cover image The Explorer's Guide to Judaism

The Explorer's Guide to Judaism

Jonathan Magonet. Hodder & Stoughton, $15.95 (340pp) ISBN 978-0-340-70984-9

Magonet, principal of Leo Baeck College in London, tells a story about the time he spoke at a conference in India. A young student walked up to him and expressed interest in Magonet's paper on Judaism. ""After all,"" the student said, ""I am very interested in the minor religions."" With that remark in mind, Magonet set out to write this introductory guide to Jewish history, doctrine and spirituality. The author provides a brief, clear and humorous insider's look at Judaism. He devotes each chapter to a particular topic, and he uses the number heading of the chapter to shape the chapter's title. For example, chapter one is titled, ""One is our God in heaven and earth: God and the Jewish people."" Other chapters examine the covenants between God and the Jews, the changing roles of Jewish women, the primacy of Torah in Judaism, the Talmudic and Mishnaic interpretations of Torah, the Shabbat and Jewish liturgy, Jewish rituals and Holy Days like Passover and Yom Kippur, and Jewish law and life today. Each chapter provides a brief historical explanation for a particular practice or belief, and Magonet liberally sprinkles into each chapter passages from the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud or the Mishnah that offer the ground out of which certain practices grow. In his section on Passover, for instance, the author quotes from the book of Exodus to illustrate the historical and biblical reasons for Passover, and he then describes in vivid detail the seder dinner and the seder liturgy in a modern Jewish home. Each chapter contains a list of ""further reading"" for those interested in more depth. Magonet's guide offers non-Jews an excellent primer on Judaism. (Feb.)