Close cookie details

This site uses cookies. Learn more about cookies.

OverDrive would like to use cookies to store information on your computer to improve your user experience at our Website. One of the cookies we use is critical for certain aspects of the site to operate and has already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but this could affect certain features or services of the site. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, click here to see our Privacy Policy.

If you do not wish to continue, please click here to exit this site.

Hide notification

  Main Nav
Judaism For Dummies
Cover of Judaism For Dummies
Judaism For Dummies
Borrow Borrow

Your plain-English guide to Judaism

Whether you're interested in the religion or the spirituality, the culture or the ethnic traditions, Judaism For Dummies explores the full spectrum of Judaism, dipping into the mystical, meditative, and spiritual depth of the faith and the practice. 

In this warm and welcoming book, you'll find coverage of: Orthodox Jews and breakaway denominations; Judaism as a daily practice; the food and fabric of Judaism; Jewish wedding ceremonies; celebrations and holy days; 4,000 years of pain, sadness, triumph, and joy; great Jewish thinkers and historical celebrities; and much more. 

  • Updates to the "recent history" section with discussions of what has happened in the first decade of the twenty-first century including: the expansion of orthodox political power in Israel; expansion of interfaith work; unfortunate recent anti-Semitic events; and other news
  • Expanded coverage of Jewish mysticism and meditation, which has become increasingly popular in recent years
  • New coverage on Jewish views of morality, including birth control, homosexuality, and environmental concerns
  • Revised recipes for traditional Jewish cooking, updated key vocabulary, and Yiddish phrases everyone should know
  • Jews have long spread out to the corners of the world, so there are significant Jewish communities on many continents. Judaism For Dummies offers a glimpse into the rituals, ideas, and terms that are woven into the history and everyday lives of Jewish people as near as our own neighborhoods and as far-reaching as across the world.

     

    P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you�re probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Judaism For Dummies (9781118407516). The book you see here shouldn�t be considered a new or updated product. But if you�re in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We�re always writing about new topics!

    Your plain-English guide to Judaism

    Whether you're interested in the religion or the spirituality, the culture or the ethnic traditions, Judaism For Dummies explores the full spectrum of Judaism, dipping into the mystical, meditative, and spiritual depth of the faith and the practice. 

    In this warm and welcoming book, you'll find coverage of: Orthodox Jews and breakaway denominations; Judaism as a daily practice; the food and fabric of Judaism; Jewish wedding ceremonies; celebrations and holy days; 4,000 years of pain, sadness, triumph, and joy; great Jewish thinkers and historical celebrities; and much more. 

  • Updates to the "recent history" section with discussions of what has happened in the first decade of the twenty-first century including: the expansion of orthodox political power in Israel; expansion of interfaith work; unfortunate recent anti-Semitic events; and other news
  • Expanded coverage of Jewish mysticism and meditation, which has become increasingly popular in recent years
  • New coverage on Jewish views of morality, including birth control, homosexuality, and environmental concerns
  • Revised recipes for traditional Jewish cooking, updated key vocabulary, and Yiddish phrases everyone should know
  • Jews have long spread out to the corners of the world, so there are significant Jewish communities on many continents. Judaism For Dummies offers a glimpse into the rituals, ideas, and terms that are woven into the history and everyday lives of Jewish people as near as our own neighborhoods and as far-reaching as across the world.

     

    P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you�re probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Judaism For Dummies (9781118407516). The book you see here shouldn�t be considered a new or updated product. But if you�re in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We�re always writing about new topics!

    Available formats-
    • OverDrive Read
    • EPUB eBook
    Languages:-
    Copies-
    • Available:
      1
    • Library copies:
      1
    Levels-
    • ATOS:
    • Lexile:
    • Interest Level:
    • Text Difficulty:


    About the Author-
    • Rabbi Ted Falcon, PhD, one of the pioneers of contemporary Jewish and interfaith spirituality, is a writer, teacher, and spiritual counselor in private practice. David Blatner is an award-winning author of 15 books, including Spectrums: Our Mind-Boggling Universe From Infinitesimal to Infinity.

