The New Reform Judaism

The New Reform Judaism
Author: Dana Evan Kaplan
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2020-04-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0827614314

This is the book that American Jews and particularly American Reform Jews have been waiting for: a clear and informed call for further reform in the Reform movement. In light of profound demographic, social, and technological developments, it has become increasingly clear that the Reform movement will need to make major changes to meet the needs of a quickly evolving American Jewish population. Younger Americans in particular differ from previous generations in how they relate to organized religion, often preferring to network through virtual groups or gather in informal settings of their own choosing. Dana Evan Kaplan, an American Reform Jew and pulpit rabbi, argues that rather than focusing on the importance of loyalty to community, Reform Judaism must determine how to engage the individual in a search for existential meaning. It should move us toward a critical scholarly understanding of the Hebrew Bible, that we may emerge with the perspectives required by a postmodern world. Such a Reform Judaism can at once help us understand how the ancient world molded our most cherished religious traditions and guide us in addressing the increasingly complex social problems of our day.

A Life of Meaning

A Life of Meaning
Author: Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan, PhD
Publisher: CCAR Press
Total Pages: 502
Release: 2017-11-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0881233145

Reform Judaism is constantly evolving as we continue to seek a faith that is in harmony with our beliefs and experiences. This volume offers readers a thought-provoking collection of essays by rabbis, cantors, and other scholars who differ, sometimes passionately, over religious practice, experience, and belief. Its goal is to situate Judaism in a contemporary context, and it is uniquely suited for community discussion as well as study groups.

Response to Modernity

Response to Modernity
Author: Michael A. Meyer
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Total Pages: 518
Release: 1995-04-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0814337554

Comprehensive and balanced history of the Reform Movement. The movement for religious reform in modern Judaism represents one of the most significant phenomena in Jewish history during the last two hundred years. It introduced new theological conceptions and innovations in liturgy and religious practice that affected millions of Jews, first in central and Western Europe and later in the United States. Today Reform Judaism is one of the three major branches of Jewish faith. Bringing to life the ideas, issues, and personalities that have helped to shape modern Jewry, Response to Modernity offers a comprehensive and balanced history of the Reform Movement, tracing its changing configuration and self-understanding from the beginnings of modernization in late 18th century Jewish thought and practice through Reform's American renewal in the 1970s.

Mishkan T'filah

Mishkan T'filah
Author: Central Conference of American Rabbis/CCAR Press
Publisher: CCAR Press
Total Pages: 410
Release: 2007
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780881231069

Ki Anu ʻamekha

Ki Anu ʻamekha
Author: Lawrence A. Hoffman
Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2012
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 158023612X

A comprehensive series of lively introductions and commentaries examines the history of confession in Judaism, its roots in the Bible, its evolution in rabbinic and modern thought, and the very nature of confession today.

What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Jewishness of Jesus

What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Jewishness of Jesus
Author: Rabbi Evan Moffic
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2016-02-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1426791593

If you were to ask ten people, Who started Christianity? you might hear ten voices giving the same quick response: Jesus. But those ten people would be wrong. Jesus wasn’t a Christian. Jesus lived and died as a Jew. Understanding the Jewishness of Jesus is the secret to knowing him better and understanding his message in the twenty-first century. Walking through Jesus’ life from birth to death, Rabbi Evan Moffic serves as a tour guide to give Christians a new way to look at familiar teachings and practices that are rooted in the Jewish faith and can illuminate our lives today. Moffic gives fresh insight on how Jesus’ contemporaries understood him, explores how Jesus’ Jewishness shaped him, offers a new perspective on the Lord’s Prayer, and provides renewed appreciation for Jesus’ miracles. In encountering his Jewish heritage, you will see Jesus differently, gain a better understanding of his message, and enrich your own faith.

Choosing Judaism

Choosing Judaism
Author: Lydia Kukoff
Publisher: Urj Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2004
Genre: Interfaith families
ISBN: 9780807408438

In print for over 20 years, Choosing Judaism has become a classic guide for individuals considering conversion. By sharing her own story, Lydia Kukoff creates a remarkable work about what it means to make this significant choice. Years after her own conversion she continues to question, grow, and learn, and encourages others to do the same.