Louisiana

Slavery and Louisiana. Other relevant material:. There is now a Six Flags in New Orleans East. The 20th century animosity of Muslim leaders towards the Zionism, the political movement of Jewish self-determination, has led to a renewed interest in the relationship between Judaism and Islam. For almost 20 years there was only one amusement park in Louisiana, called Hamel's Amusement Park near Bossier City. The period around 900 to 1200 in Moorish Spain came to be known as the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. They still maintain contacts with the Canary Islands, and have an annual "Caldo" festival named for a native dish. Under Islamic rule, Judaism has been practiced for almost 1500 years and this has led to an interplay between the two religions which has been positive as well as negative at times.

Many of their descendants remained insulated from the city, and continued to speak an archaic version of Spanish well into the 20th Century. Main article: Islam and Judaism. Bernard Parish, in the river passes east of the city, along an old mouth of the Mississippi River which they named Terre Aux Bouefs (literally "Land of the Cows" for the cattle living there). Some adherents to those movements identify themselves as Jews nonetheless. They settled in what is modern-day St. Some Jews have joined other faiths, such as Judeo-Paganism and neo-paganism. There were intended to help guard the eastern approaches to New Orleans from invasion by the British. These groups are viewed highly negatively by all Jewish denominations, which typically see them as covert and deceptive attempts to convert Jews to Christianity, a view Messianic-Jewish groups strongly contest.

The Islenos are dirrect descendants of Canary Islanders forced to migrate by the Spanish King beginning in the mid-1770s. These groups have attracted tens (and perhaps hundreds) of thousands of Jews and Christians to their ranks; members identify themselves as Jews. There is also a distinct Spanish-descended group in Louisiana. Messianic Judaism (sometimes Hebrew Christianity) is the common designation for a number of Christian groups which include varying degrees of Jewish practice. Two separate historically Francophone communities exist in Louisiana. Since the Holocaust, there has been much to note in the way of reconciliation between some Christians groups and the Jewish people; the article on Christian-Jewish reconciliation studies this issue. For schools see List of school districts in Louisiana. These articles include:.

Ranked by per capita income. There are a number of articles on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. See also: List of famous people from Louisiana; List of Louisiana musicians; Music of Louisiana. Though this gain has not offset the general demographic loss due to intermarriage and acculturation, many Jewish communities and movements are growing. Its industrial outputs include chemical products, petroleum and coal products, food processing, transportation equipment, paper products, and tourism. There is a separate article on the Baal teshuva movement, the movement of Jews returning to observant Judaism. The state's principal agricultural outputs include seafood, cotton, soybeans, cattle, sugarcane, poultry and eggs, dairy products, and rice. Complementing the increased popularity of the major denominations has been a number of new approaches to Jewish worship, including feminist approaches to Judaism and Jewish renewal movements.

Its Per Capita Personal Income was $26,312, 43^rd in the nation. In the last 50 years there has been a general increase in interest in religion among many segments of the Jewish population. All of the major Jewish denominations have experienced a resurgence in popularity, with increasing numbers of younger Jews participating in Jewish education, joining synagogues, and becoming (to varying degrees) more observant. The total gross state product in 2003 for Louisiana was $140 billion. This is indicative of the general population trends among the Jewish community in the Diaspora, but a focus on population masks the diversity of current Jewish religious practice, as well as growth trends among some communities, like haredi Jews. Highway 90. Due to intermarriage and low birth rates, the Jewish population in the US shrank from 5.5 million in 1990 to 5.1 million in 2001. Also, Interstate 49 is slated to be expanded north into Arkansas and east along Interstate 10 to New Orleans, replacing part of U.S. Intermarriage rates range from 40-50% in the US, and only about a third of children of intermarried couples are raised Jewish.