    Table of Contents-
    • Introduction 1

      About This Book 1

      Conventions Used in This Book 2

      Pronouncing Jewish Words 2

      About the translations 3

      Foolish Assumptions 4

      How This Book Is Organized 5

      Part 1: What Jews Generally Believe 5

      Part 2: From Womb to Tomb: The Life Cycle 5

      Part 3: An Overview of Jewish History 5

      Part 4: Celebrations and Holy Days 5

      Part 5: The Part of Tens 5

      Part 6: Appendixes 6

      Icons Used in This Book 6

      Where to Go from Here 7

      Part 1: What Jews Generally Believe 9

      Chapter 1: That's Funny, You Don't Look Jewish: Who's a Jew and Why 11

      The Jewish Tribe 12

      What's in a name? 12

      Jews far and wide 13

      Who decides if you're Jewish? 13

      After all, it's a small world 14

      Major Branches of the Tree 15

      Orthodox Jews 16

      Breakaway denominations 18

      Guess Who Else Is Jewish 22

      Chapter 2: It's All One: Judaism and God 25

      Pondering Jewish Beliefs about God 26

      A religion of deed, not creed 26

      Arguing with God 26

      Where God is 27

      Calling One God Many Names 27

      What's in a name? 28

      The four-letter Name of God 28

      The Singular Being hidden in the plural 28

      God's Own name 29

      No end to the names of God 30

      Looking behind the Name 30

      God creates 31

      God reveals 31

      God redeems 33

      Embarking on a Quest for Ultimate Reality 34

      Chapter 3: A Never-Ending Torah: The Unfolding of a Tradition 35

      Torah: The Light That Never Dims 35

      The five books of Moses 36

      The weekly readings 37

      The TaNaKH: The Hebrew Bible 39

      Nevi'im ("Prophets") 39

      Ketuvim ("Writings") 39

      The Haftarah 40

      Interpreting the Bible 40

      A Hidden Revolution: The Oral Torah 41

      The law of the land: The Mishnah 41

      The teachings explained: The Talmud 43

      Telling stories: The midrash 45

      The Expanding Torah 46

      Chapter 4: A Path of Blessing: Judaism as a Daily Practice 47

      Connecting With God and Community through Practice: The Mitzvot 48

      613 habits of highly effective people 49

      Women and mitzvot 50

      The reasons for mitzvot 51

      Connecting With God and Community through Blessings and Prayers 52

      Private worship 53

      The community worship service 54

      Going to Synagogue 57

      Four things you'll find in every synagogue 57

      Who's who at shul 58

      Following Jewish Dietary Laws: A Brief Guide to Kosher Food 60

      The reasons behind kosher 62

      OU means OK for most 63

      Purifying the Spirit: Rites and Rituals 63

      Dressing for God: Jewish Garments and Clothing Customs 64

      The yarmulka 65

      Fringes and shawls 66

      You shall bind them as a sign: Laying tefillin 67

      The Jewish Home 68

      On every doorpost: The mezuzah 68

      The candelabra extraordinaire: The menorah 69

      So Go Now and Live 69

      Chapter 5: Jewish Mysticism 71

      Delving Into Jewish Mysticism 71

      What mystics tend to believe 72

      The Kabbalah 72

      Taking a Magical Mystical Tour 74

      Early mystical texts 74

      Isaac Luria, Safed's sage 76

      Israel ben Eliezer, the good master 78

      Going Above and Beyond: Jewish Meditation 79

      Following Maps to Understanding: The Images and Symbols 81

      The Tree of Life 81

      The ten sefirot 84

      The Four Worlds 87

      The five levels of soul 88

      Chapter 6: Ethical Challenges 91

      Getting to the Heart of the Matter 92

      The Golden Rule 92

      ...
    Title Information+
    • Publisher
      Wiley
    • OverDrive Read
      Release date:
    • EPUB eBook
      Release date:
    Digital Rights Information+
    • Copyright Protection (DRM) required by the Publisher may be applied to this title to limit or prohibit printing or copying. File sharing or redistribution is prohibited. Your rights to access this material expire at the end of the lending period. Please see Important Notice about Copyrighted Materials for terms applicable to this content.

    Status bar:

    You've reached your checkout limit.

    Visit your Checkouts page to manage your titles.

    Close

    You already have this title checked out.

    Want to go to your Checkouts?

    Close

    Recommendation Limit Reached.

    You've reached the maximum number of titles you can recommend at this time. You can recommend up to 99 titles every 1 day(s).

    Close

    Sign in to recommend this title.

    Recommend your library consider adding this title to the Digital Collection.

    Close

    Enhanced Details

    Close
    Close

    Limited availability

    Availability can change throughout the month based on the library's budget.

    is available for days.

    Once playback starts, you have hours to view the title.

    Close

    Permissions

    Close

    The OverDrive Read format of this eBook has professional narration that plays while you read in your browser. Learn more here.

    Close

    Holds

    Total holds:


    Close

    Restricted

    Some format options have been disabled. You may see additional download options outside of this network.

    Close

    MP3 audiobooks are only supported on macOS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) through 10.14 (Mojave). Learn more about MP3 audiobook support on Macs.

    Close

    Please update to the latest version of the OverDrive app to stream videos.

    Close

    Device Compatibility Notice

    The OverDrive app is required for this format on your current device.

    Close

    Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen

    Close

    You've reached your library's checkout limit for digital titles.

    To make room for more checkouts, you may be able to return titles from your Checkouts page.

    Close

    Excessive Checkout Limit Reached.

    There have been too many titles checked out and returned by your account within a short period of time.

    Try again in several days. If you are still not able to check out titles after 7 days, please contact Support.

    Close

    You have already checked out this title. To access it, return to your Checkouts page.

    Close

    This title is not available for your card type. If you think this is an error contact support.

    Close

    An unexpected error has occurred.

    If this problem persists, please contact support.

    Close

    Close

    • NOOK® Apps:
    • NOOK for iPad
    • NOOK for iPhone
    • NOOK for Android tablets
    • NOOK for Android phones
    • NOOK for Windows 8 tablets
    • NOOK for Windows 8 computers
    • NOOK® Devices:
    • Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK 10.1
    • Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK 7.0
    • NOOK HD+
    • NOOK HD
    • NOOK Tablet
    • NOOK Color

    NOTE: Barnes and Noble® may change this list of devices at any time.

    Close
    Buy it now
    and help our library WIN!
    Judaism For Dummies
    Judaism For Dummies
    Ted Falcon
    Choose a retail partner below to buy this title for yourself.
    A portion of this purchase goes to support your library.
    Close

    There are no copies of this issue left to borrow. Please try to borrow this title again when a new issue is released.

    Close
    Barnes & Noble Sign In |   Sign In

    You will be prompted to sign into your library account on the next page.

    If this is your first time selecting “Send to NOOK,” you will then be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."

    The first time you select “Send to NOOK,” you will be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."

    You can read periodicals on any NOOK tablet or in the free NOOK reading app for iOS, Android or Windows 8.