The Jewish People: Their History and Their Religion

by David J. Goldberg, John D. Rayner

The first part of this illustrated volume offers a survey of Jewish history and literature. The second part presents what the preface describes as "a thematic analysis of the teachings and practice of Judaism".

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Jewish, Judaica, Spirituality

448 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 1989

About the author

Rabbi Dr. David J. Goldberg OBE is Rabbi Emeritus of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, having served the congregation as Associate then Senior Rabbi since 1975. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, Oxford University, and Trinity College, Dublin and received his Rabbinic Ordination from the Leo Baeck College in 1971.

In a full and varied career which enhanced the reputation of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue as one of the world's leading congregations, he is particularly proud of 4 'firsts':
to have been the first prominent Jew in the UK publicly to call for recognition of legitimate Palestinian rights in an article in The Times in 1978;
to have been the first rabbi to initiate dialogue meetings between Judaism, Christianity and Islam when the Regent's Park mosque opened in 1978;
to have been the first Jew to recite Kaddish in Westminster Abbey when he co-officiated at the Memorial Service for Lord Menuhin;
and to have been the first - and so far as he knows, the only - rabbi ever to have had an article in Wisden, the cricket lovers' bible, or to have been interviewed on Test Match Special!

Active in interfaith work, in 1999 he was awarded the Gold Medallion of The International Council of Christians and Jews for his "Outstanding contribution to interfaith harmony and understanding". In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for his services to interfaith work.

Well-known for his outspoken and radical views and a former chairman of the Rabbinic Conference of the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues, and co-chairman of the London Society of Jews and Christians, he has contributed regularly on Jewish and Israeli topics to all the major newspapers and journals (e.g. The Times, the Sunday Times, Observer, Guardian, Independent, Mail on Sunday, New Statesman, History Today, etc.)

He has written, or edited, several books. He co-authored "The Jewish People" (Viking 1989) with Rabbi John Rayner and the Italian translation of "To The Promised Land: A History of Zionist Thought" (Penguin 1996) won the prestigious Premio Iglesias prize in 1999 for best book in the Culture and Politics category.

"The Divided Self: Israel and the Jewish Psyche Today", was published in April 2006.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I simply cannot reccomend a book ,that purports to be about the Jewish people, but then minimizes the importance of the inextricable connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, which is in fact a major cornesrone of the Jewish peoplehood and faith.

For one thing, why do the authors use the word 'Palestine' to refer to the Land of Israel, from when Avraham the Patriarch entered the Land.The

term Syria Palaestina was in use only since the 2nd century CE, while the term 'The Land of Israel'or 'Eretz Yisrael' had been used for hundreds of years before. If one wants to avoid conflict the term 'Holy Land'or the Levant can be used. But the term Palestine to refer to the Land even before the term was invented is inaccurate and not impartial.

The authors also try too hard to discount the authenticity of the Biblical historical accounts. But the book is readable until one gets to the chapters on Zionism and the rebirth of the State of Israel.

The authors ignore the influx of Arab immigrants into Eretz Yisrael during the British Mandate Period, and also does not mention the Mufti Haj Amin El Husseini, ally and friend of Hilter, and the mastermind of the anti-Jewish pogroms of 1020,1921,1929 and 1936 to 1939.

He then refers to the Arabs 'as equally and sincerely attached to the land of Palestine'.

The Arabs are relative newcomers to the area, and 'Palestine' is a politically loaded and not a neutral term.

He then go's on to point to that to 'give one's complete loyalty to the state' is 'an embarassing 19th century anachronsim.'

Those insulated academics who refer to the nation-state as an anachronism are ignoring the message of recent history, which has seen the birth (or rebirth) of a plethora of nation-sates, from the ruins of enforced multi-national artificial entities : Hence in the last 18 years we have seen the independence of nation-states including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Eritrea and East Timor.

And he also says that 'if national survival is postulated as the nation's highest goal, than it precludes any higher moral value...what nonsense...how can a nation be a light unto the nations, if it does not survive.

Avoiding a second holocaust (i.e the destruction of the State of Israel) has to be the first duty of every Jew.

And the Jewish attachment to the Land of Israel is acenral tenent of the Jewish faith, as well as Jewish identity.

Who are the authors trying to impress by distorting history and Jewish nationhood?

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has taken me a very, very long time to read. Intermittently over the past two years I'd say. Its not a very exciting read, but it is a very detailed (exhaustively so) guide to everything you want to know about the Jewish religion. I wouldn't read it for fun, but if you're interested in Judaism go for it.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative book. I was particularly impressed by the way the authors, whilst obviously of the faith themselves, maintained a tone that showed respect for their own religion whilst not attempting to impose their views on the goyim layman. Despite centuries of persecution and hostility, only when discussing Yasser Arafat and the PLO do they slip, referring to the "obsequious applause" and "craven capitulation" of the United Nations.

