Talk:Jewish assimilation

This wiki lacks information on the significance of Jewish women in Europe and the impact of their actions during the 19th century. It also only has one sentence stating that total assimilation was not true as Jews in Europe "rarely lose their sense of identity". I plan to expand on the topic of total assimilation not being true by introducing the role of Jewish women in their community - how they maintained the Jewish identity, and how German-Jewish identity was also formed. I will be referencing from Marion Kaplan's "Assimilation and community: The Jews in nineteenth-century Europe"^[1] where she describes how Jewish mothers placed a lot of importance on their culture and religion by reinforcing their traditions. They accomplished this by continually observing Jewish traditions and rituals, such as holidays from the Jewish calendar, and religious family traditions. Strict adherence to Judaism was essential in maintaining their Jewish identity within their household. Kaplan also stresses the importance of family and community to the Jews, families were close knit, and these families had strong ties with one another. This strong sense of community helped them in maintaining their Jewish identity and protected them from total assimilation. However, ways in which Jews adapted to the culture can be seen in the way Jewish women raised their children in Germany. They encouraged them to take part in sports, learn musical instruments, and by reading German fairytales to them. Jewish mothers also subscribed to German periodicals, following its fashion styles and news.

If anyone wants to comment on these changes, please let me know on this Talk Page or on my Talk Page. Meganlee23 (talk) 04:17, 27 April 2017 (UTC)

Meganlee23, what article will you reference? You only gave author and title, not enough info to enable someone to actually find it and read it if they wanted to. Otherwise, sounds very promising.Chapmansh (talk) 22:21, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

I think this article could use some specific examples/stories that relate to the topic. It makes a lot of broad generalizations about the history of Jewish assimilation but doesn't talk much about how it is effecting people now. As a jew I think it would be nice to find an example of jewish assimilation in the modern day and adding that to the article (Leo Spears (talk) 15:26, 11 October 2017 (UTC)). These are some sources that show good examples of modern jewish experiences related to assimilation.

Dershowitz, Alan M. “The ‘Jewish Question’ for the Twenty-First Century: Can We Survive Our Success?” The New York Times, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/books/first/d/dershowitz-jew.html.

Israel, Jeffrey. “What Jesus Means to a 21st Century Jew.” Big Think, 7 Apr. 2012, bigthink.com/stay-attuned/what-jesus-means-to-a-21st-century-jew.

The religious-theocratic vision Divine purpose: Orthodox rabbis, particularly from the Religious Zionist movement, historically saw the return to the Land of Israel not as a secular political project, but as part of a divine redemptive process that would ultimately bring the Messiah.Rejection of secularism: From this perspective, the complete secularization of Israeli society is a rejection of this divine purpose. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, a prominent religious Zionist figure, argued that secular Zionists were unknowingly guided by a "divine spark" to fulfill God's will, but that their true purpose was religious.Halakha over democracy: While most Jews across the religious spectrum agree that Israel can be both a Jewish and democratic state in principle, there is sharp disagreement over what happens when Jewish law (\(Halakha\)) clashes with democratic principles. Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews generally believe that religious law should take precedence, a position that clashes with the democratic ideal. Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox perspectives Orthodox and especially ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews often hold a contrasting view, believing that the state's purpose is to facilitate the observance of Jewish religious law. This perspective has led to historical warnings against secularization and results in key points of friction: Israel's divine purpose: From this viewpoint, Israel is not an ordinary liberal democracy but must draw its laws and purpose from religious sources, including the Torah and Talmud. Torah as constitution: While the Torah is not a modern territorial constitution, Jewish legal tradition contains "constitutional" elements that regulate government power and define the status of individuals. For religious Jews, the Torah, including the Oral Law recorded in the Talmud, represents God's ultimate and superior law. Rabbinic warnings against secularism Orthodox rabbis have historically warned against the complete secularization of Israeli society, seeing it as a rejection of Israel's divine purpose. These warnings manifest in several ways: Religious coercion: The Orthodox religious establishment often resists changes to the "status quo" arrangement, which grants its rabbinic courts exclusive jurisdiction over personal status issues for Jews, such as marriage and divorce. Religious leaders oppose civil marriage and other secular reforms, viewing them as undermining religious law and authority. Erosion of religious values: Some rabbis have voiced concern that a purely secular state risks abandoning the core religious values that make Israel unique. The fear is that becoming "a nation like any other" means losing the special, spiritual character endowed by the Torah. Critiques of secular legislation: Orthodox rabbinic figures and religious parties frequently critique secular laws enacted by the Knesset, pushing for legislation that aligns with Jewish religious customs and law, such as laws governing the Sabbath, kashrut, and educational funding.