Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction
Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction
Myers, David N.
product information
Condition: New, UPC: 9780199730988, Publication Date: Mon, May 1, 2017, Type: Paperback ,
join & start selling
description
ennia, they have defied odds by overcoming the travails of exile, persecution, and recurring plans for their annihilation. Many have attempted to explain this singular success as a result of divine intervention. In this engaging book, David N. Myers charts the long journey of the Jews through history. At the same time, it points to two unlikely-and decidedly this-worldly--factors to explain the survival of the Jews: antisemitism and assimilation. Usually regarded as grave dangers, these two factors have continually interacted with one other to enable the persistence of the Jews. At every turn in their history, not just in the modern age, Jews have adapted to new environments, cultures, languages, and social norms. These bountiful encounters with host societies have exercised the cultural muscle of the Jews, preventing the atrophy that would have occurred if they had not interacted so extensively with the non-Jewish world. It is through these encounters--indeed, through a process of assimilation--that Jews came to develop distinct local customs, speak many different languages, and cultivate diverse musical, culinary, and intellectual traditions.

Left unchecked, the Jews' well-honed ability to absorb from surrounding cultures might have led to their disappearance. And yet, the route toward full and unbridled assimilation was checked by the nearly constant presence of hatred toward the Jew. Anti-Jewish expression and actions have regularly accompanied Jews throughout history. Part of the ironic success of antisemitism is its malleability, its talent in assuming new forms and portraying the Jew in diverse and often contradictory images--for example, at once the arch-capitalist and revolutionary Communist. Antisemitism not only served to blunt further assimilation, but, in a paradoxical twist, affirmed the Jew's sense of difference from the host society. And thus together assimilation and antisemitism (at least up to a certain limit) contribute to the survival of the Jews as a highly adaptable and yet distinct group.

reviews

Be the first to write a review

member goods

No member items were found under this heading.

notems store

An Earl Like You: The ...

by Linden, Caroline

Paperback /Mass Market Paperbound

$6.79

Bewitched and Betrothed

by Blackwell, Juliet

Paperback /Mass Market Paperbound

$5.99

Comanche Moon

by McMurtry, Larry

Hardcover /Prebound

$15.60

listens & views

NIJINOSHITANO DOSYABURIDE (JPN)

by MATSUTOYA,YUMI

COMPACT DISC

out of stock

$12.99

SMILE AT YOUR NEIGHBOR

by LITWIN,ERIC

COMPACT DISC

out of stock

$17.99

TOKYO'S FIFTH

by ROSENTHAL,TOKYO

COMPACT DISC

out of stock

$12.25

SUGAR A COLLECTION OF SWEET ...

by HENRY,CHARLES

COMPACT DISC

out of stock

$9.75

Return Policy

All sales are final

Shipping

No special shipping considerations available.
Shipping fees determined at checkout.