Welcome to the Family Opening the Doors to the Jewish Experience

by Sussman Shenker, Lois

• ISBN13: 9781883991418
• ISBN10: 1883991412
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: White Cloud Press

Summary

Welcome to the Family! provides straightforward explanations about Judaism and the customs and practices surrounding the Jewish way of life. It addresses issues and information in a warm, welcoming manner, interspersing personal family stories with the basics of the Jewish experience. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Lois Sussman Shenker is a teacher of adult classes on Judaism and has worked with nearly 1,000 students. A lecturer on Jewish parenting and Judaism, Ms. Shenker is the mother of three children and grandmother to eight grandchildren, all of whom have non-Jewish grandparents as well

Table of Contents

In the Beginning: An Introduction	1	(7)
Welcome to the Family	8	(7)
Judaism, Jewishness, and the Jewish Experience	15	(11)
Believing: What Jews Believe About God	19	(2)
Behaving: The Observance of Mitzvot	21	(2)
Belonging: The Role of Community	23	(3)
Understanding the Basics	26	(32)
Different Approaches to Judaism	27	(6)
The Torah: The Source	33	(3)
The Covenant	36	(1)
Shabbat	37	(7)
Synagogue and Prayer	44	(4)
Historical Perspective	48	(1)
A Timeline	49	(2)
Women in Judaism	51	(3)
Dietary Laws: From Kosher to Trayf	54	(4)
Life Cycle Events	58	(18)
Weddings	59	(6)
Birth	65	(2)
Bar and Bat Mitzvah	67	(3)
Death and Mourning	70	(6)
The Holiness of time: Holidays and the Jewish Calendar	76	(28)
The High Holidays	79	(1)
Rosh Hashana: the Jewish New Year	80	(2)
Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement	82	(1)
Sukkot: The Festival of Booths	83	(2)
Simchat Torah: The Rejoicing of the Torah	85	(1)
Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights	86	(3)
Tu B'shvat: The Birthday of the Trees	89	(1)
Purim: The Festival of Freedom	89	(4)
Pesach (Passover): Remembering the Exodus	93	(8)
Shavuot: The Giving of the Ten Commandments	101	(1)
Tish B'av: A Jewish Day of Mourning	102	(1)
Modern Holidays	103	(1)
Explanations and Definitions	104	(17)
Answers to Common Questions	104	(5)
Jewish Views on Contemporary Topics	109	(2)
Ritual Objects	111	(6)
Jewish Ethnic Foods	117	(4)
Appendices	121	(11)
I. Blessings	121	(3)
II. Glossary and Pronunciation Guide	124	(8)
III. Suggestions for Further Reading	132