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TheEncyclopaedia Judaica is a multi-volume English-languageencyclopedia of theJewish people,Judaism, andIsrael. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, includingJewish history of all eras, culture,holidays,language,scripture, andreligious teachings. First published in 1971–1972, by 2010 it had been published in two editions accompanied by a few revisions.
TheEncyclopaedia Judaica was also published onCD-ROM. The CD-ROM version has been enhanced by at least 100,000 hyperlinks and several other features, including videos, slide shows, maps, music andHebrew pronunciations. While the CD-ROM version is still available, the publisher has discontinued producing new copies for sale.[1]
The encyclopedia was written byIsraeli,American, andEuropean professional subject specialists.[2]
Between 1901 and 1906The Jewish Encyclopedia had been published in 12 volumes,[3] and was heavily used as a source by the 16-volumeJewish Encyclopedia, published byBrockhaus and Efron in Saint Petersburg (1906–1913, in Russian).[4] It was followed by theJüdisches Lexikon I–II (1927–28, in German),Encyclopaedia Judaica I–II (1927–28)[citation needed] andZsidó Lexikon (1929, edited by Újvári Péter, inHungarian).[5]
An unfinished German-languageEncyclopaedia Judaica was published byNahum Goldmann's Eshkol Publishing Society in Berlin 1928–1934. The chief editors wereJakob Klatzkin andIsmar Elbogen. Ten volumes fromAach toLyra appeared before the project halted due toNazi persecutions.[6] Two Hebrew-language volumesA-Antipas, were also published under the titleEshkol (Hebrew:אשכול). A few of the articles from the GermanJudaica and even some of thereparations payments to Goldmann were used in making the English-languageJudaica.
The English-languageEncyclopaedia Judaica was first published from 1971 to 1972 in sixteen volumes, inJerusalem byKeter Publishing House, and inNew York City by theMacmillan Company. Between 1973 and 1991 eight "Year Books" were published (dated 1973, 1974, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1983–85, 1986–87, 1988–89, and 1990–91) along with two "Decennial" volumes dated 1973–1982 (also published as "Volume 17") and 1983–1992. Together these volumes contained more than 15 million words in over 25,000 articles.
Its general editors were, successively,Cecil Roth andGeoffrey Wigoder. Advertisers describe it as the result of about three decades of study and research by about 2,200 contributors and 250 editors around the world. Contributors includedGershom Scholem.
AShorter Jewish Encyclopedia in Russian, launched in the early 1970s as an abridged translation of theEncyclopaedia Judaica, evolved into a largely independent publication that by late 2005 included eleven volumes and three supplements.[7] A number of editions of a version of the English Encyclopaedia for youth were also published.
Because of its comprehensive scope, authority, and widespread availability, theEncyclopaedia Judaica has been recommended by theLibrary of Congress and by theAssociation of Jewish Libraries for use in determining the authoritativeromanization of names of Jewish authors. Its guidelines fortransliterating Hebrew into English are followed by many academic books and journals.
The first edition generated both positive and negative reviews.[8]
The word Judaica is commonly used to refer to objects of Jewish art and Jewish ceremonial objects.
In July 2003,Thomson Gale announced that it had acquired the rights to publish a second edition ofEncyclopaedia Judaica, expecting to publish in December 2006 under one of its imprints, Macmillan Reference US. The 22-volume work was published on December 30, 2006 and released in January 2007.
Together with original publishers Keter Publishing House, Gale made major updates to many sections ofEncyclopaedia Judaica for the new edition, including the entries on theHolocaust,American Jewry,Israel.
Fred Skolnik, who served as a co-editor on the original edition ofJudaica, was retained as Editor-in-Chief for the second edition. American Holocaust scholarMichael Berenbaum, adjunct professor of theology at theAmerican Jewish University as well as director of its Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust, serves as the editor for the Holocaust and Americana sections of the encyclopedia and executive editor for the work at large.Judith Baskin, University of Oregon Judaic Studies department head, was brought on to supervise improvement of women's studies and gender issues coverage. In total, more than 50 divisional editors, including five winners of theIsrael Prize, oversaw contributions from nearly 1,200 scholars and editors. This edition contains more than 21,000 signed entries, including 2,600 brand-new entries and 12,000 changed entries.[6][9][10]
All volumes of the first edition, some year books and the Decennial Book 1983 - 1992: events of 1982 - 1993 are at theInternet Archive separately.[11][12]
All volumes of the second edition are at the Internet Archive together.[13]
Most entries of the second edition are accessible via theEncyclopedia.com search engine. At the head of some entries "updated" appears.
Reviews from library literature have been positive. Donald Altschiller of Boston University, writing inChoice, states that the second edition ofEncyclopaedia Judaica "has already attained a secure place in the reference pantheon...Essential."[14]Barbara Bibel, writing inBooklist, calls the set "a welcome addition to reference collections."[15]
The second edition of theEncyclopaedia received a number of major awards for excellence, including the 2007Dartmouth Medal from theAmerican Library Association, the most prestigious award in the field of reference publishing." In presenting the award, Edward Kownslar, the chairman of the Dartmouth Medal committee said: "This 22-volume set is an authoritative, interdisciplinary and comprehensive examination of all aspects of Jewish life, history and culture. This title is an extensive revision of the first edition, which was published in 1972, and has 2600 new entries. In addition to updating all world and political events affecting Jewish life and culture since the early 1970s, 'Judaica' has significantly enhanced biblical studies and the Holocaust from the first edition. This title has also expanded the area of women's studies."[16]
TheEncyclopaedia was also named in the "Best Reference 2007" list by theLibrary Journal,[17] and was added to the list of "Outstanding Reference Sources for Small and Medium-sized Libraries" by theReference and User Services Association of the American Library Association in 2008.[18]
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