Urban Origins of American Judaism

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Urban, History, Jewish, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Urban Origins of American Judaism by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish, University of Georgia Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish ISBN: 9780820347929
Publisher: University of Georgia Press Publication: October 15, 2014
Imprint: University of Georgia Press Language: English
Author: Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
ISBN: 9780820347929
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Publication: October 15, 2014
Imprint: University of Georgia Press
Language: English

The urban origins of American Judaism began with daily experiences of Jews, their responses to opportunities for social and physical mobility as well as constraints of discrimination and prejudice. Deborah Dash Moore explores Jewish participation in American cities and considers the implications of urban living for American Jews across three centuries. Looking at synagogues, streets, and snapshots, she contends that key features of American Judaism can be understood as an imaginative product grounded in urban potentials.

Jews signaled their collective urban presence through synagogue construction, which represented Judaism on the civic stage. Synagogues housed Judaism in action, its rituals, liturgies, and community, while simultaneously demonstrating how Jews Judaized other aspects of their collective life, including study, education, recreation, sociability, and politics. Synagogues expressed aesthetic aspirations and translated Jewish spiritual desires into brick and mortar. Their changing architecture reflects shifting values among American Jews.

Concentrations of Jews in cities also allowed for development of public religious practices that ranged from weekly shopping for the Sabbath to exuberant dancing in the streets with Torah scrolls on the holiday of Simhat Torah. Jewish engagement with city streets also reflected Jewish responses to Catholic religious practices that temporarily transformed streets into sacred spaces. This activity amplified an urban Jewish presence and provided vital contexts for synagogue life, as seen in the captivating photographs Moore analyzes.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The urban origins of American Judaism began with daily experiences of Jews, their responses to opportunities for social and physical mobility as well as constraints of discrimination and prejudice. Deborah Dash Moore explores Jewish participation in American cities and considers the implications of urban living for American Jews across three centuries. Looking at synagogues, streets, and snapshots, she contends that key features of American Judaism can be understood as an imaginative product grounded in urban potentials.

Jews signaled their collective urban presence through synagogue construction, which represented Judaism on the civic stage. Synagogues housed Judaism in action, its rituals, liturgies, and community, while simultaneously demonstrating how Jews Judaized other aspects of their collective life, including study, education, recreation, sociability, and politics. Synagogues expressed aesthetic aspirations and translated Jewish spiritual desires into brick and mortar. Their changing architecture reflects shifting values among American Jews.

Concentrations of Jews in cities also allowed for development of public religious practices that ranged from weekly shopping for the Sabbath to exuberant dancing in the streets with Torah scrolls on the holiday of Simhat Torah. Jewish engagement with city streets also reflected Jewish responses to Catholic religious practices that temporarily transformed streets into sacred spaces. This activity amplified an urban Jewish presence and provided vital contexts for synagogue life, as seen in the captivating photographs Moore analyzes.

More books from University of Georgia Press

Cover of the book The Politics of Black Citizenship by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Slavery in the Caribbean Francophone World by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Charlotte, NC by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Mapping Region in Early American Writing by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Conscientious Thinking by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Murder at Broad River Bridge by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Marsh Mud and Mummichogs by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Toward a Female Genealogy of Transcendentalism by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Slavery and Freedom in Savannah by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book The Blue, the Gray, and the Green by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book The Outcast Majority by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book The Quarry by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book This Is My Century by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Red, White, and Black Make Blue by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
Cover of the book Virginia Women by Deborah Dash Moore, Mitchell Reddish
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy