Creating Judaism history, tradition, practice

Summary: "How can we define 'Judaism, ' and what are the common threads uniting ancient rabbis, Maimonides, the authors of the Zohar, and modern secular Jews in Israel? Michael L. Satlow offers a fresh perspective on Judaism that recognizes both its similarities and its immense diversity. Presenting snapshots of Judaism from around the globe and throughout history, Satlow explores the links between vastly different communities and their Jewish traditions. He studies the geonim, rabbinical scholars who lived in Iraq from the ninth to twelfth centuries; the intellectual flourishing of Jews in medieval Spain; how the Hasidim of nineteenth-century Eastern Europe confronted modernity; and the post-World War II development of distinct American and Israeli Jewish identities. Satlow pays close attention to how communities define themselves, their relationship to biblical and rabbinic texts, and their ritual practices. His fascinating portraits reveal the amazingly creative ways Jews have adapted over time to social and political challenges and continue to remain a 'Jewish family'."--Book cover.

Record details

ISBN: 0231134894
ISBN: 9780231134897
ISBN: 0231134886
ISBN: 9780231134880
ISBN: 9780231509114 (electronic bk.)
ISBN: 0231509111 (electronic bk.)
Physical Description: 1 online resource (xii, 340 pages) : illustrations
remote
electronic resource
Publisher: New York : Columbia University Press, ©2006.

Content descriptions

General Note:	Multi-User.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-324) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction -- Promised lands -- Creating Judaism -- Between Athens and Jerusalem -- The rabbis -- Rabbinic concepts -- Mitzvot -- The rise of reason -- From Moses to Moses -- Seeing God -- East and West -- Epilogue: Whither Judaism?
Restrictions on Access Note:	Restrictions unspecified
Reproduction Note:	Electronic reproduction. [S.l.] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2010.
System Details Note:	Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Note:	Access requires VIU IP addresses and is restricted to VIU students, faculty and staff. Access restricted by subscription.
Action Note:	digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve
Source of Description Note:	Description based on print version record.