Library Resources (REL 230)

Continuing his quest for belief, host Tevya gets a fresh look at the history and traditions of the Hasidic Jews (a little different to the Judaism he was used to). Rabbi Kaplan and some new friends offer insight into the most important passage in a Jewish boys life, the Bar Mitzvah, celebrate Purim and have dinner with the Rabbis family. Can Rabbi Kaplan reveal the answer to one of the burning questions: "Why can't Jews eat bacon?"

From Abraham’s trek to Canaan, through to Moses, the Jewish Revolts, and the Diaspora, this program gives the early history of Judaism as recounted in the Tanakh and shows how the religion’s rich past survives in ceremonies still practiced by the Jewish people today. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Purim are described in detail, along with other holidays and rituals that take place inside the synagogue. The video also covers the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Filmed on location in Israel and the U.S. A part of the series Let’s Look at World Religions.

Topics of discussion include core beliefs of Judaism and distinctions between different Jewish denominations, the Torah, Moses, the complex ethnicity of Judaism, Zionism and Israel, the birth of Reform Judaism, and arguably the most significant challenge to practicing Judaism in the U.S.: weekly services that fall on Friday and Saturday, out of synch with the societal patterns of mainstream America. In addition, Andrew Flame, president of Keneseth Israel, tours viewers through the synagogue.

A shared heritage, a spiritual belief system, a set of rules for living—these are all aspects of Judaism, but the order in which they are emphasized varies greatly within the faith. This program features opinions from four articulate and sometimes controversial adherents to the Jewish religion who share their views on differences and similarities within Judaism.

Is Orthodox Judaism obsessed with rules and regulations? This program explores historical and spiritual concepts behind the Jewish mitzvot, demonstrating that strict faith can reflect humility and compassion rather than blind obedience. Through interviews with rabbis and members of their families and congregations, the video provides information about the prayer shawl, the tefillin, the sheitel, and why these are worn; why a boy receives his first haircut at age three; why male-female contact is prohibited among unmarried adults; and why good works are important. The lighter side of Jewish life emerges full force with the festival of Purim—when getting drunk is expected. See also "Jewish Law: In the Home" and "Jewish Law: At Work".

Judaism visits one of the earliest synagogues on the mountain fort of Masada, the Gothic Old-New Synagogue in Prague and nineteenth-century houses of worship in Budapest, Liverpool and New York, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece Beth Sholom near Philadelphia. The earliest identifiable synagogue buildings date only from around 70 CE when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem. In the centuries since Jews have built synagogues – shuls in Yiddish – right across the Old World and the New, almost always employing variations of a singular layout but displaying an extraordinary eclecticism in decoration and detail.

This program explores how, over time, the Jews of the Diaspora have expressed their beliefs through architecture and art in a variety of countries. Architectural sites include Tempio Israelitico, in Rome, a sumptuous example of Italian Jewish architecture; the tiny Córdoba Synagogue; Budapest’s Great Synagogue on Dohany Street, a mixture of Byzantine and Moorish design elements; and, in New York City, the largest synagogue in the world: Temple Emanu-El.

A numerically small religion practiced by approximately 13 million members, Judaism nonetheless captures a large share of the world's attention-especially in the geopolitical arena. In this program, Hans Kung discusses the practice of Judaism in the United States, Israel, and Germany, as he studies the religion's commitment to its continued existence.