Jewish Passages
Subtitle: Cycles of Jewish Life (The S. Mark Taper Foundation Imprint in Jewish Studies)
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: October 17, 2003
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 392
ISBN-13: 9780520206939
Subjects: Cultural studies; Customs; Jewish Studies; Judaism - Rituals & Practice; Sociology; Religion; Life cycle, Human; Customs & Traditions; Social Science / Jewish Studies; Fasts and feasts; Customs and practices; Jewish way of life; Judaism
Description: American or Middle Eastern, Ashkenazi or Sephardi, insular or immersed in modern life--however diverse their situations or circumstances, Jews draw on common traditions and texts when they mark life's momentous events and rites of passage. The interplay of past and present, of individual practice and collective identity, emerges as a central fact of contemporary Jewish experience in Harvey E. Goldberg's multifaceted account of how Jews celebrate and observe the cycles of life. A leading anthropologist of Jewish culture, Goldberg draws on his own experience as well as classic sources and the latest research to create a nuanced portrait of Jewish rituals and customs that balances the reality of "ordinary Jews" with the authority of tradition.