Basic Judaism

 
There are two things one should know about this book. One, (as theauthor points out) this book "is a book about the Jewish religion - notabout Jews or Jewish problems, or Jewish culture, or Zionism, but aboutthose beliefs, ideals, and practices which make up the historic Jewishfaith." Two, it is indeed - very - basic. Perhaps my thirst for detailkeeps me from appreciating this short a summary. I found MUCH moreinformation in three hours on the Internet than turns up here....Perhaps the book suffers because the author is trying to span thebreadth of Judaism, from Reform to Orthodox, in one volume.... On apositive note, Rabbi Steinberg does not beat about the bush - to giveone example. he straightforwardly describes the differences between(the various forms of) Christianity and Judaism. His views on St. Paulare "challenging". Christians may not like his judgments, but I thoughtmany of them seem quite on-target. On the negative side, do not expectfrom this volume a listing of the 613 Jewish commandments (though theyare mentioned). Do not expect any description of the Jewish lunarcalendar, or any listing of the months. Do not expect any descriptionof the Hebrew language. Do not expect any detailed description of theliturgy of the Shabbat service. I could forgive much of this (since thebook is only 172 pages long) except for the fact the author is verbose- especially in the first half of the book. (Incidentally, be awarethat "Basic Judaism" lacks all of the following: a bibliography, aglossary, any appendices, and an index!) Though I found this a pleasantread, I wouldn't use it as a starting point for any in-depth study ofJudaism.