This edition of CCAR Journal includes articles on women rabbis in South Africa, resurrection of the dead, chesed in Mussar, the Jewish history of bourbon, and much more. The issue also contains a book review, poetry, and a CCAR responsum on splitting cremated ashes for burial in two places.
From Distress to Sweetening: Adam Phillips, the “Missed” Life, and the Kabbalistic-Chasidic Sweetening of Din — Admiel Kosman, PhD
An Updated History of Women Rabbis in and from South Africa — Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Countenance and Core — Rabbi Scott B. Saulson, PhD
Why Does God Choose Abraham? Why Does Abraham Choose God? — Brian Weinstein, PhD
Resurrection of the Dead — Rabbi Sandra Cohen
Rabbi Henry Cohen and the Galveston Hurricane of 1900: Moving Beyond Jewish Communal Relief — Rabbi Bailey Romano
The Universality of Chesed in Mussar — Rabbi David Oler, PhD, DHL
American Jewish History Through a Bourbon Glass: The Legacy of I. W. Bernheim — Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz
Book Reviews
The Architecture of Modern American Synagogues, 1950s–1960s by Anat Geva — Reviewed by Rabbi Elliot B. Gertel
Poetry
It Could Never Happen — Rabbi Adam D. Fisher
All Immigrants — Rabbi Adam D. Fisher
Not to Mt. Moriah — Rabbi Dr. Israel Bobrov Zoberman
Sanctuary — Jane Schapiro
People of the Book — In memory of Rabbi Stanley Davids (1939–2025) — Mara Gale Fein, PhD
TikkunOlam: Knitting a World — Roger Nash, PhD
Eruv — Roger Nash, PhD
Jacob’s Pillow: Resting Weary Heads on the Pillow/Pillar — Rabbi Stephen S. Pearce, PhD
The Doctor Wants to Remodel My Heart — Stewart Florsheim
The Window — Stewart Florsheim
Dementia Prologue: Adding It Up — Rabbi Debra Hachen
Dementia I: A Closer Look — Rabbi Debra Hachen
Dementia II: Wrestling with My Beloved’s Dementia — Rabbi Debra Hachen
Dementia III: The Descent — Rabbi Debra Hachen
Nocturne of Creation: Lilith Reincarnated — Jaclyn Piudik and Janet R. Kirchheimer
Elijah at the Door or Every Day Another Door — Rabbi William Cutter, PhD
I can only hear it — Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
MAAYANOT (Primary Sources)
Prayers and Liturgical Poetry — Rabbi Sivan Navon-Shoval
Responsum 5784.4
Splitting Cremated Ashes for Burial in Two Places — 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.