There are proposed plans to extend Interstate 69 to the Texas/Mexico border, which will go through north-eastern Louisiana. (This is My Beloved, This is My Friend: A Rabbinic Letter on Intimate relations, p.27, Elliot N. Dorff, The Rabbinical Assembly, 1996). State and Federal government efforts to halt or reverse this phenomenon are under way; others are being sought. Since American Jews are marrying at a later time in their life than they used to, and are having fewer children than they used, the birth rate for American Jews has dropped from over 2.0 down to 1.7 (the replacement rate is 2.1). Owing to the extensive flood control measures along the Mississippi river and to natural subsidence, Louisiana is now suffering the loss of coastal land area. Religious (and secular) Jewish movements in the USA and Canada perceive this as a crisis situation, and have grave concern over rising rates of intermarriage and assimilation in the Jewish community. Near the coast, there are many salt domes, where salt is mined and oil is often found. Of that population of connected Jews, 80% participated in some sort of Jewish religious observance, but only 48% belonged to a synagogue.

It was originally covered by an arm of the sea, and has been built up by the silt carried down the valley by the great river. For example, in the world's largest Jewish community, the United States, according to the 2001 National Jewish Population Survey (http://www.ujc.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=83784), 4.3 million out of 5.1 million Jews had some sort of connection to the religion. A large part of Louisiana is the creation and product of the Mississippi River. In most western nations, such as the United States of America, Israel, Canada, United Kingdom and South Africa, a wide variety of Jewish practices exist, along with a growing plurality of secular and non-practicing Jews. The underlying strata of the state are of Cretaceous age and are covered by alluvial deposits of Tertiary and post-Tertiary origin. A Jewish day of mourning, Yom HaShoah, was inserted into the Jewish calendar, commemorating the Holocaust. The state also has 1,060 square miles of land-locked bays, 1,700 square miles of inland lakes, and a river surface of over 500 square miles. While the Holocaust did not immediately affect Jewish denominations, its great loss of life caused a radical demographic shift, ultimately affecting the makeup of organized Judaism the way it is today.

Besides the navigable rivers already named (some of which are called bayous), there are the Sabine, forming the western boundary, and the Pearl, the eastern boundary, the Calcasieu, the Mermentau, the Vermilion, the Teche, the Atchafalaya, the Boeuf, the Lafourche, the Courtableau, the D'Arbonne, the Macon, the Tensas, the Amite, the Tchefuncta, the Tickfaw, the Matalbany, and a number of other streams of lesser note, constituting a natural system of navigable waterways, aggregating over 4,000 miles in length, which is unequalled in the United States and probably in the world. A number of smaller groups came into being as well. The elevations above sea-level range from 10 feet at the coast and swamp lands to 50 and 60 feet at the prairie and alluvial lands. In the uplands and hills the elevations rise to Mount Driskoll, the highest point in the state at only 535 feet above sea level, located in northwest Louisiana. The thrust and counter-thrust between supporters of Haskalah and more traditional Jewish concepts eventually led to the formation of a number of different branches of Judaism: Haskalah supporters founded Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism, while traditionalists founded many forms of Orthodox Judaism, and Jews seeking a balance between the two sides founded Conservative Judaism. The uplands and contiguous hill lands have an area of more than 25,000 square miles, and they consist of prairie and woodlands. It placed an emphasis on integration with secular society and a pursuit of non-religious knowledge. With the maintenances of strong levees these alluvial lands would enjoy perpetual immunity from inundation. A parallel Jewish movement, Haskalah or the "Jewish Enlightenment," began, especially in Central Europe, in response to both the Enlightenment and these new freedoms.

These floods, however, do not occur annually, and they may be said to be exceptional. The Enlightenment led to reductions in the European laws that prohibited Jews to interact with the wider secular world, thus allowing Jews access to secular education and experience. These alluvial lands are never inundated save when breaks occur in the levees by which they are protected against the floods of the Mississippi and its tributaries. In the late 18th century CE Europe was swept by a group of intellectual, social and political movements known as the Enlightenment. The lands along other streams present very similar features. Main article: Haskalah. The Mississippi flows upon a ridge formed by its own deposits, from which the lands incline toward the low swamps beyond at an average fall of six feet per mile. Since then all the sects of Hasidic Judaism have been subsumed into mainstream Orthodox Judaism, particularly Haredi Judaism.

