Judaism

by Israel Abrahams

Overview

During the revolt against Hadrian an Assembly of Rabbis was held at Lydda. It was then decided that a Jew must yield his life rather than accept safety from a Roman power, if such conformity involved one of the three offences: idolatry, murder, and unchastity (including incest and adultery). -from "Articles of Faith" One of the most prominent Jewish intellectuals of the turn of the 20th century elucidates, in this succinct 1910 work, some of the distinguishing elements of Jewish practice and doctrine. A devout Jew himself, Abrahams brings a passion and an intensity to his writing not always found in works of religious scholarship, from his defense of mysticism to his penetrating discussion of the internal conflicts that threaten the faith's future. This is an excellent introduction to an often-misunderstood theology and culture. British scholar ISRAEL ABRAHAMS (1858-1925) was a reader of rabbinic literature at Cambridge. He also wrote Jewish Life in the Middle Ages (1896) and Chapters on Jewish Literature (1899).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789359044521
Publisher:	True Sign Publishing House Private Limited
Publication date:	02/08/2024
Pages:	58
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.14(d)

About the Author

Israel Abrahams, MA (honoris causa) (b. London, November 26, 1858; d. Cambridge, October 6, 1925) was one of the most distinguished Jewish scholars of his generation.[1] He wrote a number of classics on Judaism, most notably, Jewish Life in the Middle Ages (1896)
He was educated at Jews' College, where his father Barnett Abrahams served as principal, and at University College, London. In 1881, he received the degree of MA from the University of London. Abrahams taught secular subjects as well as homiletics at Jews' College, and was appointed senior tutor of that institution in 1900. He was a forceful lecturer and an earnest lay preacher. As honorary secretary of the Jewish Historical Society of England and as a member of the Committee for Training Jewish Teachers, he was very active. He was also a member of the Committee of the Anglo-Jewish Association, and of several other institutions of the community. He co-founded the newspaper Jewish Guardian.
Abrahams collaborated with Claude Montefiore to write the book Aspects of Judaism, which was published in 1895. His chief works were Jewish Life in the Middle Ages (1896) and Chapters on Jewish Literature (1898). In 1889, he became joint editor of the Jewish Quarterly Review and helped materially to raise the prestige of the publication. He was a prolific contributor to periodical literature, and was especially well known for his articles on literary subjects, which appeared weekly in the Jewish Chronicle under the title of "Books and Bookmen." He also contributed to the Encyclopaedia Biblica (1903).
In 1902, after teaching for several years at Jews' College, Abrahams succeeded Solomon Schechter, who was moving to New York to head the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, as reader in Talmudic and Rabbinic literature at the University of Cambridge. He received the honorary degree Master of Arts (MA) from the University in late May 1902.[3][4]
In 1914, he published A Companion to the Authorised Prayer Book, a helpful commentary on and supplement to the prayer book edited by Simeon Singer. Singer himself had intended to write such a work, but died before he had progressed very far. Revised editions appeared in 1922 and 1932

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

I. THE LEGACY FROM THE PAST

II. RELIGION AS LAW

III. ARTICLES OF FAITH

IV. SOME CONCEPTS OF JUDAISM

V. SOME OBSERVANCES OF JUDAISM

VI. JEWISH MYSTICISM

VII. ESCHATOLOGY

VIII. THE SURVIVAL OF JUDAISM

SELECTED LIST OF BOOKS ON JUDAISM