Ancient Mesopotamian civilization -- The Bible and ancient Near Eastern civilization -- Israelite monotheism and law -- The patriarchs -- Exodus -- Conquest and settlement -- The rise of monarchy -- Solomon and the divided monarchy -- Kings of Israel and Judah -- Jeroboam II to the fall of the Northern Kingdom -- Ahaz and Hezekiah -- From Manasseh to Babylonian captivity -- Aftermath of the fall of Judah -- Return and restoration -- The rise of Hellenism -- Judaism under Hellenism -- The kingship of Herod -- Rebellion against Rome -- The rise of Christianity -- Roman Jewish war and aftermath -- Jews in the Roman empire -- Jews in Babylonia -- Rabbinic scriptural interpretation -- Rabbinic theology -- Judaism under Islamic rule -- Karaism -- Jews in Muslim Spain and other Islamic lands -- Jewry in Christian Europe in the Middle Ages -- The Jews in Christian Spain -- Dispersion of the Marranos -- Early medieval thought -- The phlosophy of Maimonides -- Jewish philosophy after Maimonides -- Rabbinic mysticism -- The Hasidei Ashkenaz -- The emergence of kabbalah -- Jews in the Ottoman Empire -- The Shabbatean movement -- Jewry in Eastern and Western Europe -- The rise of the Hasidic movement -- The status of Jewry in Europe -- Jews in Eastern Europe -- The emergence of Jewish thought in the Enlightenment -- The origins of reform -- Jewish thought in the age of reform -- The rise of anti-Semitism -- The Zionist movement -- Jews in the United States, Palestine, Africa and Asia -- The Nazi regime -- The death camps -- The state of Israel -- Jewry after the Holocaust -- Modern Jewish thought -- The future of Judaism -- The unity of God -- Divine transcendence and immanence -- Etermity -- Omnipotence and omniscience -- Creation -- Providence -- Divine goodness -- Revelation -- Torah and Mitzvot -- Commandments -- Sin and repentance -- The chosen people -- The promised land -- Prayer -- Love and fear of God -- Messiah -- The afterlife -- Community life -- Jewish education -- The Jewish calendar -- Places of worship -- Worship -- The Sabbath -- Special Sabbaths -- Pilgrim festivals -- New Year and Day of Atonement -- The days of joy -- Fasts -- Life cycle events -- Marriage -- Divorce -- The home -- Dietary laws -- Death and mourning -- Jewish ethics -- Conversion.
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SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
This all-encompassing textbook is an unrivalled guide to the history, belief and practice of Judaism, written by a scholar and rabbi who is also an experienced university teacher. Beginning with the ancient Near Eastern background, it covers early Israelite history, the emergence of classical rabbinic literature and the rise of medieval Judaism in Islamic and Christian lands. It also includes the early modern period, and the development of Jewry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Extracts from primary sources are used throughout to enliven the narrative and provide concrete examples of the rich variety of Jewish civilization.