The character of any religion as it is lived and practiced can be quite different from the prescriptions and ideals of its traditions and rituals. This bifurcation can be found also in the tension between the ideas people hold and the things they do. Jacob Neusner explains in the preface:

"The issue I address in these pages for a broad audience of people who care about religion in general, not Judaism in particular, is an urgent one: explaining what we see, not only what we read. So I decided to focus the book more sharply on what strikes me as Judaism's most suggestive trait - the fairly broadly diffused knowledge of what matters and what doesn't."

Students, general readers, members of the clergy, and teachers will find here a lucid and compelling account of the actual life of Jewish people - in the synagogue, at home, in ritual - and of commonly held attitudes toward Holocaust and redemption, the Sabbath and festivals, study of the Torah, the State of Israel, and more.

Author - Jacob Neusner

A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 7
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 4
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Holy Things, Part 4
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Holy Things, Part 5
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Appointed Times, Part 5
First Century Judaism in Crisis by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Women, Part 3
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 15
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 21
Confronting Creation by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Damages, Part 3
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Damages, Part 2
There We Sat Down by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Appointed Times, Part 3
The Transformation of Judaism by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Appointed Times, Part 1
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 19
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 6
The Rabbinic Traditions About the Pharisees Before 70, Part III by Jacob Neusner
Writing with Scripture by Jacob Neusner, William S. Green
Judaism: The Classical Statement by Jacob Neusner
Religions in Antiquity
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 16
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Appointed Times, Part 2
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 2
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Damages, Part 5
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 17
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 12
Christianity, Judaism and Other Greco-Roman Cults, Part 3
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Women, Part 5
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 18
The Idea of Purity in Ancient Judaism by Jacob Neusner
Between Time and Eternity by Jacob Neusner
Judaism and Story by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Damages, Part 4
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Women, Part 1
Judaism as Philosophy by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Appointed Times, Part 4
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 3
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 1
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 10
The Talmud by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 20
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 13
Midrash as Literature by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Women, Part 2
Trading Places Sourcebook
Judaism and Scripture by Jacob Neusner
Christianity, Judaism and Other Greco-Roman Cults, Part 4
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Holy Things, Part 3
Fellowship in Judaism by Jacob Neusner
Sacred Texts and Authority
Rabbinic Literature and the New Testament by Jacob Neusner
Christianity, Judaism and Other Greco-Roman Cults, Part 2
God in the World by Jacob Neusner, Dr. Bruce D. Chilton
Jews and Christians by Jacob Neusner
Soviet Views of Talmudic Judaism by Yu. A. Solodukho
Judaism by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Women, Part 4
New Humanities and Academic Disciplines
Children of the Flesh, Children of the Promise by Jacob Neusner
Judaism in Society by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 9
The Rabbinic Traditions About the Pharisees Before 70, Part I by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 22
Androgynous Judaism by Jacob Neusner
How To Grade Your Professors by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 11
The Rabbinic Traditions About the Pharisees Before 70, 3 Volumes by Jacob Neusner
The Modern Study of the Mishnah
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Holy Things, Part 1
Social Foundations of Judaism by Jacob Neusner, Calvin Goldscheider
Law as Literature by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Holy Things, Part 2
Telling Tales by Jacob Neusner
The Rabbinic Traditions About the Pharisees Before 70, Part II by Jacob Neusner
Women and Families
From Politics to Piety by Jacob Neusner
Eliezer Ben Hyrcanus by Jacob Neusner
Stranger at Home by Jacob Neusner
Torah Through the Ages by Jacob Neusner
Trading Places by Dr. Bruce D. Chilton, Jacob Neusner
Christianity, Judaism and Other Greco-Roman Cults, Part 1
Revelation by Jacob Neusner, Dr. Bruce D. Chilton
The Mishnah by Jacob Neusner
Take Judaism, for Example
Understanding Rabbinic Judaism
Evil and Suffering
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Holy Things, Part 6
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 8
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 5
Judaic Perspectives on Ancient Israel
The Formation of the Babylonian Talmud
Invitation to the Talmud by Jacob Neusner
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Damages, Part 1
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 14