The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture

by Benjamin Blech

For 5,758 years, the Jewish people and their culture survived and prospered, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles such as the Egyptian enslavement, the destruction of the two temples in Jerusalem, the Spanish Inquisition, Russian pogroms, the Nazi Holocaust, and continued anti-Semitism today. This Complete Idiots Guide contains easy-to-follow coverage of all of Jewish history, including profiles of Biblical, religious, and political leaders such as Abraham, Moses, King David, and Golda Meir. The last part of the book focuses on understanding the Jewish influence on American and world culture, with insights the Yiddish and Hebrew languages; theater; art; literature; comedy; film; television; and more.

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

406 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

Benjamin Blech, born in Zurich in 1933, is an Orthodox rabbi who now lives in New York City.

Rabbi Blech has been a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University since 1966, and was the Rabbi of Young Israel of Oceanside for 37 years. In addition to his work in the rabbinate, Rabbi Blech has written many books on Judaism and the Jewish people and speaks on Jewish topics to communities around the world.

Rabbi Blech received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yeshiva University, a Master of Arts degree in psychology from Columbia University, and rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

Reviews

[Jillian Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book. I have always been fascinated and curious about Jewish history and culture. The study of Judaism is extremely interesting to me. This book was very insightful and written with humor. I was surprised by the Jewish academics who worked and gave information to this book. I think Jewish history is so imperative and has many parallels into Christianity and America. Culture. Must read for everyone!

5/5 stars

[Louis Elsass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positives: Taught me a hell of lot.

A few negatives: Its clear american point of view, is quite annoying, and so is the continues references to other chapters. Also, some parts feels random, praising random unknown jews.

Some parts doesn't feel truly objective.

But then again, I enjoyed it.

[Phyllis Neff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great summary of jewish history

Got logic? Jewish survival defies logic unless you believe in G-d. Rabbi blech does just that. Would recommend to my Christian friends too.

[Rhonda Audas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a tremendous amount from this book.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's aged poorly over the past 30 years, but it still offers a fun overview.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book. I couldn't even begin to tell everything. I learn that I will never you the cheer hip hip hooray, this being a slander toward the jews, who knew. This book is great for non-jews wanting to know more about who jews are and our history. I would highly recommend this to my non jewish friends as well to my jewish ones as well. What an eye opener.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good overview with a lot of history, specifics, explanatory material, background, etc. Anecdotes, definitions, descriptions of the different traditions under the umbrella of Judaism... Good even if you're not a complete idiot.

[Elisa Kay]

This book was amazing! I learnt alot about the history of the Jewish culture - which helped me to understand mine too! I also learnt about many famous Jewish people in American society particularly.

[Rach]

This book was amazing! I learnt alot about the history of the Jewish culture - which helped me to understand mine too! I also learnt about many famous Jewish people in American society particularly.

[Rachel Grepke · Rating 3 out of 5]

While written in a fairly fast paced style, this book lacks quite a bit. In some instances gave too much info and in other ways, not enough. There were a few Biblical inferrences that were not accurate or whole. A good basic thought to begin research and get a basic understanding.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both interesting and informative. Sure, it's a twenty-five year old nonfiction title, but if you're ignorant about the basics, it does a pretty good job of hitting the highlights of several thousand years of history.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read my review of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture .

[Amuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got the second edition