Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Religion Jewish Families Jewish Families The Jewish religion has also undergone many transformations over the years. It started off in its earliest years as being animistic, with Hebrews worshipping forces of nature. As a result this religion had a number of practices that concerned magic and animal sacrifices. The Hebrew religion also became polytheistic which involves several gods. Hebrew religion eventually became anthropomorphic, in which God or gods became human individuals and had human characteristics. Eventually most Hebrews concentrated on one main God who they referred to as Yahweh. Yahweh is a mysterious term used in Hebrew that reads YHWY (in biblical Hebrew there were no vowels), and that still to this day its pronunciation is unknown. It is thought to be related to the verb “to be” and means something like, “he causes to be”. In English the word Yahweh is translated “ I am”: “I am that I am”. Yahweh became a figure of worship that could transcend into the human world. Different tribes of Hebrews probably worshipped different gods, nothing is mentioned in Genesis that one universal God existed at this time (http://www.us-israel.org). The big change in Hebrew thought that allowed the religion to come to be as we know it today occurred during the great migration from Egypt, where the Jews were enslaved. The Jewish people believe that they were chosen by Yahweh to unite with the other scattered tribes to become a single nation. Moses (Yahweh’s greatest prophet), lead them out of slavery into the promised land. God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and outlined the basics of the Jewish religion that is known today. God told Moses that He (Yahweh) is God, and no other gods should be worshipped before him. This criticized the traditions of polytheism and animal sacrifices that the Hebrews were currently practicing and marked the beginning of the Mosaic Hebrew religion that we accept as modern day Judaism. At this crucial point in history, the Hebrews adopted Yahweh as their national and primary God and officially became a monotheistic religion. Organization of this religion inspired new intellectual leadership of prophets and prophetic writers. These new ideas were a culture shock for a society that still practiced polytheism and resulted in turmoil between Hebrews that believed in Yahweh as their one and only God and Hebrews that believed in Yahweh as their most important of many gods. It is at this point in Hebrew history when the Jewish people created a new form of religion where new ideas of Yahweh were taught, and the Torah became the most important and pure law for the Hebrews. (http://www.us-israel.org). Aside from conflicting religions, Jewish people also encountered other problems with the monarchy. Hebrews believed that Yahweh was their king and his laws were their laws. In the monarchy, the tribes of Israel appointed a human king and obeyed his laws instead of divine law. This created conflict between the Hebrews that followed the laws of the king, and the Jewish that followed Yahweh and the law of the Torah. The Children of Israel that settled in Palestine between 1250 and 1050 BC found themselves amidst a corrupt monarchy. The monarchy thrived on arbitrary power, large divisions in the economical gap, vast poverty, heavy taxation, slavery, bribery and fear. The Jewish prophets fiercely disobeyed the humanistic laws of the kingdom and in doing so opposed the corrupt ideas of the monarchy. The only ways that they sought to change their lives were to return to the mosaic religion. This newly created religion was not only monotheistic but also centered on the beliefs of what was right and wrong. The Jewish people felt that many things were wrong with the monarchy and the only way to keep themselves connected with Yahweh would be to separate themselves from the corrupt monarchy and to practice their own laws of the Torah. This civil disobedience caused the Jews to be exiled. From this point on they became nomadic and searched the world to find a place of peace and harmony (http://www.us-israel.org). There are approximately 5.5 million Americans who identify themselves as being Jewish, which accounts for 45% of the world’s Jewish population (Rosen, Weltman, 611). The first Jewish community sprung up in the United states in the year 1677. It consisted mostly of Sephardic (Spanish) descendants. Recent immigration of Jewish people from Central and South America has added to the Sephardic population in North America. Today’s Jewish community also consists of descendents from Western Europe (Germany), who immigrated to the United States in the middle of the 19th century (Rosen, Weltman, 611). Jewish immigrants of German descent came to America and established large businesses and became powerful figures in the American Jewish community. Today they tend to merge with the Sephardics to make up the American Jewish community (Rosen, Weltman, 612). Throughout the past three decades, over 300,000 Jews from the Soviet Union have immigrated to the United States. This is the largest immigrant group to enter the country in the past 70 years (Rosen, Weltman, 612). There is mixed opinion among the American Jewish community about their arrival. Most give sympathy for the fact that they escaped oppression and poverty, but the underlying feeling is that if they were really seeking Jewish roots (instead of an easier economic life), they would have gone to Israel (Rosen, Weltman, 612). Most Jews today can trace their roots back to Eastern Europe. They are second, third and forth generation offspring of immigrants who came to the United States until World War II. 75% of these American Jews gather in large cities on the East and West coasts. The largest population today is in California and New York with a population of over 2.5 million Jews, half of the number of American Jews nationwide (Rosen, Weltman, 612). When someone refers to themself as Jewish, they are not only talking about which religion they follow, but a culture and ethnicity that they belong to. Membership of this culture is something that you are born into, not just something that you practice and believe. 48% of the Jewish community is not affiliated with a synagogue or other Jewish institution or temple ( Rosen, Weltman, 612). Jews of Eastern European descent that have immigrated to the United States in the early part of the 20th century are the most visible in the United States and have made the largest impact on American society throughout art, literature, religion and music. Therefore the rest of this paper will concentrate on their structure of family, community and religion (Rosen, Weltman, 613). The Jewish culture puts a very big emphasis on the importance of family. The Jewish ideal family is commonly viewed as the Jewish man as a good father, husband, and provider, and the Jewish woman as a devoted wife and mother of intelligent children. Personal, economic and financial successes are crucial ideas in the Jewish family. Many families’ goals were centered on education and professional achievement. Respect was often gained by learning (Rosen, Weltman, 617). The Jews believe that it is a violation of God’s law not to marry. This comes from the first commandment in the Torah, which says, “ You shall be fruitful and multiply” (Rosen, Weltman, 613). Both bachelorhood and birth control are viewed as unacceptable. The core of the Jewish tradition has always been marriage, raising children, and establishing a family. There are three other factors that give the Jews reason to place such a strong emphasis on marriage and family: The children and grandchildren are the center of the Jewish family and bring the very meaning of life to all those in their family; The Jewish history of hardships have made the family structure one of power and unification that cannot be broken, and that provides a safe and trusting institution when society cannot be trusted; Jews feel the obligation to maintain their heritage and to carry on the works of past generations (Rosen, Weltman, 613). The importance of marriage in Jewish culture is so heavily emphasized that great care is taken when selecting a mate. There is a huge stress on maintaining a marriage which can become so great it causes people to ignore severe problems such as domestic violence and substance abuse (Rosen, Weltman, 614). Taking into account the importance of a good marriage explains the reason why Jewish women are encouraged to pay special attention to their choice of mates, and they often go out of their way to choose schools and work places where they think that they might meet a compatible mate. Jewish women also pay very close attention to their physical appearance when looking for a mate (Rosen, Weltman, 622). The Jews believe that all aspects of life had to be compatible including character, background, values, the extended family, and even genetic makeup. Each partner’s wealth was not taken into consideration, but there had to be a mutual desire between the two people. Marriage was seen as a change in personal status, not as a sacrament or legal transaction (Scott, Warren, 430). Many Jewish parents think that it is their duty to give their children away in marriage. If their children do not marry, the parents will feel disappointed and betrayed (Rosen, Weltman, 622). There is a specific order of events that make up a traditional Jewish wedding. The first is referred to as acquisition (Kabbalat Kanyan). Before the ceremony begins, the groom holds a handkerchief in the air that the rabbi has given to him. This symbolizes the obligations of marriage described in the marriage contract (ketubah). The ketubah is a legal document written between the parties outlining the obligations of the husband to the wife during the course of marriage and provides financial protection in the event of divorce. The next major step in the ceremony is called bedeken or the veiling of the bride. The groom, surrounded by male family and friends, is escorted into the room where the bride is sitting with her female friends. The men approach the bride in song and the groom brings the veil down over the bride’s face. At this time the father’s of the couple lay their hands on the head off the bride and give a blessing (Scott, Warren, 431). All Jewish wedding ceremonies must be performed under a chuppah or bridal canopy to symbolize the couples’ intimate household. During the ceremony the bride and the groom do not stand alone, they are accompanied by their parents. This is a symbol that they do not marry in isolation and that they will not live their future life without family support. Next the bride will approach the groom and walk around him seven times with her mother and mother-in-law following her. This is done to symbolize the interrelationship between the man and the woman by drawing an invisible circle around the two of them (Scott, Warren, 432). Next comes the