Frederick E. Greenspahn

An overview of the new American Jewish landscape American Jewry is currently experiencing conspicuous and dramatic change. While Jews first came to America almost 400 years ago, the turn of the twentieth century saw a widespread integration of Judaism into American culture. Yet, over the past few decades, several of its familiar features have changed, including its religious and organizational structure, the extent to which Jews of color are integrated into the community, how the relationship with Israel has evolved, and its approaches to gender roles and the LGBTQ+ community. Featuring up-to-date and groundbreaking additions by a powerhouse group of experts on various aspects of contemporary Judaism, The State of American Jewry describes the current nature of American Jewish life. Jews have repeatedly seen themselves on the verge of disappearing, leading to innovative responses and adaptations to the changing world around them. This volume examines the increasing diversity of the Jewish people, the varied nature of Jewish religious practice, and the changing ways Jews affiliate with regard to denominations and charitable giving, as well as how they are confronting antisemitism. A seminal text on Judaism in the twenty-first century, The State of American Jewry provides evidence of a dynamic community’s adaptability in a period of substantial change.

New Insights and Scholarship

The State of American Jewry

Gary A. Rendsburg

An international array of twenty-six scholars contributes twenty-one essays to honor Ziony Zevit (American Jewish University), one of the foremost biblical scholars of his generation. The breadth of the honoree is indicated by the breadth of coverage in these twenty-one articles, with seven each in the categories of history and archaeology, Bible, and Hebrew (and Aramaic) language.

Essays in Honor of Ziony Zevit

Le-maʿan Ziony

In April of 2001, the headline in the Los Angeles Times read, “Doubting the Story of the Exodus.” It covered a sermon that had been delivered by the rabbi of a prominent local congregation over the holiday of Passover. In it, he said, “The truth is that virtually every modern archeologist who has investigated the story of the exodus, with very few exceptions, agrees that the way the Bible describes the exodus is not the way it happened, if it happened at all.” This seeming challenge to the biblical story captivated the local public. Yet as the rabbi himself acknowledged, his sermon contained nothing new. The theories that he described had been common knowledge among biblical scholars for over thirty years, though few people outside of the profession know their relevance. New understandings concerning the Bible have not filtered down beyond specialists in university settings. There is a need to communicate this research to a wider public of students and educated readers outside of the academy. This volume seeks to meet this need, with accessible and engaging chapters describing how archeology, theology, ancient studies, literary studies, feminist studies, and other disciplines now understand the Bible.

The Hebrew Bible

"An Introduction to Aramaic" introduces biblical Aramaic to beginning students already familiar with Hebrew. All Aramaic passages in the Old Testament plus other Aramaic texts are included. Includes paradigms, a complete glossary, resources for further study, exercises, and an answer key. Paperback edition available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org).

An Introduction to Aramaic

Although women constitute half of the Jewish population and have always played essential roles in ensuring Jewish continuity and the preservation of Jewish beliefs and values, only recently have their contributions and achievements received sustained scholarly attention. Scholars have begun to investigate Jewish women’s domestic, economic, intellectual, spiritual, and creative roles in Jewish life from biblical times to the present. Yet little of this important work has filtered down beyond specialists in their respective academic fields. Women and Judaism brings the broad new insights they have uncovered to the world. Women and Judaism communicates this research to a wider public of students and educated readers outside of the academy by presenting accessible and engaging chapters written by key senior scholars that introduce the reader to different aspects of women and Judaism. The contributors discuss feminist approaches to Jewish law and Torah study, the spirituality of Eastern European Jewish women, Jewish women in American literature, and many other issues. Contributors: Nehama Aschkenasy, Judith R. Baskin, Sylvia Barack Fishman, Harriet Pass Freidenreich, Esther Fuchs, Judith Hauptman, Sara R. Horowitz, Renée Levine, Pamela S. Nadell, and Dvora Weisberg.

Women and Judaism

Frederick E. Greenspahn is Gimelstob Eminent Scholar of Judaic Studies at Florida Atlantic University. His publications include An Introduction to Aramaic (2nd ed., 2007) and When Brothers Dwell Together: The Preeminence of Younger Siblings in the Hebrew Bible (1994). He has also edited several books on interfaith relations as well as the NYU Press series Jewish Studies in the Twenty-First Century.

