Judaism

I have read this book for three different university courses. Each time I have gleaned more from its wisdom and presentation of the Jewish Tradition. This is a classic in Jewish Studies and can be found in almost any used book store. The last time I read it I had 8 pages of journal notes. In point form here are some of my notes from this great book: Judaism remains to the present day essentially a product of the bible as well as the period that followed the return of the Jewish Exiles from Babylon. God is: omnipotent, one & only God, beside whom there is no other; omnipresent; all knowing, all wise, omniscience, all holy transcendence. The human body is a sacred vessel comprehending the divine spark, the soul, and as such must be kept healthy, sound and clean. To neglect the body and its physical requirements is to offend against God. Moderation and sobriety, combined with cheerfulness and joy, constitute the key note of Judaism. The harmonization of the physical needs and moral and spiritual aspirations spells contentment. It is an excellent book for the scholar or just a lay student of religion. (First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)

This is a fantastic introduction to Judaism. Its method is to trace the trends of Jewish thought and practice through the ages, and thereby paint a picture of Judaism that grows page by page. First it begins with the Patriarchs and the uniqueness of their vision, and then it moves to the Torah and the distinctive elements of its thought and practice, and then to the rest of the Bible and its history. Then in a few chapters it covers the Talmud and its significance and basic teachings, what the Sages did and how and why, and such. It covers the Middle Ages including traditional rabbinics as well as the growth of the Kabbalah, and other topics. Modern history is covered as well of course, such as the Jewish Enlightenment ("haskala") which led to modern Jewish movements, and Zionism. The result is a brief but complete history of Judaism that, while definitely Orthodox through and through, nevertheless shows how Judaism has developed distinctive elements in its history. In each era, the history is described in such a way as to inherently and organically include the relevant beliefs/doctrines and laws. For example, the Talmud is shown to be the compilation and compendium of Jewish law and lore dating from the Biblical era and passed down until the writing of the Talmud, but nevertheless with its own unique elements that distinguish it from the Bible, and with elaborations on the Bible that yield teachings and laws definitely contained in the Bible but not in the magnified and expanded form found in the Talmud. Overall, a fantastic introduction to Judaism. I read it because my rabbi (a teacher of Talmud and Jewish law at Yeshivat Machon Meir, an Orthodox Jewish seminary in Jerusalem)'s rabbi is this author of this book, and I definitely see why he recommended it to me.