This collection of articles in Jewish Studies has been authored by, what many consider, the most important scholar of the rabbinic life and literature in the post WWII period.

A revealing look at the reciprocal relationship between the Halakha as an abstract system and the realities of the Jewish life.

Madden's work constitutes ". . . a record of many rare or unique examples of Jewish art, preserving spontaneity and directness in our contact with the Jewish past."

Michael Avi-Yonah
Professor of Archaeology at Hebrew University, Jerusalem

"... a single volume (containing) the multitude of details of nearly 40 centuries of Jewish history (provided) with conciseness, clarity, and completeness. . . entire work is informed by a broad philosophic grasp of the subject, a rare balance and objectivity of treatment, and a warm love for the Jewish people and its heritage."

Robert Gordis
Encyclopaedia Judaica

Extensive collection of anecdotal evidence relating to labor, crafts, and trade as thought of and practiced by Sages of the Second Temple and early exilic period.

The book contains eight chapters of an absorbing text, including The Book of Delight, A Visit to Hebron, Medieval Mayfaring, and Marriages Are Made in Heaven.

When books survive as long as our biblical collection has survived, a certain discrepancy between intention and comprehension is inevitable. But if we wish to read attentively, we must make the effort to reconstruct the concrete shell of the past as well as its essential spiritual factors. This is exactly what this book gives us.