Undercurrents of Jewish Prayer
Jeremy Schonfield

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Even those who lavish close attention on talmudic and halakhic writings have rarely studied the Jewish prayer-book. Its dense and apparently impenetrable texts are here subjected to close analysis that exposes the messages and covert concerns implicit in the underlying narrative. The controversial conclusions establish the prayer-book as one of the greatest achievements of Jewish literary creativity.

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Jeremy Schonfield, who was born in London and is the son and grandson of rabbis, studied comparative literature and worked in archaeology in Israel and in publishing in London before becoming involved in Jewish education. He taught Jewish studies to adults in London, received a PhD from the University of Cambridge, and is now both Mason Lecturer at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, and Lecturer at Leo Baeck College in London. Although raised in the Ashkenazi tradition he is member of Bevis Marks Synagogue, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in London, where he sings in the choir and occasionally leads services. He is currently working on a study of the Jewish annual and life cycles as enactments of the Jewish sacred narrative.

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