Analysis of Judaism - Book Report/Review Example

Book Report #8 for Rabbi School of Learning Book Report #8 for Rabbi School As it is known, Judaism considers the holidays as its integral part. In particular, “Passover is one of the most important religious festivals in the Jewish calendar” (“Passover,” 2009). Holidays are of particular importance because they provide an opportunity to feel a connection with God. On the other hand, the authors of the book point out the fact that many students do not have the opportunity to get first-hand experience of celebrating the Jewish holidays. Often, students learn about the Jewish holidays and then they receive information about their meaning. The authors consider this practice wrong. According to them, the study of Jewish holidays should include their celebration or a rehearsal of their celebration. In other words, the authors believe that it is necessary to give students the opportunity to learn not only the theoretical but also the practical part of the Jewish holidays. Thus, the task of the book is to enable the students to learn the importance of the Jewish holidays as a result of understanding the practical implementation of these holidays. The authors draw attention to the fact that Judaism is a religion of action. In this regard, the holidays are playing a key role. They suggest a religious understanding of their significance within Judaism. Celebrating Jewish holidays involves a combination of two elements, namely the practical “we do” and the theoretical “we realize.” For this reason, experiencing the Jewish holidays pursues the following three objectives: 1) to help students experience the action, characters and words of each of the celebrations, 2) to promote students ability to reflect on their experiences and the values ​​of these experiments, and finally, 3) to promote the participation of families in the Jewish holidays. The authors regard their book as a result of the impact of experiential education. Its positive value is seen in the fact that it teaches students not only to celebrate the various Jewish holidays. It teaches students to reflect on their values ​​using their practical experience of the celebration. This way of understanding the Jewish holidays is seen as the most appropriate and effective within the framework of the need to realize the meaning of the Jewish holidays. In addition, the methodology of this book involves the active participation of parents and other close relatives of the students in understanding the Jewish holidays. The authors emphasize that the Jewish holidays involve the active participation of all members of a Jewish family. Moreover, the celebration of the Jewish holidays is considered in its close connection with the style of life of the Jews. In this respect, this book is viewed as a practical guide for teachers who are interested in the development of the religious consciousness of their students. This style of studying Jewish holidays involves close collaboration of teachers with “an adult educator (maybe a rabbi), a family educator, and a synagogue committee.” This book is designed to help teachers use a variety of techniques for effective learning by students of the Jewish holidays. In this regard, the role of families and a family educator as well as a synagogue committee is seen as fundamentally important. The book describes the celebration of many Jewish holidays such as Rosh ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simhat Torah, Shabbat, Purim and many others. The lesson plan involves a rehearsal of the celebration of a holiday. In other words, students are able to gain valuable knowledge about the procedure of celebrating Jewish holidays including various actions required by Jewish tradition. Moreover, the lessons familiarize students with the symbols and attributes of the holiday and the history of the individual personalities who had played an important role in the development of Judaism. In this regard, special attention is given to Shabbat. Rehearsal of this holiday assumes familiarity with all phases of its celebration, including its family celebration. In fact, family celebration is seen as extremely important because thanks to it the Sabbath finds its true meaning for Jews. Students not only learn about the religious significance of the holiday, they also become familiar with the distinctive attributes of this holiday, namely “tzedakah box and coins, candles and candlesticks, kiddush cup and grape juice, two hallot and cover” (Grishaver, 2011). In addition, familiarity with each of the holidays involves understanding by the students not only the individual elements and attributes of the holiday. It is about the meaning of the holiday for each of the students. Each student has the opportunity to express his/her personal experiences and feelings about the Jewish holidays. The practical part of the lesson focuses on the individual experience of students, for example “When I looked in the Torah I thought________________” (Grishaver, 2011). In turn, the book is a good helper for the teacher as it provides him with a variety of questions will determine the level of understanding and appreciation of the celebration of an individual holiday, for example YOU KNOW YOU’VE SUCCEEDED WHEN… • students explain why Shabbat starts at night. • students isolate the two reasons for Shabbat in the kiddush. • students act out the two Shabbat moments in history (Grishaver, 2011). For me as a rabbi, this book is of particular value. Firstly, it is an excellent opportunity to explore the Jewish holidays in their religious and historical significance. The book explains the religious prerequisites for the emergence of various holidays. In addition, the value of this book is that it provides a detailed and clear description of the actions required for the celebration of the Jewish holidays. No less attention is given to the symbols and attributes of the holidays as well as the religious figures mentioned in the holiday. Finally, everyone who reads this book can use his/her inner experience and feelings in his/her attempt to understand and realize the Jewish holidays. The value of this amazing book is that it does not deny the possibility of addressing to one’s personal experience. On the contrary, it calls for the use of one’s understanding of the essence of the holiday. The impact of this book on me is rather significant because it allowed me to realize that the comprehension of the Jewish holidays is possible primarily in their celebration by performing certain actions. References Grishaver, J. L. (2011). Experiencing the Jewish holidays. Teacher’s guide. Los Angeles: Torah Aura Productions. Passover. (2009). BBC. 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