Crossing the Jabbok
Book Description
In this profound exploration of Jewish spiritual life, Sylvie Anne Goldberg unveils how Ashkenazi Jewish communities understood and approached life's most fundamental experiences: illness and death. Drawing from centuries of wisdom spanning the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, this scholarly work reveals the rich tapestry of beliefs and practices that guided Jewish communities through their most vulnerable moments.
Centered on Prague, which served as the spiritual heart of Central and Western European Jewry during this period, the study traces how attitudes toward sickness and mortality evolved across the German lands. Goldberg weaves together an impressive collection of sources, from sacred religious texts and rabbinical writings to community records and accounts of interfaith relationships, creating a comprehensive portrait of Jewish spiritual culture.
What emerges is a distinctive understanding of how Jewish communities maintained their unique spiritual identity while navigating the universal human experiences of suffering and loss. The author carefully examines what made Jewish approaches to illness and dying different from surrounding cultures, revealing practices and beliefs that offered comfort, meaning, and connection during life's most challenging passages.
For readers seeking to understand how spiritual traditions provide frameworks for confronting mortality and finding purpose in suffering, this work offers valuable insights into the wisdom developed by Jewish communities over centuries of lived experience.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~8 hours)
📄 Length: 303 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Jews
- ✓ Explore Jews, czech republic
- ✓ Explore Judaism
- ✓ Explore History
- ✓ Understand death from spiritual perspective
- ✓ Explore Social life and customs
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Mourning customs
