Product Description

A fully updated introduction to Jewish beliefs and practices.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #265764 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 248 pages

Review
"Alan Unterman offers a comprehensive survey of the major ideas, customs and movements which have made Judaism what it is. It is also an excellent book for the intelligent reader whose knowledge of Judaism is deficient. The reader who is well versed in Judaism will also find much that is new and provocative."

Customer Reviews

A modern overview of Judaism
The Jews: Their religious beliefs and practices, by Alan Unterman, Sussex University Press, 1996, 2nd edn. 1999, 256 ff.

A modern overview of Judaism
By Howard A. Jones

There are already some excellent books on Judaism by Goldberg and Rayner (Penguin, 1989) and the somewhat older book by Epstein. Some of this more modern text I had read before, but this is a more practical guide to Judaism where its predecessors were more rather more theological.

It sets out the Jewish attitude to the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh and shows how Jewish thought has developed from the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes, through the writings of Maimonides, Spinoza and Moses Mendelssohn to the twentieth century writings of Mordecai Kaplan. Though Judaism is not primarily a mystical religion, there is a short chapter on the Kabbalah followed by an exploration of the halakhah (the Jewish equivalent of the tao) and the role of the Talmud in this process.

Ritual is an important part of any religion and Unterman explains the rituals that accompany the passage through a human lifetime and those associated with the months of the year. A chapter on the importance of the synagogue and of the dietary laws is followed by commentary on contemporary Judaism and its relation to Christianity and Islam.

The book ends with a glossary of Jewish terms, Notes and references, and suggestions for further reading. This is a fine book for those who want to learn something of the history of Judaism and its role in modern society.

Dr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, UK.

The Jewish People: Their History and Their Religion (Penguin Religion & Mythology)
Judaism: History, Belief and Practice

Good
A good text book, provides many relevant details and background on Jewish life and practices.