Opening up multidimensional ideas, values, and practices of Humanistic Judaism to Jews of all backgrounds and beliefs, Contemporary Humanistic Judaism collects the movement’s most important texts for the first time and answers the oft-raised question, “How can you be Jewish and celebrate Judaism if you don’t believe in God?” with new vision.
Part 1 (“Beliefs and Ethics”) examines core positive beliefs—in human agency, social progress, ethics without supernatural authority, sources of natural transcendence, and Humanistic Jews’ own authority to remake their traditional Jewish inheritance on their own terms “beyond God.” Part 2 (“Identity”) discusses how Humanistic Judaism empowers individuals to self-define as Jews, respects people’s decisions to marry whom they love, and navigates the Israel-Diaspora relationship. Part 3 (“Culture”) describes how the many worlds of Jewish cultural experience—art, music, food, language, heirlooms—ground Jewishness and enable endless exploration. Part 4 (“Jewish Life”) applies humanist philosophy to lived Jewish experience: reimagined creative education (where students choose passages meaningful to them for their bar, bat, or b mitzvah [gender-neutral] celebrations), liturgy, life cycle, and holiday celebrations (where Hanukkah emphasizes the religious freedom to believe as one chooses).
Jewish seekers, educators, and scholars alike will come to appreciate the unique ideologies and lived expressions of Humanistic Judaism.
Table of Contents
Preface: Introducing This Volume
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Judaism Beyond God, Torah, and Israel
Part 1. Beliefs and Ethics
Introduction
1. The Jewish Experience
Sherwin Wine, “Jewish History–Our Humanist Perspective” (1985)
2. The God Question
Sherwin Wine, “Judaism Without God” (1983)
Yaakov Malkin, “God as a Literary Figure” (2007)
3. Positive Humanism
Sherwin Wine, “Believing Is Better than Non-Believing” (1986)
Greg Epstein, “What is Humanism?” (2009)
Peter Schweitzer, “Purpose” (2022)
4. Ethics
Daniel Friedman, “After Halakha, What?” (1996)
Adam Chalom, “Are There Jewish Values?” (2009)
Amos Oz, “Jews Argue with God” (2017)
Denise Handlarski, “Truth and Reconciliation on Race” (2016)
5. Spirituality
Yaakov Malkin, “What Makes the Secular Need Spirituality” (2003)
Judith Seid, “A Secular Spirituality” (2001)
Terry Toll, “Lighting Candles” (1994)
Humanistic Judaism Facebook Discussion on Kippot (2020)
Part 2. Identity
Introduction
6. Jewish Self-Definition
Sherwin Wine, “Kinship” (1985)
International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, “Statement on ‘Who is a Jew’”
(1988)
Association of Humanistic Rabbis, “Statement on Conversion/Adoption” (2005)
Karen Levy, “Changing Perceptions, Changing Realities” (2002)
7. Welcoming and Inclusion
Tamara Kolton, “Healing the Jewish People Through Pluralism” (2005)
Jeffrey Falick, “Dancing at Two Weddings” (2014)
Miriam Jerris, “Gate Openers: Reaching Out to the Next Generation of Children from
Intermarriage” (2017)
Society for Humanistic Judaism, “Radical Inclusion” (2021)
8. Israel/Zionism and Diaspora
Sherwin Wine, “Being a Secular Humanistic Jew in the Diaspora” (1993)
Shulamit Aloni, “One Hundred Years of Zionism, Fifty Years of Statehood” (2000)
Tzemah Yoreh, “Constructive Conversations About Israel” (2019)
Part 3. Culture
Introduction
9. Cultural Judaism
Amos Oz, “A Full Cart or an Empty One? Thoughts on Jewish Culture” (1983)
Yehuda Bauer, “Judaism is…” (1995)
Daniel Friedman, “Recovering Our Stories” (1995)
Sivan Malkin Maas, “Cultural Zionism: Reclaiming Convention” (2009)
10. A Cultural Jewish Canon
Julian Levinson, “People of the (Secular) Book” (2009)
Jodi Kornfeld, “Of Course There’s Jewish Art!” (2022)
Jonathan Friedmann, “Music By, For, As Humanistic Jews” (2023)
Nathan Englander, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank” (2012)
Etgar Keret, “My Lamented Sister” (2016)
Nicole Krauss, “Adding to the Jewish Story” (2017)
Part 4. Jewish Life
Introduction
11. Living Humanistic Judaism
Eva Goldfinger, “Is Judaism Worth Preserving?” (1995)
Society for Humanistic Judaism Statement of Values (2021)
12. Liturgy
Marcia Falk, “Honoring Torah” (1996)
Adam Chalom, “Our Quarterback, Our King: Two Problems with Liberal Theology”
(2007)
Adam Chalom, Jodi Kornfeld, Jeremy Kridel, Peter Schweitzer, Frank Tamburello, “Liturgical Readings” (2019)
Yehuda Amichai, “A Man Doesn’t Have Time” (1986) and “The Waters Cannot Return in Repentance” (1986)
Peter Schweitzer, “The Passover Symbols” (2006)
13. Life Cycle
Leadership Conference of Secular and Humanistic Jews, “Statement on Circumcision and Jewish Identity” (2002)
Camila Grunberg, “The Meaning of Life” (2016)
Association of Humanistic Rabbis, “Ketubah Texts” (1999)
Sherwin Wine, “Sitting Shiva” (1992)
14. Education
Mitchell Silver, “Treasures of the Legacy” (1998)
Ruth Duskin Feldman, “Jewish Education and the Future” (1991)
Sherwin Wine, “The Torah” (1985)
Denise Handlarski, “The Torah, the Ten Commandments, and Us” (2019)
Society for Humanistic Judaism Curriculum for Children’s Education, “Philosophy” (2013)
Afterword: Choosing To Live as a Secular Humanistic Jew
Go Forth and Learn
Appendix: American Jews’ Identity and Beliefs
Notes
Bibliography
Source Acknowledgements
Index
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