Jews, Judaism, and Success

How Religion Paved the Way to Modern Jewish Achievement

Robert Eisen (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

488 Seiten

2023
University of Toronto Press (Verlag)
978-1-4875-4823-0 (ISBN)

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Robert Eisen attributes the surprising success of Jews in the modern world to a religious culture that, over the centuries, prepared them to flourish.

In Jews, Judaism, and Success, Robert Eisen attempts to solve a long-standing mystery that has fascinated many: How did Jews become such a remarkably successful minority in the modern Western world?

Eisen argues that Jews achieved such success because they were unusually well-prepared for it by their religion – in particular, Rabbinic Judaism, or the Judaism of the rabbis. Rooted in the Talmud, this form of Judaism instilled in Jews key values that paved the way for success in modern Western society: autonomy, freedom of thought, worldliness, and education. The book carefully analyses the evolution of these four values over the past two thousand years in order to demonstrate that they had a longer and richer history in Jewish culture than in Western culture. The book thus disputes the common assumption that Rabbinic Judaism was always an obstacle to Jews becoming modernized. It demonstrates that while modern Jews rejected aspects of Rabbinic Judaism, they also retained some of its values, and these values in particular led to Jewish success.

Written for a broad range of readers, Jews, Judaism, and Success provides unique insights on the meaning of success and how it is achieved in the modern world.

Robert Eisen is a professor of religion and Judaic studies at George Washington University.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Translations of Texts and Transliterations

Abbreviations

Introduction: The Mystery of Jewish Success

Part One. The Cultural Hypothesis Revisited: An Overview

1. Western Culture, Jewish Culture, and Four Key Values
2. Secular Jews (and Other Jews)

Part Two. The Cultural Hypothesis Revisited: The Core Argument

3. Human Autonomy I: Sin, Grace, and Salvation
4. Human Autonomy II: Religious Authority
5. Human Autonomy III: Reason and Philosophy
6. Freedom of Thought and Expression
7. Valuing Life in This World I: 100–1000 CE
8. Valuing Life in This World II: 1000–1800 CE
9. Education I: 100–1500 CE
10. Education II: 1500–1950 CE

Part Three. Final Matters

11. Conclusions

Epilogue: Lessons for Jews, Lessons for Everyone

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	04.04.2023
Verlagsort	Toronto
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	660 g
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Judentum
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
ISBN-10	1-4875-4823-0 / 1487548230
ISBN-13	978-1-4875-4823-0 / 9781487548230
Zustand	Neuware