View source

The '''''Encyclopaedia Judaica''''' is a 26-volume English-language [[encyclopedia]] of the [[Jew]]ish people and their faith, [[Judaism]]. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including [[Jewish history]] in all eras, culture, [[Jewish holiday|holidays]], [[Hebrew language|language]], [[Torah|scripture]], and [[Halakha|religious teachings]].

==History==
It was first published in 1971-1972 in sixteen volumes. It was published in Jerusalem by Keter Publishing House and in New York by the Macmillan Company.

[[Image:CD Judaica.JPG|left|thumb|140px|CD-ROM Edition of The Encyclopaedia Judaica]] 

Between 1972 and 1994, ten annual yearbooks were collected in a 1973-1982 events supplement and a 1983-1992 events supplement was added. Together these volumes contain more than 15 million words in over 25,000 articles.

Its general editors were, successively, [[Cecil Roth]] and [[Geoffrey Wigoder]]. Advertisers describe it as the result of about three decades of study and research by about 2,200 contributors and 250 editors around the world.

A [[Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia]] in Russian, launched in the early 1970s as an abridged translation of the ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'', evolved into a largely independent publication that by late 2005 included eleven volumes and three supplements.<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.eleven.co.il/ Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia] based on ''The [[Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' (Краткая еврейская энциклопедия) published in Jerusalem in 1976-2005. The Society for Research on Jewish Communities in cooperation with The Hebrew University, Jerusalem</ref>

An earlier, unfinished German-language ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' was published by [[Nahum Goldmann]]'s Eshkol Publishing Society in Berlin 1928-1934. The chief editors were [[Jakob Klatzkin]] and [[Ismar Elbogen]]. Ten volumes from ''Aach'' to ''Lyra'' appeared before the project halted due to the Nazi persecutions. Two Hebrew-language volumes A-Antipas were also published, under the title '''''Eshkol''''' (Hebrew אשכול). A few of the articles from the German ''Judaica'' and even some of the [[Wiedergutmachung|reparations]] payments to Goldmann were used in making the English-language ''Judaica''. A shorter Jewish Encyclopedia was published at the turn of century.<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/ Jewish Encyclopedia]</ref> It was followed by the
''Jüdisches Lexikon I — II'' (1927 — 28) and ''Encyclopedia Judaica I — II'' (1927 — 28) and ''Zsidó Lexikon'' (1929, edited by Ujvári Péter, in Hungarian language).<ref>[http://www.zsidlex.extra.hu Zsidó Lexikon]</ref>

The English-language ''Judaica'' is also available on [[CD-ROM]]. The CD-ROM version is enhanced by at least 100,000 hyperlinks and several other features including videos, slide shows, maps, music and Hebrew pronunciations.

Because of its comprehensive scope, authority, and widespread availability, the ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is recommended by the [[Library of Congress]] and by the [[Association of Jewish Libraries]] for use in determining the authoritative Romanization of names of Jewish authors. Its guidelines for transliterating Hebrew into English are followed by many academic books and journals.

The 1972 edition has generated both positive and negative reviews.<ref name="Levy">David B. Levy, [http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/publications/proceedings/proceedings2002/levy.pdf THE MAKING OF THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA AND THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA], Proceedings of the 37th Annual Convention of the Association of Jewish Libraries</ref>

== Second edition ==
In July 2003, [[Thomson Gale]] announced that it had acquired the rights to publish a second edition of ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'', expecting to publish in December 2006 under one of its imprints, [[Macmillan Reference USA]]. The 22-volume work was published December 30, 2006 and released in January of 2007.

Gale has published other substantial revisions of major reference works in the field of religion in recent years, including second editions of ''[[The Encyclopedia of Religion]]'' and ''[[The New Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. Together with original publishers Keter Publishing House, Gale has made major updates to many sections of ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' for the new edition, including the entries on the [[Holocaust]], [[American Jewry]], [[Israel]] and others.

[[Fred Skolnik]], who served as a co-editor on the original edition of ''Judaica'', was retained as Editor-in-Chief for the 2nd edition. American Holocaust scholar [[Michael Berenbaum]], adjunct professor of theology at the [[American Jewish University]] as well as director of its Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust, serves as the editor for the Holocaust and Americana sections of the encyclopedia and executive editor for the work at large. Judith Baskin, University of Oregon Judaic Studies department head, was brought on to supervise improvement of women's studies and gender issues coverage. In total, more than 50 divisional editors, including five winners of the [[Israel Prize]], oversaw contributions from nearly 1,200 scholars and editors. The new edition contains more than 21,000 signed entries, including 2,600 brand-new entries.

Reviews from library literature have been positive. Donald Altschiller of Boston University, writing in [[Choice]], states that the second edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica "has already attained a secure place in the reference pantheon...Essential."<ref> {{cite journal|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica|journal=CHOICE|date=2007-09|first=Donald|last=Altschiller|coauthors=|volume=|issue=|pages=|id= |url=http://www.cro2.org/default.aspx?page=reviewdisplay&pid=3304943|format=|accessdate=2007-09-19 }}</ref> Barbara Bibel, writing in [[Booklist]], calls the set "a welcome addition to reference collections."<ref> {{cite journal|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica. 2d ed.|journal=Booklist|date=2007-05-15|first=Barbara|last=Bibel|coauthors=|volume=103|issue=18|pages=72|id= |url=|format=|accessdate=2007-09-19 }}</ref> The second edition received the prestigious 2007 Dartmouth Medal from the [[American Library Association]], which honors the creation of a reference work of outstanding quality and significance.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title='Encyclopaedia Judaica' named recipient of the 2007 Dartmouth Medal | date=[[2007-02-06]] | publisher=[[American Library Association]] | url =http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/february2007/DartmouthMedal.htm | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-09-19 | language = }}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* David B. Levy, [http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/publications/proceedings/proceedings2002/levy.pdf "The Making of the ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' and the ''Jewish Encyclopedia''"] [http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/publications/proceedings/proceedings2002.htm  ''Proceedings of the 37th Annual Convention of the Association of Jewish Libraries''], 2002. A review and comparison of these two encyclopedias as works of scholarship and as library information resources.
* "[http://www.gale.com/servlet/PressArchiveDetailServlet?articleID=200307_EJ Gale® Acquires a Cultural Treasure: Gale to publish The Encyclopaedia Judaica - first new edition in more than 30 years]", press release July 29, 2003, at Thomson Gale.
* Joan Biella, "[http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/publications/proceedings/proceedings2001/biellaj.pdf Authority Work in Ruritania]". ''[http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/publications/proceedings/proceedings2001.htm Proceedings of the 36th Annual Convention of the Association of Jewish Libraries]'', 2001. In a charming and instructive fantasy, a librarian establishes a work's author's name by using the ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' according to accepted procedure. 
* Shnayer Leiman [http://seforim.blogspot.com/2007/06/shnayer-leiman-new-encyclopaedia.html "The New Encyclopaedia Judaica: Some Preliminary Observations"]

==See also==
*[[Jewish Encyclopedia]], edited by [[Cyrus Adler]] from 1901 to 1906.

==External links==
*[http://www.encyclopaediajudaica.com Official website]
*[http://www.galeuk.com/judaica Official Website - Europe, Middle East and Africa]
*[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1161811211083&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Jerusalem Post article about the Second Edition]
*[http://www.ejpress.org/article/11053 Coverage of the launch of the 2nd edition at the 2006 Frankfurt Book Fair]
*[http://seforim.blogspot.com/2007/06/shnayer-leiman-new-encyclopaedia.html Professor Shnayer Leiman's Review of the Second Edition]

{{Wikipedia}}