The Dictionary of Jewish Lore and Legend provides a systematic, well-illustrated guide to the web of legend, folklore, and superstition that is crucial to understanding Judaism. The result is a vital and long-needed companion for anyone seeking to understand the Jewish world now and in past centuries. The book describes all the main characters and the legends that have grown up around them; Jewish methods of Biblical interpretation; the framework of Jewish law, literature, and poetry; the festivals of the Jewish Year; the different languages and subgroups within the Jewish community; and the many countries that Jews have lived in, as well as the importance of the Holy Land. But another side of Judaism is also revealed: a world populated by angels and demons, sages and Kabbalists, mythical creatures, lucky and unlucky days and numbers, and the hope for a Messianic age.