Normative Judaism? Jews, Judaism and Jewish Identity: Melilah Supplement 1: The Proceedings of the British Association for J.S. 2008 9781463234805

Table of contents :
CONTENTS
PREFACE
IN DEFENCE OF NORMATIVITY IN THE STUDY OF JUDAISM
MAIMONIDEAN MARGINS
THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO DEFINING JEWISH IDENTITY, AND THE CASE OF FELIX MENDELSSOHN
THE ORDINARINESS OF BEING JEWISH: JEWISH ‘NORMALITY’ IN MANCHESTER, 1830 –1880
‘NORMATIVE JUDAISM’ IN THE CRISIS OF WAR: SERMONS BY ABRAHAM COHEN AND ISRAEL MATTUCK
AMBIVALENT NORMATIVITY: REASONS FOR CONTEMPORARY JEWISH DEBATE OVER THE LAWS OF WAR
WHOSE MUSIC? OWNERSHIP AND IDENTITY IN JEWISH MUSIC
ARE HOLOCAUST VICTIMS JEWISH? LOOKING AT PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM HOLOCAUST EXHIBITION

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Normative Judaism? Jews, Judaism and Jewish Identity Proceedings of the British Association for Jewish Studies (BAJS) conference 2008

Normative Judaism? Jews, Judaism and Jewish Identity Proceedings of the British Association for Jewish Studies (BAJS) conference 2008 Supplementary Volume No.1 (2012) EDITORS

Daniel R. Langton and Philip S. Alexander EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Francesca Frazer A publication of the Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Co-published by

© University of Manchester, UK. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this volume may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher, the University of Manchester, and the co- publisher, Gorgias Press LLC. All inquiries should be addressed to the Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester (email: [email protected]). Co-Published by Gorgias Press LLC 954 River Road Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA Internet: www.gorgiaspress.com Email: [email protected] ISSN 1759-1953 This volume is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standard for Permanence of paper for Printed Library Materials. Printed in the United States of America

Melilah: Manchester Journal of Jewish Studies is distributed electronically free of charge at http:// www.mucjs.org/MELILAH/ Melilah is an interdisciplinary journal concerned with Jewish law, history, literature, religion, culture and thought in the ancient, medieval and modern eras. It was launched in 2004 by Bernard Jackson and Ephraim Nissan under the auspices of the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Manchester as the New Series of the journal of the same name founded by Edward Robertson and Meir Wallenstein and published (in Hebrew) by Manchester University Press from 1944 to 1955. Five substantial volumes, each of around two hundred XIOM[_MZMXZWL]KMLJMNWZM\PM[MZQM[_I[LQ[KWV\QV]ML1VPQ[MLQ\WZQITNWZM_WZL\W\PMÅZ[\ edition, Robertson explained that Melilah had been established to promote Jewish scholarship in the face of the threat posed by the War and its aftermath. The title of the journal refers to the ears of corn that are plucked to rub in the hands before the grains can be eaten (Deut. 23:25).

Normative Judaism? Jews, Judaism and Jewish Identity CONTENTS Preface ...................................................................................................................................1 P HILIP S. A LEXANDER In Defence of Normativity in the Study of Judaism ..................................................3 D ANIEL D AVIES Maimonidean Margins .............................................................................................15 D ANIEL L ANGTON