Judaism: An Evolving Tradition

  Shared Writing: Judaism: An Evolving Tradition There is a minimum of 140 characters required to post and earn points. If submitted, your response can be viewed by your classmates and instructor, and you can participate in the class discussion. In the video, Ms. Josephs says that modesty, including covering her hair, maintains proper barriers between public and private life. Explain why she finds this practice to be empowering. Jewish people situate their religion in their long history, recounted in the Tanakh, another name for the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is a compendium of sacred writing that tells the story of the ancient Israelites and their covenants with God. The Tanakh also includes the Torah, the set of divinely given laws and instructions that have often served to define the Jewish community. Since at least the first century ce, Judaism has been centered in a vibrant tradition of scriptural study. For the most part, Jewish people have lived in the diaspora as a minority within other societies. At times, they have lived peacefully with their neighbors; however, in many cases, majority groups oppressed the Jews in their midst, sometimes violently. Examples of Christian anti-Semitism in Europe span centuries and include the Inquisition, pogroms, and the Holocaust. Because of these often-tragic circumstances, Jewish people have developed various resilient strategies to harmonize their ancient laws and customs with modern life. Reform and Reconstructionist Jews have understood Judaism as a religion and ethnic identity well-adapted to modernity. Many Reform Jews worship in the vernacular and no longer adhere closely to kosher dietary laws and other Jewish religious statutes. Conservative Jews have likewise sought out ways to practice Judaism in the contemporary world in a way that preserves Jewish distinctives in multicultural contexts. Orthodox Jews, an internally diverse group, are the Jews today most likely to keep kosher practices intact and set themselves apart by dress and other customs. In this video, we meet Allison Josephs, a woman who shares with us the confidence and contentment she feels as an Orthodox Jew. She explains the importance of her faith in her life and discusses the positive experiences she has in her Jewish household.