erusin, which are two betrothal blessings that the rabbi recites. One is over wine and the other is over the actual marriage, which will follow. Unlike most marriages where somebody else pronounces the couple man and wife, in Jewish marriage it is strictly an act between the two partners. The man places a ring on the bride’s right index finger and says, “ Behold, thou art consecrated unto me, according to the laws of Moses and of Israel,” (Scott, Warren, 432). The bride’s acceptance of the ring is a sign of her consent to the marriage and the ceremony continues to the reading of the ketubah. The marriage contract is read aloud by an honored guest who hands it to the groom who then hands it to the bride. It is the bride’s to keep and usually it will be given to someone else for safe keeping during the ceremony. The final part of the ceremony is called the nisuin and consists of seven different blessings of celebration and hope. Traditionally a different guest reads each blessing. After the completion of the blessings the couple drinks from a wine goblet and before they leave the chuppah a glass is wrapped in a napkin and placed on the floor where it is stomped on by the groom. This breaking of the glass is symbolic for the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 C. E. and suggests that the present day world is not yet redeemed. The seriousness only lasts a moment and at this time everyone yells “Mazel tov! Congratulations, good luck” (Scott, Warren, 432-433). After the ceremony is completed the bride and the groom are escorted to a private room for yichud or privacy. Two people stand outside the door to make sure they are not disturbed. Today the yichud is simply symbolic, but in biblical times the bride and the groom would have their first intercourse immediately after marriage. The bride would bring forth a sheet with bloodstains to show the loss of her virginity, which her family would then display (Scott, Warren, 433). A wedding feast or seudah is required because ritual and rite are formally celebrated with feasting. The end of the wedding feast is marked with a shevah berachot, a special grace with the repetition of the seven wedding blessings. In traditional Jewish culture intermarriage was considered to be a family betrayal and complete emotional cut off from the family usually followed. In the most severe of these circumstances the family would “sit shive” or formally mourn the child who intermarries. Even today, the most lenient and Americanized Jewish families remain highly sensitive to intermarriage of a child. Even if the family accepts the intermarriage, conflicts usually erupt later in life when grandchildren are born and the question of religion rises. To help preserve the Jewish heritage, many Jewish organizations have set up programs to maintain ties with those who have married out and to increase the chances of the children being raised Jewish (Rosen, Weltman, 614-615). In the case of intermarriage, in traditional Jewish law a child born to a Jewish mother is considered a Jew. On the other hand, a child with a Jewish father is not considered Jewish. Only reformed Judaism stresses the importance of being raised Jewish and proclaims the child a Jew regardless of if they were born to a Jewish mother or Jewish father. All other branches of Judaism ignore the father’s religion and the upbringing of the child as long as the mother is Jewish (http://www.us-israel.org). In American Jewish families, the family status often counted on the father’s achievements. It is also said that the mother exercised most authority in the family and this very often shamed the father. Often times the father/husband had a job outside the home and this led to him being disconnected from the family and the family power. The mother/wife was powerful and demanding. Men had to deal with low self-esteems and faced the fact that many times their wives had more control in situations. The role of the father in the family was for financial support more so than emotional support. Jewish women and children often missed the personal qualities that the males in their families were lacking. In the uproar of feminism, Jewish men have been asked to enhance these qualities and take over the feminine role and also balance professional success (Rosen, Weltman, 621). Women’s role in the Jewish family was traditionally in the home where they served their family all day long. Most Jewish communities are very male oriented and the women are known to be inferior. Due to women’s role at home they were often separated from religious practices. Since the feminist movement in the 1970’s, women have proclaimed their right to be rabbis in the synagogues. The branches of Judaism that accept these rights are Conservatives and Reconstructionists. Since the 1960’s and the1970’s, Jewish women have aspired to seek their own careers and have had many influential role models in the Jewish family. Unlike their mothers, their grandmothers who emigrated from Eastern Europe were forced to work for the survival of their family. In the early 20th century, many Jewish women joined other Jewish women to become leaders of labor unions (Rosen, Weltman, 629). Nowadays Jewish women look to these familiar feminine role models for direction and enlightenment on how to meet the familys’ needs combined with their responsibilities at work and their commitment to the community. More recently, Jewish women have succumbed to the American trend of putting off marriage and