1st Edition

The Routledge Handbook of Judaism in the 21st Century

Edited By Keren Eva Fraiman, Dean Phillip Bell Copyright 2023
    486 Pages 21 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The Routledge Handbook of Judaism in the 21st Century is a cutting-edge volume that addresses central questions and issues animating Judaism, Jewish identity, and Jewish society in a global, integrated, and forward-looking way. It introduces readers to the complexity of Judaism as it has developed and continues to develop throughout the 21st century through the prism of three contemporary sets of issues: identities and geographies; structures and power; and knowledge and performances.

    Within these sections, international contributors examine central issues, topics, and debates, including: individual and collective identity; globalization and localization; Jewish demography; diversity, denominations, and pluralism; interreligious relations; political orientations; community organization; family and gender; the Bible and Talmud today; Jewish philosophy and authority in Jewish thought; digital Judaism; antisemitism; Jewish spirituality and rituals; memory; language; religious education; material culture, literature, music, and art; approaches to the environment; and contemporary Zionism and Israel. The handbook also includes an extensive bibliography to help orient readers to the most important and leading work in the field.

    The Routledge Handbook of Judaism in the 21st Century is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies and Jewish studies. It will also be useful for those in related fields, such as cultural studies, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history, as well as Jewish professionals and lay leaders.

    Introduction Keren Eva Fraiman & Dean Phillip Bell

    Part I: Identities and Geographies

    1. Who is a Jew in the 21st Century?: The Fractalization of Jewish Identity David Gottlieb

    2. The Polarizing Politics of Peoplehood: Judaism and Collective Identity in the 21st Century Noam Pianko

    3. The Future of Jewish Demography Sergio DellaPergola

    4. Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Israeli Society Sammy Smooha

    5. Hebrew and Jewish Diaspora Languages Sarah Bunin Benor

    6. We Are All Jews: The Jewish Other and the Other as Jew in Sartre, Levinas, and Blanchot Michael Portal and Claire Elise Katz

    Part II: Structures and Power

    7. Powerful and Powerless: Jews, Government, and Race in Contemporary America Marc Dollinger

    8. Israel: Internal, Regional, and International Issues and Challenges Ehud Eiran

    9. Memory, Memorialization, and the Shoah after "the End of History"? Manuela Consonni

    10. The Institutionalization of American Jewry Ari Y. Kelman

    11. Economics and American Judaism in the 21st Century Carmel U. Chiswick

    12. Transmuted Chosenness: "The Jewish Family" as Functional Religion in the U.S. Lilah Shapiro

    13. Gender Matters: Intermarried Jewish Men, Identity, and Parenting in an Age of Pluralism Keren R. McGinity

    14. As If Forced by a Demon: Traditional Orthodox and Sexual Modesty Codes and Modern Times Simcha Feuerman

    Part III. Knowledge and Performance

    15. The Bible in the 21st Century Leonard J. Greenspoon

    16. The Talmud Today Mira Beth Wasserman

    17. 21st Century Rituals and Customs Amy K. Milligan

    18. A Digital Revolution?: Jewish Sacred Literature in the 21st Century Joseph A. Skloot

    19. 21st Century Jewish Canons Claire E. Sufrin

    20. God, Covenant, and Authority William Plevan 

    21. New Horizons of Revelation on the Axis of 21st Century Jewish Theology Miriam Feldmann Kaye 

    22. Jewish Life and Planet Earth in the 21st Century Nigel Savage

    23. The Sounds of 21st Century Judaism Judah M. Cohen and Gordon Dale 

    24. Jewish Literature and Jews and Literature Josh Lambert

    25. Looking Jewish in Century 21 Larry Silver.

    Bibliography

    Index

    Biography

    Keren Eva Fraiman is Dean/Chief Academic Officer and Associate Professor of Israel Studies at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA.

    Dean Phillip Bell is President/Chief Executive Officer and Professor of Jewish History at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA.