LET'S FIND OUT ABOUT JEWISH HOLIDAYS

by Martha & Charles Shapp ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 8, 1971

What the Jews share with all people constitutes a workable frame of reference -- for all people; what stands as unique unto them constitutes a source of pride, again for all people. Thus, secularly: ""The word 'holiday' really means 'holy day'. . . . In almost every religion there is a holy day to celebrate the day of rest, the beginning of the new year, the time for planting, and the time for harvesting. . . . (Also, the) special events in the history of that religion."" Condensed to just let's-find-out essence there follows the significance and attendant ritual of each, and the building-block sequence introduces terms in functional contexts so that Simchath Torah, for instance (note the use of Modern Hebrew), can be meaningfully understood as ""the only holiday in all the world that celebrates a book"" -- or so that Passover can be appreciated as ""the world's first freedom holiday."" On a topic chiefly represented at this level by parochial publications, craft books, and treatments of individual holidays, the Shapps offer a singular alternative perspective and handle it with exemplary care.

Pub Date: March 8, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Watts

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION