Taking Stock is a collection of lively, original essays that explore the cultures of enumeration that permeate contemporary and modern Jewish life. Speaking to the profound cultural investment in quantified forms of knowledge and representation-whether discussing the Holocaust or counting the numbers of Israeli and American Jews-these essays reveal a social life of Jewish numbers. As they trace the uses of numerical frameworks, they portray how Jews define, negotiate, and enact matters of Jewish collectivity. The contributors offer productive perspectives into ubiquitous yet often overlooked aspects of the modern Jewish experience.
"Blazes a new trail by questioning the enumeration and rationalization of modern Jewish life and, thus, holding some of the most deeply held truths up to new kinds of scrutiny."
Lila Corwin Berman, Temple University
"This is a fascinating volume that accomplishes two tasks at once: It uses the lens of enumeration, numbers, and counting to show a variety of topics in Jewish studies from a novel perspective, revealing much that otherwise would simply not be seen. It uses the lens of Jewish studies to investigate the history and culture of enumeration, statistics, and quantification."
