The Tapestry of Jewish Time : A Spiritual Guide to Holiday and Life-Cycle Events

In The Tapestry of Jewish Time: A Spiritual Guide to Holidays and Life-Cycle Events (Behrman House, 2000), Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin presents Judaism as a cloth textured with layers of old and new meanings. With descriptions of both traditional and contemporary practice, The Tapestry of Jewish Time hands us our tradition as an heirloom and shows us how to remake that tradition. In Part One, Jewish Holidays, Rabbi Cardin tells the story of the Jewish week, month, and year, showing us the struggles and celebrations we share with our ancestors, and how we have transformed those struggles and celebrations. Rabbi Cardin teaches that Jews once celebrated Passover by sacrificing a lamb, but Jews now celebrate Passover by foregoing chametz, leavening. Jews have always left a cup of wine for Elijah; today some leave a cup of water for Miriam as well. But we all celebrate Passover with a family meal and the telling of the freedom story.
In Part Two, Jewish Life-Cycle Events, Rabbi Cardin reveals the eternal cycle of Jewish life through contemporary and ancient stories. She writes about marriage in the down-to-earth language of Genesis, the poetic language of the Song of Songs, and the devout language of the Talmud. But Rabbi Cardin also describes the variety of wedding ceremonies Jews choose from today, shows us how Judaism releases men and women from unhappy unions, and remembers the widow and the widower.

Perhaps most strikingly, The Tapestry of Jewish Time teaches all of us to knit our personal stories together with those of our ancestors. The chapter Prayers and Rituals for the Home shares blessings in Hebrew, English, and transliteration, empowering us to transform our everyday life by speaking those ancient words. The beautifully decorated Personal Weavings write-in chapter invites us to weave memories and experiences from our own lives into Tapestry itself.

About the Author: Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin is the Director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, and the Chair of the Editorial Committee of Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility. She was the editor of Sh'ma from 1993 to 1998, and Director of the National Jewish Healing Center in New York City from 1995 to 1997. She lives in Baltimore with her husband, Rabbi Avram Reisner, and their children.

Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin is the Director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, and the Chair of the Editorial Committee of Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility. She was the editor of Sh'ma from 1993 to 1998, and Director of the National Jewish Healing Center in New York City from 1995 to 1997. She lives in Baltimore with her husband, Rabbi Avram Reisner, and their children.