The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture

The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture is a comprehensive and engaging overview of Jewish life, from its origins in the ancient Near East to its impact on contemporary popular culture. The twenty-one essays, arranged historically and thematically, and written specially for this volume by leading scholars, examine the development of Judaism and the evolution of Jewish history and culture over many centuries and in a range of locales. They emphasize the ongoing diversity and creativity of the Jewish experience. Unlike previous anthologies, which concentrate on elite groups and expressions of a male-oriented rabbinic culture, this volume also includes the range of experiences of ordinary people and looks at the lives and achievements of women in every place and era. The many illustrations, maps, timeline, and glossary of important terms enhance this book's accessibility to students and general readers.

Introduction Judith R. Baskin and Kenneth Seeskin; 1. The Hebrew Bible and the early history of Israel Marc Zvi Brettler; 2. The Second Temple Period Alan F. Segal; 3. The rabbinic movement Hayim Lapin; 4. The Jewish experience in the Muslim world Norman A. Stillman; 5. Jewish life in Western Christendom Robert Chazan; 6. Jews and Judaism in early modern Europe Adam Shear; 7. European Jewry: 1800–1933 Marsha L. Rozenblit; 8. Jews and Judaism in the United States Pamela S. Nadell; 9. The Shoah and its legacies Peter Hayes; 10. The founding of modern Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict Bernard Reich; 11. The centrality of Talmud Michael S. Berger; 12. Judaism as a religious system Harvey E. Goldberg; 13. Jewish worship and liturgy Ruth Langer; 14. Jewish private life: gender, marriage, and the lives of women Judith R. Baskin; 15. Jewish philosophy Kenneth Seeskin; 16. Jewish mysticism Hava Tirosh-Samuelson; 17. Modern Jewish thought Leora Batnitzky; 18. Contemporary forms of Judaism Dana Evan Kaplan; 19. Jewish popular culture Jeffrey Shandler; 20. Aspects of Israeli society Judith R Baskin; 21. The futures of world Jewish communities Calvin Goldscheider; Glossary; Timeline.

The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of the Jewish experience, from its ancient origins to its impact on contemporary popular culture. The twenty-one historical and thematic essays examine the ongoing diversity and creativity of the Jewish experience, including the lives and contributions of women.

Judith R. Baskin is Knight Professor of Humanities and Associate Dean for Humanities at the University of Oregon. Her books include Midrashic Women: Formations of the Feminine in Rabbinic Literature and Pharaoh's Counselors: Job, Jethro, and Balaam in Rabbinic and Patristic Tradition, and she is editor of Jewish Women in Historical Perspective and Women of the Word: Jewish Women and Jewish Writing. She also served as sub-editor for post-biblical entries for The Torah: A Women's Commentary, which received the National Jewish Book Awards 2008 Jewish Book of the Year.
Kenneth Seeskin is Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Professor of Jewish Civilization at Northwestern University. He is the author of Maimonides on the Origin of the World, which was selected by Choice as one of the outstanding books in the humanities for 2006, and Searching for a Distant God: The Legacy of Maimonides, which won the Koret Jewish Book Award in 2000; he is also editor of The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides. He has received several teaching awards, including the Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University, Illinois.