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71 books match the query 'Reform Judaism' and 6 start with r

cover of Rabbi Max Heller: Reformer, Zionist, Southerner, 1860-1929

Rabbi Max Heller

Reformer, Zionist, Southerner, 1860-1929

Barbara S. Malone

University of Alabama Press, 1997

This biography of a pioneering Zionist and leader of American Reform Judaism adds significantly to our understanding of American and southern Jewish history.

Max Heller was a man of both passionate conviction and inner contradiction. He sought to be at the center of current affairs, not as a spokesperson of centrist opinion, but as an agitator or mediator, constantly struggling to find an acceptable path as he confronted the major issues of the day--racism and Jewish emancipation in eastern Europe, nationalism and nativism, immigration and assimilation. Heller's life experience provides a distinct vantage point from which to view the complexity of race relations in New Orleans and the South and the confluence of cultures that molded his development as a leader. A Bohemian immigrant and one of the first U.S.-trained rabbis, Max Heller served for 40 years as spiritual leader of a Reform Jewish congregation in New Orleans--at that time the largest city in the South. Far more than a congregational rabbi, Heller assumed an activist role in local affairs, Reform Judaism, and the Zionist movement, maintaining positions often unpopular with his neighbors, congregants, and colleagues. His deep concern for social justice led him to question two basic assumptions that characterized his larger social milieu--segregation and Jewish assimilation. 

Heller, a consummate Progressive with clear vision and ideas substantially ahead of their time, led his congregation, his community, Reform Jewish colleagues, and Zionist sympathizers in a difficult era.
 

 
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cover of Rabbi's Manual

Rabbi's Manual

David Polish

Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1988

Written in contemporary, gender-inclusive language, the Rabbi's Manual contains traditional and innovative services and ceremonies for birth and infancy, adoption, public and private naming ceremonies, an 8th day covenant service for daughters, four wedding services and associated public prayers, a ritual release at divorce, services at death and memorials, prayers at a time of illness and Giyur (conversion) services and prayers.
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cover of Re-forming Judaism: Moments of Disruption in Jewish Thought

Re-forming Judaism

Moments of Disruption in Jewish Thought

Rabbi Stanley M. Davids and Leah Hochman, PhD

Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2023

Throughout Jewish history, revolutionary events and subversive ideas have burst forth, repeatedly transforming Jewish experience. Re-forming Judaism seeks to explore these ideas—and the individuals behind them—by delving into historical disruptions that led to lasting change in Jewish thought. A distinguished array of scholars take us on a journey from the disruptive prophets of ancient times, through rational, mystical, and extremist medievalists, to the impact of Haskalah and early Reform thought in modernity. Contemporary innovations such as changes in liturgy and music, feminism, and post-Holocaust theology are included, as are insights into Sephardic and North African experiences. By showing how Judaism forms—then re-forms, and re-forms again—the contributors demonstrate that tensions between continuity and change have always been part of Jewish life, helping us to both understand the past and contemplate the future.

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cover of Reading Reform Responsa: Jewish Tradition, Reform Rabbis, and Today's Issues

Reading Reform Responsa

Jewish Tradition, Reform Rabbis, and Today's Issues

Rabbi Mark Washofsky, PhD

Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2024

The responsa literature, in which rabbis answer questions about halachah (Jewish law), is a vast treasury reaching back nearly fifteen centuries; Reform rabbis have been writing responsa since the 1800s. In Reading Reform Responsa, Rabbi Mark Washofsky, PhD, presents a deep dive into this literature, boldly arguing that Reform Judaism is indeed a movement fundamentally based on halachah. By inviting and guiding readers to understand Reform responsa with a critical eye, he shows that our movement has always been informed by Jewish law as well as Reform history. A teacher and mentor of generations of students at Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Washofsky gives us a peek inside his classroom, making Reform responsa---and their history, framing, and context---engaging and accessible for all.
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cover of Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century, Volume 1: Sh'eilot Ut'shuvot

Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century, Volume 1

Sh'eilot Ut'shuvot

Rabbi Mark Washofsky, PhD

Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2010

Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century: Sh'eilot Ut'shuvot is the latest in an ongoing series of Reform Responsa. Drawing from the breadth of traditional and modern Jewish texts, law, and ideology, this two volumes set addresses over seventy contemporary topics, including conversion of adopted children, fertility treatments, patrilineal descent, issues of synagogue management, social justice activism, interfaith marriage, and rituals of death and mourning.
 

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cover of Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century, Volume 2: Sh'eilot Ut'shuvot

Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century, Volume 2

Sh'eilot Ut'shuvot

Rabbi Mark Washofsky, PhD

Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2010

Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century: Sh'eilot Ut'shuvot is part of an ongoing series of Reform Responsa. Drawing from the breadth of traditional and modern Jewish texts, law, and ideology, this two volumes set addresses over seventy contemporary topics, including conversion of adopted children, fertility treatments, patrilineal descent, issues of synagogue management, social justice activism, interfaith marriage, and rituals of death and mourning.

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