The Blackwell Companion to Judaism

This Companion explores the history, doctrines, divisions, and contemporary condition of Judaism.

• Surveys those issues most relevant to Judaic life today: ethics, feminism, politics, and constructive theology
• Explores the definition of Judaism and its formative history
• Makes sense of the diverse data of an ancient and enduring faith

Contributors viii

Preface xii

Part I: The History of Judaism 1

1 Defining Judaism 3
Jacob Neusner

2. The Religious World of Ancient Israel to 586 BCE 20
Marvin A. Sweeney

3. Judaism and the Hebrew Scriptures 37
Philip R. Davies

4. Second Temple Judaism 58
Frederick J. Murphy

5. The Formation of Rabbinic Judaism, 70-640 C.E 78
Guenter Stemberger

6. The Canon of Rabbinic Judaism 93
Jacob Neusner

7. Judaism and Christianity in the Formative Age 112
Bruce D. Chilton

8. Judaism in the Muslim world 131
Sara Reguer

9. Judaism in Christendom 142
David R. Carr

10. Philosophy in Judaism: Two Stances 162
Daniel Breslauer

11. Jewish Piety 181
Tzvee Zahavy

Part II: The Principal Doctrines of Judaism 191

12. The Doctrine of Torah 193
Jacob Neusner

13. The Doctrine of God 212
Alan J. Avery-Peck

14. The Doctrine of Israel 230
Jacob Neusner

15. The Doctrine of the Messiah 247
William Scott Green and Jed Silverstein

16. The Doctrine of Hebrew Language Usage 268
David Aaron

Part III: Modern and Contemporary Judaisms 289

17. Reform Judaism 291
Dana Evan Kaplan

18. Orthodox Judaism 311
Benjamin Brown

19. Conservative Judaism: The Struggle Between Ideology and Popularity 334
Daniel Gordis

20. New Age Judaism 354
Jeffrey K. Salkin

Part IV: Special Topics in Understanding Judaism 371

21. Ethics of Judaism 373
Elliot N. Dorff

22. Women in Contemporary Judaism 393
Judith R. Baskin

23. Judaism as a Theopolitical Phenomenon 415
Daniel J. Elazar

24. Contemporary Jewish Theology 441
Neil Gillman

25. Secular Forms of Jewishness 464
Paul Mendes-Flohr

26. Judaism and Zionism 477
Yosef Gorney

27. The "Return" to Traditional Judaism at the End of the Twentieth Century: Cross Cultural Comparisons 495
M. Herbert Danzger

Abbreviations 512

Index 515

‘The Blackwell Companion to Judaism is a formidable attempt, in a series of learned and elegant essays, to tackle the many questions concerning Judaism. The organization is commendably lucid. The style throughout is accessible to a wide readership, without sacrifice to standards of accuracy and analysis.’
—Times Literary Supplement

‘Where the Companion scores highly over other similar works is that the editors have been able to elicit contributions that contain the latest scholarship or position on each subject, so that the contemporaneity and the quality of each is perfectly dovetailed. This will be the benchmark by which future examples of the genre will be measured.’
—The Expository Times

‘I am excited at the prospect of the publication of this book, in that it promises to display the lifelong fruits of research and mature insights of a master scholar on Judaism.’
—Kenneth Hart Green, University of Toronto

"[T]he contributors place Judaism in historical context, elaborate on its principal doctrines, introduce forms of modern and contemporary Judaism, and shed light on special topics in understanding contemporary Judaism, such as ethics, women theopolitical aspects, secular forms of Jewishness, and Zionism."
—Journal of Contemporary Religion

"Comparative, comprehensive and highly readable, Matthewes' book provides an overview of religious ethics in three traditions without sacrificing the specificity of each ethical system. The author effortlessly enlightens the reader as to how Judaism, Christianity and Islam deals with highly relevant topics such as family, love, sexuality, lying, war, capital punishment and many more themes in a provocative and graceful manner."
—Ebrahim Moosa, Duke University

Jacob Neusner is Distinguished Research Professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida and Professor of Religion at Bard College. He has seven honorary degrees, fourteen academic medals and has published more than 800 books.

Alan J. Avery-Peck is Kraft-Hiatt Professor in Judaic Studies at The College of the Holy Cross. His has published widely and is editor of the journal The Annual of Rabbinic Judaism: Ancient, Medieval and Modern.

This Companion explores the history, doctrines, divisions, and contemporary condition of Judaism. It organizes and places into context the history of Judaism from ancient through modern times, identifies and expounds some of Judaism's principal doctrines, introduces the more important forms of modern and contemporary Judaism, and takes up topics of special interest in contemporary Judaic life.

The 27 contributions to this Companion and the selections in the associated Blackwell Reader in Judaism illustrate important points, with primary sources complementing the exposition. In this way, the editors talk about Judaism and let Judaism speak for itself. All the contributors, experts in their field, address a broad audience, assuming an interest in the subject but no prior knowledge. They present introductions for any reader interested in the subject, and do not take partisan or sectarian positions.

This volume will guide those curious about the past and present of a vital religious tradition that has exercised influence far beyond its own community.