A collaboration of the world's leading contemporary Jewry scholars, this book explains how and why Jewish identity differs in various societies and regions and the impact of these variations on the theory and practice of Jewish education. The authors discuss differences that extend beyond such immediately obvious variations as language and dress. Included is an examination of what Jews believe they share and what sets them apart from others; what specific elements of Judaism, which conceptualizations, and which interpretations acquire special emphasis; and the extent to which, and the manner in which, Jews are to function as part of the larger societies in which they dwell.

A unique collection of essays that deal with the intriguing and complex problems connected to the question of Jewish identity in the contemporary world. Concerning the problem of identity formation, this book addresses very important issues: What is the content or meaning of Jewish identity? What has replaced religion in defining the content of Jewishness? How do people in different age groups construct their Jewish identity? In most cases, the authors have combined a variety of research methods: they drew samples or relied on the sample surveys of others; used personal interviews with respondents who are especially knowledgeable about their own Jewish communities, or based their research on participant observation of particular communities or communal institutions.

Employing insights from a broadly conceived social psychology, Simon N. Herman examines contemporary Jewish life in its totality as a constellation of interdependent factors. He sets forth criteria for the Jewish identity, analyzes the religious and national elements that interweave in it, the constancies and variations in that identity across the years and across countries, the impact on it of the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel. An illuminating chapter is devoted to the question "Who is a Jew?" In his foreword to the fkst edition of this volume, Herbert Kelman of Harvard University described it as "a pioneering contribution to the study of ethnic/national identity." The second edition incorporates additional data derived from two recent studies conducted by the author. It includes a discussion of the direction of changes in the Jewish identity in the decade since publication of the first edition. Special attention is given to the Jewish reactions to the worldwide resurgence of anti-Semitism and to the turbulent events in and around Israel. A careful analysis is undertaken of the factors in the present situation that strengthen and weaken the Jewish identity.

Unearths the roots of a national awakening among Soviet Jews during World War II and its aftermath

Journeys of dislocation and return, of discovery and conquest hold a prominent place in the imagination of many cultures. Wherever an individual or community may be located, it would seem, there is always the dream of being elsewhere. This has been especially true throughout the ages for Jews, for whom the promises and perils of travel have influenced both their own sense of self and their identity in the eyes of others. How does travel writing, as a genre, produce representations of the world of others, against which one's own self can be invented or explored? And what happens when Jewish authors in particular—whether by force or of their own free will, whether in reality or in the imagination—travel from one place to another? How has travel figured in the formation of Jewish identity, and what cultural and ideological work is performed by texts that document or figure specifically Jewish travel? Featuring essays on topics that range from Abraham as a traveler in biblical narrative to the guest book entries at contemporary Israeli museum and memorial sites; from the marvels medieval travelers claim to have encountered to eighteenth-century Jewish critiques of Orientalism; from the Wandering Jew of legend to one mid-twentieth-century Yiddish writer's accounts of his travels through Peru, Jews and Journeys explores what it is about travel writing that enables it to become one of the central mechanisms for exploring the realities and fictions of individual and collective identity.

A landmark collection of essays by prominent academics in modern Jewish and German-Jewish history, honoring Michael A. Meyer, a pioneer in those fields. In Mediating Modernity, contemporary Jewish scholars pay tribute to Michael A. Meyer, scholar of German-Jewish history and the history of Reform Judaism, with a collection of essays that highlight growing diversity within the discipline of Jewish studies. The occasion of Meyer's seventieth birthday has served as motivation for his colleagues Lauren B. Strauss and Michael Brenner to compile this volume, with essays by twenty-four leading academics, representing institutions in five countries. Mediating Modernity is introduced by an overview of modern Jewish historiography, largely drawing on Meyer's work in that field, delineating important connections between the writing of history and the environment in which it is written. Meyer's own areas of specialization are reflected in essays on Moses Mendelssohn, German-Jewish historiography, the religious and social practices of German Jews, Reform Judaism, and various Jewish communities in America. The volume's field of inquiry is broadened by essays that deal with gender issues, literary analysis, and the historical relationship of Israel and the Palestinians. Though other volumes have been compiled to honor Jewish historians, Mediating Modernity is unique in the personal and intellectual relationships shared by its contributors and Michael A. Meyer. Scholars of Jewish studies, German history, and religious history will appreciate this timely volume.

This book deals with transnationalism and captures its singularity as a generalized phenomenon. The profusion of transnational communities is a factor of fluidity in social orders and represents confrontations between contingencies and basic socio-cultural drives. It has created a new era different from the past at essential respects. This is an age of enriching cultural diversity fraught with threatening risks inextricably linked to contemporary globalization. National sovereignty is eroded from above by global processes, from below by aspirations of sub-national groups, and from the sides - by transnational allegiances. This is the backdrop against which this book delves into the fundamental issues relating to the nature, scope and overall significance of transnationalism.