About the Book
JPS’s holiday books take us through the joys, spirit, and meaning of the seasons. View the full Celebrating the Jewish Year series. Blending the old and the new, they ground us in the origins and traditions of each holiday and open up to us ways we can add our own expression to these special days. Although synagogue ritual is touched upon, the real focus here is on our personal connections to each holiday and our home observance.
As we move from season to season, Paul Steinberg shares with us a rich collection of readings from many of the Jewish greats—Maimonides, Rashi, Nachmanides, Shlomo Carlebach, Marge Piercy, Elie Wiesel, Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Arthur Green, and others—and he guides us in discovering for ourselves the many treasures within each text. The readings teach us about the history of each holiday, as well as its theological, ethical, agricultural, and seasonal importance and interpretation; others give us inspiration and much food for thought.
These stories, essays, poems, anecdotes, and rituals help us discover how deeply Jewish traditions are rooted in nature’s yearly cycle, and how beautifully season and spirit are woven together throughout the Jewish year.
Awards
2007 National Jewish Book Award Runner-Up, Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice
Praise
This is the kind of book where a reviewer says ‘every family should own one.’ All three volumes will make excellent contributions to the celebrations of our Jewish holidays.
—Sybil Kaplan, National Jewish Post and Opinion
A superb addition to personal, family, school and community library Judaic Studies reference collections, Celebrating the Jewish Year is very highly recommended and informative reading that will help the reader to create a memorable holiday experience for themselves and their loved ones that will be enhanced in both meaning and spirit.
—Midwest Book Review
