Judaism

ESSAY TITLE: Examine belief and practices distinctive of Shi’a Islam.

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An examination of the problems for Jewish communities and individuals living in Britain today in practising their faith.

Food

• Keeping kashrut – Orthodox Jews keep the laws of kashrut in their entirety and with exact care, insisting that foods be certified by a trained rabbi. It is difficult in some cities to maintain this.
• Eating out at restaurants, although use of a shomer for large gatherings at non-Jewish places e.g. hotels etc.
• Some close-knit communities e.g. in London and Manchester, do have access to kosher butchers.
• Danger of separation and isolation from other non-Jews.
• Hoffman argues that ‘The Orthodox position is that the traditional halakhah is binding… They are a reminder of distinctiveness. They require discrimination, recognising that the body and food are given by God who calls for holiness in his people.’

Dress

• Hasidic Jews have distinctive appearance and style of dress.
• Men have beards and side-curls obeying Leviticus 19:27, they dress in black suits with long black coats, white shirts and a large black hat or a fur hat known as a shtreimel for special Jewish occasions.
• Women wear skirts which cover the knees; sleeves extend over the elbows; and low necklines are not allowed and when married, she usually wears a wig.
• Problems: stand out, instantly visibility, vulnerable to ridicule and discriminatory, anti-Semitic action. One of the largest Hasidic communities in Europe is to be found in North London and forms its own cohesive community that is self-sustaining.

Religion

• British society does not recognise Shabbat.
• Difficulties in separating from society on a Saturday – pressures on children etc.
• Synagogue attendance may be difficult.
• May not fit in with modern work hours.
• Requirements of Shabbat e.g. home before sundown on Friday is difficult for workers in winter.
• Specific marriage and divorce rituals, problems with delays to funerals, ceremonies (brit milah) seen in a negative light by secular society etc.

Education

• The issue of state schools (ethos, mixed gender, non-Jewish collective worship, kashrut etc.)
• Faith schools may isolate Jews further.
• There are many Jewish parents who send their children to state schools and are dependent on the synagogue for their Jewish religious education. The synagogues organise a system of supplementary Jewish studies, and the children attend class after school and on Sundays.