Abstract This chapter presents Judaism’s development by tracing its continuous spiritual creativity from antiquity to the Enlightenment. It opens with the Church’s late recognition of Judaism’s enduring vitality and then examines how Judah ha-Nasi, the Tannaim, Amoraim, Seboraim, and Stamaim shape rabbinic law and the Talmud’s authority. The chapter surveys the diverse contributions of Kahina, Saadia Gaon, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Maimonides, Abulafia, and Graçia Mendes Nasi, each advancing Jewish religious, philosophical, or communal life. It then explores the rise of Hasidism under the Baal Shem Tov and its contrast with Mendelssohn’s modernizing rationalism. Finally, the chapter highlights Judaism’s evolving responses to persecution, power, diversity, and intellectual renewal.
Abstract This chapter explores Jewish spirituality through stories and teachings that show holiness emerging in ordinary compassion, prayer, learning, and ethical conduct. It defines prayer as heartfelt service that is shaped by kavvana, examines debates over its efficacy, and traces the formation of liturgy, including the Shema and the Amida. The chapter discusses attitudes in prayer, the status of women, and the poetic and musical traditions that enrich communal devotion. It surveys pietistic movements, mystical practices, and disciplines that cultivate love of God across centuries. Finally, the chapter presents Torah study as Judaism’s core spiritual path, nurturing joy, intimacy, continuity, and identity.
Abstract This chapter traces the gradual formation of Judaism and Christianity and presents both as evolving traditions rather than fully formed religions. It outlines the development from biblical religion to rabbinic Judaism and situates early Christianity within the diverse Jewish sectarian landscape of the 1st century. The chapter describes how disputes over Torah observance, the claim that Jesus is the Messiah, and the destruction of the Temple in 70 ce intensify division. It shows how each community defines itself through doctrine, ritual, and rival interpretations of shared scripture. Finally, the chapter highlights the long legacy of conflict and the emergence of modern dialogue.
Abstract This chapter surveys how poskim draw on halakha to address contemporary ethical issues, demonstrating how an ‘eternal law’ guides modern dilemmas in medicine and technology. It analyses denominational differences in legal reasoning, showing how Conservative, Orthodox, and Reform authorities interpret precedent and conceptual frameworks. The chapter examines debates on abortion, artificial insemination, euthanasia, and surrogate motherhood, illustrating how rabbis weigh traditional sources against shifting medical realities. It also highlights how these disputes reveal deeper concerns about authority, personhood, sexuality, and the limits of legal innovation. Finally, the chapter affirms Judaism’s continuing vitality as it responds creatively to the complexities of modern life.
Abstract This chapter examines how the English language, shaped by Christian history, influences attempt to understand Judaism, and it highlights the distortions that arise when Christianity’s categories frame Jewish belief. It outlines how different religions describe themselves through distinct vocabularies and shows how key Jewish terms require contextual interpretation to avoid misunderstanding. The chapter stresses that Judaism emerges through lived interpretation rather than abstract doctrine, unfolding in dynamic relationships among God, Torah, Israel, and the wider world. It further clarifies what constitutes Jewish identity for the book’s purposes and surveys major schools of Jewish historiography. Finally, the chapter emphasizes Judaism’s creative resilience across centuries.
Abstract This chapter traces the fragmentation of Judaism from medieval communal discipline to modern denominational diversity, explaining how emancipation and Enlightenment ideas undermine rabbinic authority. It outlines the rise of Reform Judaism, which reinterprets worship, theology, and identity through Progressive Revelation and evolving liturgy. The chapter contrasts Orthodoxy, highlighting its ideological spectrum from Modern Orthodox synthesis to Haredi rigidity and its continuing authority in Israel. It then examines Conservative Judaism’s commitment to halakha alongside historical criticism and adaptive legal reasoning. Finally, the chapter presents Reconstructionism as a naturalistic, participatory reconfiguration of Jewish belief and practice responsive to contemporary culture and modern ethical demands.
Abstract This chapter examines how a newly married Jewish couple establishes a home shaped by tzedaka, ritual practice, education, dietary law, and ethical relationships. It outlines charitable obligations, the placement of the mezuza, the use of ritual objects, along with the centrality of books and continuous Torah study within domestic life. The chapter presents the principles of kashrut, it notes differing levels of observance and stresses the need for clarity when hosting. It also discusses Jewish teachings on sexuality, marriage, divorce, inclusivity, and family responsibility. Finally, the chapter surveys the seven life cycle stages and the rites that mark each transition.
Abstract This chapter surveys Judaism’s contemporary challenges by outlining modern secular pressures, shifting social values, and changing patterns of religious attachment. It traces the historical and political development of the State of Israel, presenting the long chronology of Jewish presence in the land and examining Zionism, the status quo, and the legal and ethical dilemmas arising from Church-State relations. The chapter analyses Holocaust theology and recounts both the historical facts of the Shoah and the varied theological responses of major thinkers. It explores diverse modern conceptions of God and the expanding impact of Jewish feminism across denominations. Finally, the chapter highlights spiritual revivalism and Judaism’s dynamic 21st-century trajectory.
Abstract This chapter examines how Jewish identity develops through historical categorization, internal tradition, emancipation, and modern cultural change. It describes how Christian and Muslim societies define Jews as a separate people while Jewish communities reinforce distinctiveness through religious self-understanding and inherited legal rules. The chapter analyses how Enlightenment rationalism, anti-Semitism, and emerging Zionism reshape identity, prompting both assimilation and renewed national or cultural commitment. It outlines how migration, the Holocaust, and the creation of Israel shift global Jewish demographics and distribute communities across new centres. Finally, the chapter explains how contemporary pluralism enables individualized Jewish identities while urging communities to sustain flexible yet coherent boundaries.
Abstract This chapter explains how the Jewish calendar follows natural cycles by beginning days at sunset and by coordinating lunar months with solar years through a luni-solar system. It presents the Pilgrim festivals as journeys that unite historical memory, spiritual meaning, and agricultural rhythm through worship, feasting, generosity, and care for the needy. The chapter depicts the Passover Seder as participatory storytelling shaped by the haggada, ritual questions, song, symbolic foods, and domestic preparations that remove leaven and renew collective memory. It casts the Days of Awe as fasting, repentance. Finally, the chapter surveys minor festivals, fasts, Chanukah, Purim, Trees, Independence, Tisha b’Ab.
A life-course approach incorporating appropriate preconception and contraception care is key to achieving optimal maternal, neonatal, and child health outcomes. In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), there is a large unmet need for contraception and an estimated 49% of pregnan-cies are unintended. In this article, we discuss preconception and contraception care in LMIC settings including key recommendations for content and service delivery. We discuss barriers and facilitators to contraceptive provision, discuss considerations for providers who may practice in LMIC settings, and highlight strategies for achieving increased contraceptive up-take including several examples of successful programs. LMICs and industrialized countries can be attributed to differences in access to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical cancer screening and treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading a renewed international effort to reduce the global burden of cervical cancer. In this article, we discuss recommendations for HPV vaccination, pri-mary HPV screening, and treatment of precancerous lesions. Breast, Ovarian, Uterine, Vaginal, and Vulvar Cancer Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Prevalence, Screening, Treatment, Palliative Care, and Human Resources Training
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