judaize

A teacher explains how certain customs can judaize a community.

Definition

Verb: To make something Jewish in character, practice, or belief; to convert or adapt to Judaism.

Usage Examples

• (To impose Jewish customs on new believers.)
• (To alter material to align with Jewish perspectives.)

Advanced Usage

• "to judaize a text": to reinterpret or modify a written work to reflect Jewish religious or cultural themes.

  • The ancient scribe sought to judaize the Greek philosophical writings by adding references to Hebrew scripture. (To adapt non-Jewish content to a Jewish framework.)

• "to judaize a practice": to introduce Jewish rituals or observances into a non-Jewish context.

  • The group attempted to judaize their holiday celebrations by incorporating elements of Hanukkah. (To adopt Jewish customs into their own traditions.)

Variants and Related Words

• Judaization (noun): the process or act of making something Jewish.

  • The judaization of the local calendar was met with resistance. (The conversion of the calendar to Jewish holidays and dates.)

• Judaizer (noun): a person who promotes or practices judaizing.

  • The early church considered Judaizers a threat to its universal mission. (Individuals who insisted on Jewish law for Christian converts.)

Synonyms

• Hebraize: to make Hebrew in character (often used interchangeably with "judaize" in historical contexts).
• Convert to Judaism: to formally adopt the Jewish religion (more specific to religious conversion).

Related Idioms

Phrasal Verbs

• Judaize over: to impose Jewish customs upon something gradually.
  • The community began to judaize over their traditional festivals by adding prayers in Hebrew. (To slowly incorporate Jewish elements.)