Dictionary of Jewish Biography - Softcover

Cohn-Sherbok, Dan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826480403 ISBN 13: 9780826480408

Publisher: Continuum, 2006

Synopsis

From Abraham to Saul Bellow, from Moses Maimonides to Woody Allen, from the Baal Shem Tov to Albert Einstein, this comprehensive dictionary of Jewish biographies provides a first point of entry into the fascinating richness of the Jewish heritage. Modelled on the highly acclaimed Dictionary of Christian Biography (Continuum 2001) and with the advice of leading Jewish scholars, the Dictionary of Jewish Biography provides a rapid reference to those Jewish men and women who have, over the last four thousand years, contributed to the life of the Jewish people and the history of the Jewish religion. This dictionary will prove essential for general readers interested in the evolution of Judaism from ancient times to the present day, a perfect study aid for students and teachers. Designed as an accessible reference tool, this volume is an indispensable guide for anyone interested in the history of the Jewish people - the uninitiated will become initiated; the curious will become informed; the informed will now have a handy reference tool.

About this title

About the Author:

Rabbi Professor Dan Cohn-Sherbok has a Ph.D. in theology from Cambridge University, UK, and an honorary doctorate in divinity from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, USA. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Judaism, University of Wales: Honorary Professor, University of Aberstwyth: Visiting Professor at St Mary's University College and York St John University; and Visiting Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London. He has written numerous books, including The Paradox of Anti-Semitism, Dictionary of Jewish Biography, Atlas of Jewish History, Modern Judaism and Judaism Today.

From Publishers Weekly:

This valuable new Judaica reference offers almost 4,000 brief biographies of people who have significantly contributed to Jewish life. Cohn-Sherbock, a rabbi and professor of Jewish theology at the University of Wales in Lampeter, spotlights biblical figures like the patriarch Abraham, modern figures like composer George Dreyfus and everything in between. On a single page, readers can learn about novelist E. L. Doctorow, Israeli soldier Ya'akov Dori, Babylonian philosopher and Talmudic commentator Dosa ben Saadyah, and first-century pseudo-messiah Dositheus. Those who made decidedly negative contributions to Jewish life have a place, too: there's the 13th-century Franciscan monk Nichols Donin, for example, who was responsible for burning countless copies of the Talmud. Maps and a short essay that traces Jewish history from antiquity to the present contextualize the entries. The only disappointment is the relatively short length of the biographical sketches. Most entries are only one paragraph, and some-such as the one telling us that the American National Cartoonist Society's Reuben award is named after cartoonist Rube Goldberg-are only a sentence. This dictionary is a great starting place, but serious students of Jewish life and history will need to go elsewhere for textured, detailed portraits of Jewish greats.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0826480403
• ISBN 13: 9780826480408
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 382