Embracing Exile

I cannot imagine a more timeless or timely book. David Kraemer brilliantly synthesizes vast amounts of Jewish thought and history into this remarkably elegant and persuasive book. It was a pleasure to read, and it left me shaken. * Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Here I Am *Embracing Exile will stand as a powerful rejoinder to the commonly accepted belief that Jewish life thrived best under sovereignty in their own land. Rather David Kraemer shows, with breadth, depth, and erudition, that exile and its related state of diaspora gave Jews a chance to blossom and to contemplate, write, rewrite, and rewrite again who they are and what that meant to them. Exile, here, is their natural habitat. * Hasia Diner, Paul and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History Emerita, New York University *David Kraemer possesses a panoramic view of Jewish history and the Jewish present that this revisionist book requires; he has both a catholicity of perspective and a sterling track record. There are books devoted to Jews and the idea of exile, but this book, like Shaul Magid’s recent The Necessity of Exile, is of a different nature. Kraemer fleshes out his own ideology of diaspora, which is posed as an alternative to a Zion-centered view. In sum, this is a compelling read. * David N. Myers, Sady and Ludwig Kahn Distinguished Professor of Jewish History, UCLA *

David Kraemer is Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he has also served as Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics for many years. As Librarian, he is at the helm of the most extensive collection of Judaica—rare and contemporary—in the Western hemisphere. He is the author of several books on Rabbinic Judaism and its texts, the social and religious history of Jews in antiquity, and Jewish rituals and their development.