At least since the seventeenth century, the traditional God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam has been under pressure to conform to the scientific worldview. Across the monotheistic traditions there has emerged a "liberal" conception of God compatible with a thoroughgoing naturalism. For many, this liberal "new" God is the only credible God. But is it a useful God? Does belief in so malleable a deity come from, or lead to, different political, moral, psychological, or aesthetic phenomena from...
We Shall Build Anew (Jews and Judaism: History and Culture) ()
by Shirley Idelson
Grace Is Like Chocolate Without the Calories
by Sandra D Bricker, Loree Lough, Trish Perry, and Cynthia Ruchti
These one-hundred devotions remind readers how fully God's grace covers every slip and stumble. Our best can never be good enough, but grace is greater than our largest shortcoming. Writing with humor and heart, four of America's best-loved inspirational writers share their own lives, inviting readers to find the blessings in the challenges. Whether you are facing deadlines, double-scheduled meetings, growing loads of laundry, or all that and more, if you begin your day with a reminder of God's...
Contemporary Debates in American Reform Judaism
This is a ground breaking collection of essays that takes a hard look at the Reform Movement today. Opening essays look at the problem of building a religous community, the competition in the "spiritual marketplace," and why people join or do not join a Reform synagogue. Other contributors look at a host of controversial issues including Patrilineal Descent, Outreach, Intermarriage, gender issues, gay and lesbian participation, and others.
Rabbi Rebecca Alpert is a leading voice in progressive Judaism. A crusader for reform within the Jewish community, she was one of the first women in Jewish history to be ordained a rabbi. Alpert is a celebrated teacher, an expert on Jewish American religious history and a key public advocate for progressive social issues in contemporary Jewish life. Here, she sketches a compelling portrait of the progressive values that belong to the core of Judaism today.
Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family
by Susan Katz Miller
A book on the growing number of interfaith families raising children in two religions Susan Katz Miller grew up with a Jewish father and Christian mother, and was raised Jewish. Now in an interfaith marriage herself, she is one of the growing number of Americans who are boldly electing to raise children with both faiths, rather than in one religion or the other (or without religion). In Being Both, Miller draws on original surveys and interviews with parents, students, teachers, and clergy, as...
At age 30 Evan Moffic became the leader of a large congregation. He had great success. But he couldn't find happiness. Then he found a 2000-year-old prayer. In it were hidden elements of Jewish wisdom. They became a part of his life and those of his congregation and transformed them and him.In the tradition of Rabbi Harold Kushner, Moffic opens up wisdom that has been at the heart Judaism for thousands of years. He distills the "Eilu Devarim" an ancient prayer for happiness found in the Talmud i...
The Talmud for Beginners (The Talmud for Beginners)
by Judith Z. Abrams
The Talmud is filled with knowledge, inspiration, and insights that enrich all facets of Jewish life. Yet many are intimidated by the thought of studying its text, and their hesitancy prevents them from experiencing the wisdom of its words. In this new volume, Rabbi Judith Abrams takes readers with her on a journey through one volume of the Talmud, offering reassuring guidance and making it meaningful and accessible to all. The Talmud for Beginners-Volume 1: Prayer is the first book in a serie...
Rabbi Marcus Jastrow and His Vision for the Reform of Judaism (Jews of Poland)
by Michal Galas
Rabbi Marcus Jastrow (1829-1903) was one of the most important figures of nineteenth-century Judaism, but is often neglected. This volume presents his life and his views on the reform of Judaism in the context of the changes and developments of Judaism in his lifetime. It covers his early life and his career in Europe as a preacher and rabbi in Warsaw, Mannheim, and Worms, and then discusses his activities in the United States, where he served as rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelph...
"... common-sense guidance and a road map for a new generation of young men and women who find Jewish orthodoxy, tradition, issues, and beliefs impenetrable in 21st century society. By intimately illustrating how the tenets of Judaism still apply in our modern world, Rabbi John Rosove gives heartfelt direction to the sons and daughters of Reform Jews everywhere"--Cover.
Symbols of the Kabbalah: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives provides a philosophical and psychological interpretation of the major symbols of the theosophical Kabbalah. It shows that the Kabbalah, particularly as it is expressed in the school of Isaac Luria, provides a coherent and comprehensive account of the cosmos, and humanity's role within it, that is intellectually, morally, and spiritually significant for contemporary life.
Arguing about Judaism differs from other introductions to Judaism. It is unique, not solely in its engaging dialogues between a Reform rabbi and a humanist, atheist philosopher, but also in its presentation of and challenges to the fundamental religious beliefs of the Jewish heritage and their relevance to today’s Jewish community. The dialogues contain both Jewish narratives and philosophical responses, with topics ranging from the nature of God to controversies over sexual relations, animal...
Raised a born-again agnostic, Robin Chotzinoff had no interest in religion and practically no experience in it until she turned forty. When she suddenly discovered a belief in God, she had no idea what to do next. In Holy Unexpected she describes her journey from a privileged New York childhood through years of unhappiness, drugs, and drift. She investigates what she believed in before she believed in God (the healing power of junk food, music, psychopharmacology), and how a happy marriage impe...