For Times Such As These - Outside of a Dog

Paperback

English language

Published Aug. 12, 2024 by Wayne State University Press.

ISBN:: 9780814350515

(1 review)

A revolutionary guide to Jewish practice rooted in social justice, feminism, and queer liberation.

This contemporary companion to the Jewish year cycle is not only a bellwether for radical Jews who want their lives and practice to be rooted in their political commitments but also an educational resource in Jewish tradition, holidays, and ritual. With a chapter for each month of the Hebrew calendar, For Times Such as These offers spiritual practices and holiday rituals rooted in movements for racial justice, decolonization, feminism, and queer and trans liberation. Each chapter opens with an invocation by liturgist and healer Dori Midnight and illuminated by artist Sol Weiss. Highlighting each month's spiritual and cultural qualities, Rabbi Ariana Katz and Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg summarize and provide commentary on Torah readings; examine the texts, histories, and contemporary customs of Jewish holidays; and offer questions to reflect on and engage spiritually with the month. This …

A revolutionary guide to Jewish practice rooted in social justice, feminism, and queer liberation.

This contemporary companion to the Jewish year cycle is not only a bellwether for radical Jews who want their lives and practice to be rooted in their political commitments but also an educational resource in Jewish tradition, holidays, and ritual. With a chapter for each month of the Hebrew calendar, For Times Such as These offers spiritual practices and holiday rituals rooted in movements for racial justice, decolonization, feminism, and queer and trans liberation. Each chapter opens with an invocation by liturgist and healer Dori Midnight and illuminated by artist Sol Weiss. Highlighting each month's spiritual and cultural qualities, Rabbi Ariana Katz and Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg summarize and provide commentary on Torah readings; examine the texts, histories, and contemporary customs of Jewish holidays; and offer questions to reflect on and engage spiritually with the month. This work provides a guide for creative action and ritual making throughout the seasons, an exploration of anti-Zionist Judaism, and spiritual-cultural invitation to embody and expand decolonial, anti-racist, queer, and feminist Jewish practice.

wsupress.wayne.edu/9780814350515/

2 editions

el dang reviewed For Times Such As These by Ariana Katz

Some good food for thought, but also somehow too much lecture and too much "exercise for the reader" at once

3 stars

I love the idea of this book, and I probably will continue referring to it each month, but I also found the execution a bit disappointing. The authors seem inconsistent on whether they're writing a 101 type introduction or an overview for people who just need some prompts and reminders.

The introduction tries to be a comprehensive survey of what we might concisely call modern social justice Judaism, but ends up being very long and kind of repetitive. It might be interesting for someone newer to that scene--might even have been revelatory for me 15 years ago--but it felt like well trodden ground to me.

The month by month description of festivals and rituals feels the most useful to me, though in this section I keep wanting more detail. The poems and illuminations that start each month in this section are also a delight.

There's a second month by month …

I love the idea of this book, and I probably will continue referring to it each month, but I also found the execution a bit disappointing. The authors seem inconsistent on whether they're writing a 101 type introduction or an overview for people who just need some prompts and reminders.

The introduction tries to be a comprehensive survey of what we might concisely call modern social justice Judaism, but ends up being very long and kind of repetitive. It might be interesting for someone newer to that scene--might even have been revelatory for me 15 years ago--but it felt like well trodden ground to me.

The month by month description of festivals and rituals feels the most useful to me, though in this section I keep wanting more detail. The poems and illuminations that start each month in this section are also a delight.

There's a second month by month section which briefly describes the month's Torah portions, which I was looking forward to but found the most frustrating. Time and time again it describes a parsha, mentions or alludes to how the text is problematic and must be wrestled with, but says nothing at all about how people do that wrestling. It feels like the opposite problem from the intro essay, and an echo of a general frustration I have with scriptures: without a framework for how to deal with the extremely problematic parts, I keep bouncing off trying to read it.