Product Description

JPS's new holiday books take us through the joys, spirit, and meaning of the seasons. Blending the old and the new, they ground us in the origins and traditions of each holiday and open up to us ways we can add our own expression to these special days. Although synagogue ritual is touched upon, the real focus here is on our personal connections to each holiday and our home observance.

As we move from season to season, Paul Steinberg shares with us a rich collection of readings from many of the Jewish greats -- Maimonides, Rashi, Nachmanides, Shlomo Carlebach, Marge Piercy, Elie Wiesel, Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Arthur Green, and others -- and he guides us in discovering for ourselves the many treasures within each text.

The readings teach us about the history of each holiday, as well as its theological, ethical, agricultural, and seasonal importance and interpretation; others give us inspiration and much food for thought. These stories, essays, poems, anecdotes, and rituals help us discover how deeply Jewish traditions are rooted in nature's yearly cycle, and how beautifully season and spirit are woven together throughout the Jewish year.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #398823 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 257 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780827608498
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"This is the kind of book where the reviewer says, `everyone family should own one.' All three volumes will make excellent contributions to the celebration of our Jewish holidays." --The National Jewish Post & Opinion, December 19, 2007

Review
"A superb addition to personal, family, school, and community library Judaic Studies reference collections, Celebrating the Jewish Year is very highly recommended and informative reading that will help the reader to create a memorable holiday experience for themselves and their loved ones that will be enhanced in both meaning and spirit."

From the Publisher
The Fall Holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot is also available. The Spring and Summer Holidays: Passover, Shavuot, The Omer, and Tisha b'av will follow in 2008.

Customer Reviews

A Link Between the Jewish Seasons and Holidays
//Celebrating the Jewish Year// is a collection of essays, poems, rituals and prayers surrounding the four major spring and summer Jewish holidays. It looks at Passover, The Omer, Shavuot and Tisha b'Av, and uses modern and classic writers and essayists of the Jewish faith to explain the origin of the holidays, their significance and ways to celebrate them. Essayists include Alan Lew, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco, and a teacher at UC Berkeley. Others are Jewish thinkers and writers like Elie Wiesel, Milton Steinberg, Irving Greenberg and David Wolpe. Well written and collected, //Celebrating the Jewish Year// is an excellent addition to not only a Jewish library, but any religious library interested in seeing the link between the seasons and the holidays that surrounded them in Jewish tradition.

A superb addition to personal, family, school and community library Judaic Studies reference collections
Deftly edited by Janet Greenstein Potter, "Celebrating The Jewish Year: The Winter Holidays" by Rabbi Paul Steinberg (Director of Jewish Studies and Hebrew at the Levine Academy: A Solomon Schechter School in Dallas, Texas) focuses upon three Jewish sacred events: Hanukkah, Tu b'Shevat, and Purim. Drawing from an impressive roster of original sources ranging from Maimonides, to Nachman of Bratzlav, to Theodor Herzle, Rabbi Steinberg provides readers with histories and insights into these Judaic celebrations including the prayers, rituals, and stories associated with each of them. A superb addition to personal, family, school and community library Judaic Studies reference collections, "Celebrating The Jewish Year" is very highly recommended and informative reading that will help the reader to crate a memorable holiday experience for themselves and their loved ones that will be enhanced in both meaning and spirit.