The Jewish Contribution to Civilization

The biblicalidea of a distinct ‘Jewish contribution to civilization’ continues to engageJews and non-Jews alike. This book seeks neither to document nor to discreditthe notion, but rather to investigate the idea itself as it has been understoodfrom the seventeenth century to the present. It explores the role that theconcept has played in Jewish self-definition, how it has influenced thepolitical, social, and cultural history of the Jews and of others, and whetherdiscussion of the notion still ha