People of the Book
Drama, Fellowship, and Religion
by Samuel C. Heilman
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Paperback
(with new preface) Fall, 1987, 337 pp.
Judaism has long derived its identity from its sacred books. The book or scroll–rather than the image or
idol–has been emblematic of Jewish faith and tradition. The People of the Book presents a study of a
group of Orthodox Jews, all of whom live in the modern world, engaged in the time-honored practice of
lernen, the repeated review and ritualized study of the sacred texts. These are, Samuel C. Heilman argues,
the genuine “People of the Book,” preserving one of the central activities of traditional Jewish life.
For two years Heilman participated in and observed five study circles in New York and Jerusalem engaged
in the avocation of lernen the Talmud. He is thus able to provide a detailed ethnographic account based on
first-hand observation of the workings of the study circle. Heilman also offers an analysis of the nature and
meaning of the activity he observed, showing how it is sustained by drama, fellowship, and religion.
“As the work unfolds it develops a sensitive and sympathetic analysis of the role and character of lernen
which, in the very best tradition of interactionist sociology, drew the reader into the meaning and
significance of the activity….A model of how interactionist studies of social life should be conducted and
presented.”
–Roy Wallis, Sociolocial Analysis
“The study is an academically valuable demonstration of the application of dramaturgical analysis to Jewish
social material. With the addition of the linguistic and literary analysis, Heilman projects and illuminates the
specifically Jewish, a contribution to Jewish sociology as well as to a sociology of Jewry.”
–Samuel Z. Klausner, Jewish Quarterly Review |
 “Through acute observation and thoughtful interpretation, Heilman leads us into the center and heart of
Judaism in its classical formulation–a truly great book, following his Synagogue Life and establishing his
preeminence in the ethnography of contemporary Judaism.”
–Jacob Neusner, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
The University of Chicago Press |
