Israel Celebrates is about the intersection where Israeli inventiveness and Jewish tradition meet: the holidays. It employs the anthropological history of four Jewish holidays as celebrated in Israel in order to track the naturalization of Jewish rituals, myths, and symbols in Israeli culture throughout "the long twentieth century" of Zionism and on to the present, and to demonstrate how a new strand of Judaism developed in Israel from the grassroots. But could this grassroots Israeli culture develop into a shared symbolic space for both Jews and Arabs? By probing the political implications of the minutiae of life, the book argues that this popular culture might come to define Jewish identity in Israel of the 21st century.

Holy Women Icons wouldn't be a book without first being a series of paintings. So, I am grateful for those galleries that have hosted them: Shell Ridge, Karma, Blue Lotus/Woven Soul, and Barnhills. I'm also tremendously grateful for all the people who have supported my art by purchasing or commissioning an original icon or buying a print. It means a great deal for someone to find enough value in my paintings to actually hang them in their home. The fact that these Holy Women are scattered all over the world, providing inspiration for friends, family, colleagues, and strangers is a gift. And these paintings would have never been written about had Xochitl Alvizo not invited me to become a regular writer on Feminism and Religion, featuring one icon each month and expounding upon her story. Xochitl would not have discovered these paintings if Kittredge Cherry had not interviewed me about my beloved queer saints on Jesus in Love. So, I am grateful to these two women who have helped my icons find voices in the wider public. And I am grateful to the Feminism in Religion community for offering encouragement, constructive feedback, and inspiration along the way.

Celebrated sex expert and bestselling author Dr. Ruth Westheimer bridges the gap between sex and religion in this provocative exploration of intimacy in the Jewish faith In this light-hearted, lively tour of Jewish sexuality, Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer and Jonathan Mark team up to reveal how the Jewish tradition is much more progressive than popular wisdom might lead one to believe. Applying Dr. Ruth's acclaimed brand of couples therapy to such Biblical relationships as Abraham and Sarah, and Joseph and Potiphar's wife, the authors enlist Biblical lore to explore such topics as surrogacy, incest, and arranged marriages. They offer a clearer understanding of the intertwining relationships between sexuality and spirituality through incisive investigations of the Song of Songs, Ruth, Proverbs, Psalms, and some of the bawdier tales of the Prophets. One chapter provides a provocative new perspective on the Sabbath as a weekly revival, highlighting not only its spiritual nature, but also its marital and sexual aspects. Focusing specifically on Orthodox forms of Judaism and offering Dr. Ruth's singular interpretations, the book answers such questions as: What night of the week is best for making love? How often should couples have sex? Can traditional Jewish notions of sex and sexuality be reconciled with contemporary beliefs? What roles can and do dreams and fantasy play? In Heavenly Sex, America's favorite sex therapist takes readers on a frank and fascinating journey to the heart of Jewish sexuality as she fits twenty-first century sexual mores into an ancient-and lusty-spiritual tradition.

Night of Beginnings is a groundbreaking new haggadah for the Passover seder from acclaimed poet, translator, and liturgist Marcia Falk, beautifully designed and illustrated with original color drawings by the author. Unlike both traditional and new haggadahs, which do not contain a full recounting of the biblical story, Night of Beginnings presents the Exodus narrative in its entirety, providing a direct connection to the ancient origins of the holiday. This retelling highlights the actions of its female characters, including Moshe's sister, Miriam; Pharaoh's daughter, who adopts the baby Moshe; and the midwives Shifrah and Pu'ah, who save the Hebrew male infants. Falk's revolutionary new blessings, in Hebrew and English, replace the traditional, patriarchal seder blessings, and her kavanot-meditative directions for prayer-introduce a genre new to the seder ritual. Poems, psalms, and songs are arranged to give structural coherence to the haggadah. A new commentary raises interpretive questions and invites us to bring personal reflections into the discussion. Like the author's widely acclaimed previous prayer books, The Book of Blessings and The Days Between, Falk's poetic blessings for the seder envision the divine as a Greater Whole of which we are an inseparable part. The inclusive language of Falk's blessings makes room for women to find and use their voices more full-throatedly than they were able to do with the male-centered prayers inherited from the early rabbis. Men, too, will encounter here a spiritually moving and thought-provoking experience.