| Description |
xxxi, 307 pages ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Contents |
Introduction: Why bother with Judaism --Part I. Chapter 1: In the beginning and in the image: the Torah -- Chapter 2: The process of Judaism: questioning, debating, interpreting, iterating -- Chapter 3: Freeing God from "His" human-shaped cage in the sky -- Chapter 4: Mitzvot and the spirituality of doing -- Part II. Chapter 5: Being a good person: self-restraint and self-transcendence -- Chapter 6: Prayer and more: finding the primal in Jewish spiritual practice -- Chapter 7: Giving Shabbat a chance -- Chapter 8: Jewish holidays and the power of a well-placed banana -- Chapter 9: Life cycle rituals (well, mainly just death) -- Conclusion: (Though hopefully also a beginning) - again, why bother with Judaism. |
| Summary |
"After a decade as a political speechwriter for leaders like Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, and as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, Sarah Hurwitz decided to apply her skills as a communicator to writing a book...about Judaism. And no one is more surprised than she is. Hurwitz was the quintessential lapsed Jew - until, at age thirty-six, after a tough break-up, she happened upon an advertisement for a beginner's class on Judaism. She attended on a whim, but was blown-away by what she found: beautiful rituals, helpful guidance on living an ethical life, conceptions of God beyond the judgy bearded man in the sky - none of which she had learned in Hebrew school or during the two synagogue services she grudgingly attended each year. That class led to a challenging, moving - and ultimately life-transforming - journey. Hurwitz visited the offices of rabbis, attended Jewish meditation retreats, sat at the Shabbat tables of Orthodox families, and read hundreds of books about Judaism--all in dogged pursuit of answers to her biggest life questions"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
Judaism.
|
|
Judaism. |
| Genre |
Nonfiction.
|
| ISBN |
9780525510710 |
|
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