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Teach Yourself Judaism » (New Edition)

Book cover image of Teach Yourself Judaism by C. M. Pilkington

Authors: C. M. Pilkington, Jonathan Gorsky
ISBN-13: 9780658015953, ISBN-10: 0658015958
Format: Paperback
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies, The
Date Published: May 2001
Edition: New Edition

Author Biography: C. M. Pilkington

C.M. Pilkington is a professor of religious studies and the author of several books on Judaism.

Book Synopsis

Teach Yourself Judaism explores the beliefs and practices of the Jewish faith and helps readers to understand them in the context of a living religion. Key topics discussed include the roots of Judaism, its development and its variety of forms, the principles of life-cycle rituals, the importance of time and season in both home and synagogue, and the impact of the Holocaust and the creation of an Israeli state on modern Jewish self understanding.

C.M. Pilkington is a professor of religious studies and the author of several books on Judaism.

1	Approaching Judaism	1
	Judaism as a religion	1
2	The roots of belief and practice - the Bible	15
	A people's history and its significance	15
	The structure of the Jewish Bible	16
	The content of the Torah	19
	The content of the Neviim	23
	The content of the Ketuvim	27
	Interpreting the Bible	28
	Transmitting and translating the Bible	30
3	The chain of tradition - the Talmud	33
	The written and the oral Torah	33
	The varieties of Second Temple Judaism	35
	Living as a holy people without the Temple	37
	Discussing the Mishnah - the Talmud	41
	Legal traditions (halakhah) and narrative traditions (aggadah)	47
4	Orthodox Judaism	52
	Orthodoxy and belief	52
	Continuity and discontinuity	54
	Orthodox Judaism and the Bible	57
	Ultra-Orthodoxy	59
	Orthodox affiliation today	61
5	Non-Orthodox Judaism	64
	Reform Judaism and points of departure	64
	Determining the role of women in Judaism	70
	Conservative Judaism	78
	Liberal Judaism	80
6	Food Laws	82
	The source and purpose of the food laws	82
	Deciding what is kosher	84
	Levels of observance	88
7	Life and death matters	93
	Expressions of belief	93
	The importance of having children	94
	The sanctity of human life	97
	Grief and hope	100
8	Jewish education	105
	In the home	105
	In the synagogue	108
	In school	111
	In higher education (academy, seminary, and college)	112
9	Marriage	116
	Sex and marriage in Judaism	116
	A Jewish wedding	119
	Marriages between Jews and non-Jews	122
	The religious court (Bet Din) and laws of status	126
	A Jewish divorce	129
10	Prayer	133
	The place of prayer	133
	Communal prayers - ancient and modern	138
	Physical reminders	144
11	The Synagogue	148
	Terms and functions	148
	Reading the Torah	150
	Language and music	155
	Religious leadership	157
12	The Sabbath	161
	A sense of time out	161
	Resting from work	165
	Observing Shabbat in home and synagogue	171
13	The rhythm of the year - festivals and fasts	176
	A sense of time	176
	The lunar calendar	180
	The new moon	182
	The festivals of Hanukah and Purim	184
	Other festivals	188
	Fasts	190
14	The pilgrim festivals	192
	Passover - the festival of unleavened bread	192
	Freedom - then and now	193
	Counting the days	198
	Freedom to obey - Shavuot	200
	Where true security lies - Sukkot	201
	The four plants	202
	The obligation to rejoice	203
15	The New Year and the Day of Atonement	207
	The importance of The High Holy Days	207
	Creating the atmosphere	208
	Returning	211
	Fasting	213
	Atonement	215
16	The Holocaust	219
	Questioning and remembering	219
	A radical answer	226
	A traditional response	227
	Survival and beyond	231
17	Israel	235
	A focal point for Jews	235
	Zionism and beyond	236
	Identity in a Jewish State	247
	Peace with justice and security	253
	Afterword	262
	Further Reading	267
	Glossary	268
	Index	275