Jewish Practice

Virtue signaling is an affectation that has taken hold among many who profess to be virtuous. Living a truly virtuous life and actually doing good deeds appears to be optional. It seems that mindlessly shouting a prescribed slogan that often rhymes, on demand, at exceedingly high volume, is all that is required.This conception of idle virtue is antithetical to our Jewish tradition, where what a person thinks in the abstract is not as important as what a person does in practice. Leading a virtuous life means more than just good thoughts; it requires performing good deeds, referred to in the Torah as the mitzvoth (commandments). Notwithstanding René Descartes’ famous dictum that I think, therefore, I am, the Torah’s view might better be expressed as, I have a soul and do good deeds, therefore, I am. 

In 2003 a rich grave was excavated at Vani (western Georgia). 1 The grave (No 22) was found on the upper terrace of the site (plots 213-214), where some more graves were revealed during the previous campaigns. Luckily, the grave No. 22 was not disturbed. It consisted of two parts: a platform and a pit. Both parts were cut in the rocky ground. The platform was cut at the depth of 0,20-0,25 m from the modern surface. It measured 1,20 m x 1,30 m. The platform had east-west orientation. On the platform a horse and a human were buried. Of the human skeleton (no. 1) only teeth and parts of the lower extremities were preserved. According to the teeth the head of the buried was put in the east. The fragments of extremities show that the knees were bent. Near the teeth, i.e. in the head area, there were found two eye-beads of blue glass, two gold earrings , three torques made of silver, bronze, and iron. The iron bracelets (in two piles) were located between the fragments of lower extremities and the teeth, i.e. in the area of the wrists. The horse skeleton was stretched across the platform, on the south-eastnorth-west axis, with the bent extremities. The human and horse skeletons laid on the 0,10-0,15 m thick layer of crushed sandstone. The grave pit was cut to the north of the platform. It is rectangular in shape. The eastern wall of the grave pit is 3,80 m long, the southern wall-4 m long, the length of the western wall is 3,84 m, that of the northern wall is 4 m. The corners of the pit are rounded. Along the walls there was a 0,50-0,70 m wide band composed of sandstone clods. The pit filling consisted of big pebbles. The pebbles were mixed with a compact clayish black layer. During the cleaning of the heap a few pottery sherds were found. Noteworthy is a

This article analyzes the role of experiences of illness and poverty in the work of Israel Salanter (1810-1883). It argues that Salanter uses these two experiences, and the emotional responses that they engender, as paradigms for understanding the experience of being obligated to study, and then, change, one’s character. The article shows that obligation played a central role in Salanter’s thought, but that his account of obligation is articulated not against a newly-available form of modern autonomy, but instead, against forms of constraint created by poverty and illness.

This article presents the artefacts found during the excavation of a building at Napurvala Hill, Pichvnari, in the 1960s and 1970s and now at the Batumi Archaeological Museum (BAM). Besides discussing the bulk finds, some of which were already published in 1980 by Chkhaidze, this contribution provides, for the first time, a study of a small white marble cross found during the excavation and now on display at the BAM. It will conclude that, although the interpretation of the building as a church remains sound, the chronology of the artefacts is problematic as their dating ranges from the Hellenistic to the Medieval periods.

This article presents the artefacts found during the excavation of a building at Napurvala Hill, Pichvnari, in the 1960s and 1970s and now at the Batumi Archaeological Museum (BAM). Besides discussing the bulk finds, some of which were already published in 1980 by Chkhaidze, this contribution provides, for the first time, a study of a small white marble cross found during the excavation and now on display at the BAM. It will conclude that, although the interpretation of the building as a church remains sound, the chronology of the artefacts is problematic as their dating ranges from the Hellenistic to the Medieval periods.

The article deals with the review of principal archaeological sites of the south-eastern Black Sea littoral (Kobuleti-Pichvnari, Petra-Tsikhisdziri, and Batumi Fort). Archeological study of these sites revealed that the coastline and the surrounding area have been populated since the Late Bronze Age at least. The appearance of Greek colonies in these areas from the end of the sixth century B.C. can be observed. All settlements were located at the mouth of the rivers which played an important role in their development since the mouths of the rivers were used as harbors. On the one hand, the junction of the sea and the river routes was pivotal for the development of urban settlements, and on the other, facilitated the spread of Greek culture in hinterland. Kobuleti-Pichvnari was the most advanced urban colonial settlement in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Due to their strategic locations, Gonio-Apsarus gained particular importance in the Roman period and the city-fortress of P...

