Answer one question from each section 1 to 10 in any order
Orthodox forms of Judaism | |
Text 1: | The Faith of a People that Suffered |
1 | What experiences define the identity of a Jew? Answer in sentences with reasons. |
2 | York's Clifford Tower commemorates the massacre of Jews in 1190. Describe the intolerance and then tolerance of the English towards the Jews. |
3 | In the Christian New Testament it states that the sins of the Jews killed Christ. Explain how that might have contributed towards intolerance and suffering. |
4 | Draw a simple composite map of movements and places of suffering. |
Text 2: | The Faith of a People Through Torah and Talmud |
1 | What is the principle difference between the approach of the orthodox and the approach of the Ultra-Orthodox towards maintenance of practices? |
2 | Why might the Middle Ages be the best time for an enthusiastic, well learned, fully observant Jewish faith, and why might today present challenges to faith? |
3 | Compromising with contemporary society inevitably leads to reform and liberalism? Discuss with examples how the Orthodox intend to avoid this slide into compromise, as they would see it. |
Text 3: | Ultra Orthodoxy |
1 | Explain why the Ultra-Orthodox tended towards enthusiasm for God over learning and why they compromised on learning. |
2 | Explain the Ultra-Orthodox strategy towards living in the contemporary world. |
3 | Is Chassidism democratic or elitist, do you think? |
Text 4: | Orthodox Approaches to Zionism |
1 | Why would some in Orthodox Judaism reject a State of Israel existing too early and set up on political grounds? |
2 | On what religious basis has a compromise been made within Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Judaism regarding the State of Israel? |
3 | Is Israel the Promised Land? Give reasons for your answer. |
Adaptive forms of Judaism | |
Text 5: | Reform Movement and The Divine Law |
1 | Where does Reform (and Liberal) Judaism think the Law comes from? Answer with explanation. |
2 | Explain the social and intellectual pressures that led to Reform Judaism taking the stance it did. |
3 | Is what a Jew believes and does made clear by what branch of the faith he or she belongs? |
Text 6: | European Tolerance, Secularisation and Liberalising Christianity Impacting on the Jews towards Reform |
1 | What historical influences are there that helped lead to the origins of Reform Judaism? |
2 | Discuss the attraction and unattractiveness of Haskalah to Jews in Europe. |
3 | How is it that what the Church does affects what the Jews do? |
Text 7: | History of Reform Movements |
1 | Describe the influence of three leading reformers in Judaism. |
2 | Describe the evolutionary understanding of Judaism given by a leading reformer. |
3 | Discuss whether the more radical reformers are doing nothing but watering down Judaism and producing their version of an ethical Unitarianism. |
Text 8: | Reform into the United States and Britain |
1 | It is said that Protestantism in England came about because of an accident of a monarch's divorce and was thus in general quite conservative. In what way is the origin of Reform Judaism in Britain also an accident of history rather than an ideological intention? |
2 | Why did Reform Judaism in America claw back some of its early progressive enthusiasms? |
3 | Given the percentages involved, is Orthodox Judaism orthodox and how is a Jew to be defined? Answer with reference to different countries. |
Text 9: | Examples of Women in Judaism |
1 | Which women do you think will be the most isolated and receive the most communal support? Explain why. |
2 | Does the Liberal (including Reconstructionist) Jew find her faith the most demanding or easy going. Explain your viewpoint. |
3 | Which type of Jewish woman do you find most compelling? |
Section 10: | In General |
1 | Explain the different attitudes to the Bible of different Jews. |
2 | Argue whether progressive types of Jews are Jews at all given their attitudes to the Law. |
3 | All Jews are conservative in one form or another. Discuss this viewpoint giving at least another point of view. |