What Do Jews Believe?

What Do We Believe?

by Edward Kessler

There is a story about a Jew who travels from Israel to the United States. When he returns, he tells his friend some of the amazing things he has seen. 'I met a Jew who had grown up in a yeshiva and knew large sections of the Talmud by heart. I met a Jew who was an atheist. I met a Jew who owned a large business and I met a Jew who was an ardent communist.' 'So what's so strange?' the friend asks. 'America is a big country and millions of Jews live there.' 'You don't understand,' the man answers. 'It was the same Jew.'Judaism is not simply a series of beliefs. It is a practice and a way of life. What Do Jews Believe? explores the variety of ways Jews live their lives: religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, Jews in Israel and Jews who live in the Diaspora. It asks what Judaism means and what it means to be a Jew. It also asks how and why such a small number of people, totalling no more than 20 million worldwide, have played such a significant role in our history.

Genres: Religion, Judaism, Jewish, History

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2006

Reviews

[Iqra Choudhry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super-useful and rather eye-opening

[LA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having always been surrounded by countless personal and professional contacts who are Jewish, I felt compelled to read this slim volume to try and gain a better understanding of this ancient faith. This book is very well written and was a great primer to the faith. However, in order to fully absorb the content, I need to reread this text. This is due to my own shortcomings, rather than that of the book. I am so limited in what I know about the faith that it would take me quite a while to gain any sort of working knowledge of the religion. When I am able to revisit the study of the faith again, I'll certainly look for this book once more.

[Marianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part is a concise, understandable look at Jewish history.

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a relatively small book which I hope has served to introduce me to Judaism and pave the way to greater understanding of this ancient and venerable religion and tradition. Surprisingly, Judaism has several strands of interpretation and degrees of devotion, not unlike Christianity. There is no central body of authoritative teachings as the Catholic magisterium of bishops, aside from the Torah, of course. In that sense, it seems to me to resemble the dissolution of the Christian Church following the protestant 'reformation'.

[Jason Pike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good start on a complex topic.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent little book with lots of good information, told with a blend of facts and stories. It gets you started in a balanced, informative way.

[Teddy Bear Books]

I'd honestly feel weird reviewing this book with any star-rating, as I only read it for a school project on Judaism. However, it was completely informative and to-the-point, as well as just short enough to finish while the project still went on.