Me and Miss Parshang Khakpour have written a book review for "American Judaism: A History" by Jonathan D. Sarna. Please read the review and give me your comments:
American Judaism: A History
By Jonathan D. Sarna. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. xx, 490 pp. $35.00, ISBN 0-300-10197-X.)
In ‘American Judaism: A History’, Brandeis University’s well known historian Jonathan D. Sarna gives an account of 350 years of American Judaism history in a straight forward and readable manner. With an optimistic view towards the history and also the future of Judaism in America, Sarna describes the developments in the American Jews belief in God, their religious practices, religious traditions and organizations and also concepts like intermarriage which was and still is a serious threat to the survival of the Jewish faith in America with vivid detail. The book has won many awards including the 2004 National Jewish book Award.
This book is about the history of the Jewish religion in America, it is not about the history of Jews in America. Even though the life and actions of Jews in America are discussed in certain parts of the book however they all serve the aim of telling the history of the Jewish faith in America.
Jonathan Sarna is a Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, and chairs the Academic Board of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. He is the author of more than twenty books on American Jewish history and life including his upcoming book titled ‘Illustrated American Judaism' which will be published in October 2008. He is also the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History and of the 350th commemoration of Jewish life in America.
In 1654 when over 20 Jews came to New Amsterdam (today’s New York) the first group migration of Jews to North American took place and what ensued was a large migration of Jews to America making Jews the second largest religious group in the United States after Christians. According to Sarna Jewish practice in the United States has not been in the frame works of a clearly defined framework or boundary but rather Judaism in the US has constantly been reinvented according to the time and place were it was being practiced. This has been one of the core reasons why Judaism has survived until today.
According to Sarna one of the major challenges faced by Jews in America was how to maintain and uphold Jewish practices like observing Sabbath, synagogue attendance and not eating forbidden meat. Unlike Jews in Europe who saw discipline and sometimes punishment as the key to upholding Jewish law, Jews in America after an initial short period of unsuccessful attempts in forced upholding of Jewish practices in a very diverse Jewish community instead chose to bring the maintenance of Judaism and its core values to the center of their concern. This approach is apparent for example in 1757 New York when some members of the congregate where initially punished and expelled from the community due to non-observance of Jewish laws but later forgiven and readmitted citing Isaiah’s call to “open the gates for a nation that keeps faith” (Isaiah 26:2). This was done in order to keep unity among the Jews and keep up high participation in the congregate. Making Jewish laws more ‘lax’ was a means of survival for Judaism in America.
Another important topic the book touches upon is the concept of Denomination which emerged in eighteen century America that meant no particular church was the dominant church and also all were equal according to the law. This greatly influenced movements for reinventing Judaism in different ways in the US. Although it is important to note that these movements in Judaism were not as strong as the denomination which took place in Protestantism and created many different sects. The movements within the Jewish faith in the United States are essential in where Judaism stands today. Sarna is highly successful in describing the roots of these movements and their influence on the development of Judaism.
Sarna also believes that the common place fear of assimilation and gradual disappearance of Judaism in America was well founded since anti-Semitism, persecution and pressure from the majority Christian population to convert minorities to Christianity was a reality in 17th and 18th century America. Also there were periods in American history were religious practice among Jews had declined and also a relatively large number of Jews intermarried with people of a different faith. At each period people with a pessimistic view would see this as the end of Judaism in America, however after each period there was a revitalization of faith among the Jews and even though these downfalls are apparent in Judaism’s history in the United States they are usually accompanied by periods of ‘Awakening’. This is why Sarna sees this whole process as a regenerative cycle that is not destructive. Sarna has an optimistic and positive view towards the history of Judaism in America and this is apparent throughout the book.
