20th Century Judaism

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Four areas where Jewish thought has developed in 20th Cent. : Jewish thought about nationhood and statehood......Holocaust theology.....God......Feminism

Establishment of state of Israel for number of reasons: different interpretations of biblical texts.....traditional understandings about land as Jewish homeland......a nationality in need of a nation state.....a safe place to live......freedom to join family and Jews who always lived here

term "Shoah" preferable to holocaust which means "whole burnt offering"....Nazi's not making offering to God

Emancipation movements have influenced changes in all forms of Judaism

Central paradox in state of Israel: Secular Zionists largely responsible for building the state, but religious issues always played a role in formation and evolution.

Religion in Israel: 2 tendencies....."religious" and "secular".......both may observe festivals but "religious" more likely to insist on an orthodox, rabbinic foundation for state and its laws.

Israeli government does not control states religious establishment.....but both continually engage with each other.

reoccurring theme .....is Judaism a "religion" an "ethnicity" or a "culture".......all of which overlap.

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