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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.
The Jewish High Holidays--the ten days beginning with the New Year
Festival of Rosh Hashanah and culminating with Yom Kippur, the Day
of Atonement--constitute the most sacred period of the Jewish year.
During this season, religious as well as nonaffiliated Jews attend
synagogue services in unparalleled numbers. Yet much of what they
find there can be unwelcoming in its patriarchal imagery, leaving
many worshipers unsatisfied.
For those seeking to connect more deeply with their Judaism, and
for all readers in search of a contemplative approach to the themes
of the fall season, poet and scholar Marcia Falk re-creates the
holidays' key prayers and rituals from an inclusive perspective.
Among the offerings in The Days Between are Hebrew and English
blessings for festive meals, prayers for synagogue services, and
poems and meditations for quiet reflection. Emphasizing
introspection as well as relationship to others, Falk evokes her
vision of the High Holidays as "ten days of striving to keep the
heart open to change."
Accessible and welcoming to modern readers, The Days Between is
steeped in traditional sources and grounded in liturgical and
biblical scholarship. It will serve as a meaningful alternative or
supplement to the traditional liturgy for individuals, families,
synagogues, and communities small and large--that is, for all who
seek fresh meaning in the High Holidays.
Striking in its appeal to the senses, the Song of Songs--the
Bible's only book of love poems--is remarkable for its lack of
sexual stereotyping and its expression of mutuality in
relationships between men and women. Marcia Falk's rich and lyrical
translation, praised by poets and scholars alike, is paired here
with the original Hebrew text.
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