On Being a Jew » (1st Edition)

James Kugel is the Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University and Professor of Bible at Bar Ilan University, Israel. He is the author of Poetry and Prophecy, Early Biblical Interpretation and The Idea of Biblical Poetry, the last available from Johns Hopkins. His The Bible as It Was, an introduction to the Torah's ancient interpreters, was published in 1997.

What should a Jew consider before marrying a non-Jew? What should a Jew know about Hebrew? What does it mean to keep the Sabbath? In the Medieval period, young Jews found answers to their most pressing questions about Judaism in The Book of the Kuzari. That book, written in the form of a dialogue, addressed an array of questions that led from explanations of everyday practices to the depth and grandeur of the Torah.

On Being a Jew brings The Book of the Kuzari up to date. In a conversational format, it answers basic questions about the purposes of ritual, the duties of study, work, and home life, the importance of prayer and history, and the subtleties of the Torah and its interpretations that are obscured or lost in translation.

Jewish Star

This book is more than a highly readable presentationof the basics of Judaism. It is a provocative and persuasive argument that the true meaning of being a Jew has been obscured for many Jews today as well as a stirring reflection on some of the deepest themes in Jewish practice and belief.