Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Each spring Jewish people throughout the world celebrate Passover with the ritual of the Seder. Through a detailed anthropological and symbolic analysis, Cernea shows why the Seder continues to be a fundamental part of the process by which Jewich society creates and defines itself. In an age in which ritual observance among Jews is on the decline, this ancient ritual is still vital. In this cohesive volume, Cernea uses anthropological theories, history, folklore, religious writings, and personal observation to explain how the Seder permits participants to see their current experience through the prism of society's history. The Seder plate, with its ordinary foods presented in an extraordinary manner, gives voice to other concepts vital to Jewish culture long after the Seder is over. Originally published in 1981 by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Synopsis
Through a detailed anthropological and symbolic analysis, Cernea shows why the Seder continues to be a fundamental part of the process by which Jewich society creates and defines itself.
Editorials
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal Of Jewish Studies
I believe that it is the best sustained discussion of Jewish ritual and liturgy employing an anthropological framework which is currently available.— D. Bruce Rosenstock, University of California, Davis