- Hardcover: 464 pages
- Publisher: Harperone; New title edition (Sep 16 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060524375
- ISBN-13: 978-0060524371
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16.3 x 4.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 862 g
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#50,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > History of Religion
- #22 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Jewish Life
- #55 in Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In Europe from the 16th to the 19th centuries, popular "books of customs" brought Judaism down to the level of "Every Jew." These books dealt with holidays, life-cycle rituals, weekly Sabbaths and daily prayers. Written in Yiddish, they were illustrated with woodcuts that showed how to observe the rituals and liturgies that composed day-to-day Judaism. Kosofsky, who stumbled upon one of these books while an undergraduate at Harvard, adapts several such guides for modern usage here, including all of the original woodcuts. (He also reproduces the title page from a 1593 edition that promises to teach readers "how to live like a good person" and boasts its superiority to all previous versions.) Kosofsky’s book is interesting both as a history lesson—12 of the woodcuts depict monthly farming activities, for example, showing how agricultural Jewish life was a few centuries ago—and a spiritual guide for modern readers. As Kosofsky demonstrates, a "book of customs" does as good a job today of "helping its readers feel comfortable and competent in the Jewish world" as it did hundreds of years ago.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Beginning in the late fourteenth century, The Book of Customs, a compact guide to the Jewish year, was published in Yiddish, the Jews' vernacular at that time in Europe. For nearly four centuries, elaborate editions were created, and it was among the most popular Jewish books in the European Diaspora until it disappeared by the end of the nineteenth century. Using the 1593 Venice edition as a model, Kosofsky added a number of discursive elements, including introductions to the book's major divisions and concepts, descriptions of all of the prayers and many of the Bible readings, a general chapter on Jewish law and custom, and one on Jewish prayer to explain how the daily prayer rituals are performed. Also added are chapters on customs and holidays that weren't mentioned, or didn't exist, in 1593, such as bar mitzvahs and the Holocaust Remembrance Day. This first English translation, as important as it is delightful, includes reproductions of many of the original woodcut illustrations that are housed in the libraries at Oxford and Harvard universities. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
CUSTOMS ARE THE POINT OF DEPARTURE for a Jewish life. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
CUSTOMS ARE THE POINT OF DEPARTURE for a Jewish life. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon Canada
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Judaism---An Owner's Manual, Nov 13 2005
By Howard M. Hyman - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Book Of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year (Hardcover)
This book is a marvelous find. I have been what I consider an observant conservative Jew for all of my 52 years. In that journey, I have heard many Rabbis, prayed many times, read many texts, magazines and newspapers. My knowledge was, however, a patchwork---with many holes in it.
This marvelous, well-researched and well-stated book pulls together many of the pieces that I had been missing---gives me the "WHY" for rituals and customs that, until now, have gone unexplained.
Hooray to Mr. Kosofsky for an excellent book. A wonderful choice for a Bar Mitzvah, wedding, or new home gift. A wonderful gift to yourself. It has given me further answer to the question, "HOW have we gotten to where we are today?"
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Book of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year, Jan 31 2006
By Trudy M. Andresen - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Book Of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year (Hardcover)
We gave this book to dear friends - practicing Jews - for Hanukkah and they are delighted with it. They said it is accurate and well written and have already used it as a handy reference.
This book makes a wonderful gift for any occasion. I have already purchased a copy for a young man for his June high school graduation.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-have for Jews and more..., Dec 30 2005
By Katy Stenhouse "Bibliophile" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Book Of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year (Hardcover)
This book is educational, erudite, and accessible. As a non-Jew and a former editor for Brill Academic Publishers, I think this is a must-have for anyone interested in Jewish tradition and have recommended it to friends of many faiths. It's fascinating!
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
