The History Of The Jews

[emmie]

anyone watch this, i haven't been able to watch both programmes right through, but i hope to do a catch up, presented by Simon Schama, who i like a lot, informative and accessible.

[emmie]

no one, oh well, i will do catch up.

[237SJ]

Yes, I have watched/recorded it. I did find it a bit complicated but then again, the Jewish history is complicated.

[emmie]

it is, but i was getting really caught up in it, but things got in the way, its five parts so maybe can buy dvd and watch and learn at leisure.

[237SJ]

Are you not around to watch it for the next few Sunday nights? I won`t be but I will record it. Maybe it will be available on DVD at some point in the future.

[emmie]

probably, but only watched part of the the first two episodes, so would like to watch the whole thing and keep it to watch again at some point, not too old to learn... and it's not something i know a great deal about.

[naomi24]

I’ve watched both episodes. Extremely interesting and very well made – although I’m not surprised some people find it a bit confusing. I feel that the assumption is that the viewer is more au fait with Judaism than might be the case, so a little basic background on rituals and practices would have been beneficial to anyone who knows little about it.

[Khandro]

Seldom have I seen a programme presented with such sincerity, he finished this second episode in genuine tears. People who mock anyone upholding religious beliefs may wish to consider the vacuum in their spiritual lives.
(stands back, and waits for a blast from naomi ?)

[naomi24]

Khandro, no blast from me. If you think people need organised religion to experience spirituality, then your understanding is sadly lacking.

[Khandro]

^ Spirituality is not about 'understanding'.

[naomi24]

There's been no suggestion that it is.

[emmie]

sorry to not get back, spirituality can be within us all, however it doesn't have to be because you attend a church, mosque, synagogue, i like the idea that we could have more than one crack at life, i don't think we do in reality, but there have been times of solitude that i have felt very much at peace, with nature and the surroundings, quietness has a lot of positives in it, something distinctly lacking in our world.

[Hypognosis]

I've seen the first two episodes but, because I'd spent some time reading Wikipedia pages* about their history, Shama's rendition was more like a recap (no pun intended) of only-recently-learned material, except staged in interestingly unfamiliar surroundings.

One point he got over well, which the Wiki almost glosses over, was this business of the Talmud and how it has all but taken over how they structure their day to day lives and business dealings.

In certain ways, I find all this 'structure' reassuring (if not appealing). Everyone's life is structured the same way, they grow up the same way, develop the same values and behaviours. When they meet one of their own kind, they know what to expect from them and don't have to waste any time on the whole 'getting to know you' process (where 'know you' equates to 'trust you'). Good for business and equally good for general socialising.

It is, however, the very definition of monoculture. Given the frequency with which ABers chew the fat over multiculturalism, I'm left wondering whether the latter term ought to be changed to multi-monoculturalism, since that's how we appear to do it, in practice?

[emmie]

i wouldn't find that at all appealing, the idea we are all the same, grow into the same sort of people, we are not, nor will we ever be.
i happen to like him and his style of presentation.

[Hypognosis]

I've done it again - placed an asterisk for an aside and submitting the reply without it.

The 'wikiwalk' began with idle curiosity about Arabic lettering, oddly enough. I have no intention of learning the language but knowing the letters is a start.
From there, I looked at the page on Hebrew alphabet because I thought I saw shapes and patterns in common. From there, it's easy to be led away by unfamiliar terminology to pages on history and culture.

Some of the recent religion threads on AB caused me to revisit some of these pages to look up background details or even add an input to the discussion.

@emmie, seeing your response makes me realise that my previous reply must have come across making it sound like I want to live in a world of uniformity. If that were true, then I would risk being accused of being too lazy to learn about the differences of other people or adjust my behaviour towards them accordingly. Obviously I don't want to be on the receiving end of that! The reality is, I would become bored if everyone was the same.

I only said it was expedient to i) conducting business dealings and ii) general ease of getting along with others around you. Time was, if you wanted to experience other cultures, you had to jet off on holiday.

(These days, of course, if you go to Spain or the Balearics, you still haven't escaped the crowds of drunken Brits!) ;-)