I just finished composing my weekly D’var Torah on parashat Terumah, focusing on gifts, and a surprise parcel arrived at my front door. A delightful and marvelous gift. This gold mine of Jewish thought and history, certainly one of the most succinctly written and remarkably illustrated, comprehensive, and educational books I’ve been privileged to study about our history, is one I choose to see as a genuine reward, given the timing, for my heavy focus on the value of giving among our people. We know there is no such thing as “coincidence.”
Stuart Schnee and Feldheim, thank you very much for sending this spectacular paperback for my review.
What am I so enthusiastic about and find so rare and treasured in this lucid resource for all interested in increasing their knowledge of basic principles of Judaism? Overflowing within its 216 pages is information, biographies, a bibliography, and glossary that will furnish beginner and already knowledgeable alike with understandings, facts, quotes and more, that are central for all to have easy and readable access.
I was unaware, for example, that the first duty of a Jew is to know who s/he is, from whom s/he is descended, and what his/her purpose is in the world. The first pages of the book will open your eyes to answers in the crispest way. Fortified with well-found quotes from this resource, you’ll show up at your next Shabbat table with an opportunity to ignite a brilliant discussion.
Do you remember the Six Remembrances, the Thirteen Principles of Faith, the simple meaning of Free Choice (the latter according to Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato)? You won’t go beyond page 28 without knowing the answers in a straightforward manner.
From there, the book takes us through basic Jewish history, an introduction into our holy language in both written and oral form, the foundation of our weekday and Shabbat/holiday prayers, a brief introduction into written and oral Torah, how the Torah has been transmitted to us from Abraham to the Acharonim, and a bit about the laws of Judaism vis-à-vis the Jewish calendar, Shabbat, and kashrut.
The charts, graphs, and visual displays of facts and lists are clear “take-withs” that are worthy of keeping portrayed in your mind. It certainly brings lucidity and intelligibility in a user-friendly way. I particularly appreciated the brief biographies of our well-known and often quoted Rabbis through the ages, as well as the Hebrew-English glossary of key terms. For someone not especially silver-tongued in Hebrew, this is a lifesaver and helps elucidate and brighten the book even further.
Regardless of the path you are on in Judaism, or even if you don’t consider yourself on a particular trail, this will expand your cerebral understanding of our faith as well as touch you in kind, sensitive and empathic ways — not an easy task for a fact-packed teaching aid such as this must-have book has expertly, cleverly and skillfully accomplished. What a gift of true largesse!