A Concise Guide to Judaism: History, Practice, Faith [Mass Market Paperback]

Rabbi Roy A. Rosenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

For almost 4,000 years, Judaism has exerted a powerful influence on thought and culture throughout the world. This readable, authoritative look at this faith from its beginnings to its practice in modern society discusses in detail the Hebrew Scriptures and other writings and the role of mysticism and philosophy in Jewish life. It also includes a brief but thorough explanation of the holidays.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Offering itself as a basic guide to the history, description, and practice of the Jewish faith, this book is poorly organized and replete with inaccuracies and misinformation. The author attempts to cover too much territory in a very brief space, and the result is a jumbled mishmash that will confuse readers. His gravest fault, however, is his inaccuracy regarding many aspects of his material. To cite two cases in point: His treatment of the ancient Hebrews and the origins of monotheism is at variance with the latest in biblical research, and his description of Franz Rosenzweig's philosophy of Judaism is misleading. For an excellent introduction to this subject, see Emil L. Fackenheim's What Is Judaism ( LJ 10/1/87). Not recommended.
- Robert A. Silver, Shaker Heights P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Plume (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452011361
• ISBN-13: 978-0452011366
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,015,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding introduction, sadly out-of-print, November 1, 2009

By 

D. Layman (Elizabethtown, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Concise Guide to Judaism: History, Practice, Faith (Mass Market Paperback)

It might be futile and meaningless to write a review on an out-of-print book. But I had to respond to the indefensible critique by Mr. Silver in the Library Journal review excerpted above. For the record, I am a college teacher; the tradition of Judaism, broadly considered, was one of my major fields of study in graduate school.

This is the best, most succinct introduction to Judaism I have ever used. It restates complex judgments of scholarship in simple language. I do not understand Mr. Silver's complaint about organization: it is a straightforward historical one, the best one to use in introducing Judaism. After an introductory chapter, he looks at
*Ancient Israel
*The Hebrew Scriptures (their basic content, their later use in the tradition)
*The Development of Judaism (distinct from ancient Israel)
*The Rabbinic Writings (the development of the Talmudim)
*Philosophy and Mysticism (both of which developed after the rabbinic tradition)
*Modern Judaism
*The Jewish Household (Prayer, Sabbath, Kosher, etc.)
*the Calendar and Holy Days

--A preeminently coherent presentation.

He complains about two inaccuracies: monotheism and Rosenzweig. I agree that Rabbi Rosenberg's presentation of the latter is not very insightful or coherent, but that would not make any difference to the typical user or reader of such a text as this. I reread the pages having to do with monotheism, I simply don't see what he was objecting to, unless it be a moderate use of the historical-critical method in explaining how monotheism came about. Again, Rabbi Rosenberg's explanation, although necessarily condensed and elliptical in referring to the salient issues, is still defensible today.

I very much wish it was back in print.