Description
Why are religious organizations on the decline? What changes have caused many of them to lose touch with modern spiritual needs? What does it take to remain relevant in today's world? Rabbis Joshua Stanton and Benjamin Spratt take on these and other critical questions facing religion today. And they have answers that are frank and yet surprisingly upbeat.
Nearly every facet of American Jewish life--and of American religious life in general--faces both disruption and great prospects for renewal. In every corner of our community, Jewish identity, wisdom, ritual, and power are being remixed and reimagined. As centralized authority declines, American Judaism moves and grows in a multitude of directions.
As technology reduces the importance of geographic boundaries, new opportunities for connection and new modes of exercising power emerge. New mixtures of ancient Jewish practice and modern needs are beginning to shape the renewal of American Judaism, widening access to Jewish wisdom and ritual, transforming Jewish consumers into Jewish co-creators, and building new networks of Jewish belonging.
The initial purposes that inspired much of the American Jewish infrastructure are now falling victim to their own success.
An emphasis on nostalgia and authenticity encourages us to mythologize the past and narrow our awareness of the present. A focus on buildings and centralized power by much of American Judaism reflects the realities of a century ago.
In understanding what keeps these organizations mired in the past, we can unearth a new purpose to unify the American Diaspora and guide it toward a new golden age.
The Foreword by Rev. Kaji Dousa, Senior Pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church, asks what a Black pastor can add to the work of two white rabbis, and the answer is that "cherished thinking needs a hard look everywhere. Particularly as we rightly orient our resources to protecting the good, to eliminating poverty that need not exist, to eradicating the hatred that threatens the very existence of our people--we need to look, together. Blacks and Jews and those living in the intersections therein will only survive and thrive with the survival and thriving of each other. So, of course, it makes sense that we will awaken, together."
The Afterword by Dr. Eboo Patel, Founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core cites the story of Rabbi Akiva, who "did not mourn when he saw the ruins of the Temple but rather was delighted. 'We always knew these stones must come down. In order to move forward, this had to fall apart first. Now we can begin.' All of our religions have history and theology like this. I think about the emergence of everything from Catholic orders to Sufi tariqas--renewal movements that changed the map of entire religions. We are at that same point again. Rabbis Stanton and Spratt propose we meet the moment with the generosity and power that are at the heart of all our religions. Their work gives me confidence that we can."
About the Author
Rabbi Joshua Stanton is the Spiritual co-Leader of East End Temple in New York and Senior Fellow of CLAL, the National Center of Learning and Leadership. Together with Rabbi Benjamin Spratt he writes a column for Religion News Service. Rabbi Benjamin Spratt is Senior Rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City. Rev Kaji Dousa is Senior Pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church in New York City. Dr. Eboo Patel is founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core.
Reviews
"A powerful antidote to the tired narratives of demise plaguing contemporary Jewish life in favor of a stirring exploration of what Jewish life could be." --Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism
"In making a compelling case for the vibrancy of American Jewry, "Awakenings" offers a long-overdue counterweight to the dire predictions about the future of the Jewish world's most important Diaspora community. Even as Rabbis Stanton and Spratt rightly celebrate Diaspora, they are keenly aware of the need to strengthen the connection between American Jews and Israel. Along with a vision of American Jewish spiritual renewal, they offer the hope of a deepening and mutually respectful relationship between the world's two largest Jewish communities. This book offers an essential roadmap to how we may maximize the unprecedented opportunities provided by a new era in Jewish history, whose implications we are just beginning to unpack." --Yossi Klein Halevi, Senior Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute; author of New York Times bestseller A Letter to My Palestinian Neighbor
"Challenges us to face the truth of it all and create anew. Such nourishment for our pluralistic and struggling world!" --Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director, Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
"The future of American Judaism looks bright, contend rabbis Stanton and Spratt in their strong debut. The authors argue that the "seeds of a new Jewish awakening" lie with "those cast to the margins of the American Diaspora" because of their gender, sexual orientation, or race. Stanton and Spratt highlight historical reinventions of Judaism that created new options for religious affiliation while facilitating the continuity of tradition, such as when Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan officiated the first modern bat mitzvah and helped found one of the first Jewish community centers in the early 20th century. Emphasizing the importance of accepting marginalized Jewish people as part of this renewal, the authors tell the stories of such contemporary figures as rabbi Mike Moskowitz, whose stand against Jewish day schools' expulsion of trans students cost him his job at a synagogue, and Eleyna Fugman, who created a Jewish leadership program to boost the voices of queer Jewish people and Jewish people of color. Stanton and Spratt only summarily address the obstacles that their inclusive definitions of Judaism face, such as the impact of the Israeli rabbinate's position on the matter, but nonetheless, this nuanced portrait of the state of American Judaism proffers a cogent vision of how to revitalize the faith. This is a persuasive case to maintain a positive outlook on the future of Judaism." --Publisher's Weekly
Book Information
ISBN 9781681150895
Author Rabbi Joshua Stanton
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Behrman House Inc.,U.S.
Publisher Behrman House Inc.,U.S.
