A rare work on Jewish liturgy that offers as much to rabbis and cantors as it does their lay congregations.
A group of prominent American rabbis reimagine the haftarah’s place in the Jewish liturgy in this collection edited by Symons.
Derived from the Hebrew word meaning conclusion, the haftarah is the final word of sacred text read or chanted before the Torah scroll is returned to the ark during Sabbaths and festivals. Its passages typically come from the Old Testament’s second half, such as Isaiah 58, in which the ancient prophet calls out the hypocrisy of Israelites for not practicing the virtues they preach. The haftarah was originally designed to be “liturgically radical,” urging listeners to “disrupt society’s oppressive hypocrisy and call attention to the plight of all those who suffer,” as Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner says in this book’s foreword; however, many rabbis are familiar with looking out into their congregations as “eyes glaze over during the haftarah reading, which should be summoning us to action.” The idea of this volume, which features roughly 150 contributors, was born during a national conference in 2018 among Reform Jews who sought to direct the moral impulses of their religion to contemporary issues, including racial justice, voting rights, gun violence, reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, and mass incarceration. It begins with introductory essays about prophetic readings and the origins of the haftarah; the second part provides contemporary interpretations of standard Reform haftarah texts, and the third and fourth parts offer alternative voices to address issues that correspond to the traditional Jewish calendar and American Jewish calendar. The latter includes “Brown v. Board of Education in International Context,” by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for International Women’s Day and “Invisibility in Academe” by Adrienne Rich for the Transgender Day of Visibility. Vetted by an editorial advisory committee of more than a dozen rabbis and Jewish scholars, this is a well-researched work that boasts over 500 endnotes. Under the experienced eye of Symons, the editorial board’s chair, it offers scholarly bona fides and an accessible writing style that’s sensitive to contemporary liturgical needs.
A rare work on Jewish liturgy that offers as much to rabbis and cantors as it does their lay congregations.Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9780881233704
Page Count: 562
Publisher: Central Conference of American Rabbis Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
