Year 12 - Hasidim Handout

Chassidim Handout

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Sabbatai Zevi & Jacob Frank

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Year 12 - A Life Apart: Hasidism in America

A 90-minute film, A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, is the first in-depth documentary about a distinctive, traditional Eastern European religious community. In an historic migration after World War II, Hasidism found it most vital center in America. Both challenging and embracing American values, Hasidim seek those things which many Americans find most precious: family, community, and a close relationship to God. Integrating critical and analytical scholarship with a portrait of the daily life, beliefs, and history of contemporary Hasidic Jews in New York City, the film focuses on the conflicts, burdens, and rewards of the Hasidic way of life. Follow this link for more information: http://www.pbs.org/alifeapart/

Year 12 - Jewish Bioethics Brainstorm

Here is a mind map we made in class.

Year 12 - The Jewish Wedding

Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos.

Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos.

Year 12 - The Jewish Wedding with Chaya Teldon

Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos.

Year 12 - Chassidim - Contribution and Impact

Hassidism (chassidim)

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Year 12 - Jewish Bioethics

Here are some links to sites that might have useful information.

http://www.biu.ac.il/HU/pj/$source-pj/bioethics/about.html

http://www.jlaw.com/LawPolicy/stemcellou.html

http://www.uscj.org/Embryonic_Stem_Cell_5809.html

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/164/2/219.pdf
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/164/2/219

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Issues/Bioethics.shtml

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Issues/Bioethics/Bioethics_101.shtml

http://www.responsafortoday.com/eng_index.html

http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/040730/experts.shtml

Year 12 - Leaving The Fold - Press Kit

Here is a link to the press kit for Leaving The Fold. I can't download the film from the Compass site because of copyright issues.

http://www.leavingthefold.net/Leaving%20the%20Fold_PRESSKIT.pdf

Year 12 - Leaving the Fold - Trailer

This is the trailer for the documentary "Leaving the Fold". I'll try and post the full video when I can find it.

Year 12 - Hasidim 101

Year 12 - Quotes Relating To Marriage in Judaism

There is little in the Torah to provide rules, structure and guidance. The comments are more general about the importance of marriage. The way a marriage is to be conducted and the responsibilites of each person is found in the Talmud.

"A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." (Genesis)

"It is not good for man to be alone." (Genesis)

"Be fruiful and multiply" (Genesis, the first mitzvot in the Torah emphasising the importance of having a family. This mitzvot is said to be fulfilled when the couple has at least one child of either sex, just as God created man and woman.)

"He who has no wife is not a proper man." (Talmudic saying)

"A man without a wife lives without blessing, life, joy, help, good and peace." (Talmudic saying)

The home is the "little temple (or sanctuary)." (Ezekial)

There are parrallels between the marriage of men and women and the covenant God made with the Jewish peopleAbraham (Genesis) and Moses (Exodus).

The Chuppah is related to the stories of Abraham in Genesis, particularly the tent in which he and Sarah lived and the way they would welcome people into their tent.

The idea of the marriage being a community celebration is found in Joel 2:16 "Gather the people, consecrate the assembly...Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber."

The Mishnah (part of the Talmud) specifies that a woman is acquired (i.e. to be a wife) in three ways: through money, a contract, and sexual intercourse. Ordinarily, all three of these conditions are satisfied, although only one is necessary to effect a binding marriage.

In all cases, the Talmud specifies that a woman can be acquired only with her consent, and not without it

A husband is responsible for providing his wife with food, clothing and sexual relations (Exodus)

Year 12 - A Rabbi's Explanation of Marriage in Judaism

Year 12 - Marriage in the Jewish Tradition

Marriage in the Jewish Tradition

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Year 12 - Hasidism (Chassidism)

The Hasidic movement started in the 1700's (CE) in Eastern Europe in response to a void felt by many average observant Jews of the day. The founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (referred to as the "Besht," an acronym of his name) was a great scholar and mystic, devoted to both the revealed, outer aspect, and hidden, inner aspect of Torah. He and his followers, without veering from a commitment to Torah, created a way of Jewish life that emphasized the ability of all Jews to grow closer to Gd via everything that we do, say, and think. In contrast to the somewhat intellectual style of the mainstream Jewish leaders of his day and their emphasis on the primacy of Torah study, the Besht emphasized a constant focus on attachment to G­d and Torah no matter what one is involved with.

