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RR 2004/63 The Encyclopaedia of Judaism, Volume IV: Supplement One Edited by Jacob Neusner, Alan J. Avery-Peck and William Scott Green Brill Leiden and Boston, MA 2003 xix + (1,593-2,029) pp. ISBN 90 04 12222 2
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Keywords Judaism, Religion, Encyclopaedias
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120410520827
The three-volume Encyclopaedia of Judaism was published by Brill in 2000 and is now well established as a classic in its field. Numbered from Volume I to Volume III, it has now been joined by this Supplement, which forms Volume IV. Compact and easy-to-use in its alphabetical arrangement by topic, each one generously discussed and exemplified from the sources, the Encyclopaedia, and now the Supplement, provide an up-to-date analysis of and commentary on a substantial range of topics that lie at the centre of the study of Judaism. The same editors and team of main consulting editors have supervised the Supplement, although some ten more consulting editors have been drawn in. Neusner (2000) is known for his magisterial work on the law of Judaism and many other works, and the others are easy to recognize in the field. Brill's own output in the form of "reference libraries", series and studies - of ancient Judaism, Biblical studies, Jewish studies, intellectual history, Tibetan studies and the like - makes their list distinctive.
Such works naturally find their way into specialized research and academic libraries serving institutions where Jewish studies and Judaism are seriously studied, since the financial investment, in reference works and related monograph and journal literature, is substantial. Collections that already have the Encyclopaedia, will certainly be interested in obtaining the Supplement, while those new to the whole work should visit the Brill Web site for more and examine the field fully. Not many such sources combine the depth of scholarship with the almost conversational dialogic style of the text, making the work very attractive, even to relative newcomers...