Jewish symbols reflect the interaction of word and image within Jewish culture. Jews have always studied, interpreted, and revered sacred texts; they have also adorned the settings and occasions of sacred acts. Calligraphy and ornamentation have transformed Hebrew letters into art; quotation, interpretation, legend, and wordplay have made ceremonial objects into narrative. This book represents just such a collaboration between art and language. Ellen Frankel and Betsy Platkin Teutsch, writer and artist, have brought their extensive knowledge and talents together to create The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols, the first reference guide of its kind, designed for use by educators, artists, rabbis, folklorists, feminists, Jewish and non-Jewish scholars, and lay readers.

... Jewish experience today. each entry traces the Symbol's history from its ancient roots to its modern expression.

An illustrated A to Z reference containing over 800 entries providing information on the theology, people, historical events, institutions and movements related to the religion of Judaism.

This is a book about contemprorary issues, each of which is addressed from an Orthodox Jewish perspective in two to three pages.

Kantor writes from the perspective of a traditional Jew, covering events such as the Flood, giving of the Torah, and the fall of the Tower of Babel, placing these within the chronology of history along with the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust, and the founding of the State of Israel.