Culture is a formational entity developed to meet specific needs and desires. It forms people toward a vision of the good life and shapes people's identity. However, culture often stands at odds with the kingdom of God. It is the role of the church to offer counterformational liturgies that shape people for the kingdom of God. This article contributes to sabbath scholarship by providing a careful reading of the formational impact of America's 24/7 busyness culture and offers sabbath as a counter-formational practice. To achieve this, it brings sociological scholarship on busyness into conversation with the practice of sabbath through the lens of cultural liturgy. First, drawing from the work of James K. A. Smith, this article discusses the formational power of ritual and liturgy. Second, it assesses busyness as an idolatrous cultural liturgy and explores its formational impact. Finally, it argues for sabbath practice as counter-liturgy for busyness.

The aim of the present study is to attempt to find a pattern or a semantic framework of the custom of placing objects in the mouth of the dead attested in China as early as the Neolithic, which has undergone many stages of transformation and has been preserved with variations even to this day. The research work comprises an outline of the historical development and the varieties of this ritual in different periods based on data from archeological excavations and written sources. Particular attention is given to the custom of placing a (foreign precious) coin in the mouth of the deceased, which was widespread in Xinjiang burials in the 6th-9th centuries and has been hypothetically connected with the Hellenistic practice of Charon’s obol. The article also examines the symbolic connotations of this funeral rite that could provide insights into the eschatological belief systems of the ancients, and could also help to identify a common Eurasian archetype for the custom.

Of all the authors on Maimonides in English, Marvin Fox has provided the most readable, scholarly penetrating, and balanced portrayal of medieval Ju daism's greatest mind. In or der to master the master. Fox read all of the books on Maimonides' "bookshelf," for like Maimonides, Fox has conquered the Jewish rabbinic tradition, the Western philosophic tradi tion, and the Arabic culture in which Maimonides rduced his particular j ment of Judaism. Although Maimonides took pains to keep his con troversial ideas away from the naively pious by writing in ambiguities. Fox explains the ambiguities, he outlines the philosophical tensions in Maimonides, and he care fully, politely, and clearly provides the contemporary reader with an insight into the mind and method of Maimonides. Marvin Fox is a unique individual. He understands Maimonides both as a be lieving Jew and as a profes sional philosopher, and he,

In Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar, Geoffrey Claussen presents Simḥah Zissel as frequently caught between seemingly opposing modes that he aimed to reconcile. Simḥah Zissel succeeded in setting up an isolated learning community for his students while exposing them to general Haskalah studies. He insisted upon loving others, while highlighting the withdrawal from worldly pleasures as a virtue. He was a committed educator who valued private study and meditation, a solitude seeker who nonetheless valued politics and the active marketplace, aspiring to reach a large audience and yet cultivating his ideas of fellowship behind the walls of an insular academy. Simḥah Zissel allows us to see how Jewish learning expanded, balancing oppositions, and embracing contradictions.

Abstract – In the Peloponnese, the practice of placing
coins inside a burial appears just before the middle of
the 5th c. BCE. Although the custom is limited during
the 5th and 4th c. BCE, the funerary coins function
as Charon’s obols based on where they were found,
inside the mouth or near the head of the deceased. In
Hellenistic times the primary role of the widespread
funerary practice remains the rite of the payment of
Charon with his traditional fee. Despite the increasing
use of bronze coins and the emergence of the specific
category of the gold burial “pseudo-coins”, the
deposition of silver coins remains dominant. The
fact that the custom is observed in specific social
groups, possibly explains its non-universality in the
Peloponnesian cemeteries.
Keywords: ritual – Charon’s obol – offering – coins – “pseudo-coins” – hoard

Résumé ‒ Dans le Péloponnèse, la pratique de placer
des monnaies à l’intérieur d’une sépulture apparaît
juste avant le milieu du Ves. av. J.-C. Bien que la
coutume soit limitée aux Ve et IVes. av. J.-C., les
monnaies funéraires peuvent être interprétées comme
des «  oboles à Charon  » en fonction de l’endroit où
elles ont été trouvées : dans la bouche ou près de la tête
du défunt. À l’époque hellénistique, le rôle principal
de cette pratique funéraire répandue reste le rite du
paiement de Charon avec ses honoraires traditionnels.
Malgré l’utilisation croissante des monnaies de
bronze et l’émergence de la catégorie spécifique des
«  pseudo-monnaies  » d’or pour les sépultures, la
déposition des monnaies d’argent reste dominante.
Le fait que la coutume soit observée dans des groupes
sociaux spécifiques pourrait éventuellement expliquer
sa présence minoritaire dans les cimetières du
Péloponnèse.
Mots clés : rituel – obole à Charon – offrande – monnaies – « pseudo-monnaie » – trésor

