Every Person's Guide to Judaism

by Stephen J. Einstein, Lydia Kukoff

Straightforward introduction to Judaism and its customs, ceremonies, and theology for daily living. Chapters include the Sabbath, festivals, lifecycle events, aspects of faith, the Jewish home, and more.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish, Nonfiction, Religion, Judaica

195 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

Reviews

[Gabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. Definitely does show its age given that it is a 30-year-old book, especially with the references to Soviet Jews and the fact that it takes prayers from the reform movements old official prayer book. The book however still stands, and the insight it gives for potential converts is great.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by my friend Jenn (daughter’s boyfriend’s mom) as a crash course in Jewish faith and traditions. It does not go deep, but I learned enough on a wide range of topics to satisfy my interest.

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very basic Judaism 101. Very dry.

[Mollie Connelly-MacNeill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thoughtful and engaging introduction.

[Elliott McCrory · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine summary of Judaism from my POV. Other than the plethora of Hebrew and Yiddish words, it reads well.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems best for people who wish to be (specifically) enthusiastic about Judaism. Not to say that one should not be enthusiastic, but this ain't a common denominator guide.

Somewhat strong coverage of festivals starts us off along the path to joy ("joy" and its variations appear in almost every paragraph throughout the book). Though Einstein provided enough info to diminish my ignorance, i wanted more about the origins and evolution of the holy days. Mr. E is focused almost exclusively on the here and now, on describing modern Judaism.

God and Death are not more clearly or cleverly written than the rest of the book, but these chapters discuss the most vexing questions (for me) about Judaism: why have i encountered almost zero eschatology so far? is it just because there's nothing about the afterlife in the first 5 books of the Bible? what kind of god is this Jewish deity anyway? is it as inscrutable as the tetragrammaton?

In an ideal world Every Person's Guide could never supplant or even substitute for the work of Rashi, Maimonides, Soloveitchik or any of the myriad scholarly endeavors brilliantly crafting every facet of Jewry.

Unless there's an eternal reading in the afterlife, i probably will have had to settle for this.

One could do worse (cf. An Introduction to Jainism).

[Vasha7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is misleading: this book is addressed not to "every person", but to potential converts. It strikes a tone of enthusiasm that I found a little overbearing at some moments; but at the same time, the authors' engagement and celebratory attitude towards Jewish community is appealing. Although such a short book can only give sketchy coverage to any one topic, they try to indicate the practices and beliefs of all the various branches of modern Judaism where they differ, very even-handedly. There are a few points where they stress "all Jews believe that...", which I wasn't always convinced by. One good thing they do is point out and clear up common misconceptions that people may have picked up from the Christian society they live in. There was a nice chapter on the meaning of Chanukah. The organization is good, covering holidays and life-cycle events before moving into general theological and religious points. They continually return to the importance of family, community, and historical continuity. On the whole, I thought it was pretty illuminating, even if it could be improved.