A well-intentioned, heartfelt plea for fairness, but one unlikely to change minds.
A lawyer and retired soldier argues that Orthodox Jewish women should be fully included as rabbis, cantors and minyan members.
In this short work, attorney Krivcher, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a member of a Reform Jewish congregation, pleads for fairness for Orthodox Jewish women, who face religious participation restrictions that Orthodox Jewish men do not. He describes a catalyzing episode after his father’s funeral, when mourners decided to form a minyan, or a quorum of members for communal worship. “Soft whispers circulated as heads were counted in a search for the magic formula of ten men….Despite my pleas for flexibility, I was dismissively advised that none of the women present would be counted.” He and his wife left rather than support such marginalization. Today, the author attends a Reform temple with a female cantor and assistant rabbi. Krivcher comes by his commitment to fairness via his background in civil rights. To many readers, fairness may seem like a self-evident good, but an Orthodox Jew might ask: What does fairness, or a woman’s natural ability, have to do with following God’s laws? The body of laws, or halakhah, governing Jewish life might be up for argument, but Krivcher refuses to engage in “biblical or liturgical analysis, as I hope to avoid becoming mired in…several centuries of interpretation.” But to Torah-observant Jews, that’s an important discussion, and as a result, Krivcher’s plea may fall on deaf ears. Interestingly, the author hardly mentions feminists within Orthodoxy, assuming that most Orthodox women suffer from low self-esteem; instead, he calls on Orthodox men to lead change. He does note that some women are trying to bring about change in the context of halakhah, but again, he has little patience with the subject—to the detriment of achieving his aim. This short work is lengthened some with extras, including the text of a Martin Luther King speech.
A well-intentioned, heartfelt plea for fairness, but one unlikely to change minds.Pub Date: May 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1484811580
Page Count: 160
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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