Minhagim: Custom and Practice in Jewish Life

Published by De Gruyter 2020

Minhagim

Custom and Practice in Jewish Life

Edited by: Joseph Isaac Lifshitz , Naomi Feuchtwanger-Sarig , Simha Goldin , Jean Baumgarten and Hasia Diner

Volume 3 in the series Rethinking Diaspora

Volume 81 in the series Studia Judaica

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110357523

Overview
Contents

About this book

Parallel to the Halakhic laws, the minhagim (customs) are dependent on local practices and the regional schools of sages and rabbis. The minhagim played a decisive role in the history of the Jewish communities and in the formation of traditions of religious rulings. They gave stability, continuity, and authority to the local institutions.

The impact of Jewish custom on daily life cannot be overestimated. Evolving spontaneously as an ascending process, it presents undercurrents that emanate from the folk, gradually bringing about changes that eventually become part of the legislative code. It further reflects influences of social, cultural, and mythological tendencies and local historical elements of every-day life of the period.

The aim of this volume is to examine the concept of minhag in the broadest sense of the word. Focusing on the relationship between various types of customs and their impact on every aspect of Jewish life, the volume studies the historical, anthropological, religious, and cultural development and function of rites and rituals in establishing the Jewish self-definition and the identity of the local communities that adhered to them. The volume’s articles cover the subject of custom from three perspectives: an analysis of the theoretical and legal definition of custom, an analysis of the social and historical aspects of custom, and an anecdotal study of several particular customs.

Customs are a wonderful historical prism by which to examine fluctuations and changes in Jewish life.

Author / Editor information

S. Goldin, I. Lifshitz, N. Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Tel Aviv University, J. Baumgarten, CNRS, Paris, H.R. Diner, New York University.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Details of the Contributors Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Customs and Material Culture in Antiquity
The Use of Amulets in the Jewish Community of Late Antiquity in the Land of Israel: A Glass Pendant Decorated with the Binding of Isaac, from the Hecht Collection Lihi Habas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	5
Conservatism, Innovation and Custom in the Middle Ages
R. Eliezer b. Natan (the Ravan): Conservator or Innovator? Simha Goldin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
Compromise and Inclusivity in Establishing Minhag and Halakha: Contextualizing the Approach of R. Meir of Rothenburg Ephraim Kanarfogel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
Custom in Ashkenaz in the Middle Ages Joseph Isaac Lifshitz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
Sefer Haminhagim (Venice, 1593) and Its Dissemination in the Ashkenazi World Jean Baumgarten Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
The Lobed Matzot: A Trialogue of Image, Text, and Custom Naomi Feuchtwanger-Sarig Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
Memory Preservation and Custom in the Modern Era
Tikkun ‘Shovavim’ in the Slonim Hasidut Noga BarOr-Bing Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
The Role of Custom in the Jurisprudence of the Mishna Berura Ira Bedzow and Michael J. Broyde Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
Sephardic Customs as a Discourse Topic in the Ladinokomunita Internet Correspondence Circle David M. Bunis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
To Plant Is to Remember: The B’nai B’rith Martyrs’ Forest and American Jewish Fundraising Customs for an ‘Evergreen’ Holocaust Memorial Amy Weiss Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
Demons in the Yemenite Life Cycle: Folk Beliefs and Customs of Avoidance Ya’acov Sarig Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
The Changing Role of Religious Custom in Reform Judaism Michael A. Meyer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
‘Everything Is according to the American Custom’: A New Custom for a New Country Aviad Hacohen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
Index of Subjects Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	325
Index of Names Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	337
Index of Places Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	343

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Pages
- Front matter: 12
- Main content: 346
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 25
- Coloured Illustrations: 3
Keywords: Judaism; Jewish history; Jewish law; customs

eBook

Published: December 16, 2019
ISBN: 9783110357523

Hardcover

Published: December 16, 2019
ISBN: 9783110354232