Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice [Hardcover]

Wayne D. Dosick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1995

Comprehensive, authoritative, and wonderfully engaging, this peerless guide to Jewish faith and practice belongs on the bookshelf of every Jewish family -- and anyone interested in Jewish culture.

Why is the Torah Central to the Jewish Faith? How did the Talmud originate? What do Jewish holidays celebrate? What goes on in a synagogue worship service? How do kosher dietary laws work? Why is the land of Israel so important for Jews?

These are just a few of the questions Rabbi Wayne Dosick answers in this masterly overview of Jewish faith and tradition, now available in a handsome paperback edition. Writing in short, accessible chapters that cover Jewish beliefs, people, literature, holidays, worship, and living, he captures the essence of Judaism, honoring and explicating the diversity of Jewish thought and observance, from Reform and Conservative to Orthodox.

With a timeline of Jewish history and thought-provoking essays on the Jewish idea of God, good and evil, the messiah, believing in the Bible, prayer, right and wrong, the Holocaust, and Israel, Living Judaism is the definitive introduction to one of the world's great religions.

"The most informative and useful text currently available for the understanding and enrichment of Jewish living". -- Rabbi David M. Posner, Congregation Emanu-El, New York

"Excellent -- I think it's in a class by itself -- readable, thorough, well organized". -- Harvey Cos, Harvard Divinity School

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A definitive resource for homes and libraries--this peerless volume combines convenient access to the essentials of Jewish belief and tradition with an inspiring love of its living spirit.

About the Author

Rabbi Wayne Dosick, is the Spiritual Guide of The Elijah Minyan and an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego. He is the author of three critically acclaimed books, The Golden Rules: The Ten Ethical Values Parents Need to Teach Their Children; The Business Bible: Ten New Commandments for Creating an Ethical Workplace; and The Best Is Yet To Be: Renewing American Judaism, and the creator of The Video Synagogue. A popular speaker and workshop leader, Rabbi Dosick speaks to the audience across the country about spiritual and ethical issues.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper San Francisco; 1 edition (November 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060621192
• ISBN-13: 978-0060621193
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to and reflection on Judaism, March 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice (Paperback)

After reading literally nine or ten books intended to acquaint readers with the Jewish faith and culture, none ever came close to tying all the ends together and creating a real sense of understanding. This book definitely succeeded where the others left me feeling a bit uncertain, elucidating for me things I had long wondered about. Rabbi Dossick does an amazing job of making the obscure comprehensible and doing over and over again. His chapters are put together on certain themes and different topics within the theme are addressed individually before being connected at the end of each chapter and in different essays ('An Essay on Law and Spirit,' 'An Essay on Right and Wrong'). He uses the Hebrew phrases where possible and each section introduces us to one or two new but fundamental Hebrew words, written in Hebrew and next to a transliteration. If looking for a book to introduce you to Judaism, one that's simultaneously basic in the sense that it expects no prior knowledge but stimulating in its expectation that the people reading it are intelligent people capable of choosing from the many different paths he describes, this is a book to buy, reread, and refer to. This book is *truly* the most comprehensive and illuminating book I have yet read, and I highly recommend it to anyone still feeling that their grasp on Judaism is not as strong or as clear as it could be.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accept no substitutes!, June 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice (Paperback)

This book is one of the best that I've read in any subject! It is completely and totally accessible to all who are interested in the subject. It is written in a very personal format, so that the reader feels that he/she is being spoken to by the author. Without being condescending or assuming any foreknowledge, the author CLEARLY and SIMPLY(two very important criteria) explains all aspects of Judaism, from the beginning to present day. The reader is left with a solid understanding. I cannot recommend this book enough!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding and pride without preaching, March 31, 2001

By 

Gary Sprandel (Frankfort, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice (Paperback)

This book, with elegance and simplicity seeks to explains what it means to be Jewish; the beliefs, people, and sacred texts starting with the Torah. Despite wanderings and settlements from Spain, Eastern Europe, and Ethiopia, and Exiles and destructions of the Temple, they have remained "The Chosen People". This book helped me realize the uniqueness of this last century on the Jews, from the Holocaust to the importance of the creation of Israel. The essays that Rabbi Dosick sprinkled through the book, offer a glimpse of a way of thinking about ethics, justice, and law. He presents his personal views, for what they are, and recognizes other views.

The description of Jewish Holiday and Worship, describe the rituals and worship that historically permeate the Jewish life. Growing up Christian, I felt some loss that we had discarded these remembrances of God from our daily life. His own essay on "Law and Spirit" recognizes some of the differences in spirit between Christianity and Judaism. It also helped me appreciate some of the Jewish observances, that as an outsider seem unusual.