Jewish Christian Difference And Modern Jewish Identity

This book is an exploration of what would seem to be a simple question, but is actually the object of a profound quest—“who is a Jew?” This is a deeply complex issue, both within Judaism, and in interactions between Jews and Christians. Jewish–Christian Difference and Modern Jewish Identity: Seven Twentieth-Century Converts contends that in the twentieth century the Jewish–Christian relationship has changed to the extent that definitions of Jewish identity were reshaped. The stories of the seven influential and creative converts that are related in this book indicate that the borders dividing the Jewish and Christian faiths are, for many, more fluid and permeable than ever before.

Jewish-Christian Difference and Modern Jewish Identity: Seven Twentieth-Century Converts contends that in the twentieth century the borders dividing the Jewish and Christian faiths have, for many people, become fluid.

This book deconstructs the boundaries between Jewish and Christian cultures while at the same time redefining what it means to be Jewish in relation to Christianity in the twentieth century. Consequently, this analysis reveals the emergence of modern Jewish theologies out of the complex negotiations between Jewish thinkers and their Christian milieu.

The authors explore the philosophical, spiritual, and ideological uniqueness of Jewish thinking, its ability to meet the social ans scientific challenges of the present and future, and argue for unity within Judaism based on the Bible as

The subject of Jewish identity is one of the most vexed and contested issues of modern religious and ethnic group history. This interdisciplinary collection draws on work in law, anthropology, history, sociology, literature, and popular culture to consider contemporary and historical responses to the question �Who and what is Jewish?� These essays are focused especially on the issues of who creates the definitions, and how, and in what social and political contexts. The ten leading authorities writing here also look at the forces, ranging from new genetic and reproductive technologies to increasingly multicultural societies, that push against established boundaries. The authors examine how Jews have imagined themselves and how definitions of Jewishness have been established, enforced, challenged, and transformed. Does being a Jew require religious belief, practice, and formal institutional affiliation? Is there a biological or physical aspect of Jewish identity? What is the status of the convert to another religion? How do definitions play out in different geographic and historical settings? What makes Boundaries of Jewish Identity distinctive is its attention to the various Jewish �epistemologies� or ways of knowing who counts as a Jew. These essays reveal that possible answers reflect the different social, intellectual, and political locations of those who are asking. This book speaks to readers concerned with Jewish life and culture and to audiences interested in religious, cultural, and ethnic studies. It provides an excellent opportunity to examine how Jews fit into an increasingly diverse America and an increasingly complicated global society.

An anthology of writings by Jewish thinkers on Jews as a race

Written by leading authors in their respective fields, this first comprehensive handbook on the relationship between modern Judaism and historical thinking contributes to a differentiated interpretation of Jewish historiography and its interaction with other academic disciplines since the Enlightenment.

This book scrutinizes the presentations of Christians and Christianity in Israeli state education system. It reveals that despite the changes in Jewish-Christian relations in the last century and the power relations between Jews and Christians in Israel, Christianity has a crucial role in the construction of modern Jewish identity in Israel.