The Way of Torah: An Introduction to Judaism » (7th Edition)

Jacob Neusner is the Research Professor of Religion and Theology and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College. Having published more than 900 books and innumerable articles he is the most published humanities scholar in the world. He has been awarded nine honorary degrees, including seven US and European honorary doctorates. He holds fourteen academic medals and prizes, as well as numerous other academic awards. He received his A. B. from Harvard College, his Ph. D. from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, and Rabbinical Ordination and the degree of Master of Hebrew Letters from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. In his professional career he was founding chairman of the Department of Hebrew Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, held a post-doctoral fellowship at Brandeis University, and taught at Dartmouth College and at Brown University. He spent a research year at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton NJ, and served as Distinguished Research Professor of Religious Studies at University of South Florida. He was President of the American Academy of Religion, and a member of the founding committee of the Association for Jewish Studies. He single-handedly founded the European Association of Jewish Studies. He also served, by appointment of President Carter, as Member of the National Council on the Humanities and, by appointment of President Reagan, as Member of the National Council on the Arts. He is editor of the Encyclopaedia of Judaism (Brill, 1999. I-III) and its Supplements; chairman of the Editorial Board of The Review of Rabbinic Judaism, and Editor in Chief of the Brill Reference Library of Judaism, both of them published by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands. He is editor of Studies in Judaism, University Press of America. He was editor for Judaism of the Dictionary of Religion (Harper/AAR), and of the Encyclopaedia of Religion (Britannica/Merriam Webster).

This classic text from one of the leading Judaic scholars today, THE WAY OF THE TORAH introduces students to Judaism via a three-pronged examination of its history, its scriptures, and its practices. Neusner first defines Judaism across time, showing its changes and development. He then introduces students to the classic texts of Judaism, the Hebrew Bible, and beyond. Finally, the Torah and Judaism are presented in their living contexts. It is the only interpretive work that addresses Judaism within the context of religious studies in general as opposed to the many other texts that use an historical or scriptural approach exclusively.