About the book: 1997 / This book has rightfully become one of the most popular Jewish books in Russian as an accessible source of basic information about faith and life of Jews, which can be used both as a textbook and as a reference publication, and allows you to get a holistic impression of the Jewish world. It is distinguished, first of all, by its encyclopedic nature, concise form and popularity of presentation. It is a kind of encyclopedia that contains a systematic collection of basic knowledge about the Jewish religion, history and social life from ancient times until the early 1990s. It consists of 350 essay articles, combined into 15 thematic parts, arranged in historical sequence. The world of Jewish religious tradition is presented in chapters on the Bible, the Talmud and other most important sources, ethics and the foundations of faith, the Jewish calendar, life cycle rituals associated with the synagogue and home, and prayers. The publication also provides a brief description of the main events in the history of the Jewish people from Abraham to the end of the 20th century, with separate chapters devoted to the state of Israel, the Holocaust, and the life of American and Soviet Jews. This extensive work belongs to the pen of an Orthodox rabbi reputable in the United States and throughout the world, Yeshiva University professor Yosef Telushkin. Although the book was originally created as a guide for assimilated American Jews, it turned out to be an indispensable guide in the post-Soviet space, in Russia and the CIS countries.