A varied and fascinating look at sin, confession and pardon in Judaism.Through a series of lively introductions and commentaries, almost forty contributors—men and women, scholars, rabbis, theologians and poets, representing all Jewish denominations—examine the history of confession in Judaism, its roots in the Bible, its evolution in rabbinic and modern thought, and the very nature of confession for men and women today.Featuring the traditional prayers—pro...

It is time to recover rabbinic lessons of late antiquity: God is a God of grace and love; human beings can aspire to goodness and promise; on Yom Kippur the two of them meet—God's love energizes human potential and the world is reborn with hope restored.The God of Jewish tradition is far from the strict God of justice commonly understood to be the God of the Hebrew Bible. God’s self-introduction to Moses atop Mount Sinai does indeed conclude with the image of punis...

September 11, 2001, turned NYPD Detective Alex Archer’s world into a blur of screams, sirens, and gray dust. Battling PTSD and a failing marriage, Archer leaves New York behind, believing the quiet of coastal Florida might finally bring him peace. He is wrong.Trying to rebuild his life, Archer joins the Tampa Police Department, where his instincts quickly reawaken. A relentless investigator willing to bend protocol when necessary, Archer soon becomes the department’s go-to detectiv...

N’ilah, “the closing of the gates” is, in many ways, the most anticipated worship service in the entire Jewish calendar. Coming at the end of the 24-hour fast that characterizes Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), it symbolizes the days of old when the gates of the ancient Temple closed at last, and with them, the last chance for prayers of atonement and reconciliation with God and with others. Nowadays, the synagogue service that replaced the Temple cult marks the occasion with heightened ...

A resource for worshipers today looking to change hardened worship patternsthat stand in the way of everyday spirituality.All too often, those who attend church or synagogue find themselves bored or baffled by the service. Their predominant thought is how slowly the time ticks by—and that the service never seems to end.Written for laypeople and clergy of any denomination, The Art of Public Prayer examines how and why religious ritual works—a...

An accessible introduction to the reasons for and the ways of Jewish prayer.The Way Into Jewish Prayer helps us to explore the reasons for and the ways of Jewish prayer. It opens the door to 3,000 years of Jewish prayer, making available all you need to feel at home in the Jewish way of communicating with God.

Be spiritually prepared for your journey in Israel.The only travel guide to Israel that will help you to prepare spiritually for your visit. Combining, in quick reference format, ancient blessings, medieval prayers, biblical references, and modern poetry, it helps today’s pilgrim tap into the deep spiritual meaning of the ancient—and modern—sites of the Holy Land. For each of 25 major tourist destinations—from the Western Wall to Masada to a kibbutz in the Galilee—...

A resource for worshipers today looking to change hardened worship patterns that stand in the way of everyday spirituality.All too often, those who attend church or synagogue find themselves bored or baffled by the service. Their predominant thought is how slowly the time ticks byand that the service never seems to end.Written for laypeople and clergy of any denomination, The Art of Public Prayer examines how and why religious ritual worksand why it often doesn't work....

A colorful, fun-to-read introduction that explains the ways and whys ofJewish worship, faith, and religious life.What You Will See Inside a Synagogue will:Satisfy kids’ curiosity about what goes on in synagogues attended by their friends, broadening awareness of other faiths at an important age when opinions and prejudices can first form.Provide Jewish children with a deeper understanding of the practices of their own religio...

An accessible introduction to the reasons for and the ways of Jewish prayer.The Way Into Jewish Prayer helps us to explore the reasons for and the ways of Jewish prayer. It opens the door to 3,000 years of Jewish prayer, making available all you need to feel at home in the Jewish way of communicating with God.Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD, has served for more than three decades as professor of liturgy at Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion in New York. He is a wo...

"The prayer book is our Jewish diary of the centuries, a collection of prayers composed by generations of those who came before us, as they endeavored to express the meaning of their lives and their relationship to God. The prayer book is the essence of the Jewish soul."This stunning work, an empowering entryway to the spiritual revival of our times, enables all of us to claim our connection to the heritage of the traditional Jewish prayer book. It helps rejuvenate...

"The prayer book is our Jewish diary of the centuries, a collection of prayers composed by generations of those who came before us, as they endeavored to express the meaning of their lives and their relationship to God. The prayer book is the essence of the Jewish soul."This stunning work, an empowering entryway to the spiritual revival of our times, enables all of us to claim our connection to the heritage of the traditional Jewish prayer book. It helps rejuvenate...