Rabbi Benjamin Blech - The Complete Idiots Guide to Jewish History and Culture

What makes Jews the Chosen Ones? Is it that they have not only survived, but prospered?...through thousands of years and thousand of places; through destructive war and saddening exile; through long wanderings and hasty disguises. Of course, Jews have also survived plates of kishke and kugel, the all-knowing Jewish mother, and the ever-embarrassing yenta. And, as less than one quarter of one percent of the worlds population, the Jewish people have made quite an impact.

So why is this people different from all other people? It is said that a Jewish mother could take care of a hundred children, yet a hundred children couldnt take care of her. It is also said that the astounding number of Jewish doctors comes not from wanting to impress their Jewish mothers, but from a desire to fix the world. And as for Jewish comedians, Jackie Mason, Woody Allen, and Jerry Seinfeld are laughing proof that Jews are funny people.

This book is about a people who came from Israel and expanded in every direction, from the Bronx to Ethiopia. Some went west, some went to Miami, and others returned to Israel. They share a religion tested by history and, despite assimilation across geographical boundaries and melting pots, their culture is still solid and intact.

Rabbi Blech, well versed in Jewish culture and tradition, has created a piece of art in which the two intertwine. He discusses the persecution and alienation that have challenged Jews not to suffer but to succeed, on the field and in the theater. Starting at the beginning with Adam and Eve, he traces the evolution of Jewish history through the Crusades and the Inquisition to the Holocaust, arriving at the present day. The text thoroughly examines the future of Judaism and its relationship to other religions.

This book is for the Jew who, like the Wise Son, wants to know the meaning in all of this. For those who are familiar with Jewish history and culture, it offers fascinating trivia and insight. And for the Gentile who has always wanted to know but was afraid to ask, it is an engaging text that eases the guilt of not knowing. This book is also a tool for Jews with non-Jewish relatives and non-Jews with Jewish relatives.

The information is presented in an intriguing way, leaving memories of monotonous Biblical lessons far behind. Sidebars explain little-known facts about Judaism and the symbolism in tradition. The Complete Idiots Guideto Jewish History and Culture teaches the reader that a Jew is supposed to question, and that here, within these pages, are the answers.

Larry King and Rabbi Irwin Katsof

LARRY KING, host of Larry King Live on CNN, began his career in 1957 at a small radio station in Miami. His show, the only live phone-in television talk show, airs on over 325 stations worldwide. Named Best Radio Talk Show Host by the Washington Journalism Review, he is the author of several books, including Best of Larry King and How to Talk to Anyone Anytime. He is also author of Powerful Prayers (with Rabbi Katsof). King is the head of the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, which awards grants to individuals suffering from heart disease to help pay for medical treatment.

RABBI IRWIN KATSOF, an inspiration to celebrities and business leaders exploring their Jewish roots, is creator of the Twentysomething Seminar and Let My People Know, the largest-ever international satellite broadcast in the world. Ordained in 1992, he is an Orthodox rabbi with an unorthodox approach that provokes people to accept the spiritual challenge he offers. He has co-authored Powerful Prayers with Larry King, a book that explores the private spiritual lives of well-known celebrities and politicians.