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What is "humour"? And what makes certain types, instances, or performances of humour "Jewish"? These are among the many queries addressed by the fourteen authors whose essays are collected in this volume. Their observations, always apt and often witty, are expressed with a lightness of style and a depth of analysis that are appropriate to the many topics they cover.

Jewish identity is a perennial concern, as Jews seek to define the major features and status of those who ¿belong,¿ while at the same time draw distinctions between individuals and groups on the ¿inside¿ and those on the ¿outside.¿ From a variety of perspectives, scholarly as well as confessional, there is intense interest among non-Jewish and Jewish commentators alike in the basic question, ¿Who is a Jew?¿This collection of articles draws diverse historical, cultural, and religious insights from scholars who represent a wide range of academic and theological disciplines. Some of the authors directly address the issue of Jewish identity as it is being played out today in Israel and Diaspora communities. Others look to earlier time periods or societies as invaluable resources for enhanced and deepened analysis of contemporary matters.All authors in this collection make a concerted effort to present their evidence and their conclusions in a way that is accessible to the general public and valid for other scholars. The result is a richly textured approach to a topic that seems always relevant. If, as is the case, no single answer appeals to all of the authors, this is as it should be. We all gain from the application of a number of approaches and perspectives, which enrich our appreciation of the people whose lives are affected, for better or worse, by real-life discussions of this issue and the resultant actions toward exclusivity or inclusivity.

Dining on Leviathan. Discoursing with Socrates. Debating the nature of existence in the afterlife. These are among the topics authors address in this wide-ranging account of how Jews have conceptualized the world to come and structured their lives in this world accordingly.

As government by the people, democracy has always had its proponents as well as opponents. What forms of government have Jewish leaders, both with and without actual political power, favoured? This volume is required reading for anyone interested in how religion and politics have interacted, and continue to interact, in Judaism and among Jews.

The papers in this collection examine the ways in which Jews have been presented in photography, music, film, television, drama, literature and cultural mythology. The papers were delivered at Creighton University in 1995 as part of the eighth Annual Kluznick Symposium in Jewish Civilization.

These 14 papers present a varied exploration of the ways in which the Hebrew Biblie has influenced the modern world, and the ways in which the modern world has influenced how we read and interpret Sacred Writ.

Recognises that Jews have often experienced or imaged periods of exile and return in their long tradition. The fourteen papers in this collection examine this phenomenon from different approaches, genres, and media. They cover the period from biblical times to today.

Features sixteen authors exploring the history and culture of the intersection of Judaism and gender from the biblical world to today. Topics include subversive readings of biblical texts; reappraisal of rabbinic theory and practice; women in mysticism, Chasidism, and Yiddish literature; and women in contemporary culture and politics.

Scholars tend to call them 'rites of passage'. Most people prefer to speak of them as life cycle events or milestones. This volume offers fresh insights into rituals as old as the Hebrew Bible in contexts as familiar as the American Midwest and as exotic as Karaism.