Jewish Feminism

Jewish feminism has had a significant impact on the development and expression of Judaism. They have faced many obstacles and brought about much change in the Jewish tradition. Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal and social role and contribution of women within Judaism. Feminism can be traced back to the early 1970s where women began to question their roles amongst society. For Jewish women, they wanted to focus on the composition of the minyan, the exemption from some mitzvot, exclusion of women as witnesses of Jewish law and the position of women in relation to divorce proceedings. Each variant has responded differently to feminism and the level of impact as differed amongst Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews. Judaism is known for being more patriarchal than many other organised religions. This has made it difficult for Jewish feminists to bring about equity and tzedakah. Jewish feminists have one main agenda and that is to challenge and fight sexism within Judaism. They see their work as part of their duty to tikkun olam and believe their actions bring tzedakah to their faith community. Jewish feminism created much controversy as many men thought that it would have a weakening effect on Jewish life, however many would argue that it has been strengthened. The Orthodox Jewish communities found the impact of Jewish feminism to be a significant issue for their interpretation of the halakah and how their religion is to be expressed. They seeked change in a manner that can be defended by Jewish law and always worked within the framework of traditional worship. However, amongst the Reform and Conservative Jews, their attitudes have been much greater. Reform Jews have accepted that a woman can perform any religious ritual that a man does. They were the first group to do away with the mehiztah, that separated men from woman in the synagogue, they felt the customs and practices should be more in keeping with modern society. This had a significant impact as it led to the change in service and synagogue, and the service was rewritten in English from Hebrew. Jewish Feminism called upon all variants of Judaism to reconsider its response to the mitzvot and other elements of the halakah. Jewish feminists challenged Judaism in areas such as the patriarchal interpretation of sacred texts, role of women in rituals, role of women in leadership eg: Rabbi and the general rights of women. In 1972, ten New York Jewish feminists calling themselves Ezrat Nashim presented a document, â€Å"Call For Change†, to the Conservative movements Rabbinical Assembly. This â€Å"Call for Change† demanded that women be considered to perform all mitzvot, allowed full participation in religious observances, be counted in the minyan, have equal rights in marriage and initiate divorce. Judaism was changed by this document in 1977 when Conservative Judaism introduced feminist rituals. Until the 1950s Jewish women traditionally took a back seat in communal worship. The synagogue was divided with a mehitzah as they felt that men could not concentrate and keep their thoughts purely on prayer and their individual connection with God. Jewish feminism's impact on this issue was significant as they changed the physical direction of the mehitzah in the synagogue so women could see the front and yet the men were still separated from them. This change of the direction symbolises the change of views. Jewish feminism had a strong impact on the religious observances, laws and services. The role of women amongst society was changed in 1973 when the first female Rabbi, Sally Priesland, was ordained. There were many objections to the allowance of female Rabbis and numerous questions were raised such as their abilty to raise families and cope with the religious demands and if they were able to interpret the Scriptures correctly. However, non feminists were able to see that these women brought intuitive perspectives that positively questioned the base of the Jewish beliefs. Therefore the extent of change in response to Jewish feminism varies across the differing expressions of Judaism. It has brought new and fresh perspectives to the nature of worship services. Women will continue to demand and receive equality in both the secular and religious worlds. Jewish feminism has brought to each of the variants a closer relationship and a stronger response to the call tikkun olam.

The Sociological Reactions to the Return of Vietnam Veterans

The Sociological Reactions to the Return of Vietnam Veterans Upon their return from the Vietnam War, many veterans were shocked upon the reaction (or lack thereof) displayed by the citizens of the States who had remained on the home front. When finally landing back on American soil, many veterans expected to be greeted with celebration and maybe even a parade, acknowledging their service and dedication to the Vietnam cause.However, veterans were instead greeted by protestors who did not agree with the United States’ participation in the war (ironically, not all veterans wholly supported the cause itself, but instead went out of respect and devotion to their country). In an article written by Vietnam veteran Bill Hunt, it is clear to see that not only were strangers hostile towards veterans, but even friends and family treated the returning soldiers with annoyance, anger, or at the best, apathy.He states that it felt like family members had not even known he was at war; they re acted to his return much like one would react to someone returning from the grocery store: with just a casual hello, disregarding the danger and the high level of devotion that had been experienced. Hunt’s family barely acknowledged that he had ever even gone to war. The experiences of Vietnam vets were simply viewed as a part of every-day life.The war was not even taken seriously by many people, and veterans (specifically Hunt) were appalled by the flippant and insensitive (though innocent and thoughtless) comments made by others, family included. To the vets, it had been a hellish experience, and many experienced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and many became dependent on drugs and alcohol to get through the psychological after-effects of being involved in such stressful and torturous circumstances.However, appallingly, many were unable to get the help they needed. Medical aid was not made available to them right away, and a shocking percentage of Americans vie wed them as crazy and dangerous to society. Some even thought that the veterans deserved their psychological conditions. Suicide became increasingly common as many veterans experienced completely unfounded hatred and degradation. Part of this is due to the younger generation, which had begun the hippie movement.The ideas of â€Å"peace† and â€Å"love† were emphasized. Because of this, many returning veterans were greeted with shouts of â€Å"baby killer† and other completely untrue and offensive things. They were also given stereotypes of overarching drug use. Additionally, television was available to households for the first time. Because of this, there was no watering-down or censorship of the conditions of the Vietnam War. Many veterans were portrayed incorrectly and much confusion was experienced by the public due to mixed messages.Regardless of the cause, the fact remains that the Vietnam veterans are one of the most unjustly maligned groups of people in A merican history. The war was politically unpopular and many veterans were accused of a lack of dedication and â€Å"not fighting hard enough†. The disrespect that had been shown towards these veterans was and still is disgusting: regardless of whether or not one agrees with the cause, it is inexcusable that these veterans were not commended for their sacrifice. Comparison to The Return of a Private and Currently Returning Veterans The Return of a Private

