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Judaism in Five Minutes

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Judaism in Five Minutes provides an accessible and lively introduction to common questions about Jews and Judaism, with a focus on Jewish communities, textual traditions, practices, rituals, laws, holidays, and life-cycle events. As with other volumes in the Religion in 5 Minutes series, this volume is suitable for beginning students and general readers through a series of general questions, succinctly answered by experts in the field. Some of the questions addressed in this volume include the following: What is the Torah? What is the Talmud? What is Jewish law? What is a rabbi? Was Jesus Jewish? What does kosher mean? Do Jews believe in a messiah? What is Zionism? What is antisemitism? What role did race play in the Holocaust?

Because each chapter can be read in about five minutes, the books offer ideal supplementary resources in classrooms or an engaging read for those curious about the world around them.

Published: Jul 1, 2025

Book Contributors

Series

Section Chapter Authors
Preface
Preface Sarah Imhoff
Chapter 1
Why are texts sacred to Jews? Brian Hillman
Chapter 2
What is Torah? Laura Carlson Hasler
Chapter 3
What is Talmud? Sara Ronis
Chapter 4
What is Midrash? Sarah Imhoff
Are Jews White? Sabina Ali
Chapter 5
What is Kabbalah? Brian Hillman
Chapter 6
What is Jewish law? Yonatan Y. Brafman
Chapter 7
What is a rabbi? Sarah Imhoff
Chapter 8
What is Hanukkah? Jodi Eichler-Levine
Chapter 9
What happens during Passover? Laura Yares
Chapter 10
What does kosher mean? Nora Rubel
Chapter 11
Why don’t Jews eat pork? Jordan D. Rosenblum
Chapter 12
Do Jews drink alcohol? Jordan D. Rosenblum
Chapter 13
Why do Jews circumcise boy children? Alison L. Joseph
Chapter 14
What is a Bar/Bat Mitzvah? Rachel Kranson
Chapter 15
Are there differences according to gender under Jewish law? Ronit Irshai
Chapter 16
What does it mean to be Hasidic? Sam Shuman
Chapter 17
What do Jews do on the Sabbath? Adrienne Krone
Chapter 18
Can Jews get tattoos? Chaim McNamee
Chapter 19
Why is the name of God important? James A. Diamond
Chapter 20
What are the differences among Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox Judaism? b Joshua Shanes
Chapter 21
What are the differences among Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jews? Max Daniel
Chapter 22
What is Karaite Judaism? Meira Polliack
Chapter 23
What languages do Jews speak? Sarah Benor
Chapter 24
What does it mean to be a secular Jew? Jennifer Caplan
Chapter 25
Do Jews believe in God? Elias Sacks
Chapter 26
Can you convert to Judaism? Michal Kravel-Tovi
Chapter 27
Can Jews marry non-Jews? Samira K. Mehta
Chapter 28
How do Jews think about non-Jews? Ishay Rosen-Zvi
Chapter 29
What do Jews think happens after you die? Matthew J. Suriano
Chapter 30
What do Jews believe about the Messiah? Martin Kavka
Chapter 31
Are there angels and demons in Judaism? Sara Ronis
Chapter 32
Who are crypto-Jews? Sasha M. Ward
Chapter 33
Why don’t Jews believe in Jesus? Adam Gregerman
Chapter 34
Was Jesus Jewish? Meira Z. Kensky
Chapter 35
Did Jews kill Jesus? Eric Vanden Eykel
Chapter 36
Was Paul Jewish? Elias Sacks
Chapter 37
Why do Jews and Christians disagree if they read a lot of the same Bible? Benjamin E. Sax
Chapter 38
What are Jewish-Christian relations? Jessica Cooperman
Chapter 39
Who are Messianic Jews? Yaakov Ariel
Chapter 40
What is the relationship of the Bible and the Qur’an? Shari L. Lowin
Chapter 41
What is Judeo-Islamic Civilization? Liran Yadgar
Chapter 42
Who was Moses Maimonides? Alan Verskin
Chapter 43
What is antisemitism? Jeffrey I. Israel