In three chronological sections – Mediterranean Origins, Diversities of Diaspora, and Modem Encounters – comprised of essays by twenty-three internationally renowned scholars, this landmark work considers many of the Jewish cultures that developed in communities around the world from the epoch of the Bible through the twentieth century, and addresses the fundamental question of the identity of the Jews in virtually every period and locale of their history. An artifact of Jewish life from a specific era and place – an object of everyday or ritual use, a piece of writing, a work of art – is each contributor’s point of departure. The range and scope of this approach is rich and diverse – incorporating social, religious, and intellectual history as well as literary criticism, archaeology, folklore, and art history – but individually and taken together these essays describe a people whose own culture assumed new forms as their communities interacted with the non-Jewish cultures that surrounded them.

Cultures of the Jews, a milestone of scholarship, is the new foundation upon which all future research into Jewish history will be based.