A Study of the Phenomenon and Its Treatment since Antiquity with Special Reference to Verbal Forms

Hapax Legomena in Biblical Hebrew

Over the past generation, scholars have devoted increasing attention to the diverse forms that Jewish mysticism has taken both in the past and today: what was once called nonsense by Jewish scholars has generated important research and attention both within the academy and beyond, as demonstrated by the popular fascination with figures such as Madonna and Demi Moore and the growing interest in spirituality. In Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah, leading experts introduce the history of this scholarship as well as the most recent insights and debates that currently animate the field in a way that is accessible to a broad audience. From mystical outpourings in ancient Palestine to the Kabbalah Centre, and from attitudes towards gender to mystical contributions to Jewish messianic movements, this volume explores the various expressions of Jewish mysticism from antiquity to the present day in an engaging style appropriate for students and non-specialists alike. Contributors: Allison P. Coudert, Lawrence Fine, Eitan P. Fishbane, Pinchas Giller, Matt Goldish, Hartley Lachter, Shaul Magid, Jody Myers, Michael D. Swartz, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, and Elliot R. Wolfson Frederick E.Greenspahn is Gimelstob Eminent Scholar in Judaic studies at Florida Atlantic University. He is the author/ editor of numerous other titles including The Hebrew Bible: New Insights and Scholarship and Women and Judaism: New Insights and Scholarship (both published by NYU Press).

Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah

Although primogeniture is commonly assumed to have prevailed throughout the world and firstborns are regarded as most likely to achieve success, many of the most prominent figures in biblical literature are younger offspring, including Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, and Solomon. Central to the plot of most biblical stories, the sibling relationships depicted are rarely harmonious, and the surprising preference for younger siblings is an intriguing and unexplained pattern. Using evidence from a wide range of disciplines. Frederick E. Greenspahn presents a seminal interpretation of this phenomenon. In this study, he demonstrates that ancient Israelite fathers were in fact free to choose their primary heirs. The Bible's propensity for younger offspring, Greenspahn shows, reflects neither a legally mandated norm nor a protest against the prevailing custom, but rather conforms to a widespread folk motif, evoking innocence, vulnerability, and destiny. Within the biblical context, this theme heightens God's role in supporting ostensibly unlikely heroes. Drawing on the resources of law, anthropology, folklore, and linguistics, Greenspahn shows how, in portraying younger siblings triumphing over older ones, these tales serve as complex parables of God's relationship to his chosen people, and reflect Israel's own discomfort with the contradiction between its theology of election and the reality of political weakness.

The Preeminence of Younger Siblings in the Hebrew Bible

When Brothers Dwell Together

A straightforward introduction to biblical Aramaic. All Aramaic passages in the Old Testament are included, along with an introduction to other Aramaic texts, such as ancient inscriptions, Dead Sea Serolls, rabbinic literature, and quotations in the New Testament. There are also paradigms, a complete glossary, and a list of resources for further study as well as practice exercises for each chapter. This revised edition updates the contents and provides an answer key.

An exploration of the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism drawing on primary sources and new methods Over the past generation, several major findings and methodological innovations have led scholars to reevaluate the foundation of Judaism. The Dead Sea Scrolls were the most famous, but other materials have further altered our understanding of Judaism’s development after the Biblical era. This volume explores some of the latest clues into how early Judaism took shape, from the invention of rabbis to the parting of Judaism and Christianity, to whether ancient Jews considered themselves a nation. Rather than having simply evolved, “normative” Judaism is now understood to be the result of one approach having achieved prominence over many others, competing for acceptance in the wake of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in the year 70 CE. This new understanding has implications for how we think about Judaism today, as the collapse of rabbinic authority is leading to the return of the kind of diversity that prevailed during late antiquity. This volume puts familiar aspects of Judaism in a new light, exposing readers to the most current understanding of the origins of normative Judaism. This book is a must for anyone interested in the study of Judaism and its formation. It is the most current review of the scholarship surrounding this rich history and what is next for the field at large.

Early Judaism

Although primogeniture is commonly assumed to have prevailed throughout the world and firstborns are regarded as most likely to achieve success, many of the most prominent figures in biblical literature are younger offspring, including Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, and Solomon. Adducing evidence from a wide range of disciplines, this study demonstrates that ancient Israelite fathers were free to choose their primary heirs. Rather than being either legally mandated or a protest against the prevailing norm, the Bible's propensity for younger offspring conforms to a widespread folk motif, evoking innocence, vulnerability, and destiny. Within the biblical context, this theme heightens God's role in supporting ostensibly unlikely heroes. Drawing on the resources of law, anthropology, folklore, and linguistics, Greenspahn shows how these tales serve as complex parables of God's relationship to his chosen people, also reflecting Israel's own discomfort with the contradiction between its theology of election and the reality of political weakness.

Frederick E. Greenspahn

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