Impact of culture and cultures upon Jewish customs and rituals : collected essays / Simcha Fishbane.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fishbane, Simcha, author.

Series:

Judaism and Jewish life

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Judaism--Customs and practices.

Judaism.

Judaism--Liturgy.

Fire--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Fire.

Purim.

Shavuot.

Torah scrolls.

Magic in rabbinical literature.

Genre:

Essays.

Physical Description:

xx, 258 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Brighton, MA : Academic Studies Press, [2016]

Summary:

This book discusses the development of practices associated with customs and artifacts used in Jewish ceremonies when viewed from the vantage of anthropological studies. It can also function as a guide to practical halakhah. The author examines topics such as Torah Scrolls, ceremonial use of fire, Purim customs, the festival of Shavuot, magic and superstition. This investigation, at times, compares some Jewish observances with the wider cultural observances or notions of the broader, gentile societies in which Jews were located when these customs originated. It is found that the time and location of a practice's origin is often critical to appreciating a shared context. In all cases the Jewish practice becomes reinterpreted within a specifically Jewish narrative and legal structure. Book jacket.

Contents:

Fire Symbolism in Jewish Law and Ritual 1

Behind the Purim Mask: The Symbolic Representation of the Rituals and Customs of Purim 47

In the Absence of Ritual: Customs of the Holiday of Shavuot 125

Holy and Licit Magic and Halakhah: The Case of the Arukh HaShulhan 162

The Symbolic Representation of the Sefer Torah 211.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781618114914

1618114913

OCLC:

930451648

Publisher Number:

99967933529