Book description
The Jewish religion is one of the major faiths of the world yet one
of the least understood. In a wide-ranging and accessible guide for
the general reader Rabbi Naftali Brawer outlines the major themes and
history of over 5,000 years of Jewish faith from its Abrahamic origins
and the foundations of Jerusalem to the eras of exile, diaspora, and
persecution. From ritual and practise to faith and politics, the
theology and history of Judaism are bound together. Brawer argues that
Judaism is poised between heaven and earth. On the one hand it calls
on its adherents to transcend the material world through ritual and
prayer: on the other hand Judaism positively celebrates joys of food,
family and society. Through this seeming paradox, Brawer explores the
nature and characteristics of faith - God and Man, Torah, Mitzvah, the
Jewish People and the Land of Israel. He also shows how ritual and
practise punctuate Jewish existence, from daily prayers to the rites
of passage that chart a lifetime.
Naftali Bawer was born in Canada and used to live in New Jersey, US.
He has a PhD in Jewish studies and history and is currently the Rabbi at
the Borehamwood. He writes a regular column in the Jewish Chronicle. He
works on a number of interfaith committees in London.
