Overview

Full Product Details

9780810886162

Table of Contents

Reviews

Boston College professor Rabbi Langer presents a comprehensive bibliography of works available in English that address the origins, development, meanings, context, and approaches to Jewish liturgy 'from its prehistory in the Second Temple period to today.' Over 1,000 annotated entries are organized by historical era and theme. The introduction provides an overview of the liturgy and commentaries that developed around it. Topics are introduced in their historical or scholarly context, then delineated into related subtopics. For example, the chapter 'Second Temple-Era Liturgy and Worship' includes subsections treating the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, temple worship, and prayer language. Examples of other chapters include 'Life Cycle Rituals,' 'Women and Prayer,' and 'Comparisons with Early Christian Liturgy.' Entries are enumerated, with some works listed under multiple sections and properly cross-referenced. The brief annotations summarize each work and often include evaluations of their strengths, weaknesses, and scholarly level. The glossary, abbreviations key, and index are helpful additions. Originally proposed as a work 'geared primarily to Christian seminary contexts,' this book would be of most benefit to readers who have some background knowledge in the field. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; professionals/practitioners. CHOICE This welcome volume is published primarily for a Christian readership interested in gaining a broad overview of Jewish liturgy. But it is a fruitful contribution for a variety of additional audiences as well: students and young scholars of rabbinic Judaism and Jewish liturgy, Jewish adult learning, and even autodidactic attempts to enter the academic field of Jewish prayer guided by an expert of the field who is uniquely able to balance scholarship with lucidity; someone also whose mastery of the various Jewish academic and religious perspectives is supplemented with familiarity with Christian liturgy too. Moreover, as a bibliography reflecting up-to-date liturgical research, this book is a worthy addition not just for beginners and for Christians entering the field, but for Jewish scholars, too. First of all, the bibliography testifies to the rapid growth of the field. Second, the realignment of structure relative to Tabory's bibliography of the 1990s expresses an overall trend to expand the field in new and holistic ways. Jewish liturgy is coming of age as a focus in Jewish research; Langer is among the very few experts who are making it so; and her book is a guide to where the field is going. Theological Studies

Boston College professor Rabbi Langer presents a comprehensive bibliography of works available in English that address the origins, development, meanings, context, and approaches to Jewish liturgy 'from its prehistory in the Second Temple period to today.' Over 1,000 annotated entries are organized by historical era and theme. The introduction provides an overview of the liturgy and commentaries that developed around it. Topics are introduced in their historical or scholarly context, then delineated into related subtopics. For example, the chapter 'Second Temple-Era Liturgy and Worship' includes subsections treating the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, temple worship, and prayer language. Examples of other chapters include 'Life Cycle Rituals,' 'Women and Prayer,' and 'Comparisons with Early Christian Liturgy.' Entries are enumerated, with some works listed under multiple sections and properly cross-referenced. The brief annotations summarize each work and often include evaluations of their strengths, weaknesses, and scholarly level. The glossary, abbreviations key, and index are helpful additions. Originally proposed as a work 'geared primarily to Christian seminary contexts,' this book would be of most benefit to readers who have some background knowledge in the field. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; professionals/practitioners. CHOICE

Author Information

Ruth Langer is professor of Jewish studies in the Theology Department at Boston College and associate director of its Center for Christian–Jewish Learning. She received her rabbinic ordination and PhD from Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati. She publishes widely in the fields of Jewish liturgy and Christian–Jewish relations.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available