An Introduction to Judaism (Introduction to Religion) Book

There is no word for "religion" in Hebrew. The Christian-informed model of religion which focuses its examination on the two poles of public practice and private faith is vastly ill-suited to a study of Judaism. Quite rightly then, notes Nicholas de Lange in An Introduction to Judaism: "There is a Jewish religion... But it would be unrealistic to maintain that it is the Jewish religion that unites the Jewish people." De Lange's first two chapters examine Jewish demography and history. Next he runs through the Jewish canon--the books which are the springboard for both practice and debate--following this with a chapter on the history and philosophies of different Jewish denominations. The sections on family and community are the most densely packed, with facts and descriptions of the Jewish life cycle and the annual festival cycle. These chapters are perhaps hard to absorb at one sitting, but they do constitute an excellent reference resource. Having proved that Jews constitute neither race nor creed, De Lange's final three chapters tackle Jewish philosophy: the relationship between God and the Jewish People, the objectives of Jewish life, and speculations about the future of Judaism. Judaism is an "essentially this-worldly religion", organically evolving and often self-contradictory. An Introduction to Judaism balances fact, commentary, and honest criticism by an author who is both a rabbi and an academic. --Zahavit ShalevRead More