San Antonio College Library

"From the perspective of traditional Judaism, how can we understand the varieties of twentieth-century Jewish practice? How should believing Jews relate to people of other faiths? Hartman argues for a covenantal appreciation of the rebirth of the State of Israel which allows all people of different faith commitments to feel at home and respected within the social and political realities of Israel." "Anyone concerned with and committed to the future...

Naomi, the brilliant and pious daughter of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, finds herself at a crossroads of life choices when her mother dies and she is expected to immediately marry her father's prodigy. Distressed yet determined, she begs that her father allow her one year to study at a women's religious seminary in Safed, the birthplace of the Kabala, in order to prepare herself for the sacrifices she will make as a wife. Her father relents, and Naomi's...

"Set in the Mea Sherim quarter of Jerusalem, an encalve of the utlra Orthodox, Kadosh explores a hermetic world almost never seen on the screen. Here for ten years the pious Rivka has devoted herself to her husband Meir, but their marriage remains childless. Presumed barren, she is rejected in her community, which prizes children above all else. The story that follows relates the harrowing fate of Rivka, and also her beloved sister Malka -- in love...

Bibliography: p. 217-218.

Three secular women, Myriam Klotz, Rus Burdman, and Marcia Jarmel, journey into the Orthodox Jewish world. As they grapple or embrace, their experiences throw pat answers about tradition, community, and meaning into relief.

Freedman illuminates the forces that have undermined the traditional peaceful coexistence among Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionst branches and secular and unaffiliated Jews. As he weighs the arguments of both extremes, Freedman comes to the controversial conclusion that the Jewish-American community is headed for a Reformation, a permanent fracture of one faith into many. "At a time when American Jews should feel more secure and...

A critical history of how religious leaders have influenced the practice of Judaism to serve personal conceptions critiques Orthodox Judaism's doctrines concerning marriage and divorce, conversion, and women's rights.