The New Encyclopedia of Judaism - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814793886 ISBN 13: 9780814793886

Publisher: NYU Press, 2002

Synopsis

Winner, The New York Public Library, Best of Reference Award, 2002

New York University Press is proud to announce the return of a valuable resource for both Jewish families and those interested in learning more about the Jewish faith. The New Encyclopedia of Judaism is a comprehensive one-volume encyclopedia that accessibly presents every aspect of the Jewish religion and represents current thinking among scholars in the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox movements.

The original version of the encyclopedia was selected by the American Library Association as an Outstanding Reference Book. This revised and expanded edition updates the original thousand entries and adds nearly 250 new ones. Magnificently illustrated, it also contains a new introduction, a guide for usage, new illustrations, as well as a new annotated bibliography. Its compilation was overseen by the late Geoffrey Wigoder, best known as the Editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Judaica.

The articles cover a vast spectrum of topics. There are biographical entries on biblical figures, rabbis, and others whose thoughts and actions have influenced the development of Judaism. Also included are dozens of insightful commentaries on specific prayers. Issues of particular contemporary interest are given special attention, as are women's roles, with a separate entry on the feminist movement and new biographical entries on figures ranging from Miriam and Deborah to Blu Greenberg and Suzannah Heschel. Particularly emphasized are the customs and folk traditions of Jewish outposts the world over.

Authoritative and accessible, The New Encyclopedia of Judaism fulfills the promise of the first edition and serves as a standard one-volume Jewish reference work for the new millennium. It is an ideal reference for every Jewish household and synagogue library.

About this title

About the Author

Geoffrey Wigoder was Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia Judaica.

From Booklist

The New Encyclopedia of Judaism is a revised and expanded second edition of The Encyclopedia of Judaism (Macmillan, 1989). Recognizing that Judaism is not just a systematic presentation of beliefs or the codification of abstract theological thought, the volume presents a very intimate portrait of this tradition, including liturgical, ethnic, and secular elements.

Entries are alphabetically arranged and written by scholars, though unsigned. Biographical entries are limited to those who have contributed to the development of Judaism and include biblical figures, philosophers and theologians, and leaders of movements within Judaism. There are good survey articles for Conservative Judaism, Orthodoxy, and Reform Judaism. Other entries cover the books of the Hebrew Bible. Although theological positions on such topics as Creation, Principles of faith, and Redemption are presented, emphasis is placed on ritual aspects of Judaism. In the entry Sabbath, the three daily services (i.e., morning, afternoon, and evening), along with special services such as festivals and memorials, are described, with details regarding the differences among Hasidic, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi Jews. The entry for Responses, liturgical includes a table of principal responses used in public worship. Other entries describe Judaism's position on social issues such as Abortion, Capital punishment, Divorce, and Homosexuality. In addition to black-and-white illustrations, groups of color plates are interspersed throughout the volume, depicting illuminated manuscripts, synagogues, Torah scroll shields, and works of art.

What is new in this revised edition? In addition to some 1,200 revised entries, the treatment of early Jewish literature is enhanced with entries for all the books of the Apocrypha (e.g., Tobit, Book of) and some pseudepigraphical works (e.g., I Enoch). Greater attention is given to women in Judaism. There is a new entry for Feminism to complement the entry for Women. The only female biblical judge, Deborah, now has her own entry, having been included formerly in the entry for the Book of Judges. The contemporary movement Zionism (Return to Zion in the first edition) is covered in more depth, with entries for some of its notable exponents (e.g., Golda Meir and David Ben-Gurion). Finally, although entries include no reading lists, this new edition concludes with an annotated bibliography.

Another single-volume reference work for Judaism is The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (1997), which is more comprehensive in scope and scholarly in nature. But the two really can't be compared. The New Encyclopedia of Judaism is intended as as a "resource for both Jewish families and those interested in learning more about the religion." The content, accessible yet authoritative, makes this reference work appropriate for both public and academic library collections. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0814793886
• ISBN 13: 9780814793886
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 856
• Editor: Fred Skolnik, Shmuel Himelstein, Geoffrey Wigoder