This edition of CCAR Journal considers various topics, including loneliness and the rabbinate, Judah and Tamar's encounter, and Jewish brides' breads. The issue also contains new book reviews, poetry and a CCAR responsum on removing a pacemaker from a corpse for reuse.
The Lonely Rabbi: Listening to Our Loneliness — Rabbi Carla Fenves, LMFT
Shiphrah and Puah: A Grammatical Solution — Rabbi Mark Sameth
Vaani Anah Olich Et Cherpati: A Study on the Intersectionality of Sexual Trauma and Traumatic Weight Gain Through a Jewish Lens — Rabbi Amanda K. Weiss
When Judah Met Tamar: Jewish and Christian Views Across the Ages — Rabbi David J. Zucker, PhD
Looking Back on Fifty Years as a Rabbi — Rabbi Ron Kronish
Liberal Judaism and Jewish Liberalism — Rabbi Jan Katzew
We Are Yisrael, We Are the Blessing That Won’t Be Consumed: How I Got Through This Year as a Jewish Academic and a Campus Rabbi — Rabbi Elizabeth W. Goldstein, PhD
A Midrash on Vayigash — Rabbi Jason Rosner
The Moral Restraint of the IDF: Ethical Combat in the Context of Jewish and Democratic Values — Rabbi Rand Burke
Attachment Theory — Rabbi Yair Robinson
Book Reviews
Purity and Identity in Ancient Israel: From the Temple to the Mishnah by Yair Furstenberg — Reviewed by Rabbi Matthew A. Kraus, PhD
The Islamic Moses: How the Prophet Inspired Jews and Muslims to Flourish Together and Change the World by Mustafa Akyol — Reviewed by Rabbi Reuven Firestone, PhD
Carrying a Big Schtick: Jewish Acculturation and Masculinity in the Twentieth Century by Miriam Eve Mora— Reviewed by Rabbi Matt Derrenbacher
Poetry
The Walls of Jerusalem — Jay Yair Brodbar, PhD
Tablets (Take One) — Patty Seyburn
Tablets (Take Two) — Patty Seyburn
And the Satraps — Patty Seyburn
My Messiah Complex — Patty Seyburn
Sukkot Questions — David Ebenbach
The Miracle — David Ebenbach
Shema — David Ebenbach
Chosen — David Ebenbach
Wedding in Jerusalem — Daniel Meltz
Olive in Poland — Rabbi Dr. Israel Bobrov Zoberman
Morning Before — Rabbi Benjamin Shalva
Burning Bush — Rabbi Benjamin Shalva
MAAYANOT (Primary Sources)
MYB deNatura: A Short Text from Micha Yosef Berdyczewski (1865–1921) — Rabbi William Cutter, PhD
Responsum 5785.1
Removing a Pacemaker from a Corpse for Reuse — CCAR Responsa Committee, Rabbi Joan Friedman, PhD, chair
Rabbi Edwin Goldberg currently serves as the rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom of The Woodlands, in the Houston area. He received rabbinic ordination and a doctorate in Hebrew Literature from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (in 1989 and 1994, respectively). He has authored several books, including: Midrash for Beginners, Heads and Tales: Stories of the Sages to Enlighten Our Minds, Swords and Plowshares: Jewish Views of War and Peace, Love Tales from the Talmud, Saying No and Letting Go: Jewish Wisdom on Making Room for What Matters Most. He served as the Coordinating Editor of the new Reform Jewish machzor, Mishkan HaNefesh. He also edited a companion commentary, Divrei Mishkan HaNefesh and has published many articles and sermons. Rabbi Goldberg has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami in the department of Religious Studies and Judaic Studies. He is also a graduate of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.