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The most controversial prayer of the Jewish New Year—what it means, who wrote it, why we say it.

Over forty contributors who span three continents and all major Jewish denominations examine Un'taneh Tokef’s theology, authorship, and poetry through a set of lively commentaries. Men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets trace the history of Un’taneh Tokef and connect the prayer to its biblical and rabbinic roots. They wrestle with the personal and community impact of its deeply moving imagery, probe its haunting message of human mortality, and reflect on its call for sanctity, transformation and renewal.

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

 Merri Lovinger Arian

 Rabbi Tony Bayfield, DD

 Rabbi Sharon Brous

 Dr. Marc Brettler

 Dr. Erica Brown

 Rabbi Ruth Durchslag, PsyD

 Rabbi Edward Feinstein

 Rabbi Elyse D. Frishman

 Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhD

 Dr. Joel M. Hoffman

 Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur

 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer

 Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar

 Dr. Reuven Kimelman

 Rabbi Lawrence Kushner

 Rabbi Noa Kushner

 Rabbi Daniel Landes

 Rabbi Ruth Langer, PhD

 Liz Lerman

 Rabbi Asher Lopatin

 Catherine Madsen

 Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhD

 Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD

 Ruth Messinger

 Rabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhD

 Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum

 Rabbi Aaron Panken, PhD

 Rabbi Or N. Rose

 Rabbi Marc Saperstein, PhD

 Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

 Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMin

 Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek

 Rabbi David Stern

 Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD

 Rabbi Gordon Tucker, PhD

 Dr. Ellen M. Umansky

 Rabbi Avraham Weiss

 Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DD

 Dr. Ron Wolfson

 Rabbi David J. Wolpe

 Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel

 Dr. Wendy Zierler

Jewish Lights

Prayers of Awe

Who By Fire, Who By Water: Un'taneh Tokef

The most memorable prayer of the Jewish New Year—what it means, why we sing it, and the secret of its magical appeal.

Through a series of lively commentaries, over thirty contributors—men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets, spanning three continents and all major Jewish denominations—examine Kol Nidre's theology, usage, and deeply personal impact. They trace the actual history of the prayer and attempts through the ages to emend it, downplay it and even do away with it—all in vain. They explore why Kol Nidre remains an annual liturgical highlight that is regularly attended even by Jews who disbelieve everything the prayer says.

Prayers of Awe
An exciting new series that examines the High Holy Day liturgy to enrich the praying experience of everyone—whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time.

All These Vows

A varied and fascinating look at sin, confession and pardon in Judaism.

Through a series of lively introductions and commentaries, almost forty contributors—men and women, scholars, rabbis, theologians and poets, representing all Jewish denominations—examine the history of confession in Judaism, its roots in the Bible, its evolution in rabbinic and modern thought, and the very nature of confession for men and women today.

Featuring the traditional prayers—provided in the original Hebrew and a new and annotated translation—this third volume in the Prayers of Awe series explores the relevance of confession today in what is bound to be the most up-to-date, comprehensive and insightful reconsideration of sin and confession in Judaism.

We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism—Ashamnu and Al Chet (Prayers of Awe)

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

May God Remember: Memory and Memorializing in Judaism—Yizkor

Why be Jewish?

A fascinating dialogue across denominations of the High Holy Days and their message of Jewish purpose beyond mere survival.

Almost forty contributors from three continents—men and women, scholars and poets, rabbis and theologians, representing all Jewish denominations and perspectives—examine the tension between Israel as a particular People called by God, and that very calling as intended for a universalist end, furthering God's vision for all the world, not just for Jews alone. This balance of views arises naturally out of the prayers in the High Holy Day liturgy, coupled with insights from philosophy, literature, theology and ethics.

This fifth volume in the Prayers of Awe series provides the relevant traditional prayers in the original Hebrew, alongside a new and annotated translation. It explores the question "Why be Jewish?" in a time when universalist commitment to our planet and its people has only grown in importance, even as particularist questions of Jewish continuity have become ever more urgent.

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

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, DHL

Rabbi Tony Bayfield, CBE, DD

Rabbi Will Berkovitz

Dr. Annette M. Boeckler

Dr. Erica Brown

Rabbi Lawrence A. Englander, CM, DHL, DD

Rabbi Lisa Exler

Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand

Rabbi Laura Geller

Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, DHL

Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhD

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD

Rabbi Walter Homolka, PhD, DHL

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, DHL

Rabbi Reuven Kimelman, PhD

Dr. Mark L. Kligman

Rabbi Noa Kushner

Rabbi Daniel Landes

Rabbi Asher Lopatin

Catherine Madsen

Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhD

Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD

Ruth Messinger

Rabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhD

Rabbi Jay Henry Moses

Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum

Rabbi Jack Riemer

Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin, DMin

Rabbi Marc Saperstein, PhD

Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso, DMin

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, DMin

Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMin

Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD

Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DD

Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel

Dr. Wendy Zierler

All the World: Universalism, Particularism and the High Holy Days

An in-depth exploration of the complexities—and perhaps audacity—of naming the unnameable. Almost forty contributors from all Jewish denominations and from around the world wrestle with Avinu Malkeinu and the linguistic and spiritual conundrum it presents, asking, “How do we name God altogether, without recourse to imagery that defies belief?”