THE MEANING OF JEWISH HISTORY, Vols. I-II

Recognizing that answers to the question, What is the meaning of Jewish history? is likely to be more a matter of dogma and faith, for both Jews and Christians, than of inquiry and examination, the author undertakes a comprehensive study both of the historical record of the Jewish people and of the bases of interpretation which have prevailed from one period to another. He finds the familiar Christian answer of the ""Divine Mystery"" of the history of Judaism often a cover for anti-semitism. At the same time, the author recognizes certain striking aspects of uniqueness attending the experience of the Jewish people; their monotheism, their subjection through the centuries to anti-semitism, their remarkable survival even in dispersion, and in recent-years, the re-establishment of Israel. A history of the Jewish people is inescapably religious history, and the author develops this strand fully, especially as the scattering of the people from Palestine brought them into contact with other cultures and religions. A scholarly, broadly-conceived work, of high informative value for students within and without the Jewish community.