From The Ten Commandments To Chicken Soup: A Celebration of Judaism and all Things Jewish by Michael Shapiro

by Michael Shapiro

In this engaging book, Michael Shapiro encourages all Jews to bask in the light of their people's historic contributions to religion, science, politics, and the arts. The diverse topics discussed here cover every facet of Jewish life--including festivals and High Holy Days, the Song of Songs, Klezmer music, world-famous Jewish comedians like Woody Allen and the Marx Brothers, the Talmud, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Kabbalah, Yiddish, and of course, chicken soup--often affectionately referred to as "Jewish penicillin." Each offers a unique reason to feel special pride in Jewish achievements and customs. Taken together, they reinforce the beliefs and clarify the traditions that have shaped Judaism for the past 5,000 years. By understanding how Judaism came to be and how it in turn molded them, Jews can enrich their lives in countless ways. This indispensable and entertaining resource will encourage every reader--Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and non-Jewish--to look upon Judaism with new insight and appreciation.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Michael Shapiro writes about travel, the performing arts, and environmental issues for magazines and newspapers. A former staff reporter and editor at newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, he’s the author of The Creative Spark, a collection of interviews with many of the world’s most creative people, and A Sense of Place, featuring conversations with leading travel writers. His stories appear in National Geographic, AFAR, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.