Rituals category: 373 books
Being Jewish
The Spiritual and Cultural Practice of Judaism Today
Language: English
Release Date: September 5, 2000
Increasing numbers of Jews are returning to their religious roots in a search for meaning, eager to explore a heritage that is deeply embedded in history and at the same time rapidly changing. But what is Judaism today? And what does it mean -- culturally, spiritually, and ritually -- to be Jewish...
What to Do When You're Dating a Jew
Everything You Need to Know from Matzoh Balls to Marriage
Language: English
Release Date: October 24, 2012
Learn everything you need to know about the holidays, traditions, beliefs, and culture of the Jew you love . . . and his or her family. From what to order in a Kosher deli to what to wear to a Purim party, this book answers all the questions you'll face as the love interest of a nice Jewish boy or...
What Do You Mean, You Can't Eat in My Home?
A Guide to How Newly Observant Jews and Their Less Observant Relatives Can Still Get Along
Language: English
Release Date: March 31, 2010
Here is a book of workable, sensible solutions to the everyday problems faced by newly observant Jews as they try to explain the parameters of their new lives to the people who love them—but think they’ve gone around the bend.
For the formerly nonobservant Jew who has decided to live an...
The Jewish Festivals
A Guide to Their History and Observance
Language: English
Release Date: April 4, 2012
Why is the Jewish New Year designated on the Jewish calendar as the first day of the seventh month, and not of the first month? Why do women cover their eyes when reciting the blessing over the Sabbath candles? How did the Seder originate? Does the Book of Esther, read on Purim, mirror any real historical...
Science and Spiritual Practices
Transformative Experiences and Their Effects on Our Bodies, Brains, and Health
Language: English
Release Date: August 28, 2018
"I have personally adopted many of the practices Rupert describes in his book and experienced more love, joy, empathy, gratitude, and equanimity as a result. We are all indebted to Rupert, who has tirelessly brought us deep insights from both science and spirituality.” —Deepak Chopra
The...
by Jack Riemer
Language: English
Release Date: November 28, 2012
Language: English
Release Date: November 28, 2012
Forward by Sherwin B. Nuland
As Jack Riemer demonstrates in this collection of Jewish resources for mourning and healing, the Jewish tradition has much to offer those who seek its help in time of need. Here are personal as well as practical writings by contemporary authors about the Shivah...
by Simcha Paull Raphael
Language: English
Release Date: April 15, 2019
Language: English
Release Date: April 15, 2019
Originally published in 1994, Jewish Views of the Afterlife is a classic study of ideas of afterlife and postmortem survival in Jewish tradition and mysticism.
As both a scholar and pastoral counselor, Raphael guides the reader through 4,000 years of Jewish thought on the afterlife by investigating...
Coming of Age in Jewish America
Bar and Bat Mitzvah Reinterpreted
Language: English
Release Date: May 1, 2016
The Jewish practice of bar mitzvah dates back to the twelfth century, but this ancient cultural ritual has changed radically since then, evolving with the times and adapting to local conditions. For many Jewish-American families, a child’s bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah is both a major social event...
Jewish Mysticism and Magic
An Anthropological Perspective
Language: English
Release Date: August 7, 2007
Providing a unique anthropological perspective on Jewish mysticism and magic, this book is a study of Jewish rites and rituals and how the analysis of early literature provides the roots for understanding religious practices. It includes analysis on the importance of sacrifice, amulets, and names, and their underlying cultural constructs and the persistence of their symbolic significance.
Jewish Rites of Death
Stories of Beauty and Transformation
Language: English
Release Date: January 5, 2010
Death is the ultimate transformative experience. For Jewish communities, the ways this is dealt with—shaped by millennia of custom and belief—do more than routinely follow a set of prescribed practices; they provide an opening to a series of traditions compelling in their profound beauty...
Between Jewish Tradition and Modernity
Rethinking an Old Opposition, Essays in Honor of David Ellenson
Language: English
Release Date: October 20, 2014
Although the ideas of “tradition” and “modernity” may seem to be directly opposed, David Ellenson, a leading contemporary scholar of modern Jewish thought, understood that these concepts can also enjoy a more fluid relationship. In honor of Ellenson, editors Michael A. Meyer and David N. Myers...
Rendezvous with God
Revealing the Meaning of the Jewish Holidays and their Mysterious Rituals
Language: English
Release Date: December 7, 2016
Celebrating Your New Jewish Daughter
Creating Jewish Ways to Welcome Baby Girls into the Covenant
Language: English
Release Date: July 12, 2012
An indispensable “how-to” guide for creating lasting memories and special ceremonies as you welcome your new Jewish daughter.
When a son is born, every Jewish parent knows what ceremony will welcome him into the community and signal his part in the Jewish people—the brit milah. What to...
Blood for Thought
The Reinvention of Sacrifice in Early Rabbinic Literature
Language: English
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Blood for Thought delves into a relatively unexplored area of rabbinic literature: the vast corpus of laws, regulations, and instructions pertaining to sacrificial rituals. Mira Balberg traces and analyzes the ways in which the early rabbis interpreted and conceived of biblical sacrifices, reinventing...