Religious Holidays, Values, and Rituals: Mishnaic Perspectives
Abstract
Religious celebrations and their associated rituals reveal some of the most important values of a community as well as the place of these values in households and families. Overall, the impact of religion on the social cohesion of a group can be inferred from the ways that the ideals of holiday celebrations are constructed. As a basis for understanding how Mishnah constructs the community we ask, what were the core features of the Mishnaic conception of religious holy days and holidays and their rituals? How are these holidays to be marked and celebrated in the public and private spheres? This paper explores the Mishnaic conception of Judaism as expressed in diverse religious holidays, weekly and annually over the seasons. Our approach emphasizes how social science understands the significance of both public and private/home religious celebrations and rituals and shows that holidays and rituals identify the religious values that make Jews a distinct community. We draw mainly on Mishnah’s division of “Moed” (Appointed Times) that focuses directly on holidays and their related rituals. The main themes of Mishnah show how Jews are to be differentiated from non-Jews, how historical events are marked in a Jewish way, and in turn how the Jewish community is distinctive. We learn from the Mishnaic texts the “ideals” and ideas of religious rituals and holidays, not necessarily the empirical reality of holiday celebrations or ritual activities that characterized the community that they constructed.
© 2018 by Academic Studies Press, Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Table of Contents
- ESSAYS
- Sociological and Anthropological Approaches to the Study of the Evidence of the Mishnah: A Call to Scholarly Action and a Programmatic Introduction
- Family Structure, Kinship, and Life Course Transitions: Social Science Explorations of the Mishnah
- Religious Holidays, Values, and Rituals: Mishnaic Perspectives
- The Poor and Their Relief in the Mishnah: An Economic Analysis
- Rabbinic Prayer in Dialogue with Priestly Ritual: Palestinian Talmudic Aggada
- Mihnag in The Haye Adam—The Case of Kitniyot on Passover
- The Evolution of the Orthodox Jewish Community in Cleveland, Ohio, 1940 to the Present
- An 1899 Postal Card Offers a Unique Insight Into American Jewish History
- Nine Men Waiting for One More: The Psychology of the Minyan
- Consumption, Wastefulness, and Simplicity in Ultra-Orthodox Communities
- תיתכלהה תונשרפה יללכב חיש ינמסו הקיטמגרפ :'םירמוא שי' 'יכאלמ די' רפס לש
- תינויצ תידומיל תושדחתה—הנבי דעו הנבימ רדסהה תובישיב תיתד
- BOOK REVIEWS
- Mordecai Paldiel, Saving One’s Own: Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. 636 p
- Derek Taylor, Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler, The Forgotten Founder. London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2018. xii + 260 p
- David Raab, The Democratic Evolution of Halakhah, A Political Science Perspective. Aspen, CO: Aspen Center for Social Values, 2018. 106 p
- Steven Weitzman, The Origins of the Jews. The Quest for Roots in a Rootless Age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017. ix + 394 p
- Sándor Bacskai, One Step Toward Jerusalem: Oral Histories of Orthodox Jews in Stalinist Hungary. Translated by Eva Maria Thury. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2018. xxiv. + 235 p
- Wodzinski, Marcin, with cartography by Waldemar Spallek, Historical Atlas of Hasidism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018. 280 p
- Jessica Roda, Se réinventer au présent: Les Judéo-espagnols de France; Famille, communauté et patrimoine musical. Preface by Edwin Seroussi. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2018. 268 p
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Table of Contents
- ESSAYS
- Sociological and Anthropological Approaches to the Study of the Evidence of the Mishnah: A Call to Scholarly Action and a Programmatic Introduction
- Family Structure, Kinship, and Life Course Transitions: Social Science Explorations of the Mishnah
- Religious Holidays, Values, and Rituals: Mishnaic Perspectives
- The Poor and Their Relief in the Mishnah: An Economic Analysis
- Rabbinic Prayer in Dialogue with Priestly Ritual: Palestinian Talmudic Aggada
- Mihnag in The Haye Adam—The Case of Kitniyot on Passover
- The Evolution of the Orthodox Jewish Community in Cleveland, Ohio, 1940 to the Present
- An 1899 Postal Card Offers a Unique Insight Into American Jewish History
- Nine Men Waiting for One More: The Psychology of the Minyan
- Consumption, Wastefulness, and Simplicity in Ultra-Orthodox Communities
- תיתכלהה תונשרפה יללכב חיש ינמסו הקיטמגרפ :'םירמוא שי' 'יכאלמ די' רפס לש
- תינויצ תידומיל תושדחתה—הנבי דעו הנבימ רדסהה תובישיב תיתד
- BOOK REVIEWS
- Mordecai Paldiel, Saving One’s Own: Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. 636 p
- Derek Taylor, Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler, The Forgotten Founder. London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2018. xii + 260 p
- David Raab, The Democratic Evolution of Halakhah, A Political Science Perspective. Aspen, CO: Aspen Center for Social Values, 2018. 106 p
- Steven Weitzman, The Origins of the Jews. The Quest for Roots in a Rootless Age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017. ix + 394 p
- Sándor Bacskai, One Step Toward Jerusalem: Oral Histories of Orthodox Jews in Stalinist Hungary. Translated by Eva Maria Thury. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2018. xxiv. + 235 p
- Wodzinski, Marcin, with cartography by Waldemar Spallek, Historical Atlas of Hasidism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018. 280 p
- Jessica Roda, Se réinventer au présent: Les Judéo-espagnols de France; Famille, communauté et patrimoine musical. Preface by Edwin Seroussi. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2018. 268 p