The breadth of the alluvial region along the Mississippi is from 10 to 60 miles, and along the other streams it averages about 10 miles. Some of the reasons for the rejection of Hasidic Judaism were the overwhelming exuberance of Hasidic worship; their untraditional ascriptions of infallibility and alleged miracle-working to their leaders, and the concern that it might become a messianic sect. The surface of the state may properly be divided into two parts, the uplands, and the alluvial and coast and swamp regions. The alluvial regions, including the low swamps and coast lands, cover an area of about 20,000 square miles; they lie principally along the Mississippi River, which traverses the state from north to south for a distance of about 600 miles and ultimately emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, the Red River, the Ouachita River and its branches, and other minor streams. "opponents"). See: List of Louisiana parishes. European Jews who rejected the Hasidic movement were dubbed by the Hasidim as mitnagdim, (lit. See: List of Louisiana Governors, Napoleon Bonaparte. Early on, there was a serious schism between the Hasidic and non-Hasidic Jews.

All other states use the First Past the Post electoral system to elect Senators, Representatives, and statewide officials. Waves of Jewish immigration in the 1880s carried it to the United States. Therefore it is common for a Democrat to be in a runoff with a fellow Democrat or a Republican to be in a runoff with a fellow Republican. Hasidic Judaism eventually became the way of life for many Jews in Europe. This runoff does not take into account party identification. His disciples attracted many followers; they themselves established numerous Hasidic sects across Europe. If no candidate has more than 50% of the vote, the two candidates with the highest vote total compete in a runoff election approximately one month later. Hasidic Judaism was founded by Israel ben Eliezer (1700-1760), also known as the Ba'al Shem Tov (or Besht).

All candidates run in an open primary on Election Day, in which multiple candidates from the same party may be on the ballot. Main article: Hasidic Judaism. states in using a runoff in state, local, and congressional elections. This split is cultural, and is not based on any doctrinal dispute, although the distance did result in minor differences in practice and prayers. Louisiana is unique among U.S. Over time Jews developed into distinct ethnic groups — amongst others, the Ashkenazi Jews (of Central and Eastern Europe with Russia); the Sephardi Jews (of Spain, Portugal and North Africa) and the Yemenite Jews, from the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Property, contractual, and family law are still mostly based on traditional Roman legal thinking and have little in common with English law. Rabbinical and Karaite Jews each hold that the others are Jews, but that the other faith is erroneous.

While most of the differences are now found in verbiage, it is important to note that the "Civilian" tradition is still deeply rooted in all aspects of Louisiana law. Karaites exist in small numbers today, mostly living in Israel. Great differences still exist between Louisiana Civil Law and the Common Law found in her 49 sister states. They soon developed oral traditions of their own which differed from the Rabbinic traditions, and eventually formed the Karaite sect. Louisiana was never governed by the Napoleonic Code. These included the Isunians, the Yudganites, the Malikites, and others. It is important to note that the Louisiana Civil Code and the French Civil Code, often referred to as the Napoleonic Code, came into existence at roughly the same time. Some Jews in the 8th and 9th centuries adopted the Sadducees' rejection of the oral law of the Pharisees/Rabbis recorded in the Mishnah (and developed by later Rabbis in the two Talmuds), intending to rely only upon the Tanakh.

Technically, it is known as "Civil Law," or the "Civilian System." It is often incorrectly referred to as the "Code Napoleon" or The Napoleonic Code. Christianity survived, but by breaking with Judaism and becoming a separate religion; the Pharisees survived but in the form of Rabbinic Judaism (today, known simply as "Judaism"). Louisiana is the only state whose legal system is based on Roman, Spanish, and French civil law as opposed to English common law. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE., these sects vanished. Louisiana has seven U.S. Congressmen, five of which are Republicans, two of which are Democrats. Around the first century CE there were several small Jewish sects: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and Christians. senators are Mary Landrieu (Democrat) and David Vitter (Republican). No new books were added to the Jewish Bible after the Roman period, instead major efforts went into interpreting and developing Jewish law.

