asically, the Midrash amplifies or extends the interpretation of scripture, especially regarding the first fours books of the Pentateuch, being Exodus through Deuteronomy, due to these books containing the greatest amount of biblical Halakhah, "the regulations governing the conduct of society as well as individual practice" (Goldin, 193).
In addition, the Midrash attempts to view the behavior of some of the patriarchs, such as King David, Solomon and Jacob, with much apology, meaning that some of the patriarchs are excused for their often negative behaviors while their many enemies are regarded as almost always evil in nature. Also, certain events in the books that make up the Pentateuch are seen as foreshadowing devices related to "the experiences of the patriarchs during their own times and of the future to come" (Goldin, 213). Thus, the true aim of the Midrash regarding its approach to the Torah is moral and didactic (i.e.….

For those like Ezra, such a situation threatened the very survival of the nation and faith itself. However, in addition to the idea of the "imperiled nation" embedded in the Jewish psyche during the time (and, perhaps during modern time as well), it also pointed to the lax state of Jewish life and ritual in Jerusalem during this period -- as well as the turmoil that must have existed at the time these reforms were implemented.
Although it might be imagined that at the very lease the social reform concerning mixed marriages would result in emotional turmoil -- it also resulted in real danger. This is because following his declaration that mixed marriage should be immediately dissolved, the Samaritans and other involved groups were understandably offended to a degree in which violent attack against the Jewish community became a real possibility. As a result, Ezra decided to embark on rebuilding….

Jewish history was promoted by the scribes or the Levites in early Jewish history and later on the popular educator and teachers promoted learning of the scriptures within the Jewish people so that history would be preserved however, at the time Christianity emerged this factor influenced the ancient writings in terms of how this history was related.
Some of Jewish history is so ancient that it has only been related by word of mouth however, there are writings which support history as it is told of the Jewish people. Furthermore, Christianity's emergence affected the form in which some of these ancient writings were reproduced and even the forms of recorded history characterized as genuine and credible Jewish history.

INTRODUCTION

In the initiative of attempting to understand Jewish history, it is necessary to understand the varying influences upon the recorded history of the Jewish people and it is most particularly to understand the influences….

A Jewish joke is, as Raskin suggests, one that transcends time. The Jewish joke may even transcend cultural context because the family of Jews spread around the world can use humor as a thread of connection. However, Jewish jokes do not stagnate. They evolve in order to reflect the lives and culture of the people who understand them.
Another common feature of Jewish jokes is that they reflect pain and suffering by turning sorrow into laughter. To the authors who address Jewish humor in Freudian terms such as Abrami, Jewish humor is defined by masochism. The anger that Jews could be directing externally is instead redirected at the self and at the community. Freud would have understood the phrase self-hating Jew, and wrote extensively about the ways Jewish jokes transfer anger related to political and social oppression into humor. Some authors focus on the ways Jewish humor capitalizes on stereotypes,….

Both Bermant and Raskin show how all Jewish humor, and for Raskin, individual jokes, can be traced to Biblical times in light of Talmudic and other Rabbinical writings. Raskin addresses rabbinic judgment, man vs. God, ethnic disparagement, and even the humor in the Ten Commandments. Jewish mother jokes cannot be ignored in any analysis of Jewish humor, and both authors address the role of Jewish mother jokes and how they can be traced to the Bible. Raskin discusses the original function of Groucho Marx's resignation joke and places it also within a historical framework that extends back in time to the Bible and forward to oody Allen. The meaning of life is a rich topic of discussion in Jewish humor, traced through to the Bible and played out in variations of the joke of the dying Rabbi.

The connection between Jewish humor and Biblican humor is not immediately apparent to the….

Jewish-American Intermarriage
The United States of America has become a symbol of freedom to the rest of the world. People from nations everywhere come to this country in pursuit of the "American Dream," for America grants people opportunities that are hard to find elsewhere. In the past few centuries, our country has become a melting pot for many different ethnicities and cultures; while groups still maintain their diverse identities, many of them adapt to an American way of life. This has been the case for Jewish-Americans. Once a major target of anti-Semitism, American Jews have truly established themselves in this nation and have even earned the respect and acceptance of many. This assimilation of Jews into American society has caused a substantial increase in intermarriage, ironically increasing the possibility of destroying what is left of Jewish identity and unity.

On a positive note, the intermarriage of Jewish-Americans has become a sign that….

Jewish religion also known as Judaism -- is the religion of the Torah, which begins with the "Five Books of Moses and encompasses the Old Testament" (Neusner, 1992, 8). Judaism honors its beginnings as part of the creation of the whole world, Neusner explains. Jews believe that God created the world "…and for ten generations, from Adam to Noah, despaired of creation." Following those ten generations, from Noah to Abraham, God was waiting for humans to finally "…acknowledge the sovereignty of one God," who was authentically the unseen power that created heaven and earth (Neusner, 9).
Most historians explain that Judaism is a "monotheistic faith" (there is but one God) and Jews in turn often find this God "…beyond [humans'] ability to comprehend" and nevertheless Jews believe God is present in everyone's life every day (Pelala, 2013). Moreover Jews believe that each person was created "b'tzelem Elohim" (meaning "in the image….

