Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Pronouncing Jewish Words
About the translations
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Part I: What Jews Generally Believe
Part II: From Womb to Tomb: The Life Cycle
Part III: An Overview of Jewish History
Part IV: Celebrations and Holy Days
Part V: The Part of Tens
Part VI: Appendixes
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: What Jews Generally Believe
Chapter 1: That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Jewish: Who’s a Jew and Why
The Jewish Tribe
What’s in a name?
Jews far and wide
Who decides if you’re Jewish?
After all, it’s a small world
Major Branches of the Tree
Orthodox Jews
Breakaway denominations
Guess Who Else Is Jewish
Chapter 2: It’s All One: Judaism and God
Pondering Jewish Beliefs about God
A religion of deed, not creed
Arguing with God
Where God is
Calling One God Many Names
What’s in a name?
The four-letter Name of God
The Singular Being hidden in the plural
God’s Own name
No end to the names of God
Looking behind the Name
God creates
God reveals
God redeems
Embarking on a Quest for Ultimate Reality
Chapter 3: A Never-Ending Torah: The Unfolding of a Tradition
Torah: The Light That Never Dims
The five books of Moses
The weekly readings
The TaNaKH: The Hebrew Bible
Nevi’im (“Prophets”)
Ketuvim (“Writings”)
The Haftarah
Interpreting the Bible
A Hidden Revolution: The Oral Torah
The law of the land: The Mishnah
The teachings explained: The Talmud
Telling stories: The midrash
The Expanding Torah
Chapter 4: A Path of Blessing: Judaism as a Daily Practice
Connecting With God and Community through Practice: The Mitzvot
613 habits of highly effective people
Women and mitzvot
The reasons for mitzvot
Connecting With God and Community through Blessings and Prayers
Private worship
The community worship service
Going to Synagogue
Four things you’ll find in every synagogue
Who’s who at shul
Following Jewish Dietary Laws: A Brief Guide to Kosher Food
The reasons behind kosher
OU means OK for most
Purifying the Spirit: Rites and Rituals
Dressing for God: Jewish Garments and Clothing Customs
The yarmulka
Fringes and shawls
You shall bind them as a sign: Laying tefillin
The Jewish Home
On every doorpost: The mezuzah
The candelabra extraordinaire: The menorah
So Go Now and Live
Chapter 5: Jewish Mysticism
Delving Into Jewish Mysticism
What mystics tend to believe
The Kabbalah
Taking a Magical Mystical Tour
Early mystical texts
Isaac Luria, Safed’s sage
Israel ben Eliezer, the good master
Going Above and Beyond: Jewish Meditation
Following Maps to Understanding: The Images and Symbols
The Tree of Life
The ten sefirot
The Four Worlds
The five levels of soul
Chapter 6: Ethical Challenges
Getting to the Heart of the Matter
The Golden Rule
Expressions of God
Tikkun olam
Charged to act
Meeting at the Intersection of Righteousness and Charity
Unraveling the Problem of the Other
Intra- and Interfaith Challenges
Embracing Our Sexuality
Mystical visions of sexual union
Birth control and abortion
Homosexuality
Prohibited relationships
Finding a Way to Peace
Breaking the cycle
Respecting Animals and the Environment
Bal Tashkhit: Do not destroy
Tza’ar ba’alei khayim: Treat living creatures with dignity
Striving for tikkun olam
Part II: From Womb to Tomb: The Life Cycle
Chapter 7: In the Beginning: Birth and Bris
Making the Cut: Ritual Circumcision
Knowing who’s involved
Adhering to the rituals and ceremonies
Making the choice
Thanking God for Little Girls
Playing the Name Game
Buying Back the First Born
Chapter 8: Coming of Age: The Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Preparing for the Big Day
Celebrating the Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Reading from the Good Book
Speech! Speech!
A night to celebrate
Celebrating as a grown up
Confirming Your Beliefs
Chapter 9: Get Me to the Chuppah On Time: Weddings
Looking at the Origins of Jewish Marriage
Preparing for the Ceremony
Enjoying the Wedding
Raising the chuppah
Drinking the fruit of the vine
Exchanging the rings
Sharing the seven blessings
Breaking the glass
Putting it in writing
Enjoying sacred moments, before and after
Getting a Get: Divorce
Walking through a divorce
Encountering rare troubles
Chapter 10: Stepping Through the Valley: The Shadow of Death
Planning for Death
Writing an ethical will
Making final confessions
Reciting parting words
Arranging the Funeral
Returning to the earth
Preparing the body
Attending a funeral and burial
Observing the Mourning Period
The first week following a funeral
The first month and year
Saying Kaddish
Remembering the Dead
Part III: An Overview of Jewish History
Chapter 11: Let My People Go: From Abraham to Exodus
The Genesis of a People
Beginnings of a Way
The next generation
Who gets blessed?
