Judaism
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
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Reference and Background Information
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- Blackwell Companion to Jewish Culture
Level 1 Reference DS102.8 .B46 1989
As a companion to modern Jewish culture, this one volume source focuses specifically on Ashkenazi-western culture from the 1800s to the late 1980s. Entries range from biographies of writers, scholars and artists to themes, such as Jewish humor or Jewish folklore. Readers who are looking for more in depth information should look to the Encyclopaedia Judaica.
- Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion
Simmons E-resource
A reliable guide to ancient and modern Jewish beliefs and practices. Entries are short but provide useful information that covers a wide variety of information such as "customs, traditions, and Jewish ideas on subjects as diverse as dance, vegetarianism, and eternity."
- Encyclopaedia Judaica
Level 1 Reference DS102.8 .E496 2007
A wonderful resource that "grapples with Jews and Judaism, how Jews live, how they encounter the world and shape the world they encounter." This comprehensive source includes transliteration rules from Hebrew to English and other languages, a glossary of terms, biographies and thorough entries on all aspects related to Jewish life and faith.
- Jewish-American History and Culture
Level 1 Reference E184.J5 J48 1992
This source is a broad survey of Jewish life in America. It is a collection of essays which are comprehensive overviews for particular subjects and consist of shorter entries for people and events. The emphasis is on the serious aspects of history and culture.
- Jewish Literacy: the Most Important Things to Know about the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History
Level 1 Reference BM155.2 .T44 1991
This source provides a readable overview of Judaism and Jewish history.
- Jewish Religion: a Companion
Level 1 Reference BM50 .J28 1995
This reference source presented in a dictionary format, provides information on Jewish terminology, beliefs, practices, traditions, and concepts.
- Jewish Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia
Level 1 Reference DS115.2 .J49 1997
This reference source includes brief biographies on Jewish women from all walks of life. Such women include Hannah Arendt, Emma Goldman, Bette Midler, Gertrude Stein, and Rosalyn Yalow. The articles present a balanced view of the subjects, the text is well illustrated with black-and-white photographs, and an extensive annotated bibliography and guide to archival resources provide access to more detailed information.
- New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Level 1 Reference DS102.8 .S73 1992
This encyclopedia covers many aspects of Jewish life and history. Many of the biographical entries for more obscure figures will not easily be found elsewhere.
- Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion
Level 1 Reference BM50 .O94 1997
All entries within this useful dictionary are written from a religious perspective, including those on subjects such as divorce and homicide. Even for topics such as the Holocaust and Israel, the emphasis is on religious rather than historical or political aspects. Often biblical references appear in parentheses within the article.
- Timetables of Jewish History
Level 1 Reference DS114 .G68 1993
The source is sectioned into columns: A. General History, B. Jews in North America and South America, C. Jews in Europe, D. Jews in the Middle East and Elsewhere, E. Jewish Culture. The General History column includes important events from all cultures, eastern and western, but mostly concerning western history. Includes black-and-white photographs, statistical tables, several maps, and an extensive glossary.
- Where Once We Walked: a Guide to the Jewish Communities Destroyed in the Holocaust
Level 1 Reference DS135.E83 M65 1991
This resource provides the correct spelling of names and locations of small villages and towns from which Jews emigrated during WWII. The book's organization is clear, and there are numerous cross-references to aid searches by both novice and experienced genealogists.
- Torah
Level 1 Reference BS1223 1963
The Torah consists of the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Published by The Jewish Publication Society of America Philadelphia in 1963, this sources containing the text of the Torah is a new translation of The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic text.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- Humanities Fulltext
Simmons Eresource
A database of article citations on topics in the Humanities, some available full-text. Includes content from more than 300 key humanities publications, including feature articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, movies, and television and radio programs.
- Religious Studies Online Journals
Free Online
A list of links to electronic, full-text scholarly journals on religious studies. The links are categorized and briefly annotated.
This is not a searchable database.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
- JSTOR
Simmons Eresource
JSTOR offers both multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections. Provides full-text backfiles of many core scholarly journals, some dating back to the 1800s. However, JSTOR is not the database for current issues as it focuses on older journals.
- Project MUSE
Simmons Eresource
Offers nearly 250 quality journal titles from 40 scholarly publishers. As one of the academic community's primary electronic periodicals resources, Project MUSE covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others. Project MUSE is setting the standard for scholarly electronic journals in the humanities and social science.
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you to find Judaism information on the free web. Use this Judaism Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the same time:
You may also wish to go directly to, or bookmark, the Judaism Google Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
