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Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life
 
 
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Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life [Paperback]

Lawrence A. Hoffman (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 15, 2006
Synagogues are under attack, and for good reasons. But they remain the religious backbone of Jewish continuity, especially in America, the sole Western industrial or post-industrial nation where religion and spirituality continue to grow in importance. To fulfill their mandate for the American future, synagogues need to replace old and tired conversation with a new way of talking about their goals, their challenges and their vision for the future.

In this provocative clarion call for synagogue transformation, Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman summarizes a decade of research with Synagogue 2000--a pioneering experiment that reconceptualized synagogue life--providing fresh ways for synagogues to think as they undertake the exciting task of global change.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must read for lay leaders, professionals, congregants--anyone truly interested in doing synagogue in a new way.... Synthesizes powerful ideas from sociology, economics, history, physics and other disciplines ... gives us a distinctively Jewish take on synagogue life. If you want to change the conversation about synagogue transformation and have something radically meaningful to say, this is the book for you." -- Lee M. Hendler, author, The Year Mom Got Religion: One Woman's Mid-Life Journey into Judaism; past president, Chizuk Amuno Congregation, Baltimore

"An important study.... A powerful and persuasive case for rethinking synagogues as sacred communities, above all else." -- Prof. Jack Wertheimer, provost, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America

"Challenges many of our assumptions about synagogue and Jewish communal life, and offers a new lens through which we can examine those changes that may be necessary.... When the glorious history of American synagogues in the twenty-first century is written, there is no doubt that Hoffman will be acknowledged as one of the primary architects of its transformation, revitalization and health." -- Rabbi Daniel Freelander, vice president, Union for Reform Judaism

"The first book to address the practical issues of transformation for contemporary American synagogues. A must read not just for synagogues but for all congregations.... Uniquely balances the academic with the practical. Those looking for `how do I do it' best practices will find plenty of nuts and bolts here." -- Rabbi Aaron Spiegel, Indianapolis Center for Congregations, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

More than any other institution, the synagogue has sustained American Jewry. The Jewish future depends on it. But to thrive rather than just survive, synagogues are challenged to break free from the mold of ethnic enclave and re-emerge as a center of the sacred, where creativity, spirituality and ethics are central.

In this probing and powerful exploration of the future of the American synagogue, Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman holds that we make progress not by arguing better but by speaking differently. As a think-it-yourself challenge rather than a do-it-yourself manual, Hoffman's honest and compelling analysis of synagogues provides an entirely new set of concepts to facilitate transformative conversation among synagogue boards, denominational leaders, seminarians, cantors, rabbis, executive directors, educators and all who make synagogues their passion.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 225 pages
  • Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing (June 15, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1580232485
  • ISBN-13: 978-1580232487
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #798,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A passionate call to reawaken core beliefs and life practices, December 9, 2006
This review is from: Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life (Paperback)
Written by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life is a daring call for transformation in the modern synagogue, particularly the American synagogue. Chapters discuss means of reconceptualizing synagogue life in order to preserve Judaism as a religion that is taken seriously, rather than as a lingering ethnic nostalgia with trimmings of outward demonstrations and ritual observance. Hoffman acknowledges that the American synagogue is not currently in danger of falling into disuse, but compares synagogues to public schools in that they could be and do so much more than they are. A passionate call to reawaken core beliefs and life practices, and reexamine the meaning of living and passing on the Jewish faith.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading, March 18, 2010
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This review is from: Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life (Paperback)
This author hit the nail on the head in description of modern synagogue quandries and the approach to them. Although discussions are occasionally distracting when off the focus of the chapter, they lend color to the book. A must read for anyone with a vested interest in synagogue life.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
I write detective stories, not arguments to a jury. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sacred culture, pincer thinking, yirat shamayirn, limited liability communities, synagogue transformation, synagogues need, synagogue life, sacred community, regulative rules, most synagogues, rote response, synagogue members
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, High Holy Day, Jewish People, American Jews, Orthodox Jews, Jewish Journey Groups, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Yom Kippur, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, European Jews, American Judaism, World War, United States, Holy of Holies, Abraham Maslow, Saddleback Church, K'nesset Israel, Sacred System, Concord Hotel, Liz Lerman, Emile Durkheim, Friday Night Live, Hebrew Union College
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