College Major Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

College Major - Research Paper Example It is also important to note that law enforcement is jurisdiction-specific. This is to the effect that the jurisdiction can be tied to a geographical sphere or to the observation of job specialization. For instance, while the and operations of Homeland Security is confined to the geographical entity that is the United States, the trailing and apprehension of America’s most wanted criminals and drug lords may see Homeland Security ceding ground for the Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to step in. Hathaway explains that in some jurisdictions, the powers of the police are extended to the military officers or other security forces, so that the definition of law enforcement officers is regarded as being inclusive of such officers (275, 301). It is also true that law enforcement may not only be limited to the inhibition of criminal activities only. On the contrary, law enforcement also incorporates any efforts that may be exerted towards the maintenance, promotion or restoration of law and order. Thus, the containment of riots may also fall under law enforcement. As a matter fact, services that are rendered to the community to assist members of the public or the community, as a way of perpetuating economic, personal, social emergencies and eventualities. This means that at time, law enforcement may be stretched to include activities such as evacuations and rescue missions. It is for this reason that the effort and roles that the police and military personnel dispense during environmental emergencies are always applied. INTERPOL divulges that spite of globalization through its technological advancements especially in the field of IT, the Worldwide Web, transportation and increased success in diplomacy and international treaties having rendered the world a global village, the flipside of globalization is its suffusing of crime into other countries. To

Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leadership - Research Paper Example Looking into the Trade Unions one will not fail to underscore the role they play in trying to air the grievances and opinions of junior workers (Thacker and Wayne, 1995). Through the trade union employees ensure change of policies and strategies in running a company e.g. better working conditions, efficiency and remuneration increment. The other of upward influence in an organization is when the junior staff engages in direct contact with the managers in tying to solve a pending issue. It should however be noted that this is more prevalent in an organization whose manager takes the participative style of leadership says Thacker and Wayne (1995). In this form a manager tries to consult in order to solve the various problems affecting their organization. It is therefore possible given the individual circumstance for there to be an upward influence in an organization more so in solving prevailing

Censorship of Books in the United States and Susan Glaspells Trifles Essay

Censorship of Books in the United States and Susan Glaspells Trifles Overview of the History of Censorship in the United States - Essay Example The banning of the books in the United States of America unofficially began in 1749 with John Cleland’s Fanny Hill was condemned for its â€Å"frank sexual descriptions† (â€Å"The Online Books Page†). At that time, there was no clear law yet that banned books and other forms of written materials. However, in 1873, the 1873 Comstock Act was made into law by the federal and state governments. It called for the banning of all literature considered â€Å"sexually arousing† as well as those about contraception (â€Å"Book Censorship†). The author of the act, Anthony Comstock, was appointed leader of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and helped in the banning of foreign literature during his time, such as Chaucher’s The Canterbury Tales, Defoe’s Moll Flanders, Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, several editions of The Arabian Nights, and Boccaccio’s Decameron (â€Å"The Online Books Page†). After the 1873 Comstock Act, the law was modified into many other various laws that banned literature. This led to the banning of Margaret Sanger’s Family Limitation in 1915, James Joyce’s Ulysses in 1918, anti-war pamphlets in 1919, Rousseau’s Confessions in 1929, Voltaire’s Candide in 1930, Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience in 1950, John T. Scopes’ Civic Biology, Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind in 1978, the Grimm’s Fairy Tales in 1989, and even the Christian Bible in 1996 (â€Å"The Online Books Page†). Books were banned in schools and the banning was supported by teachers, parents, churches and even civic groups, all with various agenda. Among the works banned in America during the early 20th century were those of Susan Glaspell. Biography of Susan Glaspell Susan Glaspell is considered as â€Å"the mother of modern American drama† (Real i). Moreover, according to Rohe, Glaspell is known as â€Å"the spirit and he mind and the soul of the r eal America of to-day, expressed in literature† (qtd. in Real i). Glaspell was born in Davenport, Iowa in 1876 and grew up there until she graduated from college in Des Moines and eventually landed a job in the Des Moines paper, where she was assigned the task of writing about the murder trial of a certain John Hossack in 1900. This murder trial became the basis of her 1916 one-act play Trifles. Overall, Glaspell authored 14 plays, 9 novels and 3 short story collections (Gainor & Dickey 35). Susan Glaspell was born and became a playwright, journalist, poet and novelist during the era of literature known as modernism, a movement where irony and satire were used to express governmental or social criticism. Glaspell’s hometown, Davenport, was extremely instrumental in making her one of the most controversial and critical writers of her time. In fact, Davenport is described as â€Å"a community more conducive than many other Midwestern locales to fostering creativity and p rogressive thought† (35). This is something which is characteristic of modernism. A huge part of modernism was the vindication of women’s rights, which was still an issue during Glaspell’s time. In fact, her first profession was journalism as it was, according to Glaspell herself, â€Å"comparatively receptive to women† (35). By 1915, Glaspell and her husband George Cram Cook – a classics professor, itinerant farmer and poet/novelist – left Davenport because of its increasing conservativeness and conventionality, and headed for the more radical environs of Greenwich Village. This occurred at exactly the same time that artists, intellectuals, bohemians and political activists also began seeking their own place as they all began embracing modernism (35-36). Glaspell and her

Reflective Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective Journal - Assignment Example Critical Explanation I can relate my qualities of leadership to the time while I was attending the leadership workshop. After the first part of the workshop which involved lectures. During the first lecture, I was able to understand that the fist important requirement for a good leader is having good and effective communication skills. I believed that though I had proper communication skills I will have to fine-tune it so that it becomes more effective. In the second session various demonstrations were given. The participants were divided into groups and real life demonstration was given to us. I had to demonstrate leadership qualities during a technological change that was supposed to be occurring in a company. The change was basically related to the implementation of new automation software in the company. As a result of new implementation, strong resistance was shown by members of other groups who were from the employees. It reached a position, where the project was scheduled to b e cancelled. However, I discovered that the company is not planning to layoff any employees. I also assured them that the company will arrange training sessions and make everybody familiar with the new working technique. The discussion with the employee representatives turned out to be healthy and thankfully majority of them accepted the necessity of this change. After the success of the demonstration process, the participants as well as the lecturers of the workshop praised me for exhibiting leadership skills. Reflection On the basis of the self assessments I have come to the conclusion that though I have qualities of a good leader I will have to fine-tune my abilities and skills in order to gain recognition and subsequent achievement. To be specific, I would like to undergo special training classes on communication and achieve leadership and assessment skills in one year. In order to further asses myself, I will be carrying out an assessment that reflects about the qualities of le adership present in me. I compared my leadership with Eric Schmidt (Executive Chairman of Google) and Jeff Weiner (CEO of LinkedIn). Though I was sure about my leadership qualities there were few pitfalls. I was exposed to only few situations where I could use my leadership abilities. However, my current knowledge about leadership is a step forward which will help me in learning more complex leadership abilities. 2nd Reflective Journal Description The second journal reflects my experience during workshop training. The workshop training was on personal economics. The major objective behind attending the workshop was to learn money management. The major theme of the workshop was budget management and how to make a career in personal finance management. Apart from managing budget, I also learnt to identify my skills, career interests and utilize them for future growth and development. Critical Explanation The mentor for this workshop was Mr. Brendon Frill, a well known personal economi cs consultant. I found that person to be very nice, patient and kind. The first lesson he gave us was about creating a good impression during interview. We also prepared a life map which helped us in identifying our future goals. The second and third lesson was about preparing personal as well as family budget. I also realized that I had been over-spending from my budget. The fourth lesson was important as it helped me in understanding how to calculate credit and manage the tiny details of a

Wireless Power Transmission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Wireless Power Transmission - Essay Example As the stydy highlights low power devices that include mobile phones and digital cameras use batteries which are charged. In cases where one has many low power devices and intends to charge them simultaneously, it becomes a tedious affair. Current manufacturers make electronic gadgets with varying charging systems. To curb the messy picture of using wired systems, wireless power transmission comes handy and an effective way to charge portable and low-power gadgets. From this study it is clear that electromagnetism is considered to be the study of physical interaction occurrences placed between electrically charged elements. The power of electromagnetism manifests as a field, which is one of the major four fundamentals in nature’s interactions leaving the other three as gravitation, weak interaction, and strong interaction. â€Å"WPT is carried out using either the â€Å"near-field† electromagnetic (EM) induction (e.g., inductive coupling, capacitive coupling) for short-term distance (say, less than a meter) applications such as passive radio-frequency identification, or the â€Å"far-field† EM radiation in the form of microwaves or lasers for long-range (up to a few kilometers) applications†. Lorentz force is an electromagnetic phenomenon which including both electric and magnetic elements of a single phenomenon. The force of electromagnetism plays a significant role in the determination of the functions of the objects we encounter every day . Ordinary things then aquire the form resulting from intermolecular forces that are between the individual matter molecules. Electrons are bound by electromagnetic wave mechanics to form building blocks of molecules called atoms.