Non­fic­tion

For Times Such as These: A Rad­i­cal’s Guide to the Jew­ish Year

  • From the Publisher
September 1, 2023

This con­tem­po­rary com­pan­ion to the Jew­ish year cycle is not only a bell­wether for rad­i­cal Jews who want their lives and prac­tices to be root­ed in their polit­i­cal com­mit­ments but also an edu­ca­tion­al resource in Jew­ish tra­di­tion, hol­i­days, and rit­u­al. With a chap­ter for each month of the Hebrew cal­en­dar, For Times Such as These offers spir­i­tu­al prac­tices and hol­i­day rit­u­als root­ed in move­ments for racial jus­tice, decol­o­niza­tion, fem­i­nism, and queer and trans lib­er­a­tion. Each chap­ter opens with an invo­ca­tion by litur­gist and heal­er Dori Mid­night and illu­mi­nat­ed by artist Sol Weiss. High­light­ing each month’s spir­i­tu­al and cul­tur­al qual­i­ties, Rab­bi Ari­ana Katz and Rab­bi Jes­si­ca Rosen­berg sum­ma­rize and pro­vide com­men­tary on Torah read­ings; exam­ine the texts, his­to­ries, and con­tem­po­rary cus­toms of Jew­ish hol­i­days; and offer ques­tions to reflect on and engage spir­i­tu­al­ly with the month. This work pro­vides a guide for cre­ative action and rit­u­al-mak­ing through­out the sea­sons, an explo­ration of anti-Zion­ist Judaism, and a spir­i­tu­al-cul­tur­al invi­ta­tion to embody and expand decolo­nial, anti-racist, queer, and fem­i­nist Jew­ish practice.

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