A BRIEF GUIDE TO JUDAISM

The Jewish religion is one of the major faiths of the world yet one of theleast understood. In a wide-ranging and accessible guide for the generalreader Rabbi Naftali Brawer outlines the major themes and history of over5,000 years of Jewish faith from its Abrahamic origins and the foundationsof Jerusalem to the eras of exile, diaspora, and persecution. From ritualand practise to faith and politics, the theology and history of Judaismare bound together. Brawer argues that Judaism is poised between heavenand earth. On the one hand it calls on its adherents to transcend thematerial world through ritual and prayer: on the other hand Judaismpositively celebrates joys of food, family and society. Through thisseeming paradox, Brawer explores the nature and characteristics of faith -God and Man, Torah, Mitzvah, the Jewish People and the Land of Israel. Healso shows how ritual and practise punctuate Jewish existence, from dailyprayers to the rites of passage that chart a lifetime.