About the Book
Circling the Jewish calendar from Rosh Hashanah to Tisha B’Av, this lively, accessible guide provides rituals, recipes, songs, prayers, and suggestions for new approaches to holiday observance. Rabbi Arthur O. Waskow explores the meaning of each holiday in relation to the history of the Jewish people and individual spirituality, examines how the place of each holiday in the cycle of the moon and the changing seasons affects the mood of the day, and suggests ritual and spiritual ways to prepare for each festival.
In his extensive afterword to this new edition of Seasons of Our Joy, Rabbi Waskow addresses the many changes Judaism has undergone in the last thirty years, as feminist Judaism, neo-Chassidic mysticism, eco-Judaism, and Jewish meditation have newly colored our understanding of the festivals.
Praise
There is a poetic quality to the writing, and the ideas are original, provocative, and enriching.
—Library Journal
A wonderful blend of information and innovation that will help readers find both traditional and new meaning in the Jewish holidays.
—Judith Plaskow, author of Standing Again at Sinai
Arthur Waskow’s fresh, imaginative vision brings the familiar Jewish holidays to life with new meaning.
—Rabbi Harold S. Kushner
Arthur Waskow’s unique voice, at once eloquent, musical, creative, and passionate, rings throughout Seasons of Our Joy, weaving together strands of Jewish life: the meaning of our ceremonies and celebrations; the spirituality of the individual; the essential fragility and wonder of the world entrusted to us; the mystical chains that bind together the generations; and, permeating all of that, Waskow’s powerful Jewish vision of peace and justice.
—Rabbi David Saperstein, director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
