Common Prayers : Faith, Family, and a Christian's Journey Through the Jewish Year

by Cox, Harvey

• ISBN13: 9780618257331
• ISBN10: 0618257330
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-11-12
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Summary

Harvey Cox, the eminent Christian theologian and scholar of religion, offers an intimate tour through the Jewish year certain to inform and enlighten Jews and non-Jews alike. As a member of an interfaith household, Cox has had ample opportunity to reflect upon the essence of Judaism and its complex relationship to Christianity. Organized around the Jewish calendar from Rosh Hashanah to Yom ha-Atzmaut, Common Prayers illuminates the meanings of Jewish holidays as well as traditions surrounding milestone events such as death and marriage. Describing in elegant, accessible language the holidays" personal, historical, and spiritual significance and the lessons they offer us, Cox "is instructive and enlightening, revealing the depth and passion of his religious thought and practice" (Boston Herald). As seen through his eyes, the Jewish holidays offer a wellspring of discovery and reflection for every reader.

Author Biography

HARVEY COX is the author of the groundbreaking The Secular City and many other books, including The Seduction of the Spirit, which was nominated for the National Book Award. A professor of theology at Harvard Divinity School, he lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
A Cathedral in Time: Sabbath	p. 9
Starting Over at the Right Time of Year: Rosh ha-Shanah	p. 24
Closing the Big Book: Yom Kippur	p. 40
The Strength of Fragility: Sukkot	p. 56
Gamboling with God: Simhat Torah	p. 70
December Madness: Chanukah	p. 81
Funny Masks and Texts of Terror: Purim	p. 100
A Night Different from All Others: Passover	p. 112
After All the Apologies: Yom ha-Shoah	p. 133
The Meaning of the Land: Yom ha-Atzma'ut	p. 156
"Next Year in Jerusalem"	p. 179
Death Among the Jews: Sitting Shivah	p. 211
Lady Sings the Blues: Tisha B'Av	p. 228
Under and After the Canopy: Wedding and Marriage	p. 244
The Boy Becomes a Man: Bar Mitzvah	p. 260
Afterword: In the Court of the Gentiles	p. 271
Notes	p. 277
Bibliography	p. 286
Index	p. 290
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