The New Encyclopedia of Judaism

Editor/Author: Editors: Wigoder, Geoffrey, Skolnik, Fred and Himelstein, Shmuel
Publication Year: 2002
Publisher: New York University Press

ISBN: 978-0-8147-9388-6
Category: religion
Image Count: 7
Book Status: Available

Includes hundreds of special articles covering subjects in analytical depth, as well as short biographies of the major figures in the story of Judaism.

This book is found in the following Credo Collections:

General Reference

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Although its page count has increased by only ten percent, this major revision of an important reference work (1st ed., The Encyclopedia of Judaism, ed. by Wigoder, CH, May'90) adds many new articles and revises numerous older ones. Greater weight is given to biblical periods such as the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and new biographies of biblical, Talmudic, Hasidic, and popular historical figures are added. All the books of the Apocrypha and some of the Pseudepigrapha are covered. At the other historical end, the editors supply a separate entry for Zionism and sketches of its leading personalities. The previous edition's focus on daily, Sabbath, and holiday liturgy and ritual has been amplified by new entries and revision of earlier ones. The influence of feminism is seen in articles on biblical figures Miriam and Deborah and modern personalities such as Blu Greenberg and Susannah Heschel. Minor errors still exist: the founder of the Youth Aliyah was Recha Freier, not Henrietta Szoid; in the entry "Hafets Hayyim," the term "kodashim" denotes the fifth order of the Mishnah, not a Talmudic tractate. A new, useful annotated bibliography is arranged by 11 broad categories, though one may argue about the choice of titles; e.g., under "Modern Movements," five titles treat Zionism and Israel and one the history of the reform movement, but none covers Conservative Judaism, modern Orthodox Judaism, or any of the secular Jewish ideologies. Boldface for article captions and larger font for the index make both easier to read. The index uses asterisks to precede main entries and arrows to indicate both see and see also references; this edition explains both symbols. Cross-references within articles pointing to additional main entries are indicated by small capitals. Despite the few minor errors or inconveniences, an important revision.
D. Kranzler
Queensborough Community College, CUNY