The People and the Books: 18 Classics of Jewish Literature

In this enthralling meditation on the written foundations of the Jewish faith, Kirsch (Jewish studies, Columbia; Emblems of the Passing World) profiles 18 works encompassing both the secular and sacred while offering a dissection of Jewish "commentary and codification." The choices are surprising in their breadth and originality. The expected biblical books segue into pluralistic pieces from Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Spanish authors. The significance of rabbinic scholars is balanced by the cultural importance of Jewish fiction. Works are placed within their historical context and their current relevance to world Jewry and scholarship. Similar in treatment to Barry Holtz's Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts, Kirsch's work offers not only updated scholarly content but a systemic analytical approach to the whole text rather than only dissecting certain passages. The book is clearly geared toward academic use, with a time line showing the selected works within a relative historical timeframe and bibliographic references for each chapter. A map would have facilitated further comprehension, but short of this singular misstep, Kirsch has authored an intellectual masterpiece.