children until career and economic stability have been found. Although this trend may have an effect on Jewish women’s beliefs, there is still great pressure on them to marry and start a family. Due to this idea, single Jewish women have found it hard to find their place in community. Also, current statistics have revealed that women live longer than men do, and that very often women are widowed. It is a known fact that three out of four women can expect to be widowed. The Jewish community has recently recognized this fact and is in the practice of trying to meet the needs of their female population (Rosen, Weltman, 621). In the traditional Jewish community, having a family and procreation was seen as a social obligation. Marriage is complete after children are born and children are seen as a representation of their parents’ work. In the past 30 years, pressure has been put on Jewish families because people are marrying later and therefore having children later in life. Families are becoming smaller. Due to the heavy stress of education and career, and the delay of having children, many times Jewish couples have high rates of infertility (Rosen, Weltman, 624). Mothers in traditional Jewish families are many times considered to be the nurturer of the family. Mothers are expected to put their personal needs aside and their familys’ needs first. It is thought that no sacrifice is too great, especially when her children are in need. Many times children are left to feel guilty because their mothers do so much for them and they have no way to reciprocate. Often time young married daughters who put their careers before having children may feel as though they are betraying their mothers or letting them down. The Jewish mother has traditionally been a teacher of values and achievement. Many generations of Jewish professionals give their mothers credit for their success (Rosen, Weltman, 624). Sometimes conflicts arise between Jewish mothers and their daughters because mothers have a tendency to reinforce a woman’s role as submissive to males. Some daughters believe that they will never be good enough for their mothers and that they will never meet their expectations which results in high rates of anorexia and other eating disorders in young Jewish girls (Rosen, Weltman, 625). Jewish sons also feel the same kinds of pressure and inadequacies. The relationship between children and their parents is that when the children are successful the parents are gratified, but when children do wrong they are betrayed and ashamed. One way in which children show their gratitude to their parents is through manners and respect (Rosen, Weltman, 626). In traditional Jewish law, sex is not considered shameful, sinful, or obscene although in traditional orthodox practice it is not openly discussed. Modesty is an important virtue and sex is traditionally permissible only within the context of marriage. Sex is looked upon not only for the purpose of procreation but also as a way of experiencing physical pleasure. Sex shows commitment and responsibility between husband and wife. Due to their strong belief that sex is an essential component to marriage, it was a Jewish requirement for a couple to meet at least once before an arranged marriage to make sure that there was a physical attraction. Once married, sex is the woman’s right, not the man's. Within the marriage vows, a man must swear to fulfill three basic needs of a woman: food, clothing, and sex. It is his obligation to initiate sex whenever he sees a sign that his wife may want sex. Within Jewish law, it specifically sets the limits for the quantity and quality of sex depending on the man’s occupation. These obligations are stated in the marriage contract and are taken very seriously. One Jewish law specifies that a man cannot take a trip for an extended period of time because it would deprive his wife of her sexual needs. If a husband were to consistently deny his wife sex, it is legitimate grounds for encouraging a man to divorce his wife. On the other hand, a woman does not have the right to refuse sex from her husband or withhold it as a form of punishment. This to is grounds for divorce and in this case the man may divorce her without paying the divorce settlement written on the marriage contract (http://www.us-israel.org). One of the most bizarre aspects of Jewish law is the law of niddah, or the separation of a married couple during the woman’s menstrual period. Although most Jews do not know about and therefore do not follow this law, the Orthodox community continues to abide by it. A man is forbidden to have intercourse, touch, or even sleep in the same bed with his menstruating wife. The separation lasts a minimum of twelve days from the first sign of blood to the evening of the woman’s seventh clean day. Because of this, weddings are scheduled very carefully around a woman’s cycle. Before intercourse, the woman must immerse herself in a mikvah, or a ritual pool to spiritually cleanse herself. This is so important to Jewish life that a community is more likely to first build a mikvah, then to build a synagogue (http://www.us-israel.org). There are many controversies involving Jewish views on birth control. Only some methods that do not block the path of the sperm are permitted because this is considered “wasting seed” (http://www.us-israel.org). Hormonal methods such as the pill are acceptable as long as the requirement of having at least two children is fulfilled. Concerning