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"This fascinating study of urbanism and American Judaism offers an insightful portrait of the ways that the rhythms of city life shaped the religious practices of American Jews. Examining synagogues, city streets, and photographs, Deborah Dash Moore has changed our understanding of the evolution of American Judaism. Moore demonstrates brilliantly that the distinct features of American Judaism must be interpreted through the lens of urban experience." Beth S. Wenger, author of History Lessons: The Creation of American Jewish Heritage "In this elegantly argued and impressively expansive history, Deborah Dash Moore shows us how American Jews engagement with the changing urban environment created a distinctive American Judaism, in all its diversity, and contributed to the making of the American city itself. Moore takes readers inside the great urban synagogues and shuls and then out into city streets and neighborhoods to show how deeply entwined Judaism has been with the American urban landscape, from colonial towns to contemporary global cities. Building on a lifetime of distinguished scholarship, Urban Origins of American Judaism makes an essential contribution to U.S. religious history, to urban history, and to the history of American Jews." Robert A. Orsi, author of The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, 1880-1950 and editor of The Gods of the City: Religion and the American Urban Landscape The University of Georgia Press Athens, Georgia 30602 www.ugapress.org ISBN 978-0-8203-4682-3"
About the author
DEBORAH DASH MOORE is the Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of History and director of the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan.
Summary
Moore explores Jewish participation in American cities and considers the implications of urban living for American Jews across three centuries. Looking at synagogues, streets, and snapshots, she contends that key features of American Judaism can be understood as an imaginative product grounded in urban potentials.
