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From: dsg@mhuxi.UUCP (GREEN)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: want book on jewish customs & traditions
Message-ID: <104@mhuxi.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 27-Apr-84 08:17:10 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxi.104
Posted: Fri Apr 27 08:17:10 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Apr-84 09:48:29 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 45

[golems and dybbuks]

I don't want to sound trite, but you must first learn to walk before
you can run, so... some of my choices for *INTRODUCTORY* books on
Jewish customs, traditions and "culture" are:

"This Is My God" by Herman Wouk
"The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism" by Dennis Prager & Joseph
	Telushkin
"To Be A Jew" by Hayim Halevy Donin
"Wanderings" by Chaim Potok
"Enyclopedia of Jewish Concepts" by Philip Birnbaum

For more advanced topics send away for a brochure from:
	Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
	1969 Coney Island Avenue
	Brooklyn, NY 11223

Read some or all of these to get a feel for 20th Century "Assimilated
Ashkenazic New York" Jewish "culture":  Note that they should be read
with an open mind!!!

"An Orphan in History" by Paul Cowan
"World of Our Fathers" by Irving Howe
"Marjorie Morningstar" by Herman Wouk  ( Yes, I'm being serious. )
"Goodbye, Columbus" by Philip Roth ( Contact me and I'll tell you why. )

And for entertainment:

"In My Father's Court" by Isaac B. Singer
"Great Jewish Short Stories" ed. by Saul Bellow
"Gems of Rabbi Nachman"  edited by Aryeh Kaplan
"The Aryeh Kaplan Reader" by Aryeh Kaplan ( This may be "Philosophy" (?))


All of the above are easily readable and easily available.  I totally
realize that there are other books, but would you tell someone to get
a copy of Kernighan and Ritchie if they just wanted to "learn something
about computers"???

Shalom,
David Seth Green     Bell Labs    phone 201-564-2290  path ..mhuxi!dsg

( I am totally responsible for all of the above spelling and translations,
please flame on the content not the grammer, spelling, punctuation, etc. )