Liberal Judaism And Social Service

Excerpt from Liberal Judaism and Social Service Thus our inquiry into Judaism as a force that makes for social righteousness involves an examination of the present and a forecast of the future. But the present and future of Judaism are unintelligible without a care ful and loving study of its past. Ours is an historical religion, whose soul came to it from afar; it has changed greatly, but it retains its identity. A modern reform temple is a very different place from the Temple of Solomon, but the same Decalogue is the central feature of both. Modern philanthropy and social service rest on fundamental principles, enunciated long ago by the heroes of Bible and Talmud. So also the study of Hebrew institutions, as they existed at various stages of our long history, will show how permanent are the needs of humanity in general and of Israel in particular. The characteristic Jewish nose appears already in the. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Liberal Judaism and Social Service The theme of these lectures is liberal Judaism in its relation to social service. I shall attempt to treat from a standpoint frankly sectional a subject of universal interest. Jews are a small minority, liberal Jews are a minority of that minority, whilst every sane thinker, whatever be his race or creed, realizes the need for a deeper sense of human fellowship. It is a pressing question for every religionist whether the faith to which he is attached supplies this need. Accordingly the Jew is led to inquire whether Judaism makes him and his coreligionists more serviceable members of the human family. Such an inquiry bristles with difficulties, for it involves not only a knowledge of facts but the power to interpret them. It is hard enough to form a dispassionate estimate of the share taken by the members of our race in the world of labor, of business, of thought, of philanthropy and of public service; but our perplexities are multiplied when we ask ourselves how far their merits and demerits in the pursuit of these activities are caused or conditioned by their Judaism. Perhaps the average Jew ought to be a thorough Jew all the time, but he is certainly nothing of the kind; he is, for better or worse, modified if not transformed by his environment. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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How can Jewish values inform our work to create a just world—and help us work together for the good of all communities? "Somehow, most Jews have decided that being a 'good Jew' means adhering to rituals such as Shabbat, kashrut, and prayer. But the word halakhah, generally translated as 'Jewish law,' literally means ‘the way to walk.’ Rather than a limited set of ritual laws, halakhah represents an all-encompassing way of life." —from Chapter 1 Jewish tradition compels us to protect the poorest, weakest and most vulnerable among us. But discerning how to make meaningful and effective change through social justice work—whether in community or on your own—is not always easy. This guide provides ways to envision and act on your own ideals of social justice by helping you navigate through such issues as: Creating a narrative mission statement that reflects your organization’s values Balancing the needs of your community with those of other communities Weighing the pros and cons of various models of social justice work (direct service, advocacy, investment and community organizing) Expanding the impact and efficiency of your work Locating your social justice goals and methods within the context of Jewish tradition Maintaining the motivation and inspiration to continue your social justice work Each chapter includes a set of discussion questions to prompt reflection and conversation, as well as tips, tools, processes and forms for getting your social justice project off the ground.

"Beyond Yiddishkeit deals in an intelligent and perceptive way with the issue of Jewish identity in an affluent and highly educated suburban community. Particularly significant is that it relies upon participant observation, as well as ethnographic interview techniques and data, on the part of the author. In this way, the work constitutes the first major study of this type conducted within the liberal Jewish American community. As such, it is a "pioneering" work. Equally impressive is the author's command of the sociological literature on issues of identity and her ability to apply it to the data gathered in this study. She makes sociological jargon intelligible and presents an easily-read and well-constructed book. Her ability throughout the work to focus on issues of modernity is insightful and brilliant. I found myself racing through the book and, indeed, read it in one sitting. This really is an unparalleled work in this field." — David Ellenson, Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion