Cultural Aid and Jewish Identity in Post-Communist Hungary

This paper is based on current research which is concerned with the revival of religious and ethnic identity among Jews in Hungary after the collapse of communism. Several non-governmental institutions, groups and individuals from various countries, but especially Israel, the UK and the USA, are involved in the revitalization and transformation of Jewish life in the areas of education, ethnicity, religion and social welfare. I examine the complex relationship between emigre donors, often from an Hungarian background, and local Hungarian Jews, to show how cultural aid is accepted, transformed and sometimes resisted. Such aid is not uni-directional from donor to recipient. Rather, it may require the donors to modify their goals; to realize that their assessment of Hungarian needs may be based on anachronistic attitudes. The impact of the recipients on the donors is such that reciprocal change occurs between the two parties.     

Approaching Shared Heroes: Cultural Transfer and Transnational Jewish History

This special issue of Jewish History is devoted to shared heroes in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It explores diverse images of heroes that are shared by at least two of these religious traditions by comparing each figure’s origin, inventions, and reinventions within varying cultural contexts in antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the early modern period and by highlighting the cross-cultural significance of their counterstories and entangled histories. The construction and deconstruction, interpretation and reception of these heroic figures and their sociocultural roles over time and space bear witness to the encounters of Jews and Judaism with neighboring cultures. The approaches to our subject presented in this collection illuminate how the long-established rubric of “the hero” benefits from a cross-cultural approach. In turn, empirical data culled from the cross-cultural study of heroes demonstrate the inner workings of cultural transfer and, we believe, contribute an original perspective to the field of transnational history, which focuses on cultural entanglement.     

Jewish pioneers on Canada’s prairies: The Lipton Jewish agricultural colony

This article offers a detailed analysis of the forces that shaped the Lipton colony in its 50-year existence, one of several dozen attempts to establish Jewish agricultural settlement on Canada’s Western prairies. Comparing both the particularities and the common features of Lipton with those of other colonies will allow strengthening some of the commonly accepted generalizations regarding these colonies, while at the same time showing other assumptions to be questionable or even myth. * A detailed discussion of the Jewish agricultural colonies in Western Canada may be found in Yossi Katz and John C. Lehr, The Last Best West: Essays on the Historical Geography of the Canadian Prairies (Jerusalem, 1999). Other sources discussing the colonies and the reasons for their establishment and ultimate disappearance are: Louis Rosenberg, “Jewish Agriculture in Canada” YIVO Annual of Social Sciences 5 (1950), 205–215; Louis Rosenberg, Canada’s Jews: A Social and Economic Study of the Jews of Canada in the 1930s (Montreal, 1931); Abraham J. Arnold, “The Contribution of the Jews to the Opening and Development of the West” Transactions of the Manitoba Historical Society Series 3 no. 3, (Winnipeg, 1968–’69).     

The Spiritual,Moral, Social and Cultural Values of Students in a Jewish and a Catholic Secondary School

What do students who have attended a Jewish or a Catholic secondary school have to say about the influences on their development, the values they hold and their future goals? Based on responses from more than a hundred students, in two faith-based schools, the article shows that there is no strong commitment to institutional religion or school worship but many refer to the impact on their lives of shared time away together and are willing to be of service to others. Students from both schools value diversity and openness to others. Some of the similarities and the differences between the two schools are explored, comparisons are made with relevant international research, and four possible implications of the findings are indicated.     

The Jewish patient in a non-Jewish hospital

The healing of the sick is a jewish religious precept. The present paper discusses the special needs of a hospitalized Jewish patient, describes a Jewish Patient's Bill of Rights, and suggests that the needs of Jewish patients, such as kosher food and religious services in a hospital environment, be provided wherever possible.     

The Chicken Soup Group: Peer Supervision for Orthodox Jewish Therapists Treating Orthodox Jewish Clients

This article describes an ongoing peer supervision group, to which the author belongs, comprised of Orthodox Jewish mental health professionals, all in full-time private practice and specializing in the treatment of Orthodox Jewish patients. The benefits of this group experience are described together with some of the unique features of clinical work with Orthodox Jewish patients.     

Virtually Jewish

SUMMARY

The authors created a Web-based tutorial for novice-to-intermediate users of the World Wide Web using primarily Jewish content in order to encourage potential Jewish users of the World Wide Web. The lessons contain information on Jewish-themed Web sites and progressively complex information about how to use the Web. Tips and practice exercises are included.     

The Care of the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Patient

The Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community embraces a system of values and a rigorous behavioral code that are deeply rooted in religious tradition and history. Here we describe some of the unique challenges that stem from the encounter between modern medical practice and the Ultra-Orthodox world. Through examples of clinical and ethical scenarios ranging from prenatal care to end-of-life decisions, we illustrate problems related to observance of age-old practices in a modern hospital setting, balancing acceptance of Divine will with standard risk assessment, reconciliation of patient autonomy with deference to rabbinic authority and fear of stigma associated with mental illness in a traditional society. We also offer a generalizable model where inquiry precedes pre-formulated judgment to help clinicians provide enhanced care for this population.