Since the mid 19th century, Judaism in America has been a thriving religious and ethnic community. Characterized by an innovative spirit, Judaism in America has constantly produced new forms and expressions of Jewish life, serving as an incubator to numerous new Jewish groups, movements, and ideas, which later spread to other parts of the Jewish globe. In this book Yaakov Ariel provides a comprehensive introduction to this history of American Judaism, as well as to its contemporary religious, spiritual, and cultural institutions and expressions.