Judaism in Five Minutes

Sarah Imhoff is Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Chair in Jewish Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and the Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University. She is author of Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism (Indiana University Press, 2017) and The Lives of Jessie Sampter: Queer, Disabled, Zionist (Duke University Press, 2022). She is the founding co-editor of the journal American Religion.

• Table of ContentsPreface xiTexts1. Why are texts sacred to Jews? Brian Hillman, 32. What is the Torah? Laura Carlson Hasler, 63. What is the Talmud? Sara Ronis, 94. What is midrash? Sarah Imhoff, 125. What is Kabbalah? Brian Hillman, 15Laws and Rituals6. What is Jewish law? Yonatan Y. Brafman, 217. What is a rabbi? Sarah Imhoff, 248. What is Hanukkah? Jodi Eichler-Levine, 279. What happens during Passover? Laura Yares, 3010. What does kosher mean? Nora L. Rubel, 3311. Why don’t Jews eat pork? Jordan D. Rosenblum, 612. Do Jews drink alcohol? Jordan D. Rosenblum, 3913. Why do Jews circumcise boy children? Alison L. Joseph, 4214. What is a bar/bat mitzvah? Rachel Kranson, 4515. Why does gender matter in Jewish law? Ronit Irshai, 4816. What does it mean to be hasidic? Sam Shuman, 5117. What do Jews do on the Sabbath? Adrienne Krone, 5418. Can Jews get tattoos? Chaim McNamee, 5719. Why is the name of God important? James A. Diamond, 60Groups and Beliefs20. What are the differences among Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox Judaism? Joshua Shanes, 6521. What are the differences among Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jews? Max Daniel, 6822. What is Karaite Judaism? Meira Polliack, 7123. What languages do Jews speak? Sarah Bunin Benor, 7424. What does it mean to be a secular Jew? Jennifer Caplan, 7725. Do Jews believe in God? Elias Sacks, 8026. Can you convert to Judaism? Michal Kravel-Tovi, 8327. Can Jews marry non-Jews? Samira K. Mehta, 8628. How do Jews think about non-Jews? Ishay Rosen-Zvi, 9029. What do Jews think happens after you die? Matthew J. Suriano, 9330. What do Jews believe about the messiah? Martin Kavka, 9631. Are there angels and demons in Judaism? Sara Ronis, 9932. Who are crypto-Jews? Sasha M. Ward, 102Judaism and Other Religions33. Why don’t Jews believe in Jesus? Adam Gregerman, 10934. Was Jesus Jewish? Meira Z. Kensky, 11235. Did Jews kill Jesus? Eric Vanden Eykel, 11536. Was Paul Jewish? Elias Sacks, 11837. Why do Jews and Christians disagree if they read a lot of the same Bible? Benjamin E. Sax, 12138. What are Jewish-Christian relations? Jessica Cooperman, 12439. Who are Messianic Jews? Yaakov Ariel, 12740. What is the relationship between the Bible and the Qur’an? Shari L. Lowin, 13041. What is Judeo-Islamic civilization? Liran Yadgar, 13342. Who was Moses Maimonides? Alan Verskin, 136Jewish Difference43. What is antisemitism? Jeffrey I. Israel, 14144. Are Jews White? Sabina Ali, 14445. Are Jews European or Middle Eastern or something else? 1 Aziza Khazzoom, 14746. What is the relationship between Blacks and Jews? Henry Goldschmidt, 15047. Is Judaism a religion or an ethnicity? Jeffrey I. Israel, 15348. Does Judaism pass down through the mother? Deena Aranoff, 15649. Can you tell if you’re Jewish from your DNA? Rachel B. Gross, 159Holocaust50. What is the Holocaust? Helene Sinnreich, 16551. What role did race play in the Holocaust? Mark Roseman, 16852. How did Jews resist during the Holocaust? Sean Sidky, 17153. How do Jews commemorate the Holocaust? Laura Levitt, 17454. Is it OK for art, films, or novels to depict the Holocaust? Sean Sidky, 17755. How do Jews think about God and the Holocaust? Barbara Krawcowicz, 180Zionism and Israel56. What is Zionism? Jacob Beckert, 18557. What is anti-Zionism? Shaul Magid, 18958. What is the role of Judaism in the State of Israel? Alexander Kaye, 18259. How is ancient Israel related to the State of Israel today? Rachel Havrelock, 195Judaism and Social Issues60. What are Jewish ethics? William Plevan, 20161. What does Judaism say about social justice? Aryeh Cohen, 20462. What’s the connection between Jews and feminism? Steven Kaplin, 20763. What does Judaism say about the climate crisis? Dustin Atlas, 21064. How do Jewish traditions portray trans and, nonbinary identities? Joy Ladin, 21365. What does contemporary Judaism say about sexualities? Jonathan B. Krasner, 21666. How do Jewish traditions approach disability? Andrea D. Cooper, 22067. What’s the deal with Jews and comedy? Jennifer Caplan, 22368. Where do stereotypes about Jews and money come from? Samuel Hayim Brody, 22669. What does Jewish tradition say about war? Geoffrey D. Claussen, 22970. How have Jews approached slavery? Jonathan K. Crane, 23271. What do Jews think about abortion? Samira K. Mehta, 235Index 239