The article presents one of the most crucial Polish writers raising the subject of Jewish Holocaust. The question of theodicy is analyzed here in particular. The author reconstructs the most essential questions and doubts Henryk Grynberg asks God in his works. They are all based on the philosophy and religion of Judaism. Although there are numerous Grynberg's poems which seem to deny theodicy (e.g. 'Rodowód'), the poet does not throw away faith in God. He assumes that after Auschwitz it is still better to trust the Creator than man.
The heritage of Judaism is stronger than standard religious practices, says the author. This heritage is established by the injunction: 'Remember!'. It must be conceded that no generation is capable of transmitting all important aspects of its life to posterity. Because this is true, no community can trace back its heritage to its origins. But there are those who make an effort to immortalise their experience and there are others who do not seem to show an equal concern. Such efforts are never fully successful. Myth inevitably creeps into every history. But in some traditions it has a dominant role in the remembrance of the past, while in others, and it is the case of Judaism, it is replaced by attempts to preserve the past by re-enacting its particularly significant episodes. This desire inspires the March of the Living, who arrive to Auschwitz from many countries in order to preserve an important part Jewish heritage.
The Holocaust shatters the Jewish belief in God, who takes care of his people, leads them to redemption. Extermination camps refuted the concepts of omnipotent, merciful and absolutely good God: if God is omnipotent and absolutely good how he allowed Auschwitz? Auschwitz calls the Jews for re-evaluation of their faith and their trust in God. Facing the destruction of the Jewish people a question is raised: In case Jews want to remain Jews how should they continue to live as Jews after the Holocaust? Jewish theologians struggled with this question and proposed either a new way of living for the Jews or a new definition of God. The article presents a few theological reactions which reflect deep and original Jewish thinking. The theologians discussed in this paper are: Richard Rubenstein, Emil Fackenheim, Eliezer Berkovits, Hans Jonas, Irving Greenberg and Ignaz Maybaum.
A psalm chant belongs to the basal realm of worship in Jewish communities. Among confessors of Judaism this way of expressing religious emotions had its origin in primaeval and secular tradition, which was cultivated even before Christ. The Books of the Old Testament include the mentions of singing religious chants, and especially psalms that appear already in the earliest texts - among others, in ascribed to Moses Pentateuch. Nowadays, it is commonly accepted that a final drafting of the collection of psalms can be dated to the confines of the 3rd century B. C. At the same time, one cannot say that the oldest psalms do not have much longer history. References to singing psalm chant are confirmed already in the period of the so-called Second Temple, which was built after liberation of Jews from Babylonian slavery after 520 B. C. Apart from ritual character and assignment of psalm chant to strictly religious aims that were strongly conditioned by the canons of temple worship, one could also observe the phenomenon of a private religiousness, in which psalms also played a significant role. Especially in houses of prayers and synagogues, where devout Jews gathered several times a day, psalm chant was an important element. Even in their families Judaism's believers said their prayers availing themselves of psalm chants that were regulated with Jewish Law, and were either of laudatory or of thanksgiving nature. It was an important way of entrusting God with private affairs by each Jew. Moreover, psalms were a prayer both for welfare of one's family and the whole community of confessors. Such a daily common ritual resulted in an incessant tightening family and social bonds in Jewish circles. Such circumstances and ways of practising Judaism were extremely important for the fact that for a great part of its history, Jewish nation was deprived of statehood. Remaining under foreign regulations concerning religion and culture, Jews looked for the ways of unconstrained expressing their views, aims and realization of life aspirations. Therefore, a significant role was played by a specific culture of common life, which was conditioned by religious Law, and in which - as it was mentioned - psalm chant played such a great role. Psalmody was an integrating element of Jewish communities, and particularly in the circles of Diaspora, whose members inhabited foreign territories together with a population of different descent and culture. This way of creating culture, specific for Jewish communities, was adopted by the early Christianity, which at the beginning was treated as a branch of Moses' religion. An adaptation of psalmody for purposes of christological worship brought about (as one of the important elements) gradual isolation of both religious systems, though the psalmody was still used for religious purposes by both confessions.
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This article aims at highlighting certain stereotypes in the perception of Jewish-Christian relations. Over the course of history these religions have undergone a dramatic and complicated development, and these stereotypes concerning the evaluation of mutual relations certainly remain the hallmark in current thinking about the dialogue between Judaism and Christianity. The substitution theory associated with considerations on the condemnation of Israel is the most influential stereotype. These theses lead to the contrary belief that the Jews were constantly persecuted throughout history, not only due to ideological reasons, but also because of economic, cultural and political issues. In the third part, the text briefly argues against the stereotype of Czech society as the most atheistic in Europe within the context of Jewish-Christian dialogue.
