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Ben Yehuda Press, Jewish books here & everywhere
@benyehudapress.bsky.social
Independent Jewish books. We publish Judaism-as-it-is-becoming, not only Judaism-as-it-has-been. Out now: Judaism Disrupted by Rabbi Michael Strassfeld!
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

TURNING THE PAGES is a window into the past, and a discussion across time of how Jewish lives in America have changed and remained the same. It's available from BYP: www.benyehudapress.c...www.amazon.com/Turni... 6/6

cover of TURNING THE PAGES; cover is a black and white head and shoulder gold tinted photo of Singer with short slicked back hair, round glasses, a slight mutached, jacket and tie.
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

In her response, Rabbi Claudia Kreiman talks about her own experience as a parent and a working mother adapting Jewish ethics to her own parenting experience. 5/6

As a parent, I want to do everything possible to help my children to grow and become more of who they are in the world, which might not always be exactly what I hoped for or imagined. As you also write, parents are, in fact, people; I have surely felt my share of loss, frustration, disappointment, and anger when my children do not make decisions or cultivate skills or interests that I value. Regardless, I have an obligation to keep them safe and give them the best life with a healthy mix of boundaries and freedom. I am not torn between what you call the “traditional view of parenting” and the “modern view of parenting.” Instead, I choose to shape my role as a parent by applying and adapting Jewish tradition to modern life.
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

One provocatively titled sermon is "Are Parents People?" In it, Signer contrasts the Biblical vision of strict parental control with the permissive child-centered contemporary family of the 20s. (He decides the best approach is somewhere in the middle.) 4/6

Unfortunately, in an attempt to abolish the tyranny of the parent, we seem to have run the danger of encouraging the selfishness of the children. It is too bad that there is this feeling that we must have a choice of one or the other and that it is a matter of being under the dominion of one of two necessary evils. But is this the only way? Is there a need for our going to extremes??
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

We don't know a great deal about Signer's personal life, but his sermons suggest his passion for literature, for Zionism, and for Jewish life in America. His sermons of the 20s were delivered in a prosperous time, before the decimation of European Jewry. 3/6

Most of the sermons presented in this book were written in the 1920s, a time of relative prosperity and optimism. Signer’s sermons contain many of the themes prevalent in sermons today: the importance of ethical behavior, the dangers of becoming too caught up in work and mindless entertainment, coping with a world that seemed to be increasingly complicated and busy. Yet, the specter of the Holocaust and the decimation of European Jewish life does not haunt the background of his sermons as it so often does for us.
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

The collection includes sermons from 1924-1949, during the period when Signer was leading congregations in NY, PA, and MA. The book includes contemporary responses to each sermon from rabbis, professors, and writers. 2/6

Sermons or derashot are a wonderful window into the past, from Leviticus Rabbah in fifth century Eretz Yisrael to Yehoshua Ibn Shuib in 14th century Spain to Rabbi Isador Signer in 20th century America. Rabbi Singer was a very erudite rabbi, fully at home in the Bible, the Talmud, the poetry of Ibn Gabirol, and the contemporary thought of Bertrand Russell. Through his sermons on a wide range of topics, we learn what bothered him and his congregants as Jewish Americans ca. 1925-1950. Through the fascinating dialogue with Jews of today, especially with his own descendants, we see that “there is nothing new under the sun.” Our attitudes might have changed, but the challenges of how to be a Jew in the modern world are similar. —Rabbi Dr. David Golinkin, President, The Schechter Institutes, Inc., Jerusalem
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A new title from BYP available now; Aliza Arzt's collection of her grandfather's sermons, TURNING THE PAGES: CONVERSATIONS THROUGH TIME WITH RABBI ISADOR SIGNER. www.benyehudapress.c... 1/6

cover of TURNING THE PAGES; cover is a black and white head and shoulder gold tinted photo of Singer with short slicked back hair, round glasses, a slight mutached, jacket and tie.
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

Eisen will discuss his book & his theological engagement with the High Holy days at 1 PM EST today in the JTS webinar series. Register at the link...& purchase the book from BYP! Registration link: inspired.jtsa.edu/ev...www.benyehudapress.c... 3/3

cover of SEEKING THE HIDING GOD A PERSONAL THEOLOGICAL ESSAY by Arnold Eisen author TAKING HOLD OF TORAH and RETHINKING MODERN JUDAISM, former chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary of America cover image is abstracted watercolor landscape; top portion is more blues, middle is shifting shapes of green, bottom is more orange and greens.
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

SEEKING THE HIDING GOD engages with issues of faith, doubt, and redemption in relation to Yom Kippur and the season of atonement. 2/3

Adam: you confessed that, sitting beside me at Yom Kippur ser- vices, you were not always sure that God is out there, let alone that God hears prayers for forgiveness and sometimes answers them. I’ve occasionally had that doubt too (we’ve talked about this, between services), but it usually passes in a matter of days or weeks, and some- times dissipates during Yom Kippur itself. I’ll try to explain how and why that happens in the chapters that follow this exchange of letters. The words and music somehow invite me to put aside doubt about whether God is there to hear or answer prayer. It helps that many of the most important parts of the Yom Kippur liturgy are sung in three-quarter time. The waltz offers comfort. I sway to it contentedly, as Jews have done for centuries.
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

BYP author Dr. Arnold Eisen is conducting a webinar TODAY, FROM 1-2 PM EST. He'll be discussing his book SEEKING THE HIDING GOD. Register for free at the link: inspired.jtsa.edu/ev... 1/3

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30: Book Talk: Seeking the Hiding God: A Personal Theological Essay Dr. Arnold Eisen, Chancellor Emeritus and Professor of Jewish Thought, JTS
JTS HIGH HOLIDAY WEBINAR SERIES FALL 5785 (2024) September 16, 23, and 30 ~ 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET Join JTS in preparing for this year’s High Holiday season with three meaningful and enriching sessions.
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BYbenyehudapress.bsky.social

Dr. Arnold Eisen, author of SEEKING THE HIDING GOD: A PERSONAL THEOLOGICAL ESSAY, is reading TOMORROW at the Jewish theological seminary, 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET Register here for free: inspired.jtsa.edu/ev...www.amazon.com/Seeki...

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30: Book Talk: Seeking the Hiding God: A Personal Theological Essay Dr. Arnold Eisen, Chancellor Emeritus and Professor of Jewish Thought, JTS
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Ben Yehuda Press, Jewish books here & everywhere
@benyehudapress.bsky.social
Independent Jewish books. We publish Judaism-as-it-is-becoming, not only Judaism-as-it-has-been. Out now: Judaism Disrupted by Rabbi Michael Strassfeld!
453 followers414 following375 posts
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