Understanding Judaism Through History

Taking an unwavering historical approach to its subject, Breslauer's text was born out of a contention that student's best learn the fundamentals of Judaism through an engagement with the historical contexts that generated the variety of Jewish religious beliefs and practices. Encountering Jewish religious expressions both within particular historical periods and across chronological eras, readers of this text will discover Judaism as a dynamic tradition, not merely a set of static ideas and actions. Above all, they will come to recognize Judaism as a religion marked perennially by a notable and important diversity.

Daniel Breslauer, a Ph.D. from Brandeis University, is a specialist in post-biblical Jewish thought. His major field of research is modern Jewish thought. He has published twelve books, and articles in numerous journals. His teaching areas include Hebrew Scriptures, rabbinic, medieval, and modern Jewish thought, American Judaism and Islamic studies. Along with UNDERSTANDING JUDAISM THROUGH HISTORY, he has recently published a book on Mordecai Kaplan's thought in the postmodern age.