JUDAISM: HISTORY, BELIEF AND PRACTICE

Written by Dan Cohn-Sherbok Reviewed By Graham Keith

Dan Cohn-Sherbok has established himself as a prolific academic writer on themes in historic and contemporary Judaism. Here he has drawn on his vast knowledge to produce an introductory but comprehensive textbook for students new to Judaism.

A standardised format makes this an easy guide for a beginner. It is divided into ninety succinct chapters, each of which is followed by discussion questions, a bibliography and a selection of extracts from various sources to illustrate many of the major themes. These themes are themselves categorised under three headings—history, belief and practice. The section on history is by far the largest, as might be expected for a religion which that reflects the vicissitudes of the Jewish people over many centuries. It is embellished with many apposite maps showing the different centres of Jewish activity at different periods. Moreover, most of the sections on belief and practice also record historical developments, especially as they reflect on modern trends in Judaism.

Students should note that if they wish an overview of the various movements, especially those prominent in modern Judaism, they will need to garner materials from different sections of the book. Nor can they rely entirely on the index since this does not have as many references as it could.

Cohn-Sherbok advocates an inclusivist approach to Judaism in the modern world. That means he is wary of any attempt to impose a form of Jewish orthodoxy with which all who claim to be Jews would have to come in line. Here he has reflected that approach into the past, so that a number of diverse personalities and ideas are all treated sympathetically. We can appreciate how Shabbatai Zevi, the 17th century mystical Messiah who eventually apostatised to Islam, did briefly manage to sway the whole of the Jewish diaspora. We are not allowed to dismiss out of hand the modern Humanistic Jews who have dispensed with a belief in a transcendental God, but hold that many Jewish practices and festivals are worth retaining because they embody humanistic principles. We can even consider whether the apostle Paul remained ‘faithful to the Jewish faith’.

The advantage of such an approach is that we are enabled to view the multi-faceted Jewish tradition with scholarly objectivity. At the same time, however, hard questions are left largely unaddressed. Is Judaism simply the cultural and religious manifestation of the Jewish people over their history? Or is there such a thing as an essence of Judaism which that has remained constant over many centuries? A discerning reader will ask these questions, but will find only a sketch of possible answers in the chapter on the future of Judaism.

We should, however, never forget that this is an introductory textbook and in that respect it excels. Not least among the resources it provides is a free companion website, which helpfully gives discussion topics and internet links to enable study in greater depth on each of the topics. It also contains useful tips for teachers. With the bibliographical details in the book itself and the extra resources of the website, students should find it easy to supplement the basic information in this textbook. The initial stages of the learning process have been made very straightforward, and for that students and teachers alike will be very grateful.


Graham Keith

Ayr