A Time to Every Purpose : Letters to a Young Jew

Jonathan D. Sarna

ISBN 10: 0465002463 / ISBN 13: 9780465002467

Published by Basic Books Aug 2008, 2008

About this Item

Neuware - A preeminent scholar reflects on identity, family, and faith in this accessible introduction to the American Jewish experience.

Seller Inventory # 9780465002467

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Time to Every Purpose : Letters to a Young Jew
• Publisher: Basic Books Aug 2008
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465002463
• ISBN 13: 9780465002467
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 210W x 128H x 20D millimeters 210 millimeters width by 128 millimeters height by 20 millimeters depth
• Weight: 324 grams

About this title

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 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.