Sarna does not see the periods of religious downfall and intermarriage with other religious groups as the first steps of assimilation and ultimately as means for the extinction of Judaism in the United States. Sarna however fails to specify why Judaism survived these circumstances when other faiths disappeared altogether from the United States. Sarna himself indicates: “between 1890 and 1906, fully 13.8 percent of the groups listed in the US Census of Religious Bodies went out of existence; between 1912 and 1926 that rate jumped to 15.3 percent” however he fails to explain in the book why these religions vanished and Judaism survived even though many of these religions reformed and reinvented themselves and also what were the distinct characteristics of Judaism that helped it survive in 350 years of American history. Another criticism which can be made of Sarna is that he does not explain the influence of Zionism on the Jewish faith in America with depth or detail. Sarna himself points out on page 203 of the book: “For years, no issue in Jewish life proved as divisive as Zionism” however there are merely a few pages on this subject in Sarna’s book. Assigning a chapter of the book to discuss this critical subject would have made the book a more complete history of Judaism in America.
Compared to other books on the subject like ‘American Judaism' by Nathan Glazer and ‘Judaism in America' by Marc Lee Raphael, Sarna’s book is more focused on the history of Judaism in America rather than on the history of the Jews in America and in this respect it remains faithful to its title. This is one of the advantages of the book and Sarna’s works in general in that Sarna focuses on the subject without unnecessary deviation to other topics and subjects which has proved very tempting for many writers. Also some writers like Harvard professor Alan M. Dershowitz in his book 'The vanishing American Jew' totally disagree with Sarna’s positive stance towards the development and survival of Judaism in America and believe that unless Judaism is seriously revitalized it is doomed to gradual disappearance in America.
In Conclusion “American Judaism: A History” by Jonathan D. Sarna is an invaluable and relatively balanced piece of work on the 350 years development of the Jewish faith in America. The book describes what American Jews believed as God, their religious practices, traditions, religious customs, religious organizations, Synagogues and finally reform movements in the Jewish faith with great detail. Throughout the book Sarna has a positive view towards the history of Judaism in America seeing periods of religious downfall as natural events within a bigger cycle of religious reinvention and reform. Sarna is successful to a high extent in covering this vast and important topic in a reasonable size and readable writing style.
By Jonathan D. Sarna. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. xx, 490 pp. $35.00, ISBN 0-300-10197-X.)
In ‘American Judaism: A History’, Brandeis University’s well known historian Jonathan D. Sarna gives an account of 350 years of American Judaism history in a straight forward and readable manner. With an optimistic view towards the history and also the future of Judaism in America, Sarna describes the developments in the American Jews belief in God, their religious practices, religious traditions and organizations and also concepts like intermarriage which was and still is a serious threat to the survival of the Jewish faith in America with vivid detail. The book has won many awards including the 2004 National Jewish book Award.
This book is about the history of the Jewish religion in America, it is not about the history of Jews in America. Even though the life and actions of Jews in America are discussed in certain parts of the book however they all serve the aim of telling the history of the Jewish faith in America.
Jonathan Sarna is a Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, and chairs the Academic Board of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. He is the author of more than twenty books on American Jewish history and life including his upcoming book titled ‘Illustrated American Judaism' which will be published in October 2008. He is also the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History and of the 350th commemoration of Jewish life in America.
In 1654 when over 20 Jews came to New Amsterdam (today’s New York) the first group migration of Jews to North American took place and what ensued was a large migration of Jews to America making Jews the second largest religious group in the United States after Christians. According to Sarna Jewish practice in the United States has not been in the frame works of a clearly defined framework or boundary but rather Judaism in the US has constantly been reinvented according to the time and place were it was being practiced. This has been one of the core reasons why Judaism has survived until today.
