Encyclopaedia Judaica
Encyclopedia
The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 26-volume English-language encyclopedia
of the Jewish people and their faith, Judaism
. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history
of all eras, culture, holidays
, language
, scripture
, and religious teachings
. As of 2010 it had been published in two editions accompanied by a few revisions.
The English-language Judaica was also published on CD-ROM
. The CD-ROM version has been enhanced by at least 100,000 hyperlinks and several other features, including videos, slide shows, maps, music and Hebrew pronunciations. While the CD-ROM version is still available, the publisher has discontinued it.
, and in New York
by the Macmillan Company. Between 1972 and 1994 additional yearbooks were published. Ten annual yearbooks were later collected in a 1973–1982 events supplement, and another 1983–1992 events supplement was also published. Together these volumes contained more than 15 million words in over 25,000 articles.
Its general editors were, successively, Cecil Roth
and Geoffrey Wigoder. Advertisers describe it as the result of about three decades of study and research by about 2,200 contributors and 250 editors around the world.
A Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia
in Russian, launched in the early 1970s as an abridged translation of the Encyclopaedia Judaica, evolved into a largely independent publication that by late 2005 included eleven volumes and three supplements.
An earlier, unfinished German-language Encyclopaedia Judaica was published by Nahum Goldmann
's Eshkol Publishing Society in Berlin 1928–1934. The chief editors were Jakob Klatzkin
and Ismar Elbogen
. Ten volumes from Aach to Lyra appeared before the project halted due to Nazi persecutions. Two Hebrew-language volumes A-Antipas, were also published under the title Eshkol (Hebrew: אשכול). A few of the articles from the German Judaica and even some of the reparations
payments to Goldmann were used in making the English-language Judaica.
A shorter Jewish Encyclopedia
had also been previously published at the turn of the twentieth century. It was followed by the
Jüdisches Lexikon I–II (1927–28) and Encyclopaedia Judaica I–II (1927–28) and Zsidó Lexikon (1929, edited by Ujvári Péter, in Hungarian
).
Because of its comprehensive scope, authority, and widespread availability, the Encyclopaedia Judaica has been recommended by the Library of Congress
and by the Association of Jewish Libraries
for use in determining the authoritative romanization
of names of Jewish authors. Its guidelines for transliterating Hebrew into English
are followed by many academic books and journals.
The 1972 edition has generated both positive and negative reviews.
The word Judaica is commonly used to refer to objects of Jewish art and Jewish ceremonial objects.
anounced that it had acquired the rights to publish a second edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica, expecting to publish in December 2006 under one of its imprints, Macmillan Reference USA. The 22-volume work was published December 30, 2006 and released in January 2007.
Gale has published other substantial revisions of major reference works in the field of religion in recent years, including second editions of The Encyclopedia of Religion and The New Catholic Encyclopedia. Together with original publishers Keter Publishing House, Gale has made major updates to many sections of Encyclopaedia Judaica for the new edition, including the entries on the Holocaust, American Jewry, Israel
and others.
Fred Skolnik
, who served as a co-editor on the original edition of Judaica, was retained as Editor-in-Chief for the 2nd edition. American Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum
, adjunct professor of theology at the American Jewish University as well as director of its Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust, serves as the editor for the Holocaust and Americana sections of the encyclopedia and executive editor for the work at large. Judith Baskin, University of Oregon Judaic Studies department head, was brought on to supervise improvement of women's studies and gender issues coverage. In total, more than 50 divisional editors, including five winners of the Israel Prize
, oversaw contributions from nearly 1,200 scholars and editors. The new edition contains more than 21,000 signed entries, including 2,600 brand-new entries and 12,000 changed entries.
, states that the second edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica "has already attained a secure place in the reference pantheon...Essential." Barbara Bibel, writing in Booklist
, calls the set "a welcome addition to reference collections."
from the American Library Association
, the most prestigious award in the field of reference publishing." In presenting the award, Edward Kownslar, the chairman of the Dartmouth Medal committee said: "This 22-volume set is an authoritative, interdisciplinary and comprehensive examination of all aspects of Jewish life, history and culture. This title is an extensive revision of the first edition, which was published in 1972, and has 2600 new entries. In addition to updating all world and political events affecting Jewish life and culture since the early 1970s, 'Judaica' has significantly enhanced biblical studies and the Holocaust from the first edition. This title has also expanded the area of women's studies."
, and was added to the list of "Outstanding Reference Source for Small and Medium-sized Libraries" by the Reference and User Services Association
of the American Library Association in 2008.
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
of the Jewish people and their faith, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
of all eras, culture, holidays
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
, language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, scripture
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, and religious teachings
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
. As of 2010 it had been published in two editions accompanied by a few revisions.
The English-language Judaica was also published on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
. The CD-ROM version has been enhanced by at least 100,000 hyperlinks and several other features, including videos, slide shows, maps, music and Hebrew pronunciations. While the CD-ROM version is still available, the publisher has discontinued it.
History
The encyclopedia was first published in Jerusalem from 1971–1972 in sixteen volumes, by Keter Publishing HouseKeter Publishing House
Keter Publishing House is one of the largest publishers in Israel. It was formed in 2005 through a merger of Keter Publishing and Steimatzky. Keter has a large book marketing and distribution network, as well print services and book production for the Israeli domestic and export market. Keter is...
, and in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
by the Macmillan Company. Between 1972 and 1994 additional yearbooks were published. Ten annual yearbooks were later collected in a 1973–1982 events supplement, and another 1983–1992 events supplement was also published. Together these volumes contained more than 15 million words in over 25,000 articles.
Its general editors were, successively, Cecil Roth
Cecil Roth
Cecil Roth , was a British Jewish historian.He was educated at Merton College, Oxford and returned to Oxford as reader in Jewish Studies from 1939 to 1964...
and Geoffrey Wigoder. Advertisers describe it as the result of about three decades of study and research by about 2,200 contributors and 250 editors around the world.
A Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia
The Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem...
in Russian, launched in the early 1970s as an abridged translation of the Encyclopaedia Judaica, evolved into a largely independent publication that by late 2005 included eleven volumes and three supplements.
An earlier, unfinished German-language Encyclopaedia Judaica was published by Nahum Goldmann
Nahum Goldmann
Nahum Goldmann was a leading Zionist and the founder and longtime president of the World Jewish Congress.-Biography:...
's Eshkol Publishing Society in Berlin 1928–1934. The chief editors were Jakob Klatzkin
Jakob Klatzkin
Jakob Klatzkin, Yakov/Jakub Klaczkin , 1882 - 26 March 1948, Vevey, Switzerland) was a Jewish philosopher, publicist, publisher.He was a son of Rabbi Eliyahu Klaczkin ....
and Ismar Elbogen
Ismar Elbogen
Ismar Elbogen was a Jewish-German rabbi, scholar and historian....
. Ten volumes from Aach to Lyra appeared before the project halted due to Nazi persecutions. Two Hebrew-language volumes A-Antipas, were also published under the title Eshkol (Hebrew: אשכול). A few of the articles from the German Judaica and even some of the reparations
Wiedergutmachung
The German word Wiedergutmachung after World War II refers to the reparations that the German government agreed to pay to the direct survivors of the Holocaust, and to those who were made to work as forced labour or who otherwise became victims of the Nazis.The noun Wiedergutmachung is the general...
payments to Goldmann were used in making the English-language Judaica.
A shorter Jewish Encyclopedia
Jewish Encyclopedia
The Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
had also been previously published at the turn of the twentieth century. It was followed by the
Jüdisches Lexikon I–II (1927–28) and Encyclopaedia Judaica I–II (1927–28) and Zsidó Lexikon (1929, edited by Ujvári Péter, in Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
).
Because of its comprehensive scope, authority, and widespread availability, the Encyclopaedia Judaica has been recommended by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
and by the Association of Jewish Libraries
Association of Jewish Libraries
The Association of Jewish Libraries is an international organization dedicated to the production, collection, organization and dissemination of Judaic resources and library/media/information service...
for use in determining the authoritative romanization
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
of names of Jewish authors. Its guidelines for transliterating Hebrew into English
Romanization of Hebrew
Hebrew uses the Hebrew alphabet with optional vowel points. The romanization of Hebrew is the use of the Latin alphabet to transliterate Hebrew words....
are followed by many academic books and journals.
The 1972 edition has generated both positive and negative reviews.
The word Judaica is commonly used to refer to objects of Jewish art and Jewish ceremonial objects.
Second edition
In July 2003, Thomson GaleThomson Gale
Gale is an educational publishing company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the United States, in the western suburbs of Detroit. It was part of the Thomson Learning division of the Thomson Corporation, a Canadian company, but became part of Cengage Learning in 2007.The company, formerly known...
anounced that it had acquired the rights to publish a second edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica, expecting to publish in December 2006 under one of its imprints, Macmillan Reference USA. The 22-volume work was published December 30, 2006 and released in January 2007.
Gale has published other substantial revisions of major reference works in the field of religion in recent years, including second editions of The Encyclopedia of Religion and The New Catholic Encyclopedia. Together with original publishers Keter Publishing House, Gale has made major updates to many sections of Encyclopaedia Judaica for the new edition, including the entries on the Holocaust, American Jewry, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and others.
Fred Skolnik
Fred Skolnik
Fred Skolnik is an American-born writer and editor. Born in New York City, he has lived in Israel since 1963, working mostly as an editor and translator...
, who served as a co-editor on the original edition of Judaica, was retained as Editor-in-Chief for the 2nd edition. American Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum
Michael Berenbaum
Michael Berenbaum is an American scholar, professor, rabbi, writer, and film-maker, who specializes in the study of the memorialization of the Holocaust...
, adjunct professor of theology at the American Jewish University as well as director of its Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust, serves as the editor for the Holocaust and Americana sections of the encyclopedia and executive editor for the work at large. Judith Baskin, University of Oregon Judaic Studies department head, was brought on to supervise improvement of women's studies and gender issues coverage. In total, more than 50 divisional editors, including five winners of the Israel Prize
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
, oversaw contributions from nearly 1,200 scholars and editors. The new edition contains more than 21,000 signed entries, including 2,600 brand-new entries and 12,000 changed entries.
Critical Reception and Awards
Reviews from library literature have been positive. Donald Altschiller of Boston University, writing in ChoiceChoice
Choice consists of the mental process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one of them. While a choice can be made between imagined options , often a choice is made between real options, and followed by the corresponding action...
, states that the second edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica "has already attained a secure place in the reference pantheon...Essential." Barbara Bibel, writing in Booklist
Booklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
, calls the set "a welcome addition to reference collections."
Dartmouth Medal
The second edition of the Encyclopaedia received a number of major awards for excellence, including the 2007 Dartmouth MedalDartmouth Medal
The Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association is awarded annually to a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, published during the previous calendar year.-History:...
from the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
, the most prestigious award in the field of reference publishing." In presenting the award, Edward Kownslar, the chairman of the Dartmouth Medal committee said: "This 22-volume set is an authoritative, interdisciplinary and comprehensive examination of all aspects of Jewish life, history and culture. This title is an extensive revision of the first edition, which was published in 1972, and has 2600 new entries. In addition to updating all world and political events affecting Jewish life and culture since the early 1970s, 'Judaica' has significantly enhanced biblical studies and the Holocaust from the first edition. This title has also expanded the area of women's studies."
Other Awards
The Encyclopaedia was also named to the "Best Reference 2007" list by the Library JournalLibrary Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
, and was added to the list of "Outstanding Reference Source for Small and Medium-sized Libraries" by the Reference and User Services Association
Reference and User Services Association
Reference and User Services Association is a division of the American Library Association chartered to stimulate and supporting excellence in library reference and user services. RUSA awards a number of medals and honors to promote its goals of excellence in its field and publishes an annual list...
of the American Library Association in 2008.