3,000 Years of Judaism in 30 Days: Understanding Jewish History, Beliefs, and Practices

By: Howard N. Lupovitch

Narrated by: Howard N. Lupovitch

Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Judaism is not only a religious faith but also a set of beliefs, practices, symbols, and institutions. More than that, it’s a civilization and culture of a people both diverse and united by a history of exile and perseverance.

Explore the storied history, texts, and traditions of one of the world’s oldest living religions and civilizations. As an award-winning professor and an observant Jew, Howard Lupovitch brings a wealth of knowledge to his audio course on Judaism. With the balanced perspective of a scholar, he guides you through its rise, development, and diversification. Under his tutelage, you will also discover the fascinating differences and similarities between Judaism and other Abrahamic faiths.

Starting with a general introduction, you’ll establish a contextual framework and learn essential vocabulary. Prof. Lupovitch then takes you on a journey through the history of Judaism in three sections:

1. Ancient Israel: Examine the Hebrew Bible, the concept of diaspora, and the origins of Jewish beliefs.
2. Judaism’s Emergence as a Way of Life: Learn why Rabbinic Judaism became the religion’s dominant form and established the pillars of Jewish customs.
3. Modern Challenges: Study different denominations and labels as well as debates on Jewish identity.

Whether your interests lie in history, interreligious understanding, or culture, this course will enlighten and entertain you.

This course is part of the Learn25 collection and includes a free PDF study guide prepared by your professor and course producer.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Now You Know Media, Inc. (P)2019 Now You Know Media, Inc.

Excellent

Fine summary of an ancient and still vital Jewish civilization, tradition and religion. Recommended introduction and also a first rate refresher.

Had a great first listen, and going to start over…

I really like the 20ish minute chunks, and found myself continuing on because I liked the info so much. It seems odd, but normally lecture-style is not my thing, but Mr. Lupovich had my attention and kept it all the way through. Great series IMO.

Interesting and Easy to digest

Prof Lupovitch narrates naturally and fluidly, and provides excellent depth and context. The ideas are broken up nicely and effectively to coincide with my daily commute. Lupovitch’s delivery is easy to digest and his communication style is highly effective. I would recommend this very highly to someone interested in academic depth without assumptions of prior expertise. I’m impressed!

Comprehension Story of Judaism Well Told

I have recently become interested in my roots as an American Jew and this book more than satisfies my need to explore them. Highly recommended!

Passionate and detailed study of the Jewish people

This exceeded my expectations. You know these teachers or professors that genuinely love their subject and give amazing classes? This is how I felt when listening to this recording. Professor Lupovitch examines the history of the Jewish people, starting from the stuff we hear in the Bible. It's honestly quite fascinating to hear these names and learn the history. A lot of times, I was saying "aha" to myself, when an ancient tradition made more sense to me through this book.

For example, it's interesting to learn how the Jewish people interacted within their communities and with other people and how their religion, traditions and historical faith made these ripples we see today. I highly recommend this book.

Very informative.

He covers all areas of Judaism. I learned about the origins of secular, reform, and ultra orthodox. This is a really good book

Educational and interesting

I enjoyed listening to this very much and have learned a lot from it. I highly recommend it.

Engaging; helps fill in the gaps

Half of my family is Jewish, but I was not raised in the faith. Therefore, although I have a basic understanding of Judaism, there are many historical and philosophical aspects of the faith that remained a bit hazy in my understanding. Prof. Lupovitch's book is a clear, engaging primer on the history of Judaism as well as what distinguishes its understanding of God from that of other faiths. I also enjoyed learning more about the approach of questioning that characterizes the Jewish faith. Lupovitch is a great presenter, and enjoyed filling in some of the gaps in my understanding of Judaism through his course.

The Entire History of Judaism & Jews

Understanding Judaism and Jews is essential for anyone interested in different cultures and history. Jews and Judaism represent a significant part of many cultures and history from old Egypt to Europe and many other parts of the world.

The first and most significant thing about this course is its comprehensiveness. I love these courses that make me discover a whole new world from the beginning to the end. It starts with explaining the common terminology of Judaism and Jews, which was great for me since I do not have any background about most of the terms. Over the next few chapters, professor. Howard deepened into Judaism as a religion. I understood what God, Diaspora, Zion, Talmud, Exile, Ashkenazi, Sephardi and many other terms and aspects of Judaism means for the Jews, which I really wanted to understand. I hear these terms a lot of time while reading historical books or watching documentaries but I never found a source to explain them to me and I depended mostly on Google to find out what they mean. Some lectures discuss very serious matters such as lecture 9 that explains why Judaism encounters Islam and lecture 21, 22, and 23 discussing secular Judaism and Zionism.

Professor. Howard managed to create a guide to Judaism and Jews from nearly all aspects. You’ll find out everything you want to know about history, daily life, modern problems, and old and modern terminology, practices, beliefs, new ideas and whatever comes to your mind.

I listened to another course by prof. Howard, The History of the Holocaust, which is highly recommended if you are interested in understanding the whole story of the Holocaust. When I did a simple search about professor Howard Lupovitch, I found out that he is well-known when it comes to Judaic Studies since he is an associate professor of history the director of the Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies, specializing in modern Jewish History. You will feel how knowledgeable he is. His performance and voice are full of passion and he has the gift of making topics simpler to be understood by everyone, even if you do not have any background about the topics.

Thank you, prof. Howard and Learn25, for this great course!

Clear and easy to follow

Professor Lupovitch takes great care to follow a clear and organized lesson plan. His enthusiasm of the subject engages the listener. The way the lesson is broken down into three subjects helps provide a track to stay on throughout: Ancient Israel, Exile and Diaspora, and Hellenistic Culture/Civilization. He dutifully illustrates the concept of Judaism as an all-encompassing way of life that highly values unity, uniformity, and diversity. This is a delightful and informative listen to those interested in an introduction to the topic of Judaism.