The book is divided neatly into 4 sections, covering History, Literature, Theory and Practice. I found the Literature section a little heavy-going for the casual reader and skipped most of it.

[Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't all that interesting. Not that I was hoping to become a believer or discover Earth shattering stuff . I started it in hopes to learn more about the Middle Ages and may be a few details on Jewish rituals, holidays, etc.. Its main thesis is that the survival of the Jewish people as such was due to the fact that hey predicated their existence on a Book of Laws (Talmud, Torah, Bible) -whatever you want to call it or regardless of how it was composed. They didn't base their unique survival on Semitic racial purity -even though apparently this was heavily encouraged in such Law or Instruction- and also didn't depend solely on the existence of a Jewish Land -even though the "Promised Land" and the Temple weighs heavily in the Jewish consciousness. Some groups have amazingly persisted through history despite their relative minority status : i.e. Roma or gipsies (with no Book!) and have been able to navigate nationhood without integration in what some would call a show of true "reverse racism". Some groups have built a similar law-based core upon the Jewish model in order to persist and expand : Islam, Christianity and their derivatives like Mormonism and such. Of course they all claim to be true, "chosen" and distinct.

Despite the neutral tone of this particular volume and the insistence that Judaismis an ever evolving commentary , un-dogmatic and non theological, some biases certainly pop up. Many people from the more "enlightened" hues of any other religion could make the same arguments about their particular beliefs. But it is not these more advanced characteristics that make Judaism distinct. Otherwise, Buddhism would be a much more evolved religion. It is a One God (monotheistic) religion and doesn't suffer intermediaries or anthropomorphic baggage gladly (move over, Jesus, scurry Mohamed). One God, life after death and a moral path that can't explain the presence of evil in a world created by a moral God either, except to say that it is to preserve free will, a principle that won't satisfy anyone on the bottom end of the feeding chain.
I found the best historical accounts those relating to the Babylonian exile and the destruction of the second temple as well as the Jewish presence and expulsion from Spain. It was tough going after that because the exhaustive account seemed quite void of human drama. And drama there was in spades. As a black legend about Jews spread in Europe that linked them to money lending as a practice they were forced to undertake since Christianity frowned on usury, the plague, Christ killers and other nonsense, the Jews became a much hated group all across Europe . What the author fails to give is a broader perspective. What made the Jews, which by any accounts respected the civil laws of every country and made great contributions in the sciences, industry and arts, so much a target? The Jewish reader might just assume it has always been like that as some sort of a curse but it is still remains a bit mysterious, why not just mix in? What other groups paid such a similar price for their suffering? I don't think the author should have strayed and digress about mass psychology or religious doctrine but fleshing out some specifics could help non Jewish readers get into the heads of the reasons and the sources of all that pain.
What I came to find out here were the details. As a reader who considers the premise of a kind Creator that controls the Universe and provides eternal life quite far fetched -this is where the meat is. By the way, I know Buddhism does not believe in life after death but that makes t more of a self-help theory, great but so what. Yes, the nuances come when , once you skip the premise, you add 613 precepts about food and marriage, Kabbalah, regional differences and a myriad commentaries, responsa and sects. That is, the external visual and behavioral signs. I am not minimizing the importance of the faith itself as many people lead exemplary lives thanks to it, but I can't share that faith so I'm left to look around at the museum. For a visual person this book is also lacking. As a student of art and culture, it is essential to know in order to appreciate, even if one shares none of the beliefs and preoccupations with chicken parmigiana and circumcision.

Reading it made me think that it must be hard to remain Jewish when one compares the alleged miracles performed by God on behalf of "His" people in ancient times and the absolutely nothing "He" did during the Holocaust and other nasty incidents like progroms and mass expulsions from Spain, Poland and other places. As a matter of fact, it is hard to remain a believer at all, in anything. (Beyonce included) It was also interesting to see how the association between Communism and Judaism became a self-fulfilling prophecy as well as the eager interest in societal ascension and self- education shown by Jews around the world when given the opportunity and that is mirrored in groups under similar pressure.

[Wale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very educative overview of the history of the Jews and their religion. For anyone interested in such matters, this book is a valuable reference work and starting point for further forays into the world of Jewish experience.

[Paul]

This was a very informative book on all aspects of Judaism, both ancient and modern. Understanding the culture of Judaism has always been a deficiency of mine, and this booked helped me to focus on all of the components of its long tradition.

[C. Conner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a riveting story, but good for someone wanting to find out more about Jewish history and customs.