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Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews Can Transform the American Synagogue Author: Sidney Schwarz $19.95 |
Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews Can Transform the American Synagogue |
Editorial Review:
Like countless others of their generation, many contemporary American Jews have abandoned the religion of their birth to search for a spiritual home in other traditions. Some find their way back to the faith of their heritage, but why do so many find that the synagogue has not met their needs?
In this illuminating examination of Judaism's future, Rabbi Sidney Schwarz offers a penetrating analysis of the American Jewish community, challenging American synagogues to respond to a generation of seekers and to satisfy the spiritual hunger of the "new American Jew." Schwarz profiles four innovative synagogues--one from each of the major movements of Judaism--that have had extraordinary success with its approach to congregational life and presents practical ways to replicate their success. The result is a framework for a new model--the synagogue community--and its promise to transform our understanding of the synagogue and its potential for modern Judaism.
Highlighting specific strategies to transform existing congregations or to create new ones, Finding a Spiritual Home is an eloquent and powerful call to spiritual seekers to explore the riches of the Jewish tradition. With compelling accounts of Jews who "came home" to Judaism, this inspiring guide conveys a message of hope for every Jew longing for connection, transcendence, and purpose--for every Jew who seeks a spiritual home.
Finding a Spiritual Home promises to explain "how a new generation of Jews can transform the American synagogue." The book delivers on this promise by describing the lives of four thriving synagogues whose theological orientations range from Reform to Orthodox. Undoubtedly, Finding a Spiritual Home addresses some burning questions about the future of American Judaism: fully 35 percent of ethnic Jews no longer identify themselves with Judaism, author Sidney Schwarz writes. The book begins with a historical overview of synagogue life in America, then describes the spiritual needs that various generations of American Jews presently experience, and finally offers a prescription for regeneration of synagogue life.
Throughout the book, Schwarz's arguments expertly interweave narratives of individual and communal religious life, taken from the four synagogues in whose innovations Schwarz finds hope for American Judaism. These religious communities have attracted large numbers of worshipers with programs that seem both radical and commonsensical--"establishing public service opportunities such as a Jewish version of Habitat for Humanity," for instance, or encouraging worshipers to write their own prayer books. Schwarz carefully describes the impact such innovations have on synagogue members, citing interviews with worshipers whose enthusiasm jumps off the page: "The Judaism I live is about choosing life," one says. His book will likely inspire more American Jews to make that same choice. --Michael Joseph Gross
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 
Profiling four synagogues: 
Finding A Spiritual Home: How A New Generation Of Jews Can Transform The American Synagogue by Rabbi Sidney Schwarz is an informed and informative examination of a new synagogue model for the contemporary American synagogue community. Profiling four synagogues (each of which sports unique innovations and each of which is connected to one of the major movements of Judaism), Finding A Spiritual Home is a thought provoking and far-reaching discussion of what it means to congregate together and share...
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reasonably well done: 
I concur with most of the praise of other reviewers, though as someone who willingly chose a megashul I am probably a bit less dissatisfied with