The Uses of tradition

How have modern Jews appropriated traditional aspects of their culture and religion to sustain them in the modern world? Twenty-one distinguished scholars address this question by drawing on a range of disciplines: social and cultural history, ethnography, folklore, sociology, educational theory, and rabbinics. They examine Jewish communities from Russia to North Africa, from Israel to the United States.

Among the subjects they explore are Jewish art, holiday practices, feminist ceremonials, adult education, and religious movements in Israel. The Uses of Tradition examines the persistence of tradition and the limits to continuity. It asks: How extensively can tradition be reinterpreted before it is subverted? At what point is creative reinvention an act of betrayal? How effectively can selective borrowing from tradition sustain a religious community?

Destined to become a classic of modern Jewish historiography, this unique new collection is a testament to the power of religion in the modern world.