What are the most essential ideas, concepts and terms that an educated person needs to know about Judaism? What is the basic vocabulary of Jewish spiritual life? Let one of the great teachers of our time take you on a historical and spiritual journey through Judaism.
Judaism itself is a language, a group's way of expressing beliefs, longings, aspirations and dreams. The vocabulary of Jewish life is the framework that we use to hand our past on to our children. It is also the vocabulary that people of other faiths need to know to understand Judaism and Jewish life.
In this highly readable, enlightening and entertaining book, Jews and non-Jews alike can learn more about the meaning, history and origin of 149 core Hebrew words that are shared and understood throughout the Jewish world and why it is important for people to know and use these words in Hebrew. From Adonai ("My Lord") to zekhut ("merit"), these are the words that constitute the basic vocabulary of Jewish communal and religious identity.
Arthur Green, who is among the foremost scholars of Jewish spirituality, considers Judaism to be a kind of language--a "way of expressing our beliefs, longings, aspirations, dreams.... The vocabulary of Jewish life is the framework through which we hand on the past. It also provides the pegs on which we hang our hopes and dreams for the future." These Are The Words gathers Green's explanations of the basic terms of this language, from Adonai ("My Lord") to zekhut ("merit"). These 149 essays constitute a brief encyclopedia of Judaism--a helpful reminder of what the key Jewish terms mean (in a definitional sense), and of how these words shape the lives of those who speak them.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Converting Is Difficult -- This Book Makes It Easier:
I am in the process of converting to Judaism. While deep and meaningful and fulfilling, I have found the extent of reading and learning to be complex and daunting at times. This book helps. Rather than giving mere definitions of the words, it explains the history of them and gives a background on some of the cultural, sociological, and spiritual connotations. Green's explanations help one to "feel" the words rather than just recognize them on a cognitive level. He also explains the words in terms of their... more info
A Gentile reader/worshipper is grateful for this book!:
Although a Christian, I recently approached Messianic Judaism (or Hebrew Christianity?). Since I come from a Gentile religious culture, I was perplexed during the worship services when they spoke in Hebrew terminology. Words such as emunah, shema, seder, etc. "sounded" deep and spiritual. But I didn't have a clue as to what these words meant. Also, I was too embarassed to ask anyone in the congregation. It just happened I ran across this wonderful book. Arthur Green is clear, concise and a joy to read. My... more info
Mining the Meaning:
The 149 core words of the Jewish spiritual life were explained. The words presented in the alphabetical order, except the first one YHWH, the name of God.
According to the author, the translation of YHWH is "Is-Was-Will Be." The name of God was to be pronounced only once a year by the high priest in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur.
"Atah" is the Hebrew word for "you." According to Martin Buber, the author says, every "you" we speak contains within it echoes of the "eternal You(God)." The first two... more info
Much more than a lexicon:
This book is so much more than a mere lexicon of "must know" Jewish words. What Rabbi Green has done is to create a series of creative lessons about basic Jewish concepts. In the process, he clearly demonstrates how common words (and some not so common ones!) have very specific meanings within Judaism, meanings that express the inner dimensions of the religion, but are often lost in translation.
Judaism has never worked well in translation, and there was a time when all Jews learned these words in their... more info