Wrestling with God
The Son Also Rises
Interpreting dreams
A dream comes true
The Enslavement and Exodus
A star is born
Are we there yet?
Entering the Promised Land
Chapter 12: The Kings of Israel: The First Temple
Finding the Right Guy to Be King
Continuing War and Peace
Enter David, stage left
Magic and mayhem
Living under the Lion of Judah
The Wisdom of Solomon
Building the Temple
Telling a Tale of Two Kingdoms
The Fall of the First Temple
Chapter 13: Bracketed by Exile: The Second Temple
Finding a Home away from Home
There’s no place like home
Building and rebuilding
It’s All Greek to Me
The ptol and short of it
The last emperor
A Parting of Ways
All Roads Lead to Rome
An Edifice Complex
Not one but many messiahs
Death and dismemberment
Sects and Violence
Chapter 14: The Exiles Continue: The First Millennium
Beware, the End Is Nigh!
Revolutions and messiahs
The raising of the Talmud
Running Out of Rome
Jews under Islam
Second class is better than no class
The rise of the Gaon
All that glitters is gold
Let My People Stay: Prosperity and Persecution
Turn the other cheek
Take the money and run
The Reign in Spain
No one expects the Spanish Inquisition
Christianity or bust
Chapter 15: The Greatest Horror, the Greatest Triumph
When Poland Was a Heartland
Four lands, one people
The Chmielnicki massacres
The Dawning of a New Age
The Enlightenment
The question of citizenship
Going Beyond the Pale
Responses to Enlightenment
Reform
To change or not to change
The Rise of Nationalism and Racism
The return of anti-Jewish policies
The pogroms
Getting Worse and Getting Out
Passage to Palestine
Close, but not quite there
Hitler’s rise to power
The Holocaust
Too little, too late
The war against the Jews
The death camps
The fall of the Third Reich
Founding a New Jewish State
Chapter 16: Jewish Buddhists and Other Challenges of the New Age
In the Shadow of the Holocaust
The Mixed Blessing of America
You will be assimilated
The choosing people
Jews as Spiritual Teachers of Other Traditions
I didn’t know Jews did that!
Finding parallels
The New Jewish Spirituality
Jew versus Jew versus Jew
Who is a Jew
Can’t we just work it out?
Considering the Future of Judaism
Chapter 17: The Problem of Anti-Semitism
Recounting the Incomprehensible
Fearing an Unknown Quantity: The Origins of Hate
Exploding Dangerous and False Beliefs
Belief #1: The Jews killed Jesus
Belief #2: There’s an international Jewish conspiracy
Belief #3: Jews practice ritual murder
Anti-Semitism in literature and art
From Religion to Race: Anti-Semitism in Modern Times
Israel and anti-Semitism
The color of anti-Semitism
Twenty-first century anti-Semitism
Toward Healing
Part IV: Celebrations and Holy Days
Chapter 18: A Taste of Paradise: Shabbat
Understanding Shabbat
Shabbat: Restriction or Relief?
