User:Charlie Smith FDTB/W.I.P.: Difference between revisions

Jewish History - A Trilogy is a series of three books by Berel Wein, spanning thousands of years of Jewish history, with the first book beginning with Jews exiled to Babylonia returning to the Land of Israel in year 400 B.C.E, and the last book concluding with the Rabin Assassination and its aftermath of 1995-96 in Israel. The three books are Echoes of Glory: The Story of the Jews in the Classical Erea 350 BCE-750 CE, Herald of Destiny: The Story of the Jews in the Medival Era 750-1650, and Triumph of Survival: The Story of the Jews in Modern Era 1650-1996.

The three books were written chronologically out of order, with the one titled Echoes of Glory: The Story of the Jews in the Classical Erea 350 BCE-750 CE published in 1995,^[1] Herald of Destiny: The Story of the Jews in the Medival Era 750-1650 published in 1993,^[2] and Triumph of Survival: The Story of the Jews in Modern Era 1650-1996 published first, in 1990.^[3]

In the preface to his first book, Rabbi Wein writes that "all authors write with a bias," and that his is that of "an Orthodox Jew who believes in the divinity of Jewish tradition and the uniqueness of the people of Israel." He also writes about his personal connection to the subjects of his writing: "One benefit of being an Orthodox Jew is having access to this memory bank of events, insights, world views, and life giving legends. My education in a yeshiva, my good fortune in knowing and conversing with some of the last great Eastern European rabbis, and my family tradition and its members have combined to allow a me a glimpse of this collective memory treasure in Israel."^[4]

In 330 pages, Echoes of Glory outlines Jewish history in the Classical Era, beginning with the Jews exiled to Babylonia from the Land of Israel's return to their homeland and the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash (Jewish Holy Temple in Jerusalem). The book talks in depth about the relations between the Jews in Israel and the Greeks, beginning with the conquest of Alexander the Great. The book continues to discuss the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty that later ruled Israel, before going into the Roman's rule and the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. The book then discusses the Jews after exile, from the Bar Kochba revolt to writing of the Mishna and Talmud, concluding with the era of the Geonim.

The book was well received, specifically by Orthodox Jews, as there was little writing from an Orthodox Jewish standpoint about this point in history. Reviewers have commented that "it's about time that a traditional approach to a special people has been written," and that "there is a huge need for such a book. A book on Jewish history written by someone with Yirat Shamayim (Fear Of Heaven)".^[5]

In his second book, which is 508 pages long, Rabbi Wein writes about the Jewish people in the Medieval Era, beginning with the Geonim and the major Jewish communities in Babylonia, before going into the decline of Babylonian Jewry and the birth of the Jewish community in Spain. The book discusses at length the Jewish communities in Western Europe (specifically Germany and Provence) at length, and alternates between chapters to talk about the Spanish Jews and the Western European Jews; it also discusses the Jews of Italy at the time. The book then goes on to talk about the Spanish Inquisition, the growth of Kabbalah in the Jewish communities, the Jewish community of Tzefat, and the shift of the Ashkenazic community's centers from Germany to Poland. The book concludes with the Cossack pogroms against Jews in the Chmielnicki Uprising.

The book was given four and a half stars on Goodreads^[6] while on Amazon it had a hundred percent five star rating, with reviewers calling it "fascinating" and a "very exciting to read as it reads like you were there."^[7]

The last book in the series, although the first one to be published, Triumph of Survival deals with the Jews in the Modern Era in it's 508 pages, beginning with the Cossack pogroms against Jews, known as "Tach V'Tat", and then the story of Shabtai Tzvi. The book continues discussing the movements that were popping up among the Jewish communities in Europe, first with the non-religios Enlightenment, and then the religious Torah im Derech Eretz approach in Germany, and Chassidim and Misnagdim in Eastern Europe. Rabbi Wein talks about the yeshivos in Europe, starting with the Volozhin Yeshiva, and then other ones, before discussing the Jews in the oppressed Russian Empire, the Mussar Movement, and the immigration to America. More movements sprang up then, namely Political Zionism, Jewish left#In Soviets and against fascism as well as Reformed and Conservative Judaism. The book then discusses Jewish life in America, Palestine, and the Middle East, before discussing the Holocaust, which spans over forty pages. The last chapters of the book discuss the State of Israel, concluding with the Rabin Assassination and its aftermath in 1945-46.

Goodreads gave the book 3.77 stars,^[8] while it had a one hundred percent five star rating on Amazon.^[9]