The sacred chain

The Sacred Chain is the most comprehensive, readable, up-to-date history of the Jews in the English language. The focus is on how a Jewish identity and consciousness were created, perpetuated, and shaped through three millennia of tumultuous and complex development. Norman F. Cantor sees the Jews as a distinctive ethnic group, rising from anthropological and sociological sources in ancient times.

Then, molded in part by interaction with other societies, the Jews developed a unique and persistent culture, behavior pattern, and mind-set. Cantor regards Jewish history as embracing all people regarded by themselves or others as Jews and argues that there is a distinctive Jewish sense and sensibility that are apparent among Jews assimilated to other cultures and converted to other religions, as well as among those who have remained loyal to traditional religion.

This book is certain to generate an intense public debate on the meaning of Jewish ethnicity and the significance of Jewish history.