Jewish Body: An Anatomical History of the Jewish People

by Melvin Konner

A history of the Jewish people from bris to burial, from "muscle Jews" to nose jobs.

Melvin Konner, a renowned doctor and anthropologist, takes the measure of the "Jewish body," considering sex, circumcision, menstruation, and even those most elusive and controversial of microscopic markers-Jewish genes. But this is not only a book that examines the human body through the prism of Jewish culture. Konner looks as well at the views of Jewish physiology held by non-Jews, and the way those views seeped into Jewish thought. He describes in detail the origins of the first nose job, and he writes about the Nazi ideology that categorized Jews as a public health menace on par with rats or germs.

A work of grand historical and philosophical sweep, The Jewish Body discusses the subtle relationship between the Jewish conception of the physical body and the Jewish conception of a bodiless God. It is a book about the relationship between a land-Israel-and the bodily sense not merely of individuals but of a people. As Konner describes, a renewed focus on the value of physical strength helped generate the creation of a Jewish homeland, and continued in the wake of it.

With deep insight and great originality, Konner gives us nothing less than an anatomical history of the Jewish people.

Part of the Jewish Encounter series

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

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 29, 2008

About the author

Melvin Konner, M.D. is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University. He is the author of Women After All, Becoming a Doctor and Medicine at the Crossroads, among other books.

Reviews

[Lorri · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A God without a body. From the beginning, this peculiar, even crazy notion anchored the faith of the Jews and made them objects of ridicule and suspicion among their neighbors“. So are the opening words of The Jewish Body, by Melvin Konner. The book is an intriguing book, detailing so many events and issues that are relevant to the Jewish body. By body, I mean the physical and spiritual body of an individual, and the body of a people, within the all-encompassing aspects of a group of individuals.

There is a chronology at the back of the book that is informative. The book is infused with illustrations, pen and ink examples and photographs. Much of the text is written from a philosophical perspective, with scientific examples included. From head to toe, the external Jewish body is verbally examined in minute detail. The internal body is examined as far as the organs go. The soul is illuminated, and the contrasts of the physical Jewish body with the spiritual body is compared.

The Jewish Body is an extremely intriguing book, giving the reader a look at Jewish individuals from a unique perspective.

[Michale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first quarter of this book, including discussions of what characterize the differences between Jewish and Greek approaches to the body: "As the Jews were an extension of rabbinic Judaism, the Christians became the heirs of Apollonian Greece and Rome." Then it sorta went downhill, turning into just what I'd expect from an anthropologist...with too much focus on Philip Roth as the expression par excellence of current Jewish approaches to sex and body.

[ROBERT · Rating 3 out of 5]

i started this so long ago I have lost some threads/.. from whaty I can recall parts were interesting.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. The book was disjointed, and much of it was not on topic. I have enjoyed other books by Konner, most notably The Tangled Wing and Unsettled. I was expecting a semi-scholarly work based on anthropology and medicine, but what I got was a series of largely repetitive essays, culminating in a celebration of the state of Israel.

[Amanda Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Equally as interesting as it is androcentric. Entire chapter on circumcision, and all of 2 pages on menstruation. Konner does not examine why menstruation is even considered to be unclean but spends an entire chapter questioning whether or not circumcision makes men more fertile - one of the primary reasons for circumcision in Genesis. Underwhelming for feminist readers.

[RUSA CODES · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an Honorable Mention for the Sophie Brody Award for 2010. For the complete list, go to http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/aw...

[Irving]

This is a grate book. Not about sex but a history of Jews. Jewish authors,philosophy. ,