toni@pertec.UUCP (Toni poper) (10/17/84)
I receintly picked up a book called "Seasons of Our Joy" which is
subtittled both "A Handbook of Jewish Festivals" and "A Celebration of
Modern Jewish Renewal." It is written by Arthur Waskow and published
by Bantam Books. (I am sure many of you are cringing by now). Again,
as one who grew up in a rather Reform household and is now discovering
the true depth and inner flowings of Judiasm, I found this book to be
invaluable as a starting point; a great way of stimulating shylah and
tshuvah.
The book is based on the cycle of the year and the festivals and holy
days that are an integral part. Each festival/holy day(s) has a
separate chapter divided up into several sections. These sections
include information on the underlying mood of the festival/holy day, a
history of why we celebrate the particular festival/holy day, a
section on the formal preparation period that leads up to the festival/
holy day(s), if there is one, and a section that explains how the
festival/holy day is observed in different Jewish communities. The
last section called "Go And Study" gives many additional sources of
information (usually other books) to dig even deeper into the origins
and/or meaning of the festival/holy day being discussed.
As an example, the section on Sukkot taught me many elements of the
festival that I had not known of before. I had bensched lulav before
and had known to wave it facing east to the different directions. I
did not know much about the lulav itself or the whys of waving beyond just
doing it. I had also never heard of Hoshanah Rabbah before. I wonder if
there is a connection with Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah (I would imagine
so).
"Seasons Of Our Joy" is a great source book for those who have an
interest simply in Jewish history, and for those of us who have an
interest in becomming more observant.
--
Toni M. Poper
pertec computer corp
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