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„Sei es Dein Wille, Herr“
(2017)
„Gelobt seist du, Ewiger!“
(2017)
Die Worte „entjuden“ und „Entjudung“ sind sprachlicher Ausdruck zumeist judenfeindlicher Haltungen und Taten in der deutschen Geschichte. Der Beitrag zeichnet die Entwicklung des Begriffs anhand seiner Verwendungszusammenhänge nach. Im Kontext der Assimilation des beginnenden 19. Jahrhunderts meinte der Terminus, dass man sich jener jüdischen „Eigenheit“ zu entkleiden habe, welche als Postulat gemeinhin Konsens war. Innerhalb der innerjüdischen Diskussion wird „Entjudung“ zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts zum diagnostischen Ausdruck des Identitätsverlustes. Als politischer Kampfbegriff der Nationalsozialisten ist er wiederum zum Synonym für die Entrechtung und Vernichtung jüdischer Menschen geworden. Protestantische Theologen verwendeten diesen Begriff in der Debatte um die Erneuerung des Christentums, was durch die Entfernung jüdischer Einflüsse geschehen sollte. Bereits Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts formuliert, findet diese Forderung in der 1939 erfolgten Gründung des Instituts zur Erforschung und Beseitigung des jüdischen Einflusses auf das deutsche kirchliche Leben seine programmatische Umsetzung.
Während des Ersten Weltkrieges kam der deutsche Dramatiker und Erzähler Alfred Brust mit dem chassidischen Judentum im litauischen Kowno und Wilna in Berührung. So wie Sammy Gronemann, Arnold Zweig und andere Autoren, die in der Zensur- Abteilung von ‚Ober Ost‘ beschäftigt waren, war Brust tief beeindruckt von dessen archaischer Kultur. Diese schien ihm im Gegensatz zur Dekadenz der modernen Welt zu stehen. Beeinflusst vom expressionistischen Topos einer inneren Wandlung des Menschen entwickelte er in den folgenden Jahren die Idee einer Translation spiritueller und moralischer Werte von den osteuropäischen Juden auf die (deutschen) Ostpreußen. Für ihn galt: Die „Juden sind der Adel der Bewegung“. Brust stand in Kontakt mit Richard Dehmel, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Florens Christian Rang und Martin Buber, selbst Walter Benjamin war zeitweise an ihm interessiert.
“They Took to the Sea”
(2023)
The sea and maritime spaces have long been neglected in the field of Jewish studies despite their relevance in the context of Jewish religious texts and historical narratives. The images of Noah’s arche, king Salomon’s maritime activities or the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea immediately come into mind, however, only illustrate a few aspects of Jewish maritime activities. Consequently, the relations of Jews and the sea has to be seen in a much broader spatial and temporal framework in order to understand the overall importance of maritime spaces in Jewish history and culture.
Almost sixty years after Samuel Tolkowsky’s pivotal study on maritime Jewish history and culture and the publication of his book “They Took to the Sea” in 1964, this volume of PaRDeS seeks to follow these ideas, revisit Jewish history and culture from different maritime perspectives and shed new light on current research in the field, which brings together Jewish and maritime studies.
The articles in this volume therefore reflect a wide range of topics and illustrate how maritime perspectives can enrich our understanding of Jewish history and culture and its entanglement with the sea – especially in modern times. They study different spaces and examine their embedded narratives and functions. They follow in one way or another the discussions which evolved in the last decades, focused on the importance of spatial dimensions and opened up possibilities for studying the production and construction of spaces, their influences on cultural practices and ideas, as well as structures and changes of social processes. By taking these debates into account, the articles offer new insights into Jewish history and culture by taking us out to “sea” and inviting us to revisit Jewish history and culture from different maritime perspectives.
“Jewish, Gay and Proud”
(2020)
This publication examines the foundation and institutional integration of the first gay-lesbian synagogue Beth Chayim Chadashim, which was founded in Los Angeles in 1972. As early as June 1974, the synagogue was admitted to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the umbrella organization of the Reform congregations in the United States. Previously, the potential acceptance of a congregation by and for homosexual Jews triggered an intense and broad debate within Reform Judaism. The work asks how it was possible to successfully establish a gay-lesbian synagogue at a time when homosexual acts were considered unnatural and contrary to tradition by almost the entire Jewish community. The starting point of the argumentation is, in addition to general changes in American synagogues after World War II, the assumption that Los Angeles was the most suitable place for this foundation. Los Angeles has an impressive queer history and the Jewish community was more open, tolerant and innovative here than its counterpart on the East Coast. The Metropolitan Community Church was also founded in the city, and as the largest religious institution for homosexual Christians, it also served as the birthplace of queer synagogues.
Reform Judaism was chosen as the place of institutional integration of the community because a relative openness for such an endeavor was only seen here. Responsa written in response to a potential admission of Beth Chayim Chadashim can be used to understand the arguments and positions of rabbis and psychologists regarding homosexuality and communities for homosexual Jews in the early 1970s.
Ultimately, the commitment and dedication of the congregation and its heterosexual supporters convinced the decision-makers in Reform Judaism. The decisive impulse to question the situation of homosexual Jews in Judaism came from Los Angeles. With its analysis, the publication contributes to the understanding of Queer Jewish History in general and queer synagogues in particular.
‚Ma‘oz tsur jeshu‘ati‘
(2017)