Jonathan Boyarin Books

Exploring the evolution of Jewish family structures, the author examines diverse configurations from biblical times to the present, including traditional Orthodox families and modern arrangements like same-sex parents. By analyzing various scholarly perspectives, the book highlights the significant variations in family ideologies across different cultures and eras. It also proposes innovative frameworks for envisioning the future of Jewish family forms, encouraging a broader understanding of what constitutes family within the Jewish context.

The book explores how Christian Europe constructed its identity in relation to the Jewish presence long before the discovery of the New World. Jonathan Boyarin argues that the Jewish difference served as a crucial contrast for Christians, influencing their self-perception and societal norms. This internal dynamic, coupled with the historical tensions between Christianity and Islam, significantly impacted the attitudes and strategies of Christian colonizers in the Americas, revealing a complex interplay of identity and otherness in European history.

Focusing on the intersection of Jewish thought and contemporary criticism, this work explores how Jewishness can engage with various intellectual traditions while addressing pressing global issues. The author aims to connect these themes to the broader question of planetary crisis, offering a unique perspective that seeks to enrich both Jewish discourse and critical theory in today's context.

"This book is an ethnographic description of the experiences of the author at a yeshiva located near his home on New York's Lower East Side, Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem (MTJ). Jonathan Boyarin spent a good deal of time at MTJ in the 1980s, before his anthropological training, and returned to it in 2011 when he once again became a regular visitor and participant. This book, in essence, is a portrait of life in this yeshiva. Boyarin introduces the MTJ yeshiva and its place in the wider American Jewish community, then takes up the daily patterns, rituals, and rhythms of the place"--