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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Judaism and disability, June 10, 2001
In this book you will find a review of the Jewish Bible or also called Tanach, the Mishna and the Talmud as it relates to disability. In the last chapter reference will also be given to more recent Jewish scholars and their work (Mishneh Torah, Zohar, Arbaah Turim and Shulhan Aruch). The author of this book is a female rabbi and founder of Maqom, a school for adult Talmud study in Houston, Texas. The book was published a few years ago, but it is still relevant today and will be for years to come, as a classic study of disability in Judaism. The book is devided into seven chapters (Introduction, Priestly perfection, Persons with disabilities, symbolism and collective Israel, Disabilities, atonement and individuals, Body, soul and society, Categorization, disabilities and persons with disabilities and finally The river flows on) with the focus to study the way disability affected Cohanim (priests) and their function in the Temple, how persons with disability were used as symbols of collective Israel, how individual life stories sometimes became literally object lessons in theology, how persons with disability were looked upon in Judaism and surrounding cultures and how the person with disability was categorized. One of the fundamental principles in understanding disability and Judaism is the term da’at (knowledge, understanding, intellect, cognition or consciousness). A person will have to have this in order to perform duties in Judaism, the person will have to be able to act upon his da’at and to put his da’at into action in the context of the society. The katan (the minor), cheresh (the person with hearing and speaking disabilities) and the shoteh (the mental ill, the intellectually disabled, the fool) are all in the same category of persons without da’at and therefore unable to perform a lot of duties in Judaism. You will in this book find these terms defined, discussed and related in detail. Throughout the book you will find very illustrative comparisons to life today in order to explain sometimes difficult concepts for the modern person not engaged in religious life. Like the comparison between the Marines and the Cohanim. Every American, at least, have heard the phrase “The Few, the Proud, the Marines” to give you a picture of the basic concept of able combat soldiers. When compared to the Cohanim, who also had to be an elite in a dangerous environment with many rituals and duties to perform in the Temple, it is easier to understand, why there were restrictions on who could perform this Holy Duty and therefore perfection without disability. In this bok it comes out that Judaism and Jewish Law have had a very functional approach to disability and intellectual disability with a flexible view on the complex issues involved during a long history. I would recommended this book for scholars, for students and persons interested in Judaism, it is well researched, with valuable notes and a good index. I was looking for some more information on the impact on modern Jewish life both in America, but especially in Israel after the establishment of a modern Jewish State, but I guess we have to wait for another book on that subject. Joav Merrick, MD, DMSC Professsor of Child Health and Human Developemnt Medical Director Division for Mental Retardation
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