This project, however, reflects a much broader trend of increased interest in classical Jewish heritage, both in academia and among the educated public. There has been an unprecedented flowering in recent years of research into the literature of the Sages, the Kabbala, and Hasidic and Jewish folklore. Batei midrash or study halls, both religious and secular, are emerging everywhere, with a view to acquainting modern Jews with the traditions of their ancestors.

Up until now, this trend, welcome as it is, has suffered from two main shortcomings. The first is the narrow focus of the areas of study: Concentrating on a certain period, genre, or theme within the broader spectrum of Jewish cultural history results in a neglect of the study of how the culture developed and changed.

The second and more serious ailment is the frequent application of misguided or unproductive interpretative techniques. Feminist readings, for example, are intended not to understand the text as it may have been meant to be understood, but rather to expose a text’s patriarchal, oppressive worldview. Examining Jewish history through a feminist lens may offer gender researchers valuable insights, but it is doubtful whether it adds much to our knowledge of Judaism.

The innovative exegetical method proposed in the Encyclopedia of the Jewish Story provides a good answer to these problems. Contemplating the diachronic dimension of a story challenges those who would quickly isolate it from the continuum of Jewish history; instead of focusing on one part of the past and divorcing stories from their historical context and relevance to the present, the Encyclopedia illuminates the developmental continuity of Jewish storytelling over many hundreds of years. Exposure to this perspective will even benefit researchers who are interested in only one aspect of the continuum. Like a bride walking to her wedding canopy escorted by her parents, a researcher will now be able to view texts under the escort of their vitally important forebears.

No less significant is the alternative the Encyclopedia provides to the widespread academic custom of tying Jewish texts to theoretical Procrustean beds. Rather than offer more “subversive” readings so prevalent in academia, the method presented here appreciates a text itself before it is subjected to any external scrutiny.

 

Jews looking to rediscover their heritage often profit from understanding the relationship between the past and present, and it is on this point that the Encyclopedia’s contribution is quite significant. The sequences of stories presented by the Encyclopedia record the various answers that previous generations have given to fundamental problems. Moreover, apart from offering scholars of literary tradition an alternative research method, this project may well influence the way future creative works are produced, as a new generation of Jewish artists can be inspired by this window onto their heritage. The insistence of the Encyclopedia’s editors on putting every variation of a story in its historical context has allowed a broad spectrum of customs and lifestyles to be revealed that probably would otherwise have been doomed to obscurity.

Precisely because of the Encyclopedia’s potential to be influential, it is difficult not to be slightly disappointed by the academic nature of the project. If the Encyclopedia is to be influential beyond the world of research, it should be made more accessible to the intellectually curious layman. Its publication in a more accessible form would ensure its status as a must-read for every Jewish book lover. As it is, however, a place of honor should be reserved for the Encyclopedia in every research library.