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The role of women in ancient religions
The role of women in ancient religions
The role of women in ancient religions
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The Sarajevo Haggadah is an ancient and mysterious piece of literature that has passed through many hands. Much is revealed about the characters in the events leading up to, during, and after their possession of the Haggadah. There were a few characters, the priest and the rabbi, Ruti, and Lola, that especially stood out to me. Their tales and traits really were revealed with the Haggadah. In the novel People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks the Sarajevo Haggadah is used to reveal aspects or changes in the characters.
Vistorini, the priest, was a very tired man and it took a very long time for him to come into contact with Haggadah. He was a censor for the Inquisitor. Basically, he decided whether or not books of non-Catholic faith could still be allowed in Venice. He came into contact with the Sarajevo Haggadah through his job. An old Jewish rabbi had brought the book in as a favor to Doña Reyna de Serena, someone who had been of great help to him and all of the other Jews residing in the Geto. This rabbi, Judah Aryeh, was very hopeful to get the Haggadah passed for Serena, especially after the events of the previous night.
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He had used all of the money the Serena had given him to help his fellow Jews at Carnivale. He had gambled away all of the money that was meant to help his friends because he couldn’t resist his guilty pleasure. This brings us back to the priest, who also could not resist his guilty pleasure. On page 161 of People of the Book, Geraldine Brooks writes “He[the priest] noted, with pleasure, that it was a very large wineskin, and that the Jew’s own glass stood, barely touched, glowing red in the low afternoon light. He would have to draw this business out, that would be the wise thing.” This quote shows us that Vistorini had planned on drawing out his business with the rabbi in order to drink as much wine as he possibly could. Vistorini’s guilty pleasure was wine. The Haggadah revealed both of these guilty pleasures. Ruti was the first person to have the complete Sarajevo Haggadah.
Her father was the person who commissioned the Haggadah in the first place. We learned that the Haggadah was not the only sacred book that Ruti was learning about. In secret she had been studying the Zohar, the Book of Splendor. She had become a practitioner of Kabbalah. The studies that Ruti had started were forbidden to her because of her age and gender. Women were not thought of as worthy enough to undertake the task of studying the Zohar, and men had to be at least 40 years old before they could start studying it. Ruti was very brave to violate such an important taboo, especially in secret. While she may have seemed timid on the outside, she most certainly knew what she wanted and was not afraid to gain that knowledge, even if it meant violating the rules of her
religion. Lola was more of a means to pass the story of the Haggadah on. She was in contact with the book for a very short period of time. The events in her life leading up to the Sarajevo Haggadah were very interesting though. She went through many emotional and physical tests before she was finally taken in by a kind family. After her family was captured, she ran away. She joined a small section of a resistance group and traveled in many harsh conditions with them. Then she found out that the only thing she had left was being disbanded. But she pushed on. She traveled back to her town with friends from her resistance group. They had almost made it when the people she was traveling with committed suicide. Her companions knew that they would not make it back alive. They sacrificed themselves so that Lola could make it home. She witnessed her only friends kill themselves, and that is something that would make just about anyone break. But still she pushed on. Her will to live was stronger than her fear of what was ahead, and this is one thing that makes her very strong. She had to face many traumatic events, but still she kept going and kept the hope that she would be okay. When she was finally with the Haggadah she found a new home, and a new life. She was okay again. The Sarajevo Haggadah showcased many important traits of the characters in People of the Book, traits that you normally don’t know about because they are not immediately apparent, and that is amazing. The Sarajevo Haggadah reveals many traits to us in the novel People of the Book.
Gluckel's diary gives the reader the understanding of the typical life of what a widowed Jewish woman faced in a Christian dominated Germany. It’s a vivid description of what happened to the Jews of her time accounting the personal and public perspective in the 17th and 18th century. In her diary she reveals the fear she lived with, as a mother would have over her children. She also explains the relationship she experienced from her first and second husband and the responsibilities she faced as a trader.
In the novel “Holy Land”, Waldie talks about some differences among the novel and essay is that he mention about the past and how it was as in the suburbs. Waldie said that the streets were flooded on raining days. Waldie see men working every day and seeing where everybody hang out. As in the essay “An Ordinary Essay”, he says that the subur...
Millions upon millions of people were killed in the holocaust, that is just one of many genocides. There are many similarities between different genocides. Throughout history, many aggressors have started and attempted genocides and violence on the basis of someone being the "other".
Genocide is the act of killing a lot of people depending on their race, ethnicity, and religion. There are 8 stages of genocide which include extermination and denial. The victims of the Bosnian genocide consists of elders, women, men, children, and even babies. The Bosnian genocide is a war between Bosnian Serbians and Bosnian Muslim to which republic can control Bosnia. Many Serbains deny the fact that his genocide even happened even though there is scientific proof that this genocide happened. The purpose of learning genocide is so we are informed and we won't let it happen again.
