except insofar as it points to manifold possibilities of future
research. The focus on contemporary Jewish communities in the Uni­
ted States and Israel reflects the limitations of space, and the fact that
these are the largest extant concentrations of Jews today. Anthro­
pologically informed studies of Jewish topics appear to be developing in
France, and one hears of clandestine attempts to document Jewish life
in the Soviet Union.
The papers presented herein vary in the extent to which they refer
to Judaic texts, not all of which are available in translation. References
to a number of these works, which have their own traditional system of
citation, have been confined to the notes, while publications which can
be fit into standard citation formats may be found in the references sec­
tions. A glossary of some of the Judaic concepts mentioned has been
provided, but this, of necessity, meets a limited purpose. Fuller informa­
tion is available in many of the English-language studies cited, as well
as in reference sources such as the Encylopedia Judaica !New York: Mac­
Millan, 1971 ). This work has been abbreviated as EJ, while BT refers to
the Babylonian Talmud.
In transcribing words from Hebrew !or Yiddish, or Arabic), there
has been an attempt to steer a course between conventional English­
language forms and linguistic precision, and to present standard terms
or dialectical forms, as required by the situation. Arbitrary choices have
been made which will not please the purist, but the newcomer may find
some guidance in the glossary.
9781438404288.pdf 11 2/17/2011 2:16:53 AMIntroduction: Reflections on the
Mutual Relevance of Anthropology
and Judaic Studies
HARVEY E. GOLDBERG
n recent years a growing number of anthropologists have turned
I their attention to the study of Jewish life and have widened, thereby,
the scope of Jewish studies. To those unfamiliar with these disciplines
in their modern forms, this combination of perspectives may seem sur­
prising. Classically, anthropology has dealt with remote tribal cultures
having no written language. Investigation of these cultures has there­
fore involved the prolonged exposure of a researcher to the way of life
of natives far from the researcher's own familiar society. Judaism, on
the other hand, has meant the study of a traditional civilization, whose
hallmark is the sacred scriptures and writings based on them, and is
nom1ally researched by scholars pouring over texts in libraries and
archives. An appreciation of contemporary concerns within both
realms of scholarship, however, will reveal areas of mutual relevance in
which anthropology may enrich Judaic studies and where anthropolo­
gical understanding can benefit from a consideration of Jewish history
and culture.
A brief glance at the history of anthropology shows a