The main aim of this paper is to explore and analyze the grammaticalization of the gerundive and participle verbal constructions in Old and Classical Spanish. The author’s purpose is to demonstrate that the described grammatical change was motivated essentially by the mechanisms of metonymy.
This article considers the process of acceptance of Christianity by the Rus during the reign of Vladimir and the question of the choice of religion facing the ruler of Kiev as a result of the interest of four great religions in Kievan Rus. It is also devoted to the Khazar question, which is inseparably linked with the “choice of religion”. As a result of the acceptance of Judaism by the Khazars, this question is directly connected with the historical development of the Jewish nation and its role in the formation of Kievan Rus.
The institution of marriage is important in many religions and cultures. Talmudic literature, basing on the Book of Genesis (Gen 1:28), explains one of the first commandments given to man by God, i.e. the commandment of marriage and starting a family. The basic source of this article is the Mishnah, especially its third order called Nashim (Women), which largely concentrates on women in the context of preparations for matrimony, as well as of fulfilment or its lack in marriage. Analysing the contents of particular tractates in this order allows to establish the following pattern: ways of matching marriages, ways of marrying a woman, betrothal period and wedding ceremony, a prenuptial agreement - ketubah, wife's obligations toward her husband, husband's obligations toward his wife, suspicions of adultery, divorce, man's need of marriage and, as a supplement, a description of female nature and character as described by Talmudic scholars.
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Any discussion of the factors determining people's sexual behaviour should take into account the cultural context in which such behaviour is exhibited. When a researcher or therapist disregards this context, his/her inference lacks important input data. Psychologists, who study human beings, are frequently accused of ignoring the cultural context. However, development of such areas as psychology of culture and intercultural psychology helps to change this approach. More and more often psychologists look for an answer to the most important question - 'why does somebody behave in this particular way?' and they study human behaviour 'with culture in the background'. Researchers, who try to include culture in studies on individual sexual behaviour encounter the barrier of their own ethnocentrism and often that of the lack of knowledge about the rules of sexuality existing in traditions other than their own. Knowledge of these norms helps them better understand the diversity of sexual behaviour, the diversity of taboo areas. It also helps them to look at their own, culturally conditioned sexual behaviour reflexively. In this article the authoress presents the cultural context of some sexual behaviour in Judaism (e.g. related to marriage, birth control, homosexual practices).
An abortion is a serious moral and social issue and arouses strong emotions all around the world. It is one of the most divisive issues in religion, science and law today. Is it ever right to terminate a pregnancy? Relatively it happens often that members of particular churches do not have cognizance of the stance on the issue of abortion of their church community. This may be caused by general public liberal approach to „not-interference, not-care“ that prevails in society. Much of the focus of this contribution, therefore, is on the historical and canonical sources which compared denominations – Islam and Judaism and are based on and also attempt to partially clarify the prevailing views on abortion of selected churches. The comparison of this contribution focuses on basic differentiating criteria - under what circumstances selected churches accept abortion. The article covers European monotheistic religion, which oppose deliberate abortion as immoral especially in the past.
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This essay introduces one of the leading personalities of dialogic personalism. First there are some crucial events in Rozenzweig's life, which influenced his thought. The aim of this essay is to describe Rozenzweig's concept of God through his distinction in terms of God-human-world, his concept of revelation, the concept of relationship in general, but also through Jewish tradition, which was the most important influence on his thought.
Kierkegaard’s influence on the social-political thought is a lively topic in current scholarly debates on Kierkegaard’s philosophy. Buber’s social-political reception of Kierkegaard is relatively well-known but the research has so far focused almost exclusively on Buber’s dialogical oeuvre (i.e. works written after 1916). The paper broadens the scope of research by elucidating Buber’s pre-dialogical reception of Kierkegaard’s ideas and conceptual emphases. It examines the ways in which Kierkegaard provided inspiration for Buber’s philosophy of Judaism, theory of patriotism and theory of political groups.
Even the early publications of J.-P. Sartre, such as 'L'Etre et le Néant' and 'L'existentialism est un humanism' have not been always received as unequivocally atheist. Etienne Gilson, for instance, found some aspects of Sartre's atheistic opinions rather shifting and tentative. Sartre himself addressed his disbelief in God in his autobiography (cf. 'Les Mots', 1964) and in a long discussion with Simon de Beauvoir, which they held through the summer and fall of 1974. In these documents he expressed his personal conviction that God did not exist, but at the same time he added that atheism was not a simple position to be either upheld or rejected but rather a 'long term and painful enterprise'. In 'Les Mots', he mused that in his case that enterprise was successfully brought to an end, but when talked with de Beauvoir, he quizzically claimed that his materialistic atheism still contained some divine elements in it. To be sure, however, he unswervingly believed throughout his life that an acceptance of God was incompatible with making full use of man's freedom. And yet, at the end of his life, in a conversation with Benny Lévy that was published in March 1980, a few weeks before his death, Sartre declared that human morality could best be built by accepting a vision of God along the lines laid down by Judaism. Taking all these fact into account, the author claims that both in the life of J.-P. Sartre, and in his philosophy, atheism was not a thoroughly consistent and convincing position.
Social role has a strong influence on people, they want to properly fulfil their roles to gain acceptation. At the same time, living in a predictable and comprehensible world demands that others behave according to their roles. The roles we fulfil have a great impact on our identity, other people perceive us and we perceive ourselves through the roles. The thesis of this article is that religion is the scriptwriter of social roles. As an example we take communities built on religion: Judaism and Karaism. These minorities survived until today having their own tradition and identity. The phenomenon is based on dualistic approach to woman's role in the community. On one hand they have been limited to the role of a mother and a wife, on the other hand they have been burdened with responsibility for survival - in a physical and metaphorical sense - of the community. The transmission of cultural heritage and identity of Jews and Karaites depended on them. Both the theory of social roles and religious laws and traditions will be shown outlining their influence on shaping woman's role in the community back then as well as nowadays.
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The paper deals with a specific stream in the philosophical atheism of the 20th century and examines certain reflections of German, especially protestant, philosophers and theologians. Their secular concept of religious faith (Christianity without religion), especially Bultmann's concept of demythologisation, is compared to the Jewish interpretation of the Ten Commandments (the second and third commandments). The paper aims to discover some points of contact to enable a dialogue between these streams.
In my article entitled, „’Holy Legend of Israel’, the meeting of heaven and earth; Martin Buber’s case study of Moses -- an attempt at self-understanding in Judaism”, I explain Martin Buber’s reasoning on the topic of Jewish faith. The originality of his effort consists in his attempt at finding a personal interpretation of the Jewish religion with respect to its existence. Buber’s personal study of the figure of Moses contained in his book, “Moses”, leads to the discovery of this figure, through its portrayal as: 1. Fact and “drama written down in the history of Israel”, which at the same time is the beginning of its identity as a nation. Referring to the Hebrew Bible as the most important source of knowledge about Judaism, Buber points to the unusual event of Moses’ meeting of God in the burning bush which became the beginning of that religious legend of Israel. In this story, Holy God becomes involved in the day-to-day life of the descendants of Abraham, entering into an eternal covenant with them at Mount Sinai. He appoints them as a holy nation meant to represent a holy and living God of the world, as the God of Israel before the other nations. 2. With references to Hasidism, Buber perceives the Jewish faith in the more universal dimension of man’s meeting with God (“I and You”), which is no longer only available to Jews but to every person, both as a spiritual road and as the possibility of a personal relationship with the God of history. This article is my attempt to understand the thinking of Martin of Buber regarding Jewish faith as the history of a nation. I have included my own remarks and interpretations of this philosopher’s dialogue.
Chatam Sofer, whose original name was Moše Schreiber (1762 – 1839), was a striking though in many ways controversial personality, whose opinions influence a significant part of the Jewish community to this day. This article attempts to elucidate at least some aspects of his activity and his period. However, the political and social conditions of that time, and indeed the relationships within the Jewish community, are too complex to be presented comprehensively within the space of a single article. Sofer was born in Frankfurt-on-Main and held positions in several Jewish communities in Central Europe. In 1806 he was chosen for the prestigious post of chief rabbi of the Bratislava community (and simultaneously principal of its famous yeshiva). He retained both functions until his death. His profound piety and religious education were reflected in his personal life and also expressed in his highly regarded commentaries on the Torah and Talmud. While teaching at the Bratislava yeshiva he educated hundreds of rabbis who spread his opinions throughout the Jewish world, ensuring that his influence was not limited to his contemporaries but also reached future generations. Not less interesting is Sofer’s own biography and his psychological reactions (not always comprehensible from a present-day standpoint) to events in his personal life. It is paradoxical that, although throughout his life he affirmed isolationism, struggle against secular education, and opposition to every change in traditional forms in Slovakia, Sofer’s name resonates as a symbol of tolerance and co-operation between the majority society and the Jewish community. The reconstruction of the old cemetery where he is buried contributed to this. The work was done according to halacha rules under the supervision of orthodox believers, and the Slovak authorities and builders respected this in full measure.
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