"The prayer book is our Jewish diary of the centuries, a collection of prayers composed by generations of those who came before us, as they endeavored to express the meaning of their lives and their relationship to God. The prayer book is the essence of the Jewish soul."

This stunning work, an empowering entryway to the spiritual revival of our times, enables all of us to claim our connection to the heritage of the traditional Jewish prayer book. It helps rejuvenate Jewish worship in today's world, and makes its power accessible to all.

The sixth volume probes the theological complexities of human nature as presented in Tachanun, the prayers that acknowledge human sin and petition divine pardon. It also illuminates the prayers that conclude the standard Jewish service: Kaddish, Alenu, and K dushah D Sidra; and provides a detailed treatment of Maimonides thirteen principles of faith. The personal call for judgment combined with hope for the universal reign of God define Judaism as a religion for individuals and the world, with a liturgy that affirms both.

Vol. 6 Tachanun and Concluding Prayers features the traditional Hebrew text with a new translation that lets people know exactly what the prayers say. Introductions explain what to look for in the prayer service, and how to truly use the commentaries to find meaning in the prayer book. Commentaries from eminent scholars and teachers from all movements of Judaism examine Tachanun and Concluding Prayers from the viewpoints of ancient Rabbis and modern theologians, as well as a myriad of other perspectives.

Even those not yet familiar with the prayer book can appreciate the spiritual richness of Tachanun and Concluding Prayers. My People s Prayer Book enables all worshipers, of any denomination, to create their own connection to 3,000 years of Jewish experience with the world and with God."

Israel's Declaration of Independence brings to life the debates and decisions at the founding of the state of Israel. Through a presentation of the drafts of Israel's Declaration of Independence in English for the first time, Neil Rogachevsky and Dov Zigler shed new light on the dilemmas of politics, diplomacy, and values faced by Israel's leaders as they charted the path to independence and composed what became modern Israel's most important political text. The stakes began with war, state-building, strategy, and great power politics, and ascended to matters of high principle: freedom, liberty, sovereignty, rights, and religion. Using fast-paced narration of the meetings of Israel's leadership in April and May 1948, this volume tells the astonishing story of the drafting of Israel's Declaration of Independence, enriching and reframing the understanding of Israel's founding and its ideas - and tracing its legacy.

Bringing together contributions from tweleve outstanding scholars, volume 20 of this distinguished annual demonstrates in what extremely varied - and often controversial - ways Communisim and Jewish history interacted during the so-called short twentieth century. Among the key issues examined in this volume are whether, when, and why a disproportionate number of Jews (by origin if not by belief) joined the Communist movement; how significant a role they played in that movement and in the Jewish world; what policies were pursued by the Communist regimes and parties towards the Jewish people as well as Jewish party memebers; and what impact the association - real or imagined - between Jews and Communists had on the rise of antisemitism.

This is a concise study guide for the fledgling student of Judaism, covering critical issues and methodology. This volume in the "Studying World Religions" series is an essential guide to the study of Jewish faith. Clearly structured to cover all the major areas of study, including historical foundations, scripture, worship, society, thought and ethics, this is the ideal study aid for those approaching Judaism for the first time. "Studying Judaism" offers readers the chance to engage with a religious tradition as a diverse, living phenomenon. Its approach is 'critical' in two major respects: its use of the dimensional approach to the study of religions as an interpretive framework, and its focus on matters perceived as problematic by insider and/or outsider commentators, such as gender, demography, geo-politics, the 'museumisation' of Jewish cultures and its impact on religion and identity. A series of introductory guides, books in the "Studying World Religions" series are designed as study aids for those approaching the world's religions for the first time. Rather than attempting to cover all the material, the critical and methodological issues that students need to grasp in the study of each religious tradition - and religion in general - are drawn out, and the major contemporary debates explored. Readers are offered the chance to engage with religious traditions as diverse, living phenomena. With helpful suggestions for further study, pointing students towards material such as primary sources (scriptures), films and novels, and including ideas for teaching, discussion topics and exercises, these guides are the perfect companions for the fledgling student of religion.

