This book follows the origins of the Kedushta, a sequence of poems that leads up to the epitome of Jewish prayer, the Kedusha or Sanctus. It tracks back the earliest forms of prayer in late antiquity and by doing so defines the main characteristics of this genre, both from the standpoint of Rhetoric and poetics. This genre draws from Midrash and Mysticism- adjacent literary forms that influence liturgical poetry. How has such an enigmatic and complex liturgical genre survived the twists and turns of history and is recited to this day, for over 1500 years? The answer to this question pertains to both form and content. When analyzing form, we address rhyme, alphabetical acrostics, and different poetic forms. Those all have a specific rhetorical function in determining the structure of the poem, pushing it forward, and musically aligning the different segments. The form cannot be detached from narratology, referencing early midrash and mysticism. In addition, the emotional approach of the private prayer can express one's existential pain as part of an oppressed community. We can follow the composition of the prayer book for each community over the ages, through the first millennium, starting with Geniza fragments to the European prayer books. Finally, these poems use of sophisticated etymology, correlation by sound, leads to innovative Medieval interpretation of the Torah. It seems that the combination of a public recitation, simulating a divine choir, the musicality of the text and emotional depth all contributed to this eternal poetic genre to penetrate cross cutting traditions of prayer throughout the ages.

The first new Reconstructionist High Holy Day prayer book to be published since 1948, the Mahzor is an inclusive, comprehensive volume for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services; one that is rooted in the traditional Hebrew liturgy, yet fully contemporary. Some of the most prominent features of this volume are: * All readings appear within the text, simplifying the selection of material for services. * Constructed with a special strong, reinforced library quality binding. * Printed on very thin, lightweight opaque paper. * A new section, Kabbalat Hashanah, has been created to begin the erev Rosh Hashanah service. * For Rosh Hashanah, the Mahzor can be used for a traditional shofar service and full Musaf, or combining the two in several different ways. * On Yom Kippur, the Musaf service and Martyrology are integrated with the Avodah service creating a powerful, seamless whole.

This volume in the Bible and Women series is devoted to rabbinic literature from late Jewish antiquity to the early Middle Ages. Fifteen contributions feature different approaches to the question of biblical women and gender and encompass a wide variety of rabbinic corpora, including the Mishnah-Tosefta, halakhic and aggadic midrashim, Talmud, and late midrash. Some essays analyze biblical law and gender relations as they are reflected in the rabbinic sages’ argumentation, while others examine either the rabbinic portrayal of a certain woman or a group of women or the role of biblical women in a specific rabbinic context. Contributors include Judith R. Baskin, Yuval Blankovsky, Alexander A. Dubrau, Cecilia Haendler, Tal Ilan, Gail Labovitz, Moshe Lavee, Lorena Miralles-Maciá, Ronit Nikolsky, Susanne Plietzsch, Natalie C. Polzer, Olga I. Ruiz-Morell, Devora Steinmetz, Christiane Hannah Tzuberi, and Dvora Weisberg.

You are invited to enter the new-old pathway of Neo-Hasidism—a movement that uplifts key elements of Hasidism’s Jewish revival of two centuries ago to reexamine the meaning of existence, see everything anew, and bring the world as it is and as it can be closer together. This volume brings this discussion into the twenty-first century, highlighting Neo-Hasidic approaches to key issues of our time. Eighteen contributions by leading Neo-Hasidic thinkers open with the credos of Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Arthur Green. Or Rose wrestles with reinterpreting the rebbes’ harsh teachings concerning non-Jews. Ebn Leader assesses the perils of trusting one’s whole being to a single personality: can Neo-Hasidism endure as a living tradition without a rebbe? Shaul Magid candidly calibrates Shlomo Carlebach: how “the singing rabbi” transformed him and why Magid eventually walked away. Other contributors engage questions such as: How might women enter this hitherto gendered sphere created by and for men? How can we honor and draw nourishment from other religions’ teachings? Can the rebbes’ radiant wisdom guide those who struggle with self-diminishment to reclaim wholeness? Together these intellectually honest and spiritually robust conversations inspire us to grapple anew with Judaism’s legacy and future.