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Your plain-English guide to Judaism Whether you're interested in the religion or the spirituality, the culture or the ethnic traditions, Judaism For Dummies explores the full spectrum of Judaism, dipping into the mystical, meditative, and spiritual depth of the faith and the practice. In this warm and welcoming book, you'll find coverage of: Orthodox Jews and breakaway denominations; Judaism as a daily practice; the food and fabric of Judaism; Jewish wedding ceremonies; celebrations and holy days; 4,000 years of pain, sadness, triumph, and joy; great Jewish thinkers and historical celebrities; and much more. Updates to the "recent history" section with discussions of what has happened in the first decade of the twenty-first century including: the expansion of orthodox political power in Israel; expansion of interfaith work; unfortunate recent anti-Semitic events; and other news Expanded coverage of Jewish mysticism and meditation, which has become increasingly popular in recent years New coverage on Jewish views of morality, including birth control, homosexuality, and environmental concerns Revised recipes for traditional Jewish cooking, updated key vocabulary, and Yiddish phrases everyone should know Jews have long spread out to the corners of the world, so there are significant Jewish communities on many continents. Judaism For Dummies offers a glimpse into the rituals, ideas, and terms that are woven into the history and everyday lives of Jewish people as near as our own neighborhoods and as far-reaching as across the world.… (more)
User reviews
I mean, the first time I wrote this review…. I don’t know. I wrote a lot about
That being said, I don’t know…. Like I said at first maybe I thought that the book had been bad too, since it was maybe a little bland and holiday-y; God I hate holidays—I don’t want to hear about there being others. But I guess holidays could be part of “making Jewish choices”, as another book has it, which could certainly matter for Jews, and it is part of one way to see the life-affirming aspects of Judaism, as being a particular way that particular people choose to live their lives, and not just seeing them as the Christmas crushers, the Israel lobby, the weird and irrelevant folk, the bad childhood memories, the guilt-inducers that Hitler crushed, or however people think about Jews when they have little engagement with the ideas of Judaism, or esteem for Jews.