ISRAEL: A History of the Jewish People

by Rufus Learsi ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Erroneously listed under REPRINTS on P. 15, this -- on examination of the finished book, proves to be an original publication and an important one. A one volume and up to date history of the Jews is an achievement, and the text bears the stamp of scholarship and is vigorously and dramatically written. Certain things stand out unforgettably:- the pattern of survival against incredible odds; the resurgence of the Jewish homeland goal, through successive exiles (Egypt- Babylonia- the Dispersion in the Christian era-the contemporary scattering of European Jews); the clinging to the faith in one God; the synagogue as center of Jewish life (started to fulfill a vital need during the Babylonian captivity); the Torah and the Talmud as a body of law, a way of life, a record of history, literature, philosophy; the continuity of keeping of certain holy days and holidays where-ever Jews come together -- factors in the solidarity of a minority people, bases of their indomitable courage and strength. Their history reaches back into the beginnings of recorded history, and modern archeology has supported much of the record which had- by scholars even- been accepted as folklore and legend. This book is more than a recording of the chronology of that history. It gives one the feeling of the spirit that has made the history, that has made survival in the face of domination by successive great world powers, in the face of intolerance and persecution, one of the miracles of the world today. Brief space allotted to today's struggle, today's triumph. In the face of many centuries, it is to be accepted as achievement of a promised goal.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: World

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1949

Categories: NONFICTION