Jewish Meditation in Counseling

Many counselors integrate meditation into treatment with clients. Although meditation can be presented as a secular practice, it also holds spiritual and religious relevance for many faith communities. In this article, we explore the use of Jewish meditation as a spiritually oriented treatment intervention with Jewish clients. Literature examining the relationships among counseling, the Jewish population, and Jewish meditation is presented. This article also includes practical considerations for integrating Jewish meditation into counseling.     

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.     

Jewish agricultural settlement in Brazil

Jewish agricultural colonization in Brazil began in 1904 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, supported by the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA). The JCA created the first colonies – Philippson (1904) and Quatro Irmãos (1912) – with the intention of resettling Russian Jews during the decisive years of mass immigration from the Russian empire. In 1936, the JCA administration in Brazil proposed a new project to establish a colony for German Jews in Rezende, situated in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Similar to other initiatives undertaken by the São Paulo and Paraná state governments some years before, the Rezende colony did not last long. This essay analyzes the main factors behind the disintegration of the JCA colonies, noting that, in spite of their relative failure, the colonies aided Brazil and helped change the stereotypical image of the non-productive Jew, capable of working only in commerce and finance. The main benefit from these agricultural experiments was the removal of restrictions in Brazil on Jewish immigration from Europe during the twentieth century.     

Jewish Courts in Medieval England

Basing their conclusions on Latin documents, historians have painted the Jewish courts of medieval England as limited and haphazard affairs, their jurisdiction limited mostly to family law. They have also assumed that rabbinic courts ceased their activity in England after 1242. Hebrew rabbinic sources from the same period—some of which have never been published—provide more detailed information. These sources describe several professional courts staffed by learned scholars and adjudicating a range of legal issues. These courts existed throughout the thirteenth century—until the Expulsion of 1290—and included some of the leading rabbis in medieval England: Benjamin of Cambridge, Moses of London, and Moses’s son Elijah Menahem. The London court of Rabbi Elijah Menahem in particular possessed significant powers and utilized Elijah’s royal connections to enforce its rulings. Besides correcting the scholarly perception of rabbinic courts in medieval England, this article demonstrates how crucially important rabbinic texts and responsa are for historians as a source alongside other types of medieval documentation.     

Ethnic Identity in Jewish Families

Forty-eight Jewish families living in Central New York were interviewed about the development of their ethnic identity. Within each family, parents and children were asked about how they developed their ethnic identity to explore qualitatively how Jewish identity shapes and influences family dynamics. The semi-structured family interviews were coded using a constant comparison methodology. Seven qualitative categories emerged (gendered decisions, negotiating continuity, family of origin, survivors, active learning, traditions, and cultural religion). Jewish identity formation in families and the implications for clinical practice are explored.     

Education in the Jewish State

This essay argues that schooling in Israel is tied too closely to ideology. This results in an indoctrinary orientation that contributes to divisiveness and imperils Israeli democracy. After reviewing and critiquing the roots of this orientation, I advance an alternative that understands education as an agent of the good rather than ideology. Israeli schooling requires a vision of goodness broad enough to encompass competing conceptions of Jewish life espoused by the majority as well as non-Jewish orientations affirmed by various minorities. Such a vision can be grounded, I contend, in a democratic Jewish theology that emphasizes God as teacher rather than tyrant.