MODERN VARIETIES OF JUDAISM

This book is an expansion of lectures given at various universities and theological seminaries, by a member of the faculty of religion at Columbia He takes as his point of departure the emergence of Modern Judaism from its situation, in which it was both sequestered by a more or less hostile Genti and yet heavily depended upon by that culture for many essential services. The Enlightenment is credited with being a primary force in altering this situation and of providing a more open intercourse among Jewish and Gentile intellectual artists. The historical development of the process thus initiated is traced considerable detail; the most surprising information is in the author's the place of the Jewish community in the rising American society and of the acceptance given Judaism here. The rise of is fully discussed, and ture of national and religious elements analyzed. The prospect for a Judaism, responsive to present times, concludes the book. This is a scholar but accessible to every reader, Jewish or Gentile, who wishes to be better on the background of Judaism in modern times.