According to Sarna one of the major challenges faced by Jews in America was how to maintain and uphold Jewish practices like observing Sabbath, synagogue attendance and not eating forbidden meat. Unlike Jews in Europe who saw discipline and sometimes punishment as the key to upholding Jewish law, Jews in America after an initial short period of unsuccessful attempts in forced upholding of Jewish practices in a very diverse Jewish community instead chose to bring the maintenance of Judaism and its core values to the center of their concern. This approach is apparent for example in 1757 New York when some members of the congregate where initially punished and expelled from the community due to non-observance of Jewish laws but later forgiven and readmitted citing Isaiah’s call to “open the gates for a nation that keeps faith” (Isaiah 26:2). This was done in order to keep unity among the Jews and keep up high participation in the congregate. Making Jewish laws more ‘lax’ was a means of survival for Judaism in America.
Another important topic the book touches upon is the concept of Denomination which emerged in eighteen century America that meant no particular church was the dominant church and also all were equal according to the law. This greatly influenced movements for reinventing Judaism in different ways in the US. Although it is important to note that these movements in Judaism were not as strong as the denomination which took place in Protestantism and created many different sects. The movements within the Jewish faith in the United States are essential in where Judaism stands today. Sarna is highly successful in describing the roots of these movements and their influence on the development of Judaism.
Sarna also believes that the common place fear of assimilation and gradual disappearance of Judaism in America was well founded since anti-Semitism, persecution and pressure from the majority Christian population to convert minorities to Christianity was a reality in 17th and 18th century America. Also there were periods in American history were religious practice among Jews had declined and also a relatively large number of Jews intermarried with people of a different faith. At each period people with a pessimistic view would see this as the end of Judaism in America, however after each period there was a revitalization of faith among the Jews and even though these downfalls are apparent in Judaism’s history in the United States they are usually accompanied by periods of ‘Awakening’. This is why Sarna sees this whole process as a regenerative cycle that is not destructive. Sarna has an optimistic and positive view towards the history of Judaism in America and this is apparent throughout the book.
Sarna does not see the periods of religious downfall and intermarriage with other religious groups as the first steps of assimilation and ultimately as means for the extinction of Judaism in the United States. Sarna however fails to specify why Judaism survived these circumstances when other faiths disappeared altogether from the United States. Sarna himself indicates: “between 1890 and 1906, fully 13.8 percent of the groups listed in the US Census of Religious Bodies went out of existence; between 1912 and 1926 that rate jumped to 15.3 percent” however he fails to explain in the book why these religions vanished and Judaism survived even though many of these religions reformed and reinvented themselves and also what were the distinct characteristics of Judaism that helped it survive in 350 years of American history. Another criticism which can be made of Sarna is that he does not explain the influence of Zionism on the Jewish faith in America with depth or detail. Sarna himself points out on page 203 of the book: “For years, no issue in Jewish life proved as divisive as Zionism” however there are merely a few pages on this subject in Sarna’s book. Assigning a chapter of the book to discuss this critical subject would have made the book a more complete history of Judaism in America.
Compared to other books on the subject like ‘American Judaism' by Nathan Glazer and ‘Judaism in America' by Marc Lee Raphael, Sarna’s book is more focused on the history of Judaism in America rather than on the history of the Jews in America and in this respect it remains faithful to its title. This is one of the advantages of the book and Sarna’s works in general in that Sarna focuses on the subject without unnecessary deviation to other topics and subjects which has proved very tempting for many writers. Also some writers like Harvard professor Alan M. Dershowitz in his book 'The vanishing American Jew' totally disagree with Sarna’s positive stance towards the development and survival of Judaism in America and believe that unless Judaism is seriously revitalized it is doomed to gradual disappearance in America.
In Conclusion “American Judaism: A History” by Jonathan D. Sarna is an invaluable and relatively balanced piece of work on the 350 years development of the Jewish faith in America. The book describes what American Jews believed as God, their religious practices, traditions, religious customs, religious organizations, Synagogues and finally reform movements in the Jewish faith with great detail. Throughout the book Sarna has a positive view towards the history of Judaism in America seeing periods of religious downfall as natural events within a bigger cycle of religious reinvention and reform. Sarna is successful to a high extent in covering this vast and important topic in a reasonable size and readable writing style.
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