A short history of the Jews / Michael Brenner ; transl. by Jeremiah Riemer

Originaltitel: Kleine jüdische Geschichte

Chapter 1: From Ur to Canaan A Wandering People 1 Chapter 2: From Exile Bac Home Priests and Prophets 19 Chapter 3: From Hebrew into Greek Disdain and Admiration 31 Chapter 4: From Modiin to Jerusalem A Jewish State Stands and Falls 39 Chapter 5: From Jerusalem to Yavneh The Diaspora Legitimates Itself 55 Chapter 6: From Medina to Baghdad Under Islamic Rule 69 Chapter 7: From Sura to Cordoba Sepharad. Jewish Culture on the Iberian Peninsula 83 Chapter 8: From Lucca to Mainz Ashkenaz. The Roots of Central European Jewry 95 Chapter 9: From Lisbon to Venice Expulsions and Their Aftermath 117 Chapter 10: From Khaybar to Rome Messianic and Mystical Movements 137 Chapter 11: From West to East A New Center in Poland 151 Chapter 12: From Dessau to Berlin Rural Jews, Court Jews, and Enlightenment Philosophers 167 Chapter 13: From the Ghetto to Civil Society Political Emancipation and Religious Reform 189 Chapter 14: From Posen to New Orleans Starting Over in America 209 Chapter 15: From the Shtetl to the Lower East Side East European Jewish Dreams and American Realities 223 Chapter 16: From Budapest to Tel Aviv An "Old New Land" in Zion 255 Chapter 17: From T?touan to Teheran The Europeanization of Jews in the Islamic World 273 Chapter 18: From Czernowitz to Cerna?ut,i Political Crisis and Cultural Florescence between the Wars 287 Chapter 19: From Everywhere to Auschwitz Annihilation 319 Chapter 20: From Julius Streicher's Farm to the Kibbutz The Jewish World after the Holocaust 349 Appendix: Jewish History in Numbers 389 Further Reading 393 Picture Credits 401 Index of Names 405 Index of Place Names 415

Chapter 1: From Ur to Canaan A Wandering People 1 Chapter 2: From Exile Back Home Priests and Prophets 19 Chapter 3: From Hebrew into Greek Disdain and Admiration 31 Chapter 4: From Modiin to Jerusalem A Jewish State Stands and Falls 39 Chapter 5: From Jerusalem to Yavneh The Diaspora Legitimates Itself 55 Chapter 6: From Medina to Baghdad Under Islamic Rule 69 Chapter 7: From Sura to Cordoba Sepharad -- Jewish Culture on the Iberian Peninsula 83 Chapter 8: From Lucca to Mainz Ashkenaz -- The Roots of Central European Jewry 95 Chapter 9: From Lisbon to Venice Expulsions and Their Aftermath 117 Chapter 10: From Khaybar to Rome Messianic and Mystical Movements 137 Chapter 11: From West to East A New Center in Poland 151 Chapter 12: From Dessau to Berlin Rural Jews, Court Jews, and Enlightenment Philosophers 167 Chapter 13: From the Ghetto to Civil Society Political Emancipation and Religious Reform 189 Chapter 14: From Posen to New Orleans Starting Over in America 209 Chapter 15: From the Shtetl to the Lower East Side East European Jewish Dreams and American Realities 223 Chapter 16: From Budapest to Tel Aviv An Old New Land in Zion 255 Chapter 17: From Tetouan to Teheran The Europeanization of Jews in the Islamic World 273 Chapter 18: From Czernowitz to Cerna?ut, i Political Crisis and Cultural Florescence between the Wars 287 Chapter 19: From Everywhere to Auschwitz Annihilation 319 Chapter 20: From Julius Streicher's Farm to the Kibbutz The Jewish World after the Holocaust 349 Appendix: Jewish History in Numbers 389 Further Reading 393 Picture Credits 401 Index of Names 405 Index of Place Names 415

A Short History of the Jews is the story of the Jewish people told in a sweeping and powerful historical narrative. Michael Brenner chronicles the Jewish experience from Biblical times to today, tracing what is at heart a drama of migration and change, yet one that is also deeply rooted in tradition. He surveys the latest scholarly perspectives in Jewish history, making this short history the most learned yet broadly accessible book available on the subject. Brenner takes readers from the mythic wanderings of Moses to the unspeakable atrocities of the Holocaust; from the Babylonian exile to the founding of the modern state of Israel; and from the Sephardic communities under medieval Islam to the shtetls of eastern Europe and the Hasidic enclaves of modern-day Brooklyn. This richly illustrated book is full of fascinating and often personal stories of exodus and return, from that told about Abraham, who brought his newfound faith into the land of Canaan, to that of Holocaust survivor Esther Barkai, who lived on a kibbutz established on a German estate seized from the Nazi Julius Streicher as she awaited resettlement in Israel. Brenner traces the major events, developments, and personalities that have shaped Jewish history down through the centuries, and highlights the important contributions Jews have made to the arts, politics, religion, and science. Breathtaking in scope, A Short History of the Jews is a compelling blend of storytelling and scholarship that brings the history of the Jewish people marvelously to life.