This book is a comprehensive, hands-on volume that provides an up-to-date overview of the practices and beliefs of the Jews, as well as a guide to religious traditions, everyday practices, philosophical beliefs, and historical foundations of judaism.

"Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world, and it has preserved its distinctive identity despite the extraordinarily diverse forms and beliefs it has embodied over the course of more than three millennia... In this...book, Martin Goodman takes readers from Judaism's origins in the polytheistic world of the second and first millennia BCE to the temple cult at the time of Jesus. He tells the stories of the rabbis, mystics, and messiahs of...

Why does the groom break a glass in a Jewish wedding ceremony? Why isn't pork kosher? Why can't a person be half-Jewish? If you've ever asked or been asked any of these questions, The Jewish Book of Why has all the answers. In this complete, concise, fascinating, and thoroughly informative guide to Jewish life and tradition, Rabbi Alfred J. Kolatch clearly explains both the significance and the origin of nearly every symbol, custom, and practice known...

When an eighty-two-year-old rabbi from Albom's old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy, Albom goes back to his nonfiction roots and becomes involved with a Detroit pastor--a reformed drug dealer and convict--who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof. A timely, moving, and inspiring look at faith: not just who believes, but why.

Surveys the history, traditions, and practice of Judaism from biblical times to today, with explanations of the major aspects of Jewish culture. Focuses on Judaism from within and how it is understood by its adherents, past and present. Covers topics such as the sacred books of Judaism, modes of worship, the calendar and holidays, and rites of passage such as bar and bat mitzva and marriage. Illustrates how Judaism reinvented itself by embracing the...

"F.E. Peters, a scholar in the comparative study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, revisits his pioneering work after twenty-five years. Peters has rethought and thoroughly rewritten his classic The Children of Abraham for a new generation of readers - at a time when the understanding of these three religious traditions has taken on a new and critical urgency." "Peters traces the three faiths from the sixth century B.C. when the Jews returned to...