From Karl Marx to the Marx brothers, the Routledge Who's Who in Jewish History presents a complete reference guide to over a thousand prominent men and women who have shaped Jewish culture. Covering twenty centuries of Jewish history it provides: * detailed biographical information on each leading figure * analysis of their role and significance both in Jewish life and the wider culture * a comprehensive chronological table displaying the history of the Jewish race * a useful glossary giving precise definitions of Jewish words.

From Karl Marx to the Marx brothers, the Routledge Who's Who in Jewish History presents a complete and thoroughly updated reference guide to over a thousand prominent men and women who have shaped Jewish culture. Covering twenty centuries of Jewish history it provides: * detailed biographical information on each leading figure * analysis of their role and significance both in Jewish life and the wider culture * a comprehensive chronological table displaying the history of the Jewish race * a series of maps * a useful glossary giving precise definitions of Jewish words.

From Karl Marx to the Marx brothers, the Routledge Who's Who in Jewish History presents a complete and thoroughly updated reference guide to over a thousand prominent men and women who have shaped Jewish culture. Covering twenty centuries of Jewish history it provides: * detailed biographical information on each leading figure * analysis of their role and significance both in Jewish life and the wider culture * a comprehensive chronological table displaying the history of the Jewish race * a series of maps * a useful glossary giving precise definitions of Jewish words.

A historical tour de force that demolishes the myths and taboos that have surrounded Jewish and Israeli history, The Invention of the Jewish People offers a new account of both that demands to be read and reckoned with. Was there really a forced exile in the first century, at the hands of the Romans? Should we regard the Jewish people, throughout two millennia, as both a distinct ethnic group and a putative nation—returned at last to its Biblical homeland? Shlomo Sand argues that most Jews actually descend from converts, whose native lands were scattered far across the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The formation of a Jewish people and then a Jewish nation out of these disparate groups could only take place under the sway of a new historiography, developing in response to the rise of nationalism throughout Europe. Beneath the biblical back fill of the nineteenth-century historians, and the twentieth-century intellectuals who replaced rabbis as the architects of Jewish identity, The Invention of the Jewish People uncovers a new narrative of Israel’s formation, and proposes a bold analysis of nationalism that accounts for the old myths. After a long stay on Israel’s bestseller list, and winning the coveted Aujourd’hui Award in France, The Invention of the Jewish People is finally available in English. The central importance of the conflict in the Middle East ensures that Sand’s arguments will reverberate well beyond the historians and politicians that he takes to task. Without an adequate understanding of Israel’s past, capable of superseding today’s opposing views, diplomatic solutions are likely to remain elusive. In this iconoclastic work of history, Shlomo Sand provides the intellectual foundations for a new vision of Israel’s future.

A fascinating history of the Jews, told by a master novelist, here is Chaim Potok's fascinating, moving four thousand-year history. Recreating great historical events, exporing Jewish life in its infinite variety and in many eras and places, here is a unique work by a singular Jewish voice.

Jewish identity is a perennial concern, as Jews seek to define the major features and status of those who “belong,” while at the same time draw distinctions between individuals and groups on the “inside” and those on the “outside.” From a variety of perspectives, scholarly as well as confessional, there is intense interest among non-Jewish and Jewish commentators alike in the basic question, “Who is a Jew?” This collection of articles draws diverse historical, cultural, and religious insights from scholars who represent a wide range of academic and theological disciplines. Some of the authors directly address the issue of Jewish identity as it is being played out today in Israel and Diaspora communities. Others look to earlier time periods or societies as invaluable resources for enhanced and deepened analysis of contemporary matters. All authors in this collection make a concerted effort to present their evidence and their conclusions in a way that is accessible to the general public and valid for other scholars. The result is a richly textured approach to a topic that seems always relevant. If, as is the case, no single answer appeals to all of the authors, this is as it should be. We all gain from the application of a number of approaches and perspectives, which enrich our appreciation of the people whose lives are affected, for better or worse, by real-life discussions of this issue and the resultant actions toward exclusivity or inclusivity.

Publication of Yosef Yerushalmi's Zakhor in 1982 inspired a generation of scholarly inquiry into historical images and myths, the construction of the Jewish past, and the making and meaning of collective memory. Here, eminent scholars in their respective fields extend the lines of his seminal study into topics that range from medieval rabbinics, homiletics, kabbalah, and Hasidism to antisemitism, Zionism, and the making of modern Jewish identity. Essays are clustered around four central themes: historical consciousness and the construction of memory; the relationship between time and history in Jewish thought; the demise of traditional forms of collective memory; and the writing of Jewish history in modern times.