The Jewish Religion

Book Overview

How do Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism differ? Is caviar kosher? Who was Maimonides? What is current Jewish thought on Jesus, sex, abortion, feminism, and capital punishment? Spanning from biblical times to the present, The Jewish Religion offers a goldmine of information on Jewish belief and practice, wisdom and culture, history and tradition.
Sweeping in scope and based on impeccable scholarship, this volume's 750 alphabetical entries range from Aaron to Zweifel to illuminate virtually every facet of the Jewish heritage. For example, the book explains Halakhah and Aggadah, the legal and non-legal sides of Jewish thought; traces the development of the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Movements; discusses Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment) and Hasidism; and explores the differences between the Spanish traditions of the Sephardim and the German traditions of the Ashkenazim. It examines the great philosophical questions underlying the Jewish faith; carefully examines Zionism, with its tension between religion and nationalism and its profound implications for the present and the future of Israel; and serves as a marvelous companion to Jewish religious and philosophical literature. Readers will find entries on all the books of the Old Testament--with compelling descriptions of the patriarchs, prophets, and law givers--on the oral and written Torah, on the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud, and on the Kabbalah. Jacobs examines all the great Jewish thinkers--from Rashi, Akiba, and Judah the Prince, to Maimonides, Spinoza, and Martin Buber--and he describes the thought of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, father of the Reform movement, and Theodore Herzl, the originator of modern Zionism. Finally, the book is filled with information on popular customs, rituals, and religious services, covering all the major holidays, providing guidance on prayer and liturgy, and explaining the dietary laws in detail. It even offers step-by-step instructions for conducting the Passover Seder, preparing matzoh, kindling the Hannukah lights, building a sukkah, and much, much more.
Here then is a matchless guide to Jewish religion, history, culture, and thought and a valuable repository of knowledge for both Jews and non-Jews alike.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198264631
• ISBN13: 9780198264637
• Release Date: December 1995
• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Length: 646 Pages
• Weight: 2.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.1" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Resource

I have had this alphabetically ordered compendium of ideas and names for some years now and am grateful for it every time I dip into it. It is definitely one of the several books I would take were I to have to live on a desert island. Rabbi Jacobs was obviously a profound scholar and a very fair judge. He includes matter that a less open mind would shun, but does so circumspectly and in a way that opens windows to new vistas to explore should one see fit. It is very easy to use and read and will be a great personal resource.

A wonderful source of Jewish learning

Rabbi Louis Jacobs was a man of immense Jewish learning and understanding. This volume is rich in information about Jewish religious concepts, practices, sources of learning and even historical phenomena. At one time I carried this dictionary with me everywhere and whenever I had an opportunity would read or two entries and felt I had truly learned something.

Excellent but ...

I've been using this book for years and have always found it readable, scholarly, impartial (as among the different branches of Judaism), and comprehensive. Although that remains my opinion, I was recently shocked to discover a significant error--the article on Rabbi Eliezer (p. 143) tells the famous and philosophically fascinating Talmudic story of Rabbi Eliezer's dispute with an authoritative group of colleagues over a point of law. Jacobs says that "Rabbi Eliezer held fast to his opinion even against ... a voice that came from heaven." In fact, the original Talmudic story (found at Bava Metzia 59b) recounts that the heaveny voice (G-d) was invoked by Rabbi Eliezer and said to the other rabbis (from the Steinsaltz translation) 'Why are you [disputing] with Rabbi Eliezer, for the [law] is in accordance with him everywhere?" Notwithstanding this error, the only one I have come across in many hours with this book, I heartily recommend it.