(Princeton University Press)
Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world, and it has preserved its distinctive identity despite the extraordinarily diverse forms and beliefs it has embodied over the course of more than three millennia. Join Martin Goodman, a professor of Jewish studies at the University of Oxford and president of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, as he offers a comprehensive overview of how this great religion came to be, how it has evolved from one age to the next, and how various strains, sects, and traditions have related to each other.
Goodman explores Judaism’s origins from the polytheistic world of the second and first millennia B.C. to the temple cults at the time of Jesus. He tells the stories of rabbis, mystics, and messiahs of the medieval and early modern periods and traces the varieties of contemporary Judaism. He examines the institutions and ideas on which all forms of Judaism are based, and weaves together the different threads of doctrinal and philosophical debate that run through its history.
Goodman’s book, A History of Judaism (Princeton University Press), is available for sale and signing.