Its governor is Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (Democrat) and its two U.S. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews, Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, and instead was rebuilt around rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities. The capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge. Following a second revolt, Jews were not allowed to enter the city of Jerusalem and most Jewish worship was forbidden by Rome. throughout the rest of the war. After a Jewish revolt against Roman rule in 66 CE, the Romans all but destroyed Jerusalem; only a single "Western Wall" of the Second Temple remained. New Orleans was captured by Federal troops on April 25, 1862. As significant portions of the population had Union sympathies, the Federal government took the unusual step of recognizing the areas of Louisiana under Federal control as a state within the Union with elected representatives who were sent to the congress in Washington, D.C. A new Second Temple was constructed, and old religious practices were resumed.

In the American Civil War Louisiana seceded from the Union on January 26, 1861. The Judean elite was exiled to Babylonia, but later at least a part of them returned to their homeland after the subsequent conquest of Babylonia by the Persians seventy years later, a period known as the Babylonian Captivity. Donaldsonville, Opelousas, and Shreveport have also briefly served as the seat of governments of Louisiana. The Kingdom of Judah continued as an independent state until it was conquered by a Babylonian army in the early 6th century BCE, destroying the First Temple that was at the centre of ancient Jewish worship. In 1849 the capital moved from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian ruler Shalmaneser V in the 8th century BCE and spread all over the Assyrian empire, where they were assimilated into other cultures and become known as the Ten Lost Tribes. There are still remnants of its former status as a possession of France, including: the use of a civil law legal system, based on the Louisiana Civil Code, which is similar to (and often confused with) the Napoleonic Code (like France, and unlike the rest of the United States, which uses a common law legal system derived from England), the term "parishes" being used to describe the state's sub-divisions as opposed to "counties", etc. After Solomon's reign the nation split into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel (in the north) and the Kingdom of Judah (in the south).

The western boundary of Louisiana with Spanish Texas remained in dispute until the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819, with the Sabine Free State serving as a neutral buffer zone as well as a haven for criminals. A kingdom was established under Saul and continued under King David and Solomon with its capital in Jerusalem. The Florida Parishes were annexed from Spanish West Florida by proclamation of President James Madison in 1810. After the Exodus from Egypt, the Jews came to Canaan, and settled the land. In 1803 the United States purchased the French province of Louisiana (see Louisiana Purchase) and divided it into two territories: the Orleans Territory (which became the state of Louisiana in 1812) and the District of Louisiana (which consisted of all the land not included in Orleans Territory). Jews trace their religious lineage to the biblical patriarch Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. In 1800 France's Napoleon Bonaparte re-acquired Louisiana from Spain in the Treaty of San Ildefonso, although this was kept secret for some two years. Jewish history is an extensive topic, this section will cover the elements of Jewish history of most importance to the Jewish religion and the development of Jewish denominations.

During the period of Spanish rule, several thousand French-speaking refugees from the region of Acadia made their way to Louisiana following British expulsion; settling largely in the southwestern bayous, they became known as the Cajuns. Main article: Jewish history. The rest of Louisiana became a colony of Spain by the Treaty of Fountainebleau of 1762. However, in most Orthodox synagogues these positions are filled by laypeople. Most of the territory to the east of the Mississippi was lost to Great Britain in the French and Indian War, except for the area around New Orleans and the parishes around Lake Pontchartrain. Since the Enlightenment large synagogues have often adopted the practice of hiring rabbis and hazzans to act as shatz and baal koreh, and this is still typically the case in most Conservative and Reform congretations. Initially Mobile, Alabama and Biloxi, Mississippi functioned as the capital of the colony; from 1722 on New Orleans fulfilled that role. The three preceding positions are usually voluntary and considered an honor.

