A Time to Every Purpose: Letters to a Young Jew - Hardcover

Sarna, Jonathan D

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465002463 ISBN 13: 9780465002467

Publisher: Basic Books, 2008

Synopsis

At the turn of the twenty-first century, the central question confronting Jewish leaders in America is simple:

Why be Jewish?

Jonathan D. Sarna, acclaimed scholar of American Judaism, believes that "Why be Jewish?" is the wrong question. Judaism, he believes, is not so much a "why" as a way -- a way of life, a way of marking time, a way of relating to the environment, to human beings, to family, and to God. Judaism is experienced through doing -- doing things Jewish, doing things for fellow Jews in need, doing things as a Jew to improve the state of the world. The more Judaism one does, the more one comes to appreciate what Judaism is.

Using the Jewish calendar as his starting point, Sarna reflects on the major themes of Jewish life as expressed in a full year of holidays -- from Passover in the spring to Purim eleven months later. Passover, for instance, yields a discussion of freedom; Shavuot, a discussion of Torah; Yom Kippur, the role of the individual within the Jewish community; Chanukah, issues of assimilation and anti-assimilation.

An essential brief introduction -- or reintroduction -- to the major practices of Jewish life as well as the many complexities of the American Jewish experience, this book will be essential reading for American Jews and the perfect gift for the holiday season.

About this title

About the Author

Jonathan D. Sarna is Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, and chairs the Academic Board of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. Author of American Judaism: A History, he is also the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History and of the 350th commemoration of Jewish life in America, 1654-2004. He lives in West Newton, Massachusetts.

Reviews

In these 13 letters to his daughter, the author discusses the major themes of Jewish life as expressed in a year of holidays—from Passover in the spring to Purim 11 months later. He explains the origins of the holidays and the issues that each illuminates. The holidays include Passover (freedom), Yom ha-Shoah (the Holocaust), Shavout (the Torah), Rosh Hashanah (judgment), Yom Kippur (the individual and the community), Sukkot (making choices and improving the world), Hanukkah (assimilation and anti-assimilation), and Purim (continuity and happiness). Sarna expresses his views on various contested issues and also offers other points of view. He hopes this may help readers understand and confront the many challenges facing contemporary Jews. --George Cohen

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465002463
• ISBN 13: 9780465002467
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208