Knowing what work to avoid
Discovering what’s enough
Redefining the rules
Doing what you can on Shabbat
Welcoming the Sabbath
Lighting the candles
Saying the blessings over family, wine, and bread
Eating the meal
Attending Shabbat evening services
Morning has broken
Bidding Farewell to Shabbat
Wine and candles
Sugar, spice, and everything nice
The Universal Aspects of Shabbat
Chapter 19: In with the New: Rosh Hashanah
A Day for Making Judgments
The Book of Life: Take two
Teshuvah: Getting back on track
The 40-Day Plan
The days of Elul
Preparations: S’lichot
Celebrating Rosh Hashanah
The Makhzor: The High Holy Day prayer book
Blowing your horn
Tashlikh
The Ten Days of Awe
Cleaning your spiritual house
Kapparot
Real Beginnings Mean Real Changes
Chapter 20: Getting Serious: Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur Means Always Having to Say You’re Sorry
Seeking forgiveness from God
Repenting
Celebrating Yom Kippur
Fasting, but not quickly
Taking a long day’s journey
Preparing for Yom Kippur
Considering the Kol Nidre: The evening service
Reading and kneeling
Honoring the Light of Yom Kippur
Chapter 21: The Great Outdoors: Sukkot
A Jewish Thanksgiving
Giving thanks
Getting outdoorsy: Building a sukkah
How to Sukkot
A sukkah born every minute
Waving the lulav and etrog
Sh’mini Atzeret
Simkhat Torah
Chapter 22: Seeking Light in Dark Times: Chanukkah
Shining a Light on the Darkest Night
The Good Fight: What Chanukkah Celebrates
The two books of the Maccabees
Judah puts the hammer down
The story of the oil miracle
The Maccabees get their due
Embracing Chanukkah Customs
Lighting the candles
Blessings for the moment
Remembering the oil: Yummy fried foods
Spinning the dreidel
To gift, or not to gift
Receiving the Real Gift of Chanukkah: Personal Renewal
Chapter 23: Celebrating Renewal: Tu B’Shvat
Tithing Fruits of Land and Spirit
A Seder of Fruit and Wine
Try This at Home
Enlightened Gardeners
An Ever-Living Tree
Chapter 24: A Jewish Carnival: Purim
Purim: Based on a True Story (Sort Of)
It all starts with a banished queen
Enter Esther, stage left
Enter Haman, stage right
Haman’s big mistake
The final battle
Why Purim Survived
The persistence of persecution
Within you and without you
Bang a Gong: Celebrating Purim
Reading the Book of Esther — the whole megillah
Partying and playing dress up
Giving the gift of sweets
Remembering the poor
Other traditions: The Fast of Esther
Bringing Darkness to Light
Chapter 25: From Groan to Glee: Passover
Looking at the Reasons behind Passover
Edible Do’s and Don’ts
Kosher for Passover
The symbolism of Passover restrictions
First Things First: Preparing for Passover
Cleaning out the khametz
Giving to charity at Passover time
The Seder: As Easy as 1, 2, 3 . . .
The haggadah: Seder’s little instruction booklet
Look who’s coming to dinner
The prepared table
Steps of the seder
New traditions: Miriam’s Cup
A Time to Think about Freedom
It’s all about choice
Dayenu: So much gratitude
It’s Not Over till It’s Omer
Agricultural roots
The magical, mystical seven
Yom Ha-Shoah
Israeli Independence Day
Lag B’Omer
The Universal Themes in Passover
Chapter 26: Spring Is Busting Out All Over: Shavuot
The Ideas Behind Shavuot
Receiving the Torah
Meeting at Sinai
Tune in today!
Go tell it on the mountain
Telling stories
Searching for New Rituals
Pulling the mystical all-nighter
Deck the halls . . .
Got milk?
Reading Ruth
Nontraditional traditions
Rewakening
Chapter 27: A Day of Mourning: Tisha B’Av
Fasting, Reading, and Reflecting
Today’s Tisha B’Av
Tu B’Av: Releasing into Joy
Part V: The Part of Tens
Chapter 28: Ten People Who Helped Shape Judaism
Hillel
Rashi
Maimonides
Joseph Caro
Isaac Luria
Ba’al Shem Tov
Henrietta Szold
Abraham Isaac Kook
Martin Buber
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Chapter 29: Answers to Ten Common Questions about Judaism
Why Don’t Jews Believe in Jesus?
What Does It Mean to Be the “Chosen” People?
Why Is Israel So Important to the Jews?
Why Are So Many Doctors, Lawyers, and Entertainers Jewish?
What Is the Role of Women in Judaism?
What Is “Jewish Humor”?
Self-examination: Try it at home!
Dress British, think Yiddish
What Role Does Music Play in Jewish Culture?
Who’s In Charge of Judaism?
Can You Convert to Judaism?
What’s the Relationship Between Judaism and Islam?
Part VI: Appendixes
Appendix A: Oy Vey! and Other Words You Should Know
Appendix B: A Sampler of Jewish Prayers and Blessings
Blessings for food
Blessings making moments special
Blessings for ritual acts
Blessings as reminders and as teachers
Appendix C: Go Now and Learn
Education and social action
Charities