One of the most well-known death rites in the ancient Greek world is the deposit of Charon's obol in burials, an act that intends to ensure the fair paid to Charon for conducting the souls across the Styx to the Underworld. Nevertheless, the excavation data prove that this costume was not particularly frequent. This conclusion which concerns not only the cemeteries in northern Greece but also those of the Greek world in general seems to apply to Abdera as well. At the tumuli cemetery, dated from the late 6 th c. until the early 3 rd c. BCE, and at the Hellenistic cemeteries of the city, bronze, silver and gold coins as well as gold and silver danakai have been found. However, the percentage of graves containing coin finds is quite limited. The aim of this study is to gather all the available numismatic material and to examine different issues related to burial coins at the cemeteries of Abdera: the quantity and value of coins, the precise deposit spot inside the graves, the time of appearance and the duration of the custom, the distinction between the Charon's obol and the burial coins in general, their chronological accordance to the date of the burial etc. Mots clés : tombes-monnaies funéraires-obole à Charon-Abdère-rite funéraire de déposition de monnaie Résumé-L'un des rites funéraires les mieux connus du monde grec ancien est le dépôt dans la tombe de l'obole à Charon, un geste destiné à assurer le paiement de la traversée du Styx aux âmes destinées à rejoindre l'au-delà. Toutefois, les données issues des fouilles prouvent que cette coutume n'était pas particulièrement fréquente. Cette conclusion, qui ne concerne pas seulement les nécropoles de Grèce septentrionale mais également l'ensemble du monde grec semble également s'appliquer à Abdère. Dans la nécropole tumulaire datée de la fin du VI e s. au début du III e s. av. J.-C., ainsi que dans la nécropole hellénistique de la ville, ont été recueillies des monnaies de bronze, d'argent et d'or, ainsi que des danakai d'or et d'argent. Toutefois, la proportion de tombes contenant des trouvailles monétaires est très limitée. Le but de cette étude est de réunir le matériel numismatique disponible afin d'examiner les différentes possibilités justifiant le dépôt de monnaies dans les nécropoles d'Abdère : la quantité et la valeur des monnaies, l'emplacement précis du dépôt dans la sépulture, l'époque d'apparition de cette coutume et sa durée, la distinction entre l'obole à Charon et les autres monnaies funéraires, leur chronologie par rapport à la date de la tombe, etc.

One of the most well-known death rites in the ancient Greek world is the deposit of Charon's obol in burials, an act that intends to ensure the fair paid to Charon for conducting the souls across the Styx to the Underworld. Nevertheless, the excavation data prove that this costume was not particularly frequent. This conclusion which concerns not only the cemeteries in northern Greece but also those of the Greek world in general seems to apply to Abdera as well. At the tumuli cemetery, dated from the late 6 th c. until the early 3 rd c. BCE, and at the Hellenistic cemeteries of the city, bronze, silver and gold coins as well as gold and silver danakai have been found. However, the percentage of graves containing coin finds is quite limited. The aim of this study is to gather all the available numismatic material and to examine different issues related to burial coins at the cemeteries of Abdera: the quantity and value of coins, the precise deposit spot inside the graves, the time of appearance and the duration of the custom, the distinction between the Charon's obol and the burial coins in general, their chronological accordance to the date of the burial etc.


Mots clés : tombes-monnaies funéraires-obole à Charon-Abdère-rite funéraire de déposition de monnaie Résumé-L'un des rites funéraires les mieux connus du monde grec ancien est le dépôt dans la tombe de l'obole à Charon, un geste destiné à assurer le paiement de la traversée du Styx aux âmes destinées à rejoindre l'au-delà. Toutefois, les données issues des fouilles prouvent que cette coutume n'était pas particulièrement fréquente. Cette conclusion, qui ne concerne pas seulement les nécropoles de Grèce septentrionale mais également l'ensemble du monde grec semble également s'appliquer à Abdère. Dans la nécropole tumulaire datée de la fin du VI e s. au début du III e s. av. J.-C., ainsi que dans la nécropole hellénistique de la ville, ont été recueillies des monnaies de bronze, d'argent et d'or, ainsi que des danakai d'or et d'argent. Toutefois, la proportion de tombes contenant des trouvailles monétaires est très limitée. Le but de cette étude est de réunir le matériel numismatique disponible afin d'examiner les différentes possibilités justifiant le dépôt de monnaies dans les nécropoles d'Abdère : la quantité et la valeur des monnaies, l'emplacement précis du dépôt dans la sépulture, l'époque d'apparition de cette coutume et sa durée, la distinction entre l'obole à Charon et les autres monnaies funéraires, leur chronologie par rapport à la date de la tombe, etc.

The relationship between prayer, words and music in short, repetitive sacred chants and nigunim (Jewish melodies with or without words); importance of silence, listening and kavanah (intention and attention); the power of chanting alone or in a group; the purpose of chant as action to increase shalom in the world.

