Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 3:24 pm Post subject: am doing a cultural paper
Hi! I am doing a cultural for my communications class. I had a uncle who was Jewish (he has since passed) and the religion has always interested me. He passed away when I was in grammer school so I am not able to ask him the questions I should have before. So, I decided to do my cultural paper on Judaism. The problem is there are no churches in my area. If anyone could answer some queations for me I would greatly appreciate it. Frist: what are the gender roles in Judaism? Is it more traditional; women cook and clean, men work? How are the roles in the family structure? Are dads the head of household or is it more evenly spread? If anyone has anything else to add that I haven't thought please feel free. My paper is due in 2 weeks.
I am glad you have decided that Judaism is worthy of a cultural paper. However, I can definitely say that there is a lot more to Judaism that can be summed up in a single message board post.
First and foremost, our houses of worship are primarily known as Synagouges, however Orthodox Jews use hebrew (beit knesset, beit midrash) and yiddish (shul) terms to describe our houses of worship, while Reform Jews prefer to call their houses of worship Temples.
Like Christianity, Judaism has many denominations, and to be fair, the answers to the questions you're asking will vary significantly depending on which denomination you're asking about.
In the U.S., the three main Branches of Judaism are Reform, Conservative and Orthodox. Our original religious text - The Torah - is what Christians know as the first five books of the old testament. Jews do not give any religious reverence to the New Testament at all.
Orthodoxy is the most traditional form of Judaism, who's practitioners follow practices that have been around for centuries. Both the Reform and Conservative movements have been around for a few hundred years, and each has taken strides to modernize some of these practices.
In addition, there are stark differences in the customs, culture, and practices between Jews of Northern/Eastern European (Ashkenazic) descent vs. those of people from the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Africa (Sephardic).
My advice to you, is to check out some of these sites, which will give you more insight into Judaism:
Chabad and Aish are two Orthodox organizations that have a lot of information for people exploring Judaism. The about site has a lot of FAQs and the Shamash site has a potpurri of various religious and cultural information.
Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 11:29 am Post subject: yonah
Thanks for the info! May I ask what branch of Judaism you are? And if so, can you tell how family life is in your Branch? I am Catholic and would like to know any differences that I can include in my paper. I would love to be able to interview someone in person, but it's not possible around here. Thanks so much if you can help me out!
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Hi! I am doing a cultural for my communications class. I had a uncle who was Jewish (he has since passed) and the religion has always interested me. He passed away when I was in grammer school so I am not able to ask him the questions I should have before. So, I decided to do my cultural paper on Judaism. The problem is there are no churches in my area. If anyone could answer some queations for me I would greatly appreciate it. Frist: what are the gender roles in Judaism? Is it more traditional; women cook and clean, men work? How are the roles in the family structure? Are dads the head of household or is it more evenly spread? If anyone has anything else to add that I haven't thought please feel free. My paper is due in 2 weeks.
