The Way Into the Varieties of Jewishness

Sylvia Barack Fishman, PhD

• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781580233675, 9781580230308
• eBook ISBN: 9781580236768
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

An accessible introduction to the many ways Jews understand Jewishness and identify themselves and their communities—throughout history and today.

For everyone who wants to understand the varieties of Jewish identity, its boundaries and inclusions, this book explores the religious and historical understanding of what it has meant to be Jewish from ancient times to the present controversy over "Who is a Jew?" Beginning with the biblical period, it takes readers era by era through Jewish history to reveal who the Jewish community included and excluded, and discusses the fascinating range of historical conflicts that Jews have dealt with internally. It provides an understanding of how the Jewish people and faith developed, and of what the major religious differences are among Jewish movements today.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• About The Way Into …
• Dedication
• Contents
• Timeline
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Ancient Jews, Homeland, and Exiles
• 2. The Wandering Jews
• 3. Emancipating into Modern Jewishness
• 4. Reforming American Judaism
• 5. Shades of American Orthodoxy
• 6. Conservative Judaism at the Crossroads
• 7. An American Kaleidoscope: Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Secular Forms of American Jewishness
• 8. Jews by Choice
• Conclusion: Diversity and the Future of the Jewish Renaissance
• Notes
• Glossary
• Suggestions for Further Reading
• Index
• About the Author
• About the Series
• Copyright
• Also Available
• About Jewish Lights
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