The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture is an authoritative reference work for a twenty-first-century audience. Its entries, written by eminent scholars, define the spiritual and intellectual concepts and the various religious movements that distinguish Judaism and the Jewish experience. Their subjects include central personalities, formative events, and enduring literary and cultural contributions. Essays outline Jewish history from ancient times to the present, and they also illuminate the daily lives of Jewish women and men in many eras and locations. Contributions discuss legal teachings and legendary traditions, and they explain the roles of rationalism, mysticism, and messianism within Jewish thought. The religious rituals and customs of Judaism – and the texts and contexts that explain, expand, and animate them – are a major focus as well. Many entries focus on geographic regions, countries, and cities, documenting the distinctive characteristics of Jewish life and cultural production in these specific places. Yet what makes this reference different from many others is that it also explores Jewish acitivities and contributions outside the religious boundaries of Judaism.

Articles in this dictionary explore Jewish secular and political movements, Jewish achievements beyond the confines of the traditional Jewish world, and the often disregarded lives of Jewish women.