The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies

[The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies] boldly seeks to introduce all the major areas of the discipline and give the reader a concise, informative and up-to-date account of the wide-ranging developments in each ... [It] proves to be a wealth of information and a very useful starting point for lay-person or specialist alike ... [and] can be recommended as a first, non-overwhelming, port of call for all interested parties. * Journal of Semitic Studies * Dean Phillip Bell and the contributors deserve much credit for producing this excellent reader about the state and future of Jewish Studies. The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies serves as a useful introduction for students and scholars alike. The essays are well written, concise, and informative. In addition to tracing Jewish Studies from the biblical and rabbinical period to the present several topical essays cover more recent fields of study such as gender, demography, and Israel Studies. -- Tobias Brinkmann, Penn State University, USA The Bloomsbury Companion to Jewish Studies brings together some of the world's leading authorities on Jewish history, society, and culture to provide a rigorous, yet readable, resource for any student, whether in a traditional academic setting or in informal education. Particularly refreshing is the project's focus on the rise of Jewish Studies as a global phenomenon. The Companion's emphasis on the global reminds students that Jews in the past maintained a creative tension between the local culture of the places they lived and global Jewish connection through texts and language, and that Jewish Studies in the present appears around the world, but in each place manifests itself differently. The book is also particularly useful for its helpful maps, timelines, glossary, and bibliography. -- David Shneer, University of Colorado Boulder, USA

Dean Phillip Bell is Dean, Chief Academic Officer, and Professor of Jewish History at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA.

Introduction, Dean Phillip Bell, Dean and Chief Academic Officer (Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA) Part I The Formation of Judaism and Jewish Society 1 The Hebrew Bible, Leonard J. Greenspoon, Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Professor in Jewish Civilization and Professor of Classical & Near Eastern Studies and of Theology (Creighton University, USA) 2 The World of the Rabbis, Gary G. Porton, Sarah and Charles Drobny Professor of Talmudic Studies and Judaism (University of Illinois, USA) New Contexts: Medieval Jews and Judaism Comparative Medieval Perspectives, Elisheva Baumgarten, Senior Lecturer, Department of Jewish Studies and Gender Studies (Bar-Ilan University, Israel) and Marina Rustow, Charlotte Bloomberg Associate Professor in the Humanities (The John Hopkins University, USA) 3 Jews and the Islamic World: Transitions from Rabbinic to Medieval Contexts, Marina Rustow, Charlotte Bloomberg Associate Professor in the Humanities (The John Hopkins University, USA) 4 Medieval Jews and Judaism in Christian Contexts, Elisheva Baumgarten Senior Lecturer, Department of Jewish Studies and Gender Studies (Bar-Ilan University, Israel) Changing Tempos and Foci: Looking to Modernity 5 Early Modern Jews and Judaism, Dean Phillip Bell, Dean and Chief Academic Officer (Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA) 6 Modernity, Judaism, and Jews, Gil Graff, Executive Director (BJE: Builders of Jewish Education, Los Angeles, USA) Part II Reorienting Contemporary Jewry and Jewish Studies 7 Mainstreams and Margins: Rethinking Contemporary Jewry, Yehuda Kurtzer, President (Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, USA) 8 Women, Gender, and Judaism, Judith R. Baskin, Philip H. Knight Professor of Humanities and Associate Dean for Humanities (College of Arts and Sciences, University of Oregon, USA) 9 Jewish Arts and Material Culture, Judah M. Cohen, Lou and Sybil Mervis Professor of Jewish Culture, Indiana University (USA) 10 Jewish Demography, Sergio DellaPergola, Shlomo Argov Professor Emeritus of Israel-Diaspora Relations (Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University, Israel) 11 The State of Israel Studies, Michael Kotzin, Senior Counselor to the President of the Chicago Federation, and Elie Rekhess, Visiting Crown Chair in Middle East Studies and Professor of History (Northwestern University, USA) Part III Glossary Maps Timeline Select Bibliography Contributor Biographies Index