May God Remember
Memory and Memorializing in Judaism—Yizkor
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
An engaging and sobering look at memorializing in Judaism and why memory—ours and God's—is so central to people.
Through a series of lively introductions and commentaries, over thirty contributors—men and women, scholars, rabbis, theologians and poets, representing all Jewish denominations—examine the history and ideas behind Yizkor, the Jewish memorial service, and this fascinating chapter in Jewish piety.
Featuring the traditional prayers—provided in the original Hebrew and a new and annotated translation—this fourth volume in the Prayers of Awe series explores the profound theological questions at the core of this service and our own humanity: What happens to us after we die? Is there really an afterlife? Does our fate after death depend on the goodness with which we have pursued our earthly life? And more.
Prayers of Awe: A multi-volume series designed to explore the High Holy Day liturgy and enrich the praying experience for everyone—whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time.
Contributors:
Yoram Bitton
Dr. Annette M. Boeckler
Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler
Rabbi Lawrence A. Englander, CM, DHL
Rabbi Edward Feinstein
Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof, PhD (z"l)
Dr. Eric L. Friedland
Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, DHL
Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhD
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD
Rabbi Walter Homolka, PhD, DHL
Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur
Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar
Rabbi Daniel Landes
Catherine Madsen
Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhD
Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD
Rabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhD
Rabbi Jay Henry Moses
Rabbi Aaron D. Panken, PhD
Rabbi Jakob J. Petuchowski, PhD (z”l)
Rabbi Jack Riemer
Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
Rabbi David Stern
Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD
Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DD
Dr. Ron Wolfson
Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel
Dr. Wendy Zierler
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
On four holidays Yom Kippur, Passover, Succoth, and Shavuoth Ashkenazi Jews participate in a memorial service known as Yizkor . Prayers are recited in remembrance of parents and other deceased relatives. Often, Holocaust martyrs and those who died in defense of Israel are also memorialized. Hoffman, professor of liturgy at Hebrew Union College and prolific author, has brought together 30 scholars who have contributed erudite essays on the history, theology, and contemporary understanding of Yizkor. An annotated and translated version of the prayer is presented with appendices offering its music and the Sephardic version. Aside from Hoffman's learned introduction, the most impressive part of the book consists of 21 essays in the section "Interpretations and Reflections." The authors wrestle with such profound questions as what happens after death, the purpose of Yizkor, mortality, dynamics of death, and remembering. Penetrating ideas about death and dying are thoughtfully explored, making this a book of use to others beside the Ashkenazi Jews who recite Yizkor.
