Djerba's Rabbis: Orthodox Judaism in Islamic Territories? / רבני ג'רבא – האומנם יהדות חרדית בארצות האסלאם?

Contenu

Titre

Djerba's Rabbis: Orthodox Judaism in Islamic Territories? / רבני ג'רבא – האומנם יהדות חרדית בארצות האסלאם?

Créateur

נעים, ירון Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

Naim, Yaron Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

Date

2014

Dans

Jewish Studies / מדעי היהדות Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

Résumé

It is commonly argued today that the Jews of Djerba—an isolated, mysterious island across from southern Tunisia—held to worldviews and halakhic concepts similar to those common among Ultra-Orthodox European Jews. Yet researchers have singled out one supposed exception: the positive attitude of Djerba's rabbis towards Zionism and its leaders. A closer examination will show that this assumption of a shared outlook is unsupported. By clarifying and explaining the concept of Orthodoxy, I will suggest that the key challenges created by the tension between conservatism and modernity regarding human rights—i.e., democracy, free choice, human autonomy, etc.—caused European rabbis, headed by Moshe Sofer (the "Chatam Sofer") to formulate a religious response characterized by conservatism and a complete rejection of modernity. On the other hand, I will show that Djerba's rabbis and Jewish community, headed by Rabbi Khalfon Moshe Hacohen (1874–1950), impressively handled the challenges posed by modernity for religious Jews, on precisely those same points at which European orthodoxy rejected modernity. It is worth noting that Djerba Jews retained their strict religious principles, and even became an ongoing source of religious and halakhic inspiration for the rest of North African Jewry. I will present examples of Rabbi Hacohen's positive attitude towards modernity and explain why there is no real similarity between European Orthodox Judaism and Djerba Judaism. Finally, I will speculate as to the origins of the false notion of the comparability of the halakhic attitude of Djerba Jews and that of the European Jewish communities.

Sujet

Judaïsme Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

Langue

eng

volume

50

pages

83-113

issn

0792-5964

Titre abrégé

Djerba's Rabbis

uri

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24524030

Source

JSTOR Voir tous les contenus avec cette valeur

נעים, ירון et Naim, Yaron, “Djerba's Rabbis: Orthodox Judaism in Islamic Territories? / רבני ג'רבא – האומנם יהדות חרדית בארצות האסלאם?”, 2014, bibliographie, consulté le 7 septembre 2024, https://ibadica.org/s/bibliographie/item/678