Customer Reviews

Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit

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This book is a good general guide to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I especially liked (1) Apisdorf's ability to draw a distinction between the two holidays and what you should get from them: Rosh Hashanah as the forest (i.e. a general overview of life and Jewish theology), Yom Kippur as the trees (i.e. a detailed accounting of one's sins); (2) his brief guide to the prayers for each holiday. One minor quibble: his concept of what exactly we have to repent for. He talks about the sort of sins one either commits or abandons completely, but the sort of minor social sins that most non-criminal people commit most often (e.g. gossip) may be more amenable to gradual, marginal improvement. If you liked this book, I would recommend a couple of others as follow-ups: (1) The Rosh Hashanah Anthology by Phillip Goodman (an older book, probably more accessible in libraries than in bookstores), (2) the Book of Jewish Values by Joseph Telushkin (for those of you who have difficulty remembering our sins over the past year).

What a great book - even if you aren't sure what kind of Jew you are. Definitly a must for everyone. Apisdorf reveals incredible sensitivity and insight. Amazon.com asks that I limit my words to 1,000, but frankly 35,000 would still not adequalty describe just how strongly I feel about this book.