Jewish-American Experience and the Yiddish Radio Project
he Jewish-American Culture in Yiddish

Oral history has become one of the most important historical movements of the last two centuries. hrough oral histories in either interview or preservation of recordings that were produced in earlier times, the history of the modern era is being retold and saved. Yiddish is a dying language the last of the Yiddish speakers are being lost and a small determined group known as the Yiddish Radio Project, in collaboration with National Public Radio is trying to save the voices of this language and culture. hrough a very successful attempt to save these voices old acetate recordings never, meant to be played repeatedly are being restored and recorded into a format that can be heard. (www.yiddishradioprojrct.org)

he history of the Jewish people in America and specifically the rich culture surrounding the Yiddish language are being retold through the voices of old….

Love and non-judgmental acceptance may be the most important things. Yes, money can help a person find a niche in life, but money is insufficient to get a person off the street. Following up later with some of the residents, I discovered that many would have returned to the streets a long time ago, despite their opportunity of free accommodation and food, were it not for the friends and care that they felt in these homes. Many of them, over and again, reiterated the bonds that they had formed one with another and, sometimes, with the staff members themselves. Some, through the staff members, had found support in the external community.
This presence of support was particularly evident in the foster home. There the 'foster parents' seemed to have a reputation for providing unconditional love, and I was greatly struck with the way that some of the residents, particularly the….

Jewish Monotheism
Historians of Judaism actually date the strong Jewish emphasis on monotheism somewhat later than expected within Jewish history. The archaeological discovery of idols and artifacts indicating cultic participation from the time of Israel's presence in Canaan has seemed to indicate a relative laxity in actual practice before the Babylonian captivity, while textual criticism seems agreed that most of the Torah's foregrounded statements of strong monotheism date from textual recensions during the Babylonian captivity, and thus substantially post-date both the J-writer and the E-writer of the Old Testament (Moberly 217). But the strong emphasis on monotheism which comprises the first commandment given by Yahweh to Moses is a defining feature of Judaism in prevailing polytheistic cultures where the Jews can define their religion in opposition, so to speak. I would like to examine three separate ways in which Jewish monotheism defined itself against a kind of prevailing cultural polytheism. The….

Care Case Study
Slide 1 Footnotes

There have been enormous changes due to introduction of various cultural elements in the continuum of care. Before, when people were admitted to assisted living facilities or hospital settings, there were very little cultural elements outside of the majority culture which had sponsored the facility. For example, if a facility was associated with some sort of church or temple, there were elements of that religion present, but there was little alternatives for members of other cultures or religions.

Yet, today, there are now a much wider array of cultural elements available in assisted living homes and hospital facilities. Assisted living programs are regulated on the level of the state.

As such, different states have different types of programs and policies that impact the degree to which cultural characteristics are included or excluded within various assisted living facilities. Some programs encourage cultural elements of patients to be brought….

Einstein's Theory of Relativity Jewish Science?
This study examines the work of Gimbel (2012) entitled "Einstein's Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and Religion" and specifically pages 112-217 and seeks to answer the question of how the categorization of Einstein and others functions from a sociological perspective. This study seeks to answer as to if Einstein as a second-class Jewish citizen also resounded in the Jewish community itself and particularly among the Jewish intelligentsia and how important this is for understanding the nature of religion? This study will answer as to whether there are Jewish aspects to liberal universalism and if so what was found in the reading of Gimbel. Finally, this study will answer as to what was found to be most interesting and most insightful and what was found to be contentious in Gimbel's work.

Gimbel: Categorization of Einstein and Function from Sociological Perspective

Gimbel conducts an examination….

Ancient Jewish Weddings
Weddings in Ancient Jewish Custom

There is an example of a wedding feast from the gospel of Luke that is not of the famous Cana Wedding Feast that takes place at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, but a gathering in the house of a Pharisee. The Pharisees and scribes invited Jesus there because, as always they were trying to test Him. It was on the Sabbath, and there had already been some discussion of this seminal event in the Jewish week, but the discussion had changed because Christ had been asked to heal a man who walked up to him who had dropsy (an abnormal swelling due to excessive water retention). He asked them if they thought it was lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath, and as they were testing Him, they did not answer. So, he told them that they would definitely take their ox out….

Religious Studies
The things that Orthodox Judaism and Jewish Renewal have in common appear to originate from the foundations of the Jewish faith. Both make use of the Jewish scriptures such as the Talmud, and both adhere to Jewish traditions in terms of holidays and general practices. Another significant similarity is the importance that both directions have for women. The Orthodoxy is reported to give significance to the feminine style of devotion to God, which includes a more emotional, nurturing relationship with him. The Renewal appears to be an inclusion of more emotional qualities in the style of worship for both women and men.

The differences are more marked, and thus easier to identify. Regarding the role of women, for example, the Jewish Renewal seeks to include women in all aspects of Jewish worship. They are thus not excluded from leadership roles or practices within the synagogue.

The style of worship also differs.….

Black, White, Jewish
Black, White, and Jewish -- the Source of All Rebecca Walker's Angst?

Rebecca Walker's memoir Black, White, and Jewish, is subtitled "Autobiography of a Shifting Self." Walker states that is a woman who is most comfortable "in airports" because they are "limbo spaces -- blank, undemanding, neutral." (3) In contrast, because of her multi-racial and multi-ethnic identity, she is both never 'neutral' and also never quite 'of a color.' nly in airports to the rules of the world completely apply to her as well as to the rest of the world, Walker states -- and even then, this statement has an irony, given the recent events and controversies over airport racial profiling that occurred after the book's publication. The book does on to describe, with great poignancy, the author's perceived difficulty of living with a dual, often uncomfortable identity of whiteness and blackness, of Jewishness and 'gentileness.'

It should be….