Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction

Format: Paperback Language: English ISBN: 0199730989 ISBN13: 9780199730988 Release Date: May 2017 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Length: 168 Pages Weight: 0.25 lbs. Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.4" x 6.8" How have the Jews survived? For millennia, they have defied odds by overcoming the travails of exile, persecution, and recurring plans for their annihilation. Many have attempted to explain this singular success as a result of divine intervention. In this engaging book, David N. Myers charts the long journey of the Jews through history. At the same time, it points to two unlikely-and decidedly this-worldly--factors to explain the survival of the Jews: antisemitism and assimilation. Usually regarded as grave dangers, these two factors have continually interacted with one other to enable the persistence of the Jews. At every turn in their history, not just in the modern age, Jews have adapted to new environments, cultures, languages, and social norms. These bountif