A Fresh Look at 4,000 Years of Jewish History Authoritative, Complete...Funny Through witty, illustrated narrative, celebrated artist Stan Mack will take you on a rewarding pictorial journey through 4,000 years of ups and downs in Jewish history. The first "graphic history book" of its kind, The Story of the Jews celebrates the major characters and events that have shaped the Jewish people and culture, illustrating what it means to be Jewish. You will visit all the major Jewish happenings from biblical times to the twenty-first century from Abraham and Sarah on the banks of the Euphrates to the Diaspora, intermarriage, and the State of Israel. Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, The triumph of King David, The creation of the Talmud, The rise of Christianity and Islam, The Crusades, The Inquisition, The Enlightenment, Life in the new Babylon (the United States), The birth of the state of Israel, And of course the world's first Oy "

The prayer book is our Jewish diary of the centuries, a collection of prayers composed by generations of those who came before us, as they endeavored to express the meaning of their lives and their relationship to God. The prayer book is the essence of the Jewish soul.

This stunning work, an empowering entryway to the spiritual revival of our times, enables all of us to claim our connection to the heritage of the traditional Jewish prayer book. It helps rejuvenate Jewish worship in today s world, and makes its power accessible to all.

Framed with beautifully designed Talmud-style pages, commentaries from many of today's most respected Jewish scholars from all movements of Judaism examine "Birkhot Hashachar" from the perspectives of ancient Rabbis and modern theologians, as well as feminist, halakhic, Talmudic, linguistic, biblical, Chasidic, mystical, and historical perspectives.

This fifth volume in the series examines the complexities of personal and public prayer in Birkhot Hashachar, the blessings and readings surrounding each act of awakening. The Morning Blessings begin the daily service by establishing our right to stand before God in all our imperfect humanity. Vol. 5 helps us to understand how this collection of short prayers and a call to study recognizes each new day: we awaken as individuals but quickly affirm our role in the covenant with God.

"Vol. 5 Birkhot Hashachar (Morning Blessings) "features the traditional Hebrew text with a new translation that lets people know exactly what the prayers say. Introductions explain what to look for in the prayer service, and how to truly "use" the commentaries to find meaning in the prayer book. Commentaries from eminent scholars and teachers from all movements of Judaism examine Birkhot Hashachar from the viewpoints of ancient Rabbis and modern theologians, as well as a myriad of other perspectives.

Even those not yet familiar with the prayer book can appreciate the spiritual richness of "Birkhot Hashachar. My People s Prayer Book" enables all worshipers, of any denomination, to create their own connection to 3,000 years of Jewish experience with the world and with God.

Ignaz Maybaum (1897-1976) is widely recognized as one of the foremost Jewish theologians of the post-Holocaust era. Although he is mentioned in most treatments of post-Holocaust Jewish theology, his works are out of print and are only accessible to a small readership. Nicholas de Lange (who worked closely with Maybaum in his lifetime), has made a representative selection from his writings, under various headings: Judaism in the Modern Age, Trialogue between Jew, Christian, and Muslim, the Holocaust, and Zion. In an Introduction, he sets Maybaum's thoughts against the background of their time, indicates their main lines, and assesses how much of them is still of value today.

The quest for spirituality is universal, but with so many paths of spiritual nourishment to explore, how do we begin to find the one that is right for us?

Our tradition provides us with appropriate vehicles to express our spirituality within the framework of Judaism. Jewish sages, taking into account the need and makeup of the individual Jew, have been very generous in outlining for us various alternatives . As you become aware of your emotional and intellectual needs, and search for an appropriate path to meet them with integrity, you will soon realize that you have a preference for certain paths among the many. from Chapter 9

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino a self-proclaimed rationalist offers a candid, comprehensive discussion of the major paths to spirituality within the framework of Judaism, and the differing way each path can help us on our quest to nourish the soul and enlighten the mind.

Acts of transcendence, prayer, meditation, study, ritual, relationship and good deeds which is the best path for you? How can you follow it?

A handbook of Jewish ethical values and literature. Life as an art form an invitation to Jewish ethical living.

