Tradition, Interpretation, and Change:
Studies in the Liturgy of Medieval and Early Modern Ashkenaz
AJS Review, Volume 43, Issue 2
November 2019, pp. 470-472
Stefan C. Reif
St. John’s College
University of Cambridge
From the review:
“In his introductory remarks, Berger states that he has “written this book for
an audience that includes both the specialist in Jewish Studies and the general
reader interested in the history and development of Jewish liturgy” (xv). Full
credit is due to him for providing such a readership with a helpful, reliable, and
detailed compilation of a welter of medieval data, as well as some sound summaries
of modern scholarship, and conclusions that are generally convincing. The
volume will undoubtedly serve as a useful vade mecum for students in many classrooms,
as well as for their teachers. It will also, one hopes, encourage a wider
engagement with medieval Jewish liturgy, as well as a better understanding of
the dynamic evolution of rabbinic prayer. The chosen methodology and the discursive
style of presentation may prove to be of considerable assistance to the general
reader. In addition, the excursus, the tables, the appendices, and the indices are
highly informative.”