Best Jewish Holidays

The coeditor of the enormously popular Jewish Catalog "help[s] readers understand more fully the meaning of our holidays and thereby to observe these festivals . The name Passover is taken from the Exodus story: During the tenth and ultimate plague inflicted on Pharaoh to break his will, God passed over the Israelites and struck down only the Egyptian firstborn. Following the bleakness of winter when everything is covered with the shrouds of snow, spring marks the rebirth of the earth with the bursting forth of green life. Similarly, a people enshackled in oppressive slavery, doomed to a slow process of degradation or even extinction, bursts forth out of Egypt into a new life's journey leading to a land flowing with milk and honey. Thus, the spirit of renewed optimism aroused by the sights and smells of spring are reinforced in a Jewish context by Passover with its trumpeting of the possibilities of liberation. The matzah evokes images of that night when the Israelites ate the sacrificial lamb in fearful and eager anticipation of the future. Matzah as a symbol of liberation is meant to trigger in our minds the whole story, which began in slavery and ended in freedom. It also reminds us of God's role in the Exodus, for it recalls the simple faith of the Israelites, who were willing to leave the home they knew and go off into the desert. Because it is the crucial event that marks the beginning of our sacred history, the Exodus is referred to repeatedly in Jewish liturgy and thought. This commandment, unique to this holiday, leads us not simply to remember the Exodus but to expand upon the tale, to explore its complexities and develop its meaning. As the Torah states: "Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the Lord freed you from it with a...

In For This We Left Egypt?, the authors will be take you through every step of the Seder, from getting rid of all the chametz in your home by setting it on fire with a kosher blowtorch to a retelling of the Passover story starring Pharaoh Schmuck and a burning bush that sounds kind of like Morgan Freeman, set against the backdrop of the Promised Land—which turned out not to be a land of milk and honey but rather one of rocks and venomous scorpions the size of Yorkshire terriers. “A full-fledged comic assault on Passover… Finally, someone has created a full Haggadah that is not only fun to read, but isn’t covered in wine stains… For This We Left Egypt? runs riot with the Haggadah and takes readers from the sophomoric to the sublimely funny.” ―The Forward “Three well-known humorists have written a Haggadah for an overlooked crowd: the wiseguys, cutups, and punsters who frankly have a hardtime taking the whole thing seriously.” ― Jewish Telegraph Agency “[Barry, Zweibel, and Mansbach] have joined forces to come up with the perfect humoristic antidote to this Passover ritual… [ For This We Left Egypt? ]. So instead of singing some traditional holiday songs before or after the festive meal, families can recite passages from this book and get a full comic Passover experience. His work, which has been translated into more than forty languages, has appeared in The New Yorker , The New York Times Book Review , Esquire , and The Believer and on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and This American Life .

Explains the Jewish/biblical holidays from a Messianic Jewish viewpoint. Barney Kasdan is rabbi of Kehilat Ariel Messianic Synagogue in San Diego, California.

The instant New York Times bestselling memoir of a young Jewish woman’s escape from a religious sect, in the tradition of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Infidel and Carolyn Jessop’s Escape , featuring a new epilogue by the author. Deborah Feldman was raised in the Satmar Hasidic community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York.

Judaism, he argues, is a religion of time: it finds meaning not in space and the materials things that fill it but in time and the eternity that imbues it, so that 'the Sabbaths are our greatcatherdrals.'. Elegant, passionate, and filled with the love of God?s creation, Abraham Hoshua Heschel?s The Sabbath has been hailed as a classic of Jewish spirituality ever since its original publication in 1951?and has been read by thousands of people of many faiths seeking meaning in modern life. Judaism, he argues, is the religion of time: it finds meaning not in space and the material things that fill it but in time and the eternity that imbues it, so that ?the Sabbaths are our great cathedrals.

From Grammy-winning musical icon and legendary bassist Victor L. Wooten comes The Music Lesson, the story of a struggling young musician who wanted music to be his life, and who wanted his life to be great. "As music lessons go, this one is unique and can be enjoyed by both musicians and general listeners, especially those interested in the arts and creativity."

Including services for Shabbat, weekdays and festivals, as well as other occasions of public worship, and texts for more than a hundred songs, Mishkan T'filah reflects the full diversity of our Movement.

Regarded throughout the English-speaking world as the standard English translation of the Holy Scriptures, the JPS TANAKH has been acclaimed by scholars, rabbis, lay leaders, Jews, and Christians alike. ( Time Magazine ) "Turns Holy Writ into fresh, understandable, contemporary language.

In My Grandfather's Blessings , Rachel Naomi Remen , a cancer physician and master storyteller, uses her luminous stories to remind us of the power of our kindness and the joy of being alive. When doctor and author Rachel Naomi Remen ( Kitchen Table Wisdom ) was young, she was caught between two different views of life: that of her rabbi grandfather and that of her highly academic, research-oriented parents, who believed religion was the opiate of the masses. Through a series of unpretentious, affecting vignettes, the author of the bestseller Kitchen Table Wisdom encourages readers to recognize and celebrate the unexpected blessings in their own lives. Many of her recollections are linked to her experiences as a medical student and a physician working with cancer patients, but the most memorable ones relate to Remen's deep engagement with her grandfather, who died when she was seven.