Gateway to Judaism

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ISBN: 9781422600306 | 1422600300
Cover: Hardcover
Copyright: 11/30/2005

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Gateway to Judaism delivers an engaging insider look at the mindset, values, and practices of contemporary traditional Judaism. Rabbi Becher demonstrates that Judaism today is anything but anachronistic rites and disjointed rituals. Rather, his book opens a portal to a vibrant lifestyle that brings joy and meaning to Jewish living. Based on years of answering thousands of challenging inquiries, Becher's work blends elements of Jewish philosophy and law with an intensely practical explanation of how Jews actually live.

Introduction	p. 9
Time
The Cycle of Life
Two Become One: Dating, the wedding ceremony, marriage and divorce Supplement Material: The Seven Blessings The Ketubah	p. 15
Zero to Thirteen: Birth, naming, circumcision, Pidyon Haben, Bar and Bat Mitzvah	p. 37
A Time to Cry: Death, burial, mourning, life after death, Kaddish	p. 59
Calendar
The Jewish Calendar: The lunar calendar: history, philosophy and structure Supplemental Material: Table of the Months and Events of the Jewish Year	p. 81
Who Invented the Weekend Anyway?: The meaning and practice of Shabbat Supplemental Material: The Categories of Prohibited Shabbat Work Kiddush for Shabbat	p. 95
The Jewish New Year: Rosh Hashanah, shofar and Divine judgment	p. 115
The Day of Atonement: Yom Kippur, fasting and forgiveness	p. 131
Jews in Booths - Sukkot: The sukkah, lulav and etrog, Intermediate Days, Simchat Torah	p. 145
Spiritual Survival: Chanukah: The history and meaning of Chanukah, the menorah, latkes and dreidels	p. 165
Physical Survival: Purim: The history and meaning of Purim, the Scroll of Esther, celebration	p. 177
Passover - Free at Last: Exodus, Passover Seder, matzah	p. 189
Back to Sinai: Shavuot: Revelation at Mt. Sinai and celebration of the Torah	p. 217
Slow Down, It's a Fast Day!: The history and purpose of the Jewish fast days	p. 233
Place
The Torah and Its Home: The Torah Scroll; history, purpose and appearance of the synagogue	p. 247
The Land of Israel: The Jewish national homeland - historical, spiritual and legal significance	p. 259
Self
Action
Looking Jewish: Modest clothing, head coverings, beards, tattoos	p. 281
Soul Food: The Kosher Dietary Laws: The practice and purpose of keeping kosher	p. 293
Material Witnesses: Physical symbols of Jewish life: mezuzah, tefillin, tzitzit, tallit	p. 313
Person to Person: Behavior toward other people: love, money, honesty and ethics	p. 335
Justice, Charity and Tzedakah: Jewish ideals and practice of philanthropy and kindness	p. 355
Thought
Belief, Knowledge and Faith: The Thirteen Principles of Faith	p. 371
Why Are There Commandments?: What are mitzvot and why do we do them?	p. 393
Torah Study: What, when, where and why Supplemental Material: The Talmudic Method	p. 409
Speech
Getting Up on the Right Side of Bed: Prayer: The philosophy, history and meaning of prayers	p. 427
Blessings and Appreciation: Laws and significance of blessings	p. 451
Appendices
Who Are the Jews, and Where Do They Come From?: A brief Jewish family history	p. 465
The Books of the People, for the People of the Book: A basic outline of key works in Jewish tradition	p. 475
Recommended Reading	p. 487
Where Do I Go From Here?: An insider's list of websites and contact information	p. 497
Glossary	p. 503
Index	p. 513
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Gateway to Judaism

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials