Jewish Faith in Life and Death
Of the main components of the human life cycle, dying is probably the one most people prefer to avoid or at least ignore until the last possible moment. Nevertheless, even though many of us prefer not to think about it, death is as much part of humanity as birth and life. Hence, every religion has its particular views on death and rituals to help those who have passed on their way to whatever concept of the afterlife exists in that religion. In this, the Jewish religion is not unique. Centuries of tradition still survive today as modern Jews practice the ancient art of their religion, both in life and when death occurs. When considered in terms of Foucault's "Technologies of the Self," one might say the elaborate Jewish rituals surrounding dying and death can be seen from the viewpoint of both self-care and self-renunciation.
One of the central tenets of the Jewish faith and lifestyle is that no person should face life, or death, alone (Diamant, 1998, p. 8). This is evident in the way in which the Jewish community and tradition approach the event of...
However, Edersheim also points out that Jews were more child-centered than their contemporary cultures. One example of the Jewish reverence for children is that only Jews and one other culture had prohibitions against infanticide, while other cultures openly permitted the practice. In chapter seven, Edersheim goes on to discuss the raising of Jewish children. Different ages of children had different roles and expectations. Children learned early on the protection of
As one performs their dharma, they earn karma, which is the cause and effect aspect of Hinduism. Karma explains good actions bring good results, and by obeying this principle and dharma, one can experience rebirth into a "better" life that puts one in a stronger position to achieve moksha. The ultimate goal for any Hindu soul is to achieve moksha, which is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of
Jewish-American Experience and the Yiddish Radio Project The Jewish-American Culture in Yiddish Oral history has become one of the most important historical movements of the last two centuries. Through oral histories in either interview or preservation of recordings that were produced in earlier times, the history of the modern era is being retold and saved. Yiddish is a dying language the last of the Yiddish speakers are being lost and a small
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Life of Jesus, Critically Examined Penned in the tumultuous year of 1835, during an era defined by dogmatic religious intolerance and institutionalized adherence to the edicts of the church, David Friedrich Strauss' The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined represents an astonishingly bold assault on the complacency of Christianity, one which compels readers to challenge their own conception of faith. A respected theologian with a philosophical yearning to comprehend the world around
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