Norman Solomon (1) (1933–)

Good introduction, and, obviously, the text is interesting. But there's something impossible about the book. There's just too much to select from. Major pieces, like the Pirke Aboth, are reduced to shreds connected by elipses. In the end, it might have been better to give up covering everything and produce a book of continuous representative pieces.

I decided to read this book and, while doing so, tried to read it as if I knew nothing about Judaism and was coming to the subject from the point of view of a Gentile rather than a Jew. While I felt that the author did an acceptable job of explaining some subjects, overall, I just didn't get the feeling that I learned what it meant to be a Jew or, maybe said different, what makes Jews "tick". The book told me quite a bit about the evolution of Judaism in post-biblical times and in the Middle show more Ages, but I didn't get any sense of what today's Jews believe (other than a few discussions of how the various segments of Judaism distinguish themselves from one another and a brief "throwaway" discussion of how Judaism addresses a few modern issues). Most problematic, I suppose, is that the Gentile reader who reads this book will not gain much insight into the meaning of Jewish holidays that they may encounter or some of the more simple rules upon which Jews base their lives. show less

Clear and interesting account covering history, religious thought and practice, home and family life, modern denominations, and responses to modern issues -- and all in 135 pages.

Più ancora che una religione, l'ebraismo si presenta come un complesso di norme che regolano l'intera esistenza individuale e collettiva del popolo d'Israele. ... (fonte: retro di copertina)