SHULA JACOBS,
NEW and BRILLIANT Upload!Originally published in The Tablet, 2nd March 1974. In his latest work, A Jewish Theology (Darton, Longman & Todd, £4.75), Rabbi Louis Jacobs, one of the most distinguished contemporary Jewish scholars, provides a thorough and up-to-date ... Continue Reading ➨
Reviews of Louis Jacobs’s books
This section contains a selection of book reviews written by a broad range of authored, including academics and rabbis, offering critical comments on the works of Rabbi Louis Jacobs.
Bradley Artson – Review of ‘The Schoken Book of Jewish Mystical Testimonies’
Originally published in Conservative Judaism, 16th June 1997. The Schocken Book of Mystical Testimonies Louis Jacobs New York: Schocken Books, 329 pages Rabbi Louis Jacobs is no stranger to the readers of this journal. In his many fruitful years ... Continue Reading ➨
Jewish Theology for the Masses – A Review of ‘The Book of Jewish Belief’ by Chaim Pearl
Originally published in the Jewish Chronicle, 8th March 1985. The Book of Jewish Belief. By Louis Jacobs. Behrman House Press. New York. Available from Jewish Chronicle Publications at £11.25. This book does not look like a book on Jewish ... Continue Reading ➨
Sage of London embraces past, looks to future – A review of ‘Principles of the Jewish Faith’ by Kenneth L. Cohen
Originally published in the Washington Jewish Week, 18th May 1989. Principles of the Jewish Faith, Louis Jacobs, Jason Aronson Publishers, Northvale, N.J., 1964, republished 1988. pp. 469, $35. It is with some irony that, perhaps the greatest ... Continue Reading ➨
A review of ‘The Sanction for the Mitzwoth’ by Graham Shurek Morris
Originally published in The Jewish Review, 5th January 1964. The bewildered Anglo-Jew whose mind has been assaulted in the popular Jewish press with reports of meetings, protests and angry editorials on the subject of the Communal controversy may ... Continue Reading ➨
Confronting Fundamentalism – A Review of ‘Beyond Reasonable Doubt’ by Robert Weissman
Originally published in The Jewish Quarterly, Summer 1999. Louis Jacobs, Beyond Reasonable Doubt (London: Littman Library of Jewish Civilisation/Vallentine Mitchell, 1999, £24.95) It was his expert attack on the fundamentalist view of Sinaitic ... Continue Reading ➨
Mysticism Rehabilitated – A Review of ‘Jewish Mystical Testimonies’ by Barry W. Holtz
Originally published in Midstream, August-September 1979. Jewish Mystical Testimonies, edited by Louis Jacobs. Schocken, New York. 270 pp. The past half century has seen a tremendous explosion of interest in the subject of Jewish mysticism. If ... Continue Reading ➨
Ian Leifer – A Review of ‘The Jewish Religion – A Companion’
Originally published in the Edinburgh Star. THE JEWISH RELIGION - A COMPANION edited by Louis Jacobs published by Oxford University Press, 1994, 641pp, £25.00 (ISBN 0-19-82643-1) reviewed by Ian Leifer This is a truly excellent book. Perhaps it ... Continue Reading ➨
Tradition and Integrity – A Review by William Horbury of ‘A Tree of Life’
Originally published in The Expository Times, September 1985. Rabbi Louis Jacobs is well known as a highly distinguished liberal interpreter of Judaism. Many of his works, such as the notable ‘Jewish Theology’ [1973], are immediately accessible to ... Continue Reading ➨
Gilbert S. Rosenthal – Review of ‘A Tree of Life’
A Tree of Life. Diversity, Flexibility, and Creativity in Jewish Law by Louis Jacobs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984. 310 pages. $29.95. Reviewed by Rabbi Gilbert S. Rosenthal There are roughly three or four basic philosophies of ... Continue Reading ➨
A Review of ‘The Talmudic Argument’
The Talmudic Argument. A Study in Talmudic Reasoning and Methodology. By Louis Jacobs. Pp. xvi + 220. Cambridge University Press, 1984. £25.00. Louis Jacobs here provides an immensely rewarding exposition of nineteen Talmudic sugyot, combining the ... Continue Reading ➨
Revelation for Moderns by David Singer
Originally published in Commentary Magazine, 1st April 2000. Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Louis Jacobs Littman Library of Jewish Civilization/Vallentine Mitchell. 267 pp. $39.50 Reviewed by David Singer The “Jacobs affair,” which took place ... Continue Reading ➨
Bradley Shavit Artson – Review of ‘God, Torah, and Israel’
Originally published in Conservative Judaism 45:1 (1992). God, Torah, Israel: Traditionalism Without Fundamentalism, by Louis Jacobs. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1990, 99 pages. Rabbi Louis Jacobs has established himself as one of ... Continue Reading ➨
Questioning the scriptures – Review of ‘Helping with Inquiries’
Originally published in The Times, 29th July 1989. Jack Shamash on the torment of a rabbi exploring the roots of his religious faith Questioning the scriptures HELPING WITH INQUIRIES By Louis Jacobs Vallentine Mitchell, £19.50 When Rabbi ... Continue Reading ➨
John A. Cosgrove – Review of ‘Helping with Inquiries’
It was some 28 years ago in 1961 the year that I first went to University that the “Jacobs affair” first rocked British Jewry. This well written autobiography of Rabbi Dr. Louis Jacobs reveals to us all the background details surrounding the shabby ... Continue Reading ➨
Act Kosher, Think Treif – A Review of ‘Helping with Inquiries’
A selection from Alex Berlyne’s regular “Jerusalem Post” column, published in 1981, displays the following commendation on its dust cover: “This book should appeal to people of all ages, particularly if they were born in the Twenties in Manchester’s ... Continue Reading ➨
Fred Morgan – A Leisurely Journey through Judaism
Originally published in the Expository Times. A Leisurely Journey through Judaism Review Article By Rabbi Fred Morgan, North West Surrey Synagogue and Leo Baeck College Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs is not only one of the most erudite of contemporary ... Continue Reading ➨
The Faith of Louis Jacobs – Review of ‘Faith’
Originally published in the Belfast Jewish Record: The Journal of the Jewish Community in Northern Ireland, 16:6 (February 1970). Louis Jacobs. Faith. Vallentine, Mitchell, 42s. It’s a great pity that, owing to the vagaries of History, no ... Continue Reading ➨
David Ariel – Review of ‘Jewish Mystical Testimonies’
Originally published in October 1979. JEWISH MYSTICAL TESTIMONIES. By Louis Jacobs. New York: Schocken Books, 1977. Pp. 270. Paper, $7.95. As this comprehensive anthology of “personal mystical testimonies” attests, there exists a wealth of ... Continue Reading ➨
Arthur Green – Review of ‘Jewish Mystical Testimonies’
Originally published in the Journal of Religion 59:2 (1979), pp. 253-4. Jacobs, Louis. Jewish Mystical Testimonies. New York: Schocken Books, 1978. 270 pp. $7.95 (paper). Jewish mystics are famous—or notorious—for their reticence in speaking ... Continue Reading ➨