The child in Jewish history

by Cooper, John

Were Jewish children in the Middle Ages treated differently by their parents than their gentile counterparts? How have Jews traditionally viewed the death of a child? What effect did the Jewish education system have on the Jewish child? These issues and many others are explored in The Child in Jewish History by John Cooper - a panoramic survey of Jewish childhood from biblical times until the mid-twentieth century. Beginning with an account of the family structure in the biblical age, this intriguing social history examines such topics as circumcision, breast-feeding, the abolition of child sacrifice, debt-bondage, and the socialization and education of children. The impact of the clash with Greco-Roman civilization on Jewish childhood is discussed, including the adaptation of the primary school into the heder which became the main conduit for transmitting knowledge of the Torah from generation to generation, and the abolition of abortion and infanticide for the purpose of limiting fam