Scattered over much of the world throughout most of their history; are the Jews one people or many? How do they resemble and how do they differ from Jews in other places and times? What have their relationships been to the cultures of their neighbors? To address these and similar questions; some of the finest scholars of our day have contributed their insights to Cultures of the Jews; a winner of the National Jewish Book Award upon its hardcover publication in 2002.Constructing their essays around specific cultural artifacts that were created in the period and locale under study; the contributors describe the cultural interactions among different Jews–from rabbis and scholars to non-elite groups; including women–as well as between Jews and the surrounding non-Jewish world. What they conclude is that although Jews have always had their own autonomous traditions; Jewish identity cannot be considered the fixed product of either ancient ethnic or religious origins. Rather; it has shifted and assumed new forms in response to the cultural environment in which the Jews have lived.Mediterranean Origins; the first volume in Cultures of the Jews; describes the concept of the “People†or “Nation†of Israel that emerges in the Hebrew Bible and the culture of the Israelites in relation to that of neighboring Canaanite groups. It also discusses Jewish cultures in Babylonia; in Palestine during the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods; and in Arabia during the formative years of Islam.
#84166 in Books 2009-03-31 2009-03-31Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .3 x 5.50l; 1.00 #File Name: 0805089225352 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. StunningBy JoeyP2A must read of an event that has been overlooked. Provides excellent insight into why things in the South went down as they did during Jim Crow; and how even in the North the cause of the freed blacks was pushed aside. This is critical reading if you want to understand our nation; and the long and hard road we're still traveling down.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Indispensable Account of the End of Civil Rights Despite the End of the ConfederacyBy Timothy D. StoneIn The Day Freedom Died; Chuck Lane has produced an indispensable; detailed account of the heartbreaking end of Reconstruction; and arguably; the continuation of the Civil War through political means; as several southern states used terror; backed even by the U.S. Supreme Court; to negate many of the laws and ideals that the Union supposedly had secured in vanquishing the Confederacy. Lane has used a cast of dozens of characters and anecdotes to document how a racist backlash terrorized African Americans in the American South after the end of slavery; despite the opposition of President Grant; an ardent supporter of civil rights. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the struggle for civil rights in America and the legacy we must never forget in order to safeguard a fair and civil society for all.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A touching tale of horor courage and deception.By Paul E.FosterThe awesome an emotional story that quite possibly touches my family. Mr. Eli Nelson a slave from Colfax LA is one of important figures in the book and could be a ancestor of my Foster Mother who was also a Nelson from Colfax. A must read for anyone trying to understand the brutal nature of racist white after the civil war in Louisiana and other parts of the confederacy.