In conclusion, I would like to say that this book is worthwhile reading although it is a quite thick and might take longer time to finish reading it. I might not good in reviewing a book or giving criticism for something. Reading this autobiography can benefit people in many fields. Different people will see things differently. So does when reading this book, certain people might take the lessons differently and it might benefit differently. For example, as a sociological study, it could provide fascinating insights into ghetto life and the ways which an individual learned to survive in the ghetto. Meanwhile as a religious work, it does tell about how an individual is struggling in order to find his God. And it cannot be denied as it is clear that in political work is the book has had its strongest impact.
The United Nations was formed on October 24, 1945, after the Holocaust, to prevent genocide from ever happening again. A cartoon depicted by Michael Sutherland illustrated the unsuccessful intent of the United Nations. The United Nations is pictured standing over many graves of countries and groups that have suffered from genocide. However, many genocides have taken place since the formation of the United Nations (i.e. the Bosnian genocide). Both genocides began as simple misconception or dislike between peoples but ended in tragic and unnecessary murder. The Holocaust and the Bosnian genocide had many similarities and differences in their course of events. Unfortunately, genocides like the Jewish Holocaust and the Bosnian genocide still continue to happen today.
This book is very educating about the history of the concentration camps and Holocaust. “…The spectators observed these emaciated creatures ready to kill for a crust of bread...the old man was crying, ‘Meir, my little Meir! Don’t you recognize me…you’re killing your father…I have bread…for you too…for you too’ He collapsed…there were two dead bodies next to (Elie), the father and the son.” (Page 101 of Night) Concentration camps were terrible. The prisoners/Jews were so underfed that they were willing to kill their own family members for a slice of bread. The Jews would go to extremes in order to get a bit more food to line their stomachs. Concentration camps, Gestapo, and SS transform the prisoners’ morals and their lives. “My father suddenly had a colic attack. He got up and asked politely, in German, ‘Excuse me…could you tell me where the toilets are located?’ (Night page 39) …Then, he slapped my father with such force that he fell down and then crawled back to his place on all fours.” This also shows the brutality of the German Kapos and the Nazi Staff. This is very educational for the world about the brutality and unpleasantness of the concentration camps. Educating people about the holocaus...
Holocaust Hero: A One of a Kind Man. What is a hero? A hero can be classified as a number of things. A hero can be a person who, in the opinions of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.
Yugoslavia was fabricated in the year of 1918. Located near the country of Italy, the territory is now broken up into six independent countries. The nation started to fall apart in the late 1980 's, following the World War II victory for the Allies. While some countries can benefit from diversity, there was just too much for Yugoslavia to survive. Yugoslavia as a nation failed because of too much autonomy between the six nations that came to be, too many different cultures in one nation, and simply a subjugation of overflowing diversity.
What is genocide? “Genocide is a deliberate, systematic destruction of racial cultural or political groups.”(Feldman 29) What is the Holocaust? “Holocaust, the period between 1933-1945 when Nazi Germany systematically persecuted and murdered millions of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and many other people.”(Feldman 29) These two things tie into each other.The Holocaust was a genocide. Many innocent people were torn apart from their families, for many never to see them again. This murder of the “Jewish people of Europe began in spring 1941.”( Feldman 213) The Holocaust was one of the most harshest things done to mankind.
This is an odd little book, but a very important one nonetheless. The story it tells is something like an extended parablethe style is plain, the characters are nearly stick figures, the story itself is contrived. And yet ... and yet, the story is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking because the historical trend it describes is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking.
For Lola, the nightmare of the holocaust started when her parents died. Her father developed a blood disease that killed him after being brutally beaten by a group of Germans. Her grandfather died shortly after. Her mother, a seamstress who had papers to work outside of the ghetto, was shot by a Nazi - for no reason other than he wanted revenge on a gestapo officer who “shot my Jews… I’ll shoot his Jews” (Rein Kaufman). Even through all the suffering Lola experienced as a young child, she didn’t give up. Lola’s Babcia - instead of mourning the loss of her children (she lost 4 of her 6 childre...
All of my life I have labeled myself as Jewish, although I have not once ever questioned what it means to be Jewish. I have spent many years of my life in an orthodox Hebrew school and excessive hours in Synagogue simply because my parents told me I had to go. I did not understand why I spent so much time in a place that I felt had no importance to me. This was until my perspective was changed my Junior year when I took an interest in the land of Israel. It all started when I began learning about my heritage in a teen group and following traditions such as celebrating Shabbat weekly. I have been to Israel before, but did not appreciate my time there because I was younger and thought it was just another vacation. My second time there I realized that Israel is a land of learning and the homeland of the Jewish people.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been called the most complicated country in the world and rightfully so. Over the years, it has been the center of conflict for many different wars of several different nations, which have left the country scarred and bitter. To understand the complex country of Bosnia fully, one must study its basic history, culture, and government.
Birth and death in the Arab culture has being one of the most interesting topics that is being discussed more frequently. When people talk or hear about the Arab culture they tend to think about different things about them like they are being considered as terrorist, they oppress their women and many things like that. But we tend to forget that this people, the Arabs are also human beings that they have normal day-to-day activities like people in the other part of the so-called westernized world.