Åbo Akademi: Open Journal Systems
Not a member yet
892 research outputs found
Sort by
The problem of Gush Emunim
No full textA movement that has made big headlines lately is the Gush Emunim, a term which means “bloc of believers”. The enormous publicity about this phenomenon in the mass media has made necessary a close study to the issues connected with the Gush Enunim movement. In this paper I intend to give a more detailed account of the background of this movement, and above all, deal with some terminological questions connected with it. The earliest roots of Gush Emunim may be traced to the period after the Israeli victory in the Six-Day War 1967. The formal founding of the movement, however, goes back to February 1974, when several hundred yeshivah-students and young members of the National Religious Party attended a convention at Kfar Ezion. The ideology originated, to no small degree, from that of Rabbi Kook. In Rabbi Kook’s mind the idea of the Jews’ affinity with the Holy Land played a tremendous role. Only in Palestine could the Jewish people fulfill the divine mission to become a “light for the nations”. In spite of the abundant use of religious symbols and conceptions, mainly derived from Jewish eschatology, it must be regarded as quite misleading to designate this movement as a Messianic one. Gush Emunim, then, is basically a political, nationalistic movement, devoted to the aim of refusing territorial compromises with the Arabs concerning the Land of Israel
Creativity, Community, Change: Functions of and motives for singing niggunim
No full textJewish musical practices stemming from Kabbalah and Hasidic mystical traditions are currently the object of growing attention among a variety of different Jewish communities in Europe and North America, as well as in non-Jewish spiritual circles. This article focuses on contemporary practices of niggunim – the (mostly) wordless melodies with roots in Hasidic Jewish traditions, sung, chanted and sometimes danced in preparation for, or as a form of, ardent prayer. The practice is seen as an example of the expressive, engaging, emotional and embodied forms of prayer that currently attract many Jews of different institutional attachments. As niggunim travel into new contexts, they are reframed and reconsidered in order to meet the needs and expectations of contemporary religious communities, characterised by a liberal and egalitarian, global and transformative religiosity. The article seeks to explore the different functions niggunim are put to today and the motives which drive different people to engage in the practice. The analysis is based on ethno-graphic material in the form of in-depth interviews conducted among progressive Jews in the London area. As a conclusion, the article suggests an approach to contemporary niggunim practices that incorporates perspectives from both literature and ethnography in order to deepen the understanding of the motives for and functions of singing niggunim today
Försoning, erkännande och inklusion: Perspektiv på försoningsprocessen mellan Svenska kyrkan och samerna
Get PDFFöreliggande artikel belyser försoningsprocessen mellan Svenska kyrkan och samerna ur ett kyrkohistoriskt perspektiv. Syftet är att skapa en fördjupad förståelse av kyrkliga försoningsprocesser genom att undersöka deras historiska rottrådar och relatera den specifika försoningsprocessen mellan Svenska kyrkan och samerna till teorier om historiebruk, kollektivt minne, religiös inklusion och erkännandeprocesser
B'nai B'rith – Children of the covenant
No full textB’nai B’rith is the oldest international Jewish organization. In contrast to most other Jewish organizations, BB has no hierarchy, nor is it an umbrella organization. It is totally democratic, it is still the only major Jewish organization, in which every individual member has the right to vote. From the beginning, BB was an order for Jewish men. The main purpose of BB has been to serve the Jewish people. BB was founded in United States, but rapidly expanded to Europe. In order to fulfil this great mission, different agencies have been established in the course of time
Hur förmedlas antijudiska stereotyper av kristna författare – och varför?
No full textAnti-Jewish stereotypes are often unwittingly handed on by theologians in different fields. Surprisingly many theologians appear to dissociate biblical-theological anti-Judaism entirely from actually existing Jews. This may be because “the Jews” or “the Pharisees” are frequently accorded a symbolic function as “the world” (enemies of God and man, of the true faith”. Even critical theologians as well as some Christian feminists have received the classical anti-Jewish stereotypes and put them to new use. Many people who, in other circumstances, severely criticize anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, appear to think some modified forms of anti-Judaism are necessary for theological purposes. Facts, theories and interpretations are still frequently taken from sources which are markedly anti-Jewish. Those who are not engaged in exegetics or Jewish studies still too rarely consult Jewish sources or scholarly studies by experts
Rabbi Shneur Zalmans antropologi
No full textThe subject of this article is the anthropology of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady. After an evaluation of past research into Hasidism and into Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady in particular it is argued that this research possesses a rather reductionistic character. The greater part of these studies deal with either the idea of devekut introduced by Gershom Scholem as the central theme or some kind of social crisis, a line of research initiated by Simon Dubnow. Contrary to these two strands the author proposes to evaluate the emergence of Hasidism as an ideological break with the past caused by the introduction of a new episteme and discourse. This idea the author tries to describe using the texts of Rabbi Shneur Zalman as an example and his understanding of man as a theme, as it is there that this new episteme is most readily illustrated. In the analysis of the central themes in the writing of Rabbi Shneur Zalman it is argued that the point of view of the individual is a major element. His understanding of the relationship between man and God, his accounting for the soul and the value of divine worship are all viewed from this perspective. In all of the central themes of Rabbi Shneur Zalman’s theosophy it is shown that man’s perspective is dominant. And this, the author argues, constitutes a break with the tradition of former Jewish mysticism. It would, however, be premature to conclude on the basis of one author that this is a major characteristic of Hasidism. Therefore, the author closes with a call for more studies into the individualism of Hasidism
Book reviews
No full textJacob Neusner comments on his book Vanquished nation, broken heart: emotions in formative Judaism (1986).Mennesker blant mennesker. En bok om antisemitisme og fremmedhat (Leo Eitinger, 1985) is reviewed by Karl-Johan Illman.The antisemitism in our time: a threat against us all (ed. Leo Eitinger, 1983) is reviewed by Karl-Johan Illman
Yiddish in Helsinki and its Swedish component
No full textYiddish has been spoken in Helsinki since 1850s when the Jewish Cantonist soldiers and their families were allowed to settle in the town. The first generations born in Helsinki had the possibility to attend heders and a Talmud-torah where religious subjects were conducted in Yiddish. In the wake of Yiddishizm many Yiddish-speaking societies were founded before and after the First World War. My research attempts an analysis of Helsinki Yiddish and a survey of Yiddish culture in Helsinki. The material used for this paper comprises both written and oral stories. Most Yiddish speakers in Helsinki have been bilingual. The over hundred years of coexistence with Finnish-Swedish has given Helsinki Yiddish its own distinctive character, which deserves to be recorded and studied. Especially unique is the interference of Swedish morphology with its peculiarities
Judiska akademiska klubben – några kommenterade dokument
No full textThe history of the Jewish Academic Association in Sweden