See also: French colonization of the Americas. Many congregations, especially larger ones, also rely on a:. Most of the settlement concentrated along the banks of the Mississippi and its major tributaries, with trading outposts and mission settlements in the Illinois Country, as far north as Peoria, Illinois and a number of settlements in the area around near present-day Saint Louis, Missouri. The same person is often qualified to fill more than one role, and often does. The French colony of Louisiana originally claimed a great region of land on both sides of the Mississippi River and north to Canada. Note that these roles are not mutually exclusive. The first permanent settlement was founded by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in 1699. Jewish prayer services do involve two specified roles, which are often, but not always, filled by a Rabbi and/or Hazzan in many congregations:.

Louisiana was named by the French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle in honour of Louis XIV in 1682. The most common professional clergy in a synogogue are:. Thereafter the region was long neglected by the Spanish authorities, and the next explorers were French. Some activities -- reading the Torah and haftarah (a supplementary portion from the Prophets or Writings); the prayer for mourners; the blessings for bridegroom and bride; the complete grace after meals -- require a minyan, the presense of ten adults (Orthodox Jews and some Conservative Jews require ten adult men; some Conservative Jews and Reform Jews include women in the minyan). Some 13 years later Hernando de Soto's expedition crossed through the region. A Jew can fulfil most requirements for prayer by himself. The first European explorers to visit what is now Louisiana was a Spanish expedition in 1528 led by Panfilo de Narváez which located the mouth of the Mississippi River. From the times of the Mishna and Talmud to the present, Judaism has required specialists or authorities for the practice of very few rituals or ceremonies.

What follows is a partial list, using current parish boundaries as rough approximations of locations.^{[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana#endnote_sturdevent-67)}. The priesthood is an inherited position, and although priests no longer have clerical duties, they are still honored in many Jewish communities. The lasting mark of the Native Americans can be seen even today in the names used in Louisiana, such as Atchafalaya, Natchitouches (now spelled Natchitoches), Caddo, Houma, Tangipahoa, and Avoyel (Avoyelles Parish). Technically, the last time Judaism had a clergy was prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., when priests attended to the Temple and sacrifices. Louisiana was long inhabited by Native American tribes before the arrival of Europeans. Judaism does not have a clergy, in the sense of full-time specialists required for religious services. Today, English is by far the main language of everyday life, but traces of French survive in local dialects. Life-cycle events occur throughout a Jew's life that bind him/her to the entire community.

While the state has no declared "official language", its law recognizes both English and French. The laws of niddah dictate that sexual intercourse cannot take place while the woman is having a menstrual flow, and she has to count seven "clean" days and immerse in a mikvah (ritual bath). Among the states, Louisiana has a unique culture, owing to its French colonial heritage. tzeniut, modesty in dress) are perceived, especially by Orthodox Jews, as vital factors in Jewish life. The state is bordered to the west by the state of Texas, to the north by Arkansas, to the east by the state of Mississippi, and to the south by the Gulf of Mexico. The laws of niddah ("menstruant", often referred to euphemistically as "family purity") and various other laws regulating the interaction between men and women (e.g. postal abbreviation LA. Main article: Niddah.

It uses the U.S. Reform and Reconstructionist Jews do not keep kosher, Orthodox Jews and some Conservative Jews do keep kosher, to varying degrees of strictness. Louisiana (pronounced /luːˌiːzɪˈænə/ or /ˌluːzɪˈænə/) (French: Louisiane, pronounced /lwizjan/) is a Southern state of the United States of America. From the context of the laws in the book of Leviticus, the purpose of kashrut is related to ritual purity and holiness. ^ Sturdevent, William C. (1967): Early Indian Tribes, Cultures, and Linguistic Stocks (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/early_indian_east.jpg), Smithsonian Institution Map (Eastern United States). Food in accord with Jewish law is termed kosher, and food not in accord with Jewish law is termed treifah or treif. Many of the freed slaves in Louisiana in turn purchased their own slaves, which led to the state having one of the largest numbers of slave owning blacks in America, if not the largest. The laws of kashrut ("keeping kosher") are the Jewish dietary laws.

