Scattered Among the Nations

The historical documents in this important collection cover a time span of almost two thousand years, beginning in the early Christian era and concluding in the latter half of the twentieth century. They consist, for the most part, of laws, commentaries, and observations written by religious and secular Christian leaders. The forces both reflected in and put into motion by these writings have had a major impact on Jewish lives over the last two millennia. In a very real way, modern Jewish life is still shaped by them. Scattered Among the Nations is a sourcebook and text for one aspect of Jewish history: Christian-Jewish relations. In a sense it presents the equivalent of a diplomatic history, with the exception that the nation in question - the Jewish people - had no territory of its own, had no officially recognized ambassadors, could offer little or no protection to its nationals, and had no army to pursue its goals. The Jews, for most of the time period in this book, lived entirely within the boundaries of other countries. The specific documents appearing in this collection were selected because each deals with a major event or turning point in Jewish history. Together they show an evolving relationship between Christians and Jews from the viewpoint of the Christian participants, whose words speak for themselves. The editor has provided introductions and notes intended to put the documents into than historical context and to explain how these writings affected Jewish life. The book's overall organization is chronological and according to topic, with the materials arranged by country of origin. The documents in this volume were originally written in Greek, Latin, French, German,Spanish, English, Polish, Russian, and Italian. The English translations come from over fifty different sources, compiled and translated by both Christian and Jewish historians.

"A beautifully presented book on Jewish diversity around the world . . . opens windows into lives from the hills of Portugal to the plains of Africa." — The Jerusalem Post With vibrant photographs and intricate accounts Scattered Among the Nations tells the story of the world's most isolated Jewish communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Former Soviet Union and the margins of Europe. Over two thousand years ago, a shipwreck left seven Jewish couples stranded off India's Konkan Coast, south of Bombay. Those hardy survivors stayed, built a community, and founded one of the fascinating groups described in this book—the Bene Israel of India's Maharasthra Province. This story is unique, but it is not unusual. We have all heard the phrase "the lost tribes of Israel," but never has the truth and wonder of the Diaspora been so lovingly and richly illustrated. To create this amazing chronicle of faith and resilience, the authors visited Jews in thirty countries across five continents, hearing origin stories and family histories that stretch back for millennia. "Beautiful, even breathtaking . . . a Jewish (Inter) National Geographic, wisely reminding us that the strategies for survival of Jews in distant lands may be relevant to our own." —Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Emanu-El Scholar at Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco and author of I'm God; You're Not "This exquisite book is a gift to the Jewish people, dramatically stretching our understanding of 'Jewish' . . . A book to be savored, read and re-read, and transmitted from one generation to the next." —Yossi Klein Halevi, Senior Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem