Dictionary of Jewish Lore and Legend

Book excerpt: This richly-illustrated dictionary captures the richness and vitality of Jewish religion and culture: the web of legend and folklore crucial to understanding Judaism. The result is a vital and long-needed companion for anyone seeking to understand the Jewish world now and in past centuries. It describes all the main characters and the legends that have grown up around them; Jewish methods of Biblical interpretation; the framework of Jewish law, literature and poetry; the festivals of the Jewish Year; the different languages and subgroups within the community; and the many countries that Jews have lived in, as well as the importance of the Holy Land. Also revealed is a comprehensive picture of another side of Judaism. This is a world populated by angels and demons; sages and Kabbalists; creatures unknown to zoologists; lucky and unlucky days and numbers; and the hope for a Messianic era when the dead will arise, and man will live in harmony with nature.