While one would think that this would lead to a dramatic reduction in the amount of slavery in the state, this is not the case. Main article: Kashrut. It did, however, have one of the largest free black populations in the United States. During the course of a year, the full Torah is read, and the cycle begins again every autumn during Simhat Torah (“rejoicing in the Torah”). Louisiana was a slave state. The core of festival and Sabbath prayer services is the public reading of the Torah, along with connected readings from the other books of the Jewish Bible, called Haftarah. Most Acadians declined and emigrated from Canada, most of them fleeing to the South Western portion of Louisiana, centered in the region around Lafayette. There are many minor holidays as well, including Purim, which celebrates the events told in the Biblical book of Esther, and Chanukkah, which is not established in the Bible but which celebrates the successful rebellion by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire.

When the British won the French and Indian War, the British forced all of the citizens to take a pledge of allegiance. They are also pilgramage holidays, for which the Children of Israel would journey to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to God in His Temple. The ancestors of the Cajuns are the Acadians, a French-descended people of what are now New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. They are also timed to coincide with important agricultural seasons. The ancestors of Creoles generally came to Louisiana directly from France or from the French colonies in the Caribbean and settled in New Orleans or in South Eastern Louisiana. Three holidays celebrate revelation by commemorating different events in the passage of the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt to their return to the land of Canaan. State songs: You Are My Sunshine, Every Man a King, and Give Me Louisiana. Some holidays are also linked to the agricultural cycle.

State food: Gumbo. The Jewish holy days celebrate central themes in the relationship between God and the world, such as creation, revelation, and redemption. State amphibian: Green Tree Frog. Main article: Jewish holidays. State crustacean : Crawfish. Some consider it the most important Jewish holiday. State insect: Honeybee. It plays an important role in Jewish practice and is the subject of a large body of religious law.

State reptile : American Alligator. Shabbat, the weekly day of rest lasting from Friday night to Saturday night, celebrates God's creation as a day of rest that commemorates God's day of rest upon the completion of creation. State wildflower : Louisiana Iris. Main article: Shabbat. State mammal : Louisiana Black Bear. The Jewish approach to prayer differs slightly between the various branches of Judaism, although all use the same set of prayers and texts, the frequency of prayer, the number of prayers recited at various religious events, and whether one prays in a particular liturgical language or the vernacular differs from denomination to denomination, with Conservative and Orthodox congregations using more traditional services, while Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues are more likely to incorporate translations, contemporary writings, and abbreviated services. State tree : Bald Cypress. Phylacteries or tefillin, boxes containing the portions of the Torah mandating them, are also worn by religious Jews during weekday morning services.

State fossil : Petrified palmwood. A kippah or yarmulke (skullcap) is a head covering worn during prayer by most Jews, and at all times by more orthodox Jews — especially Ashkenazim. State flower : Magnolia. The tallit is a Jewish prayer shawl. State bird : Eastern Brown Pelican. There are a number of common Jewish religious objects used in prayer. State dog : Catahoula Leopard Dog. There are also prayers and benedictions recited throughout the day, such as those before eating or drinking.

Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - CHL. Most of the prayers in a traditional Jewish service can be said in solitary prayer, but Kaddish and Kedusha require a group of ten adult men (or men and women in some branches of Judaism) called a minyan (prayer quorum). Louisiana IceGators - ECHL. Another key prayer in many services is the declaration of faith, the Shema which is recited at shacharit and maariv. New Orleans Brass (1997 - 2003) - ECHL. All services include a number of benedictions called the Amidah or the Shemonah Esrei ("eighteen"), which on weekdays consists of nineteen blessings (one was added in the time of the Mishna, but the name remains). Minor League Hockey