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Honoring Tradition, Embracing Modernity
A Reader for the Union for Reform Judaism's Introduction to Judaism Course
Edited by Rabbi Beth Lieberman and Rabbi Hara E. Person
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Honoring Tradition, Embracing Modernity, created in partnership between the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Union for Reform Judaism, is for readers who seek to deepen their knowledge of Judaism--its wisdom, its practices, its beliefs, its customs, its people, and our story. This sourcebook includes selections from Judaism's rich library of wisdom literature, classic and contemporary, in a format designed for use with the URJ's Introduction to Judaism classes.
Honoring Tradition, Embracing Modernity includes five units, as listed below:
- Beginnings: What is Judaism? What are the ethics and values of the Jewish People? How can we understand humanity and human potential through our relationship to God?
- Creating a Jewish Life in Time: An exploration of the Jewish calendar of celebration and sanctity, as well as how life in the community connects and intertwines with life at home.
- The Cycle of Jewish Life: Relationship and marriage traditions, raising a family, growing into later adulthood, and the central role of learning for all generations.
- Creating a Jewish Theology: Different understandings of God, and the diverse roles that synagogue, prayer, and sacred texts play in our lives.
- The Jewish Story and Creating a Jewish Journey: The historical journey of the Jewish People, and the many identities that have emerged from it.
[Note: This is the PDF version, and is for individual use only. It is not to be copied, distributed, or sold without express written permission from CCAR Press.
For bulk orders of 10 or more, contact info@ccarpress.org. Orders consisting of 10 or more will receive a special bulk discount of $23 per PDF.]
Acknowledgments
Dear Learner
Unit I. Beginnings
What is Judaism? Who Are the Jewish People?
On the Jewish People, Rabbi Rachel Timoner
Jewish Religious Pluralism, Rabbi Joan S. Friedman
On the Jewish People, Rabbi Evan Moffic
A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism, CCAR,Pittsburgh, 1999
Jewish Ethics and Values
Midrashic Thoughts, from Mishkan HaNefesh
On Our Humanity, Rabbi Denise Eger
On Our Humanity, Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs
On Our Humanity, Rabbi Judith Schindler
Not More Than My Place; Not Less Than My Space, Rabbi Laura Geller
Tzedakah, from Mishkan Moeid
Somebody’s Child, Deborah Greene
Holiness, Mitzvot, and Justice in Jewish Time, Rabbi Jonah Pesner
Unit II. Creating a Jewish Life in Ti
Rabbi Beth Lieberman is passionate about growth and innovation in Jewish life. She has served both the Reform and Conservative Movements, organizing and building multigenerational faith communities, and her work in the literary world in the areas of Jewish scholarship, culture, and practice has received national acclaim. She serves as adjunct faculty at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Rabbinical Studies, in Los Angeles, mentoring the next generation of communal leaders. She serves on the editorial board of the CCAR Journal. Her writings have appeared in numerous publications, and she has written and taught widely about her role as literary editor and a revising translator of The JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition (Jewish Publication Society and Sefaria.org, 2023). She lives with her family in California, dividing her time between Los Angeles and New York. Please visit her website at www.rabbibethlieberman.com.
URJ Introduction to Judaism course outlines and other supporting curricular materials are available to download in the “Introduction to Judaism Faculty” private group in the Tent, URJ’s online collaboration platform. View and download one of the courses below:
URJ Introduction to Judaism 18 Session Course Outline for Faculty
