G O O D.......I N F O............M I S L E A D I N G......T I T L E:
This is a neat little book. It explains not only the major
rituals and holidays in Judaism, but also WHY these holidays
and rituals occur. It also explains what has happened to
these rituals and holidays through the centuries. For instance,
there is a Biblical prohibition against shaving....yet all but
the very, very, very, very Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men DO shave.
The reason for this is that "shaving" has become synomous with
using a RAZOR. When electric shavers... more info
Great as a quick reference, not intended for depth:
This book is written in a unique, FAQ format: ask a question, get an answer. Questions like: do Jews believe in life after death, do Jews believe that Judaism is the only religion, etc. Therefore, it's EXTREMELY easy to find the answer you're looking for; simply find your question in the list and jump to that page. That said, the answers are very to the point and don't go into very much depth. If you're looking for an in-depth understanding of Judaism, get Kushner's "To Life!". However, if you're looking... more info
If your only going to own one book on Judaism...:
This is undoubtedly the best general intro to Judaism that I have come across. One important advantage of this book is that it covers in detail the views of all three branches of Judaism...Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. Another popular book on Judaism, Joseph Telushkin's Jewish Literacy is written strictly from an Orthodox perspective and therefore gives a much more limited, unyielding view of the Jewish faith than is really representative based on the overall population Since around 85% of Jews... more info
Very useful:
Like another reviewer, I too use this book as part of an undergraduate course on Modern and Contemporary Judaism, which I teach primarily for military personnel as part of their distance education undergraduate degrees. I include a few other books in the syllabus, but this book is often one of the ones most frequently cited as helpful due to its question-and-answer format. When I was studying for a Jewish Studies certificate at Indiana University some time ago (nearing a quarter of a century ago), an... more info
