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Jewish life

How do Jews live in Germany?
How do they see themselves?
What values are important to them?
What influence do religion and tradition have on their everyday lives?
Where do they experience anti-Semitism and how do they deal with it?

The texts and videos on this website provide an insight into how Jews of different origins, backgrounds and religious beliefs live Jewish lives in Germany today. How do they practice Shabbat and holidays, what is their favorite Jewish food, what Jewish values do they bring to society? The answers are as diverse as the personalities.

Judaism is by its very nature polyphonic.

In Hebrew printed editions of biblical books and the Talmud, a core text is placed in the middle, and around it are a number of commentaries. These are notes on linguistic peculiarities or theological interpretations or discussions of religious law or polemics of various kinds. They are written by rabbis and scholars (unfortunately hardly any women among them) who have grappled with the text in the middle for thousands of years. Their commentaries reflect their personal views, the circumstances in which they lived and their efforts to create a living Judaism. Their statements line the text as if the authors were sitting around a table in person and the separation of space and time had been abolished. There is only one basic principle: you can have very different opinions, but the comments of others are not erased. But you can add your own commentary and explain your own point of view. In this way, a polyphonic, pluralistic picture emerges that conveys many nuances about Judaism.

About the project

This website is the result of the "Ritual Practice" project of the Heidelberg School of Jewish Studies, which Jessica Hösel and Rabbi Dr. Ulrike Offenberg carried out as part of the Antisemitism in the 21st Century research network from 2021 to 2024. The texts, videos and analyses are intended as materials for teaching in schools and adult education, for workshops and project work to learn about Judaism and, yes, also to understand the extent to which anti-Semitism affects the lives of Jews in Germany. The accompanying texts of the videos are available for download in German, Turkish and Arabic.


Topics

Shabbat

Research question

Jewish symbols in public spaces

Kashrut

Holidays and calendar

Report

Charity

Brit Milah

Bat Mizwah and Bar Mizwah

Living visibly Jewish?

Social values


A research project of the

Part of the

Supported by the

Imprint:

The Ritual Practice project was carried out by:
Jessica Hösel, M.A., and Rabbi Dr. Ulrike Offenberg
Under the direction of Rabb. Prof. Dr. Birgit Klein

Heidelberg University for Jewish Studies
Landfriedstraße 12, 69117 Heidelberg
Contact: juedischleben(at)hfjs.eu