The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar's and Everything in Between - Hardcover

by Stephanie Butnick (Author), Liel Leibovitz (Author), Mark Oppenheimer (Author)

Named one of Library Journal's Best Religion & Spirituality Books of the Year

An Unorthodox Guide to Everything Jewish

Deeply knowing, highly entertaining, and just a little bit irreverent, this unputdownable encyclopedia of all things Jewish and Jew-ish covers culture, religion, history, habits, language, and more. Readers will refresh their knowledge of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the artistry of Barbra Streisand, the significance of the Oslo Accords, the meaning of words like balaboosta, balagan, bashert, and bageling. Understand all the major and minor holidays. Learn how the Jews invented Hollywood. Remind themselves why they need to read Hannah Arendt, watch Seinfeld, listen to Leonard Cohen. Even discover the secret of happiness (see "Latkes"). Includes hundreds of photos, charts, infographics, and illustrations. It's a lot.

Author Biography

Stephanie Butnick, Liel Leibovitz, and Mark Oppenheimer are the hosts of Unorthodox, the most popular Jewish podcast on iTunes.

Stephanie Butnick is the deputy editor of Tablet and has written for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. She has a bachelor's degree in religion from Duke and a master's in religious studies from NYU. She lives in New York with her husband and their cat, Cat Stevens.

Liel Leibovitz is a senior writer for Tablet and the author of several books, including, most recently, A Broken Hallelujah, a spiritual biography of Leonard Cohen. He has a PhD in video games from Columbia, a fact that makes his seven-year-old self very happy. He lives in New York with his wife and their two children.

Mark Oppenheimer is the former Beliefs columnist for the New York Times and the author of The Bar Mitzvah Crasher: Road-Tripping Through Jewish America. He has a PhD in American religion from Yale and lives in New Haven, Connecticut, with his wife and five children.