Early on, a schism developed between the Hasidic and non­Hasidic (i.e., Misnagdim, lit. "opponents") Jewish movements, primarily over real or imagined issues of halachic observance. The opposition was based on concern that the Hasidim were neglecting the laws regarding appropriate times for prayer, and perhaps concern about the exuberance of Hasidic worship, or a concern that it might be an offshoot of false messiahs Shabettai Zevi or Jacob Frank. Within a generation or two, the rift was closed. Since then, many Hasidic practices have influenced the Misnagdim, while the Misnagdim, in turn, moderated some of the extremes of early Hasidism. Nevertheless, the dispute between particular groups of Hasidim and Misnagdim continues to this day, especially in Israel.

Today, Hasidim are differentiated from other Orthodox Jews by their devotion to a dynastic leader (referred to as a "Rebbe"), their wearing of distinctive clothing and a greater than average study of the inner aspects of Torah.

There are perhaps a dozen major Hasidic movements today, the largest of which (with perhaps 100,000 followers) is the Lubavitch group headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. Other groups include the Bobov, Bostoner, Belzer, Gerer, Satmar, Vizhnitz, Breslov, Puppa, Bianer, Munkacz, and Rimnitz. In Israel, the major Hasidic groups besides the Lubavitch include: Gor (Gerer), Viznitz and Bealz (Belzer).

Jewish Bioethics on ABC Radio National's Religion Report

Posted below is a link to the recent ABC Radio National Religion Report Podcast that looks at Jewish Bioethics. It also contains a report on the recent Lambeth Conference and the danger of a split in the Anglican Church.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/default.htm

Listen to this episode

If you just want to read a transcript of the show go to the following link.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2008/2333504.htm#transcript

Shabbat

Here's a good site that may help you with your current assignment.

http://www.shabat.co.il/

And here's a video made by some school children in Chicago explaining Shabbat using a hip hop performance. I can't vouch for the music but the message is okay.

Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism

I found this posting at the Chabad website in the section on questions and answers. Remember that Chabad are Hassidic Jews and are therefore very Orthodox in their approach.

The picture above is by Marc Chagall and was painted in 1912. During the Nazi era in Germany this painting, "The Pinch of Snuff", was pulled on a hand-cart through the streets and publicly jeered at. Chagall's family were Hassidic Jews and much of his art reflects his upbringing.

What is the difference between Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism?

Answered by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

I may be the wrong person to answer this question. Because, personally, I don't believe there are any "isms" in being Jewish. There are just Jews, our Torah, and our willingness to do it.

However, I'll try to give an objective description of what these "isms" mean in practical terms:

All the way up until the 19th century, there were just Jews. We kept the halachah -- which means the rabbinical interpretation of the rules and guidelines of the Torah -- and kept a steady tradition for 3,000 years since Sinai. If some individual or group went astray from halachah, they were generally estranged from the Jewish people.

Then came Reform. They said, "Things are changing. We are smarter now. We know there is no need to keep kosher, Shabbat, circumcision or believe in a return to Zion." In Germany, they said, "Berlin is our Jerusalem." In America, it was Washington.

Then came Conservative. They said, "These Reform rabbis have gone too far. We need to conserve some of the basic traditions of Judaism." So they revived a form of kosher eating, Shabbat and circumcision. And they weren't so convinced about the Washington thing.

The Jews who did not go along with any of this were labeled "Orthodox." They never asked for it, but that's what they got called. Personally, I cannot see myself as orthodox, since I think of my Jewishness as something very radical and, well, unorthodox.

I also don't see the point in reforming my Jewishness. I would much rather my Jewishness reform me. After all, all these things that the fathers of reform saw as obsolete back then have now come back into fashion and are rising in popularity every day. The number of kosher foods on the market, for example, rose by about 2000% in the last ten years. As for Jerusalem, well that's pretty obvious. The Reform movement had to make a sharp about-turn in 1948.

Now, I'll bet I've provoked more questions than I've answered. But that's okay. Because that's part of what being Jewish is about -- thinking out of the box and asking questions.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman heads Chabad.org's Ask The Rabbi team, and is a senior member of the Chabad.org editorial team. He is the author of a number of highly original renditions of Kabbalah and Chassidic teaching, including the universally acclaimed "Bringing Heaven Down to Earth."

Basic Judaism

The following website has some very good, and brief, articles on Judaism. It's probably a good first stop when researching anything to do with Judaism. Use it in tandem with the Judaism 101 site.

http://www.rossel.net/basic01.htm