abortion, Jewish law states that an unborn child has the status of “potential human life” and may not be destroyed casually. However, this “potential human life” is not as important as the mother’s life and if the fetus in any way puts the mother’s life in jeopardy, then it may be removed from her body (http://www.us-israel.org). Masturbation is prohibited under Jewish law. In the same sense, when a man masturbates it is seen as him wasting his seed. One passage in Jewish law says, “In the case of a man, the hand that reaches below the navel should be chopped off”. Judaism also looks down upon female masturbation as “impure thoughts” (http://www.us-israel.org). Along with intermarriage, divorce is looked at as a betrayal of family values. When Jewish parents have a child that divorces, the parents often take it more personally than the child does. Recently, the Jewish divorce rate has increased to that of the general population consisting of various ethnic groups. In order to get a divorce couples are expected to arrange for a writ of Jewish divorce (a get) along with a civil divorce. Unfortunately, traditional Jewish law prohibits women from obtaining a get. This creates more problems for divorcing couples. Another problem for divorcing couples is that traditional Judaism is practiced through gender specific roles. At the end of a marriage these roles are severed and the man and the woman often experience a sense of loss in their Jewish system. As a result, in a divorce people not only lose one another, but also lose a part of their religion (Rosen, Weltman, 616). Although Chanukah is the most well known of the Jewish holidays, is has only been popularized because of its closeness to Christmas and it has very little religious significance to the Jewish people. Passover is the most important holiday in Jewish culture. It lasts eight days and commemorates the fact that during the Jews escape from Egypt when Yahweh was killing the first born males of each Egyptian family, Yahweh passed over their houses and spared the lives of their first born sons. No work is permitted on the first and last day of Passover. Food restrictions are also a very important aspect of the holiday. Also, the Jewish household must be cleaned of any Chametz which includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after coming into contact with water. The grain product Jews eat during Passover is called matzah. Matzah is unleavened bread, made simply from flour and water and cooked very quickly. This is the bread that the Jews made for their flee from Egypt (http://www.us-israel.org). Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. Although this holiday doesn’t fall into the same time frame as the modern day calendar, the same practices of resolutions and looking back on mistakes occur. There is no work on Rosh Hashanah (http://www.us-israel.org). The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. It is the most important holiday to the Jewish people and most of the day is spent in the synagogue. Jewish people also fast and are not permitted to work on this day (http://www.us-israel.org). The first ritual to take place in Jewish life is the circumcision of a baby boy. This is observed as a universal procedure and is traditionally done when the baby is eight days old. The parents may have a traditional ceremony or sometimes just a small party to celebrate the child’s birth and circumcision (Rosen, Weltman, 626). When a child is thirteen years old, they are called upon to make their bar or bat mitzvah which is held at a regular synagogue service. The child recites blessings over the Torah and establishes themselves as an adult worshiper. It is only more recently that girls have taken place in the ceremony, but they are still not given the same status as males (Rosen, Weltman, 627). Jewish tradition sees death as the ending of this life, not the beginning of another. The dead are buried within twenty-four hours and mourning does not begin until after the burial. A memorial prayer called kaddish is said daily for a year after burial of a parent or a spouse and on the anniversary of the death. The mourning period is marked by the “unveiling” or dedication of the tombstone. This occurs eleven months after death and the family meets at the cemetery to pay respect (Rosen, Weltman, 628). Kosher describes food, which is fit for traditional Jews to eat under their law of kashrut. There is a strict observation of these laws in the Torah (http://www.us-israel.org). Although the details of kashrut are extensive, the laws all derive from a few fairly simple, straightforward rules: 1. Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals. Forbidden animals include anything that does not have cloven hooves and does not chew its cud: i.e. a camel, a pig, and a hare are all forbidden. In the water you may eat anything that has fins or scales: i.e. shellfish is prohibited. Birds of prey are prohibited and other birds are not. Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects are all prohibited. 2. Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law. 3. All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten. 4. Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten. 5. Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat). 6. Utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot. 7. Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten. Bibliography: Word Count: 4777
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