A History of Judaism

Goodman (Rome and Jerusalem), professor of Jewish studies at Oxford, integrates up-to-date scholarship into an accessible narrative look at more than 2,000 years of Judaism. His approach—combining the linear histories that earlier generations of scholars used with contemporary open-minded thinking about considering “the claims of all traditions”—avoids the common pitfalls of assuming that there was always a clearly-defined mainstream of Judaism. Beginning with the second century B.C.E., Goodman traces many varieties of the religion as it shifted over the centuries into its current incarnations; as he notes, “the central liturgical concern of 2,000 years ago—the performance of sacrificial worship in the Jerusalem Temple—has little to do with most forms of Judaism today.” He ends with a nuanced look at contemporary topics, particularly the adjustments major denominations have struggled to make in order to accommodate LGBTQ members and the increase in messianic strains among Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Despite the volume’s ambitious scope, Goodman leaves no significant topic unaddressed. This is the rare scholarly volume that offers new insights and details for the lay and academic reader alike. (Feb.)