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When non-Orthodox Jews become frum (religious), they encounter much more than dietary laws and Sabbath prohibitions. They find themselves in the midst of a whole new culture, involving matchmakers, homemade gefilte fish, and Yiddish-influenced grammar. Becoming Frum explains how these newcomers learn Orthodox language and culture through their interactions with community veterans and other newcomers.

Judaism for Everyone presents the Jewish faith as a source of inspiration and meaning to people of all religions. Shmuley Boteach, the most unorthodox of orthodox rabbis, explores the Jewish and Biblical origins of civilization's seminal moral ideas and presents Judaism as a program of action to internalize these concepts. Turning his energy and erudition to the core teachings of Judaism itself, Rabbi Boteach has much to say.

Can there be rational examples of the compatibility between natural science and Judaism? This book offers a strikingly novel perspective on traditional and contemporary Judaic practices. For those with some Judaic knowledge, there are biological explanations in these chapters not seen elsewhere. For those well-versed in evolutionary theory, the authorse(tm) perspectives suggest new approaches to the scientific study of religion.

Rituals provide public solutions to some types of life crises. There are crises which beset individuals in modern and post-modern society which are not easily addressed by traditional rituals. However, rites have not disappeared in contemporary society, but have merely changed their guise. Focusing on the secular society of contemporary Israel, this collection examines rituals which were invented by communities and individuals in order to celebrate important turning points.

In Contested Rituals, Robin Judd shows that circumcision and kosher butchering became focal points of political struggle among the German state, its municipal governments, Jews, and Gentiles. In 1843, some German-Jewish fathers refused to circumcise their sons, prompting their Jewish communities to reconsider their standards for membership.

The bestselling guide to Jewish families for three centuries! The first ever English adaptation of the fourteenth century illustrated book of Jewish life and practice recovered and revised for today's Jewish family.

Often overlooked as routine or even dismissed as odd customs, ritual in its many guises demands attention as a central strategy for embodying experience. Like other groups, Jews rely on ritual to provide an inventory of social meanings and a context for negotiating the challenges of everyday life. Ritual for Jews has historically carried special meanings for conveying what is Jewish about Jewishness.

Scholars tend to call them #147;rites of passage.” Most people prefer to speak of them as life-cycle events or milestones. Jews like to speak of simchas, when there’s something (a birth, bar or bat mitzvah, or a wedding) to celebrate. These are key moments for individuals and for the families and communities of which they are a part.

"In this enlightening exploration of the Passover Seder, Rabbi Nathan Laufer uncovers the hidden meaning of the Seder's rituals and customs for everyone interested in or participating in a Seder.