Thinking Passover: A Rabbi's Book of Holiday Values

A leading rabbi presents an inspirational perspective on the traditions of Passover, offering modern-day Jewish families a study of what the holiday can offer them in today's world

Passover is one of the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar, yet it depends on an individual's or a family's Jewish knowledge to make the Seder special. The current trend toward decreasing "Jewish cultural literacy" means that fewer people at the table are able to feel the relevance of the occasion. Kamin (Raising a Thoughtful Teenager, LJ 12/95), the senior rabbi of Cleveland's Temple-Tifereth Israel, has tried to fill this void with this work. It is not a handbook but reads as a poetic conversation to whet the reader's appetite and make Pesach meaningful. Kamin's work focuses especially on the elements of social responsibility relevant to Passover, from Pharaoh to the Civil Rights movement and giving to the hungry. Although his book does fill an important need, it will be less appealing to Orthodox or many Conservative Jews because of Kamin's offhand remarks on following Kashrut. However, for the majority of American Jews (either Reform or unaffiliated), the book serves as a useful meditation on the meaning of the holiday.?Andrew B. Wertheimer, Spertus Inst. of Jewish Studies, Chicago
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Rabbi Kamin says that the Passover text (the Haggadah) is not only important to Jews but also important in what he calls the text of the human heart. If Passover is about anything, he avers, it is about people remembering the past, and it is in this way that the holiday draws Jews together. Kamin discusses related subjects such as love, friendship, the power of memory, a child's curiosity, the purpose of Passover after the Holocaust, community sharing, empathy for the pain of others, and tolerance. A refreshing and relevant perspective on this sacred holiday. George Cohen