"Inspired by the Yiddish Minhogimbukh, Venice, 1593."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 399-410) and index.

"Fifteen years ago while researching Jewish imagery, book designer Scott-Martin Kosofsky happened upon a 1645 edition of the Minhogimbukh - the "Customs Book"--A beautifully designed and illustrated guide to the Jewish year written in Yiddish, the people's vernacular." "There are no works quite like the historical customs books available today - none so thorough and concise, intuitive in organization, and beautiful. Inspired by the originals, Kosofsky set out to make his own, adapting the books for modern use, adding historical perspective and contemporary application. The result is the reappearance of the Minhogimbukh after more than a hundred-year absence, and the first complete showing of all the original woodcuts - a visual vocabulary of Jewish life - since the 1760s. Faithfully based on the earlier editions, The Book of Customs is an updated guide to the rituals, liturgies, and texts of the entire Jewish year, from the days of the week and the Sabbath to all the months with their festivals, as well as the major life-cycle events of wedding, birth, bar and bat mitzvah, and death. With the revival of this lost cultural legacy, The Book of Customs can once again become every family's guide to Jewish tradition and practice."--Jacket.

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