“There is not enough love and goodness in the world for us to be permitted to give any of it away to imaginary things.” (source #1) This barb of Nietzsche’s characterizes religious norms not as laws, and not as ethics (at least not in a Kantian, Utilitarian, or contractualist sense) - but as the “giving away” of “love and goodness”. Nietzsche catches us, as he so often does, in an unstated and errant assumption: that religious norms, Jewish norms among them, are well-characterized as law or classical ethics. In what follows I want to develop Nietzsche’s insight by following up on the work of Laurie Zoloth and arguing that contemporary ethics of care is better than law or classical Western ethics at capturing what Jewish normativity is and should be. I’ll do this first by (1) closely reading a remarkable passage from Mesillat Yesharim, then (2) highlighting the most salient moments from the theoretical literature on ethics of care before turning to (3) a fascinating moment where ignoring care ethics leads Christine Hayes astray. I’ll then (4) highlight the underappreciated and decisive role of caring in a practice of Torah that sidesteps Nietzsche’s critique before (5) offering several concluding thoughts.

In my book 'Reading Maimonides' Mishneh Torah', I propose that Maimonides based the structure of the Mishneh Torah on his cosmology. This has profound consequences for the status of philosophy in his code of Jewish law, and turns it into an intricate work of literary art. Prof. Kaplan finds that Mishneh Torah's 14-book structure as we have it was not part of Maimonides' original concept, and that the structure underwent change in the course of composition. This, he says, tends to undercut my thesis. In this article I argue: 1) we must appreciate  Mishneh Torah  in its final form; 2) Prof. Kaplan's findings are subject to interpretation; 3) what he has brought to light about Mishneh Torah's evolution actually supports my thesis.

Spirituality and Moral Education1
Judd Kruger Levingston, Ph.D.

It’s easy to think of moral education as a process of helping students to think through ethical dilemmas about doing the right thing in the world. In field-based research in several public and private non-sectarian and faith-based schools, I have observed teachers working through dilemmas and case studies related to prejudice and principles of justice. As much as moral education encompasses questions about behavior and ethical action, it encompasses several other areas as well, including questions about dignity and civil rights, questions about things unknown and questions about universal existential concerns and principles.

This essay posits that moral education can be a spiritual process and a part of a student’s spiritual formation if we see spirituality as an expression of religious yearning and as an expression of an individual’s deepest sense of self. Even in public and non-sectarian private settings, where questions about religion often are forbidden, teachers nevertheless have a unique opportunity to nurture a student’s spiritual development through music and writing, and through other vehicles that lead students to consider their place in the world. As students cultivate the talents they wish to develop to express themselves, they undertake a spiritual process in school and at home that may lead them to see themselves as spiritual beings as adults at work and again at home. In faith-based schools and in other settings that permit a full range of spiritual expression, teachers are in a position to nurture a wide range of personal expression through the arts, personal prayer, meaningful common gathering times and through academic work that touches on soulful questions.

Spiritual development is not limited to traditional religious or academic expression. The arts and athletics provide arenas for young people to stretch their personal boundaries, try out new identities, and then come to terms with their own physical and personal limitations. This essay will conclude that spiritual development should be an essential element in moral development.

Contact information: Judd Kruger Levingston, Ph.D., Director of Jewish Studies, Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
(telephone:) 610.922.2338 (email:) [email protected]

The Oxford-Batumi Pichvnari expedition studied the settlement and Colchian and Greek cemeteries dating to the fifth to third century BC. Apart from the usual grave-goods, pottery and glass for the most part, there are two regular classes of small finds, one that has been closely studied, and one that has not. Coins are regularly found at the head of the deceased, and presumably served in the minds of the bereaved as "Charon's obols", or payment for the ferryman across the River Styx. The other class of grave offering occurs even more frequently in the form of pebbles that had been placed in or on graves by mourners.

In this article, I make some suggestions about how the legacy of the nineteenth-century Mussar movement might best guide contemporary Jewish practice.  I consider, in particular, the Mussar movement's vision of how a broad range of practices can spur moral development, and how this model might apply to contemporary Conservative Judaism.

Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv of Kelme, Lithuania was one of the early leaders of the Musar (Mussar) Movement, a pietistic religious movement in 19th century Europe that attempted to place concerns with moral character at the center of Jewish life. This article introduces Simhah Zissel’s virtue-centered approach to the Torah’s central commandment that one “love one’s fellow as oneself.” For Simhah Zissel, love is a disposition of the soul, with emotional and intellectual aspects, culminating in action; love demands a sense of partnership with others and a sense of care which should extend to all of God’s creatures. Love demands a sense of partnership with others and a sense of care that should extend to all of God's creatures; love requires that we not privilege ourselves over other people; and the highest level of love is “sharing the burden of one’s fellow,” compassionate love characterized by empathy and responsiveness, which can only be cultivated through great effort.