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Hebrew and Yiddish Languages and Literature

Books/E-Books

Guides to Research

The Book of Jewish Books: A Readers' Guide to Judaism. San Francisco : Harper & Row, 1986. 

LOCATION:  Morris Library (Z6366 .B66 1986) - Serves as a guide for the general reader to Jewish religion, thought, and history.  “The goal is to provide a starting point for anyone beginning to study.”

Cutter, Charles. Judaica Reference Sources: A Selective, Annotated Bibliographic Guide. 2d ed. Juneau, Alaska: Denali Press, 1993.

LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref DS102 .C88x 1993) - Start here for a description of general and specific reference works relevant to Jews and Judaism.

The Schocken Guide to Jewish Books: Where to Start Reading about Jewish History, Literature, Culture, and Religion. New York : Schocken Books, 1992.

LOCATION: Morris Library (Z6366 .S39 1992) - “The purpose of this book is to help answer [the] question: [What help can someone looking to learn about Judaism, Jewish history, or Jewish culture seek out?] Our hope is to offer the general reader a way to find his or her path through the maze of Jewish books that we might find in a bookstore or library.”

DELCAT

Use DELCAT, the University of Delaware online catalog, to find books and articles on your topic. You may search DELCAT by author, title, subject (using a Library of Congress subject heading), or keyword.  Records in DELCAT are not only those of the University of Delaware Library, but also from other libraries around the world.

The number of Library of Congress subject headings pertaining to Jews, Judaism, Judaica, and Hebraica is quite large. Some of the more important headings are:

Aggada
Hebrew language
Hebrew literature
Holocaust, Jewish
Holocaust survivors
Israel
Israel—History
Jewish-Arab relations
Jewish art and symbolism
Jewish authors
Jewish diaspora
Jewish families
Jewish law
Jewish literature
Jewish women
Jews
Jews—Civilization
Jews—Dietary Laws
Jews—History
Jews—United States Jews, American
Talmud
Zionism

Encyclopedias

Encyclopaedia Judaica. 16 vols. Jerusalem: Macmillan, 1972.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref DS102.8 .E5)

Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd Ed. (Authorized University of Delaware users only).

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life before and during the Holocaust. Jerusalem: Yad Vashem; New York: New York University Press, 2001.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref DS135 .E8E45 2001)

The Encyclopedia of Judaism. New York: Macmillan, 1989.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref BM50 .E63 1989)

The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. 4 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1990.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref D804.3 .E53 1990)

Jewish-American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1992.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E184 .J5 J48 1992)

The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. 4 vols. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref DS111 .A2 N488 1993)

The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. 2 vols. New Haven and New York: Yale University Press for YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 2008.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref DS136 .E8Y578 2008)

Dictionaries

Brown, Francis. The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1979.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref PJ4833 .B76x 1979)

Jastrow, Marcus. A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature. New York: Judaica Press, 1989.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref PH5205 .J3 1989)

Alcalay, Reuben. Complete English-Hebrew Dictionary. Hartford, Conn: Prayer Book Press, 1962.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref PJ4833 .A35)

Alcalay, Reuben. Milon 'Ivri-Angli Shalem. Rev. ed. Bridgeport, Conn.: Prayer Book Press, 1974.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref PJ4833 .A42 1974)

Yearbooks and Directories

American Jewish Year Book. Philadelphia: American Jewish Committee. Annual.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E184 .J5 A1 A485) Latest edition in Reference, earlier editions in stacks

Updates on world Jewish news with country listings. Essays, statistics, obituaries, etc. for the year.

Jewish Film Directory: A Guide to More than 1200 Films of Jewish Interest from 32 Countries over 85 Years. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1992.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref PN1995.9 .J46 J48 1992)

Indexes directors, countries, and subjects and also lists Jewish film festivals.

Biography

Comay, Joan. Who's Who in the Old Testament: Together with the Apocrypha. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
LOCATION: Morris Library (BS 570 .C64 1993)

Comay, Joan. Who's Who in Jewish History: After the Period of the Old Testament. 2d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref DS 115 .C6 1995)

Nadell, Pamela Susan. Conservative Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook. New York : Greenwood Press, 1988.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref BM 750 .N33 1988)

Reform Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1993.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref BM750 .R39 1993)

Zubatsky, David S. Jewish Autobiographies and Biographies: An International Bibliography of Books and Dissertations in English. New York: Garland, 1989.
LOCATION: Morris Library (Z6374 .B5 Z78 1989)

Indexes and Abstracts

Index to Jewish Periodicals. Cleveland Heights, Ohio: Index to Jewish Periodicals.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref Z6367 .I5)

Religion Index One: Periodicals. Chicago: American Theological Library Association.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref BL 1B .A47)

Indexes periodical articles on all religious subjects.

Consult also Databases for Jewish Studies. Although none of the databases is focused on Jewish Studies, some may provide indexing of magazines, journals, and newspapers for various aspects relating to Jews and Judaism.

Bibliographies

Edelheit, Abraham J. Bibliography on Holocaust Literature. Boulder, Col.: Westview Press, 1986.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref D810 .J4E33 1986)

Gurock, Jeffrey S. American Jewish History: A Bibliographical Guide. New York: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1983.

LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E184 .J5 G87x 1983) - A descriptive bibliography with recommendations for basic readings.

Kaganoff, Nathan M. Judaica Americana: An Annotated Bibliography of Publications from 1960 to 1990. 2 vols. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Carlson Pub., 1995.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E184 .J5 K34 1995)

Indexes bibliographies originally published in American Jewish History, the quarterly publciation of the American Jewish Historical Society.

Karkhanis, Sharad. Jewish Heritage in America: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland, 1988.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E184 .J5 K37x 1988)

Includes references to books and articles published from 1925-1987.

Shunami, Shlomo. Bibliography of Jewish Bibliographies. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1965.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref PJ5005.9 .S54 1965)

Shunami, Shlomo. Bibliography of Jewish Bibliographies: Supplement to 2d. Ed., Enl., 1965. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1975.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref PJ5005.9 .S54 1965 suppl.