For anyone who has ever wondered how to make wine, crochet a kippah, locate a Jewish film, start a Jewish library, or bring the Messiah, this exciting collection of far-ranging topics can help any Jew--those steeped in tradition or those just discovering Judaism--to become personally involved in the many aspects of Jewish ritual life, customs, cooking, crafts, and creation.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Charming and helpful:
The Jewish Catalogue is certainly indicative of the Jewish renewal movement fueled by the sixties counter culture. It was written to reinvest "spirit" or intention "kavanah" into Jewish practices by young people who were dismayed by the increasingly ossified nature of institutional, organized Judaism. So the Jewish Catalogue contains such gems as how to make your own eternal light, ner tamid, out of a can; how to macramé a Torah scroll cover; the proper method of tying your own tallit; how to make a... more info
Quaintly antiquated.:
I use this constantly as a Jew. Get the original, not the newer printings. The original was done in the '70's and it just has this very open, dowhatchalike feel. Everything is covered from living Kosher to Shabbat to the Shoah. It's a 'how-to' manual for the Reformers. Good things abound. Take what you like and leave the rest.
I had this book and the second edition years ago:
Surprisingly, I found this book and it's second book in the series to be helpful. It's a compendium of Jewish culture and knowledge and I, who grew up in a somewhat "Jewishly deprived" neighborhood in LI, NY found that the Jewish Catalogs managed to connect me to what was going on elsewhere. I think someone should update these books and bring them up to par in the modern age.
I learned about resources and people like the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, from this book and some of these resources as well... more info
Whole Earth Catalog for Jews!:
It's a lot of fun and good info, now getting dated.
