The Uses of Tradition: Jewish Continuity in the Modern Era

Publisher Marketing: How have modern Jews appropriated traditional aspects of their culture and religion to sustain them in the modern world? Twenty-one distinguished scholars address this question by drawing on a range of disciplines: social and cultural history; ethnography; folklore; sociology; educational theory; and rabbinics. They examine Jewish communities from Russia to North Africa, from Israel to the United States. Among the subjects they explore are Jewish art, holiday practices, feminist ceremonies, adult education, and religious movements in Israel. Contributor Bio:  Wertheimer, Jack Jack Wertheimerholds the Joseph and Martha Mendelson Chair in American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he also directs the Joseph and Miriam Ratner Center for the Study of Conservative Judaism. He is the author of "Unwelcome Strangers: East European Jews in Imperial Germany" and is completing a book on the transformation of American Judaism in the second half of the twentieth century. He is also the editor of "The American Synagogue: A Sanctuary Transformed and The Uses of Tradition: Jewish Continuity in the Modern Era".