Minhagim : : Custom and Practice in Jewish Life / / ed. by Hasia Diner, Jean Baumgarten, Naomi Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Simha Goldin, Joseph Isaac Lifshitz.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Ebook Package English 2020
• MitwirkendeR: BarOr-Bing, Noga,; Baumgarten, Jean,; Bedzow, Ira,; Broyde, Michael J.,; Bunis, David M.,; Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Naomi,; Goldin, Simha,; Habas, Lihi,; Hacohen, Aviad,; Kanarfogel, Ephraim,; Lifshitz, Joseph Isaac,; Meyer, Michael A.,; Sarig, Ya’acov,; Weiss, Amy,
• HerausgeberIn: Baumgarten, Jean,; Diner, Hasia ,; Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Naomi,; Goldin, Simha,; Lifshitz, Joseph Isaac,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2019]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Rethinking Diaspora ; 3
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (XII, 346 p.)

Parallel to the Halakhic laws, the minhagim (customs) are dependent on local practices and the regional schools of sages and rabbis. The minhagim played a decisive role in the history of the Jewish communities and in the formation of traditions of religious rulings. They gave stability, continuity, and authority to the local institutions. The impact of Jewish custom on daily life cannot be overestimated. Evolving spontaneously as an ascending process, it presents undercurrents that emanate from the folk, gradually bringing about changes that eventually become part of the legislative code. It further reflects influences of social, cultural, and mythological tendencies and local historical elements of every-day life of the period. The aim of this volume is to examine the concept of minhag in the broadest sense of the word. Focusing on the relationship between various types of customs and their impact on every aspect of Jewish life, the volume studies the historical, anthropological, religious, and cultural development and function of rites and rituals in establishing the Jewish self-definition and the identity of the local communities that adhered to them. The volume’s articles cover the subject of custom from three perspectives: an analysis of the theoretical and legal definition of custom, an analysis of the social and historical aspects of custom, and an anecdotal study of several particular customs. Customs are a wonderful historical prism by which to examine fluctuations and changes in Jewish life.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Acknowledgements -- Table of Contents -- Details of the Contributors -- Introduction -- Customs and Material Culture in Antiquity -- The Use of Amulets in the Jewish Community of Late Antiquity in the Land of Israel: A Glass Pendant Decorated with the Binding of Isaac, from the Hecht Collection -- Conservatism, Innovation and Custom in the Middle Ages -- R. Eliezer b. Natan (the Ravan): Conservator or Innovator? -- Compromise and Inclusivity in Establishing Minhag and Halakha: Contextualizing the Approach of R. Meir of Rothenburg -- Custom in Ashkenaz in the Middle Ages -- Sefer Haminhagim (Venice, 1593) and Its Dissemination in the Ashkenazi World -- The Lobed Matzot: A Trialogue of Image, Text, and Custom -- Memory Preservation and Custom in the Modern Era -- Tikkun ‘Shovavim’ in the Slonim Hasidut -- The Role of Custom in the Jurisprudence of the Mishna Berura -- Sephardic Customs as a Discourse Topic in the Ladinokomunita Internet Correspondence Circle -- To Plant Is to Remember: The B’nai B’rith Martyrs’ Forest and American Jewish Fundraising Customs for an ‘Evergreen’ Holocaust Memorial -- Demons in the Yemenite Life Cycle: Folk Beliefs and Customs of Avoidance -- The Changing Role of Religious Custom in Reform Judaism -- ‘Everything Is according to the American Custom’: A New Custom for a New Country -- Index of Subjects -- Index of Names -- Index of Places