Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Preface to the second edition
- Chronology
- Map of the Jewish world in 1930
- Map of the Jewish world in the 2000s
- 1 THE JEWS IN THE WORLD
- 2 THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND ITS PAST
- 3 JEWISH BOOKS
- 4 THE JEWISH RELIGION
- 5 THE FAMILY
- 6 THE COMMUNITY
- 7 GOD AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE
- 8 OBJECTIVES
- 9 JUDAISM AND THE FUTURE
- Glossary
- Further reading
- Index
5 - THE FAMILY
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Preface to the second edition
- Chronology
- Map of the Jewish world in 1930
- Map of the Jewish world in the 2000s
- 1 THE JEWS IN THE WORLD
- 2 THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND ITS PAST
- 3 JEWISH BOOKS
- 4 THE JEWISH RELIGION
- 5 THE FAMILY
- 6 THE COMMUNITY
- 7 GOD AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE
- 8 OBJECTIVES
- 9 JUDAISM AND THE FUTURE
- Glossary
- Further reading
- Index
Summary
THE FAMILY AS A UNIT
Jewish society is built upon two main units, the family and the community. What is the relationship between the two? It is very hard to say. They are two very different spheres of activity, and the rules and maxims that make up the Torah underline their difference by providing separate and sometimes conflicting guidance. No doubt some Jews find greater fulfilment in one or the other, and the balance may change in the course of an individual's life. But in the end both are equally necessary; to lose or minimise either is to sacrifice something essential and distort the character of Judaism. Louis Jacobs captures the dilemma acutely when he writes:
Rabbis are fond of preaching that Judaism demands far more than regular worship in the synagogue and that, for example, many of the highest ideals of the Jewish religion are realized in the Jewish home rather than in the synagogue. Worship in the synagogue is a sublime end in itself but it is also a means of inspiring Jews to lead a full Jewish life and much of life has its place outside the synagogue. There is a Torah for the synagogue, detailed rules, regulations, and attitudes to be adopted in the synagogue, but this is only part, albeit a significant part, of the Torah as a whole. The Torah is always described as ‘the Torah of Life’, that is of life as a whole.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- An Introduction to Judaism , pp. 81 - 114Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009