The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia is intended basically as a work of contemporary reference. No comparable work has appeared since before World War II, and during this interval three major events have occurred in Jewish history : the destruction of European Jewry, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the emergence of the United States as the outstanding Diaspora community. This work therefore throws special stress on these recent historic developments, although at the same time covering every phase of Jewish life, literature, and thought from their beginning. Particular attention is paid to the American community and its outstanding figures and to the twin pole of modern Jewish life, the State of Israel and the men who are shaping its development. The subject matter includes prominent Jews from the earliest times down to the present, non-Jews who have made a major impression on Jewish history and scholarship, the history of the Jews in all countries and towns where they have settled in number, summaries of Jewish history, literature, religion, philosophy, etc., the leading concepts of Jewish law, Jewish customs, festivals, and institutions, and general articles on a variety of topics relating to Jewish history and the Jewish way of life. - Preface.