The Woman Who Laughed at God: The Untold History of the Jewish People
Who is a Jew? In this colorful, eye-opening work, bestselling author and lecturer Jonathan Kirsch takes us on a three-thousand-year tour of Jewish identity and diversity and offers answers to this complex and difficult question. Kirsch reveals that Judaism has never been a religion of strict and...
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Who is a Jew? In this colorful, eye-opening work, bestselling author and lecturer Jonathan Kirsch takes us on a three-thousand-year tour of Jewish identity and diversity and offers answers to this complex and difficult question. Kirsch reveals that Judaism has never been a religion of strict and narrow orthodoxy. For every accepted tradition in Jewish faith there are countertraditions rooted in biblical antiquity: the Maccabee freedom fighters who closed the Bible and picked up swords, dervish-like ecstatics who claimed to enjoy direct communication with God even after they had been excommunicated by a distrustful rabbinate, and courageous men and women who were the forgotten heroes of the Holocaust. With drama and narrative verve, Kirsch explores these and many other "Judaisms" that make up the rich tapestry of Jewish identity.Author Biography: Jonathan Kirsch is a book columnist for the Los Angeles Times and author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed King David; Moses: A Life; and The Harlot by the Side of the Road. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, past president of PEN/Center USA West, and a former correspondent for Newsweek.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780142196113 (0142196118)
Publish date: October 29th 2002
Publisher: Penguin
Pages no: 336
Edition language: English
A very bad, rather twisted look at Judaism and trying to reconcile it with paganish goddess worship and laying on the guilt as to why we Jews just keep saying NO to certain practices. Doesn't ease up on the guilt either. Lots of misinformation. Others may be of different opinion, but to me, this was...