It is the human task to complete God s unfinished artistic masterpiece the human person. from the Introduction

The classic texts of Jewish ethical literature works little-known to most of us are now readily available for personal study. This one-of-a-kind book brings the genre of Jewish ethical literature from its origins in the ancient and medieval worlds, straight into our 21st-century lives.

An invitation into a history rich with wisdom and guidance, "Creating an Ethical Jewish Life" offers traditional texts, clear explanations, and ways for us to use them in our lives. Rabbis Sherwin and Cohen highlight a wide variety of classic texts, including the "Zohar, The Holy Letter, The Path of the Upright" by Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto, "Duties of the Heart" by Bahya ibn Pakudah, and Nachmanides "Commentary on the Torah. "These timeless texts are combined with the authors insightful commentary to address the ultimate human moral issue, the most intimate personal question: How can I best live the life God has entrusted into my care?

With expertise and passion, Sherwin and Cohen show us how these unusual texts not only inform but can transform our lives.

Explores how to:

Deal with ego Be wise Be healthy Employ wealth Die Behave sexually Believe in God Thank God Love God Study the Torah Repent Treat one s parents Parent Speak about another Be Philanthropic

Discover how to make virtually any moment in your day a significant part of a meaningful Jewish life.

As we have discovered, and as our sages have long known, there is no experience in the life of a Jew that cannot be marked in Jewish ways . The book you hold in your hands is the result of the kinds of rituals we have sculpted together over the years. It is not a prayer book or even a compendium of obligatory Jewish rituals. Rather, it is a source for all to use creatively. from the Introduction

Decades of experience by CLAL The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership in connecting spirituality with daily life come together in this one comprehensive handbook. In these pages, you have access to teachings that can help to sanctify almost any moment in your day.

Offering a meditation, a blessing, a profound Jewish teaching, and a ritual for more than one hundred diverse everyday events and holidays, this guide includes sacred practices for:
Lighting Shabbat candlesBlessing your parentsRunning a marathonVisiting the sickBuilding a sukkahSeeing natural wondersMoving into a new homeSaying goodbye to a beloved petMaking a shiva callTraveling ... and much more

Drawing from both traditional and contemporary sources, The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices will show you how to make more holy any moment in your daily life."

The forgotten legacy of religious Jewish anarchism, and the adventures and ideas of its key figures, finally comes to light in this book. Set in the decades surrounding both world wars, No masters but God identifies a loosely connected group of rabbis and traditionalist thinkers who explicitly appealed to anarchist ideas in articulating the meaning of the Torah, traditional practice, Jewish life and the mission of modern Jewry. Full of archival discoveries and first translations from Yiddish and Hebrew, it explores anarcho-Judaism in its variety through the works of Yaakov Meir Zalkind, Yitshak Nahman Steinberg, Yehudah Leyb Don-Yahiya, Avraham Yehudah Heyn, Natan Hofshi, Shmuel Alexandrov, Yehudah Ashlag and Aaron Shmuel Tamaret. With this ground-breaking account, Hayyim Rothman traces a complicated story about the modern entanglement of religion and anarchism, pacifism and Zionism, prophetic anti-authoritarianism and mystical antinomianism. -- .

'If the Jews wish to become a nation of Jewish Culture,' Eliezer Ben-Yehuda wrote in 1904, 'they must first become truly a nation.' Throughout the subsequent decade, he and other Zionist activists in Palestine-with the help of others elsewhere-attempted to transform what they perceived to be a dispersed and divided mass into the seeds of a modern nation. In this book, Arieh Bruce Saposnik tells the story of how they did it. While there has been a great deal of study of Zionist ideas of this period, Saposnik turns his focus elsewhere, showing how thee ideas were put into practice by Zionist activists in Palestine. The period from 1903-1914, he argues, was critical to the building of the infrastructure of national culture. Moreover, he shows, these activists did not attempt to build a traditional Jewish culture in a new place, but sought to effect a dramatic revolution in all aspects of Jewish life-a revolution with a complex relationship to traditional Jewish discourses, practices, and liturgy. Their view of 'culture' was expansive, involving all aspects of life, and both high culture and popular culture. Their revolution changed everything from the way they dressed to the art they created, from the holidays they celebrated to the language they spoke and the accent with which they spoke it. It also included politics, economics, medicine, and much more. Saposnik attempts to recapture this comprehensive view of culture and to show how images and ideas were translated into concrete cultural institutions, new art, rituals, language, and more.

How to manage the process with grace, joy and good sense.

A practical guide that gives parents and teens the "how-to" information they need to navigate the bar/bat mitzvah process and grow as a family through this experience. For the first time in one book, everyone directly involved offers practical insights into how the process can be made easier and more enjoyable for all. Rabbis, cantors and Jewish educators from the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, parents, and even teens speak from their own experience. What's it all about? Preparation for Parent and Child Tutoring, stress, expectations, enjoyment, planning for children with special needs Negotiating the ceremony and celebration Designing a creative service, heightening the spiritual exercise, special issues related to divorced and interfaith families, planning a party that neither breaks the bank nor detracts from the inherent spirituality of the event."

This is accessible and reliable survey of Kabbalah's key elements, uniquely exploring the contemporary phenomena of its popularity and the notoreity of some its modern purveyors. "Kabbalah: A Guide for the Perplexed" is a concise and accessible introduction to the major elements of the prevalent metaphysical system of Judaism, Kabbalah. The book covers the historical and theoretical essence of Kabbalah, offering a clear definition of the term and the limitations of what Kabbalah is and is not. Pinchas Giller provides an overview of the history of the movement, reflecting the sweep of Jewish history as a whole, and examines its metaphysical system, the advanced mythos of early and later Luria, doctrines of the soul, and the mysteries of Jewish religious practice and law. The book concludes with a summary of the contemporary kabbalistic phenomena, particularly in light of the notoriety of some modern purveyors of Kabbalah. As cogent and objective as possible, this is the ideal companion for those wishing to gain a sound understanding of this often perplexing mystical aspect of Judaism. "Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.

At day's end, quiet your mind and unburden your heart. These peaceful reflections offer wisdom to "sleep on." For each night of the year, an inspiring quote from a Jewish source and a personal reflection on it from an insightful spiritual leader help you to focus on your spiritual life and the lessons your day has offered.

A window into the Jewish soul written especially for Christians.

I invite you to explore with me some of the rich and varied expressions of the Jewish spiritual imagination. It is a tradition that may at times, for Christians, feel strangely familiar and will, for Christians and Jews, always challenge you to see yourself and your world through a new lens. from the Introduction

Jewish spirituality is an approach to life that encourages us to become aware of God s presence and purpose, even in unlikely places. This world and everything in it is a manifestation of God s presence, says Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. Our challenge and goal is to find it and then act in such a way as to help others find it too.

In this special book, Kushner guides Christians through the rich wisdom of Jewish spirituality. He tailors his unique style to address Christians questions, and, in doing so, opens new windows on their own faith.

"Jewish Spirituality "is a window into the Jewish soul that people of all faiths can understand and enjoy. From the Talmud and Torah, to repentence ("teshuva") and repairing the world ("tikkun olam"), Kushner shows all of us how we can use the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality to enrich our own lives.

Radical changes in understandings of gender over the last two centuries are at the heart of some of the most controversial issues within Jewish life and law. They have influenced the basic concepts of Judaism, of family structure, of liturgy, of thoughts about leadership and of Halakhah. This volume discusses some of these changes and new definitions and how they continue to be reflected in the developing reform Halakhah.

How can my congregation transform itself? How can we re-dedicate ourselves to learning?

Improving spiritual connection in our communities takes work Combining expert advice and experience garnered from congregations throughout North America, Becoming a Congregation of Learners shows us how transformative change is possible. A complete resource full of ideas, information and support, this is a guide for those of us involved in, or interested in, energizing our spiritual communities.

Isa Aron, director of Hebrew Union College's Experiment in Congregational Education (ECE), offers concrete, practical information on how to bring about change and revitalization, and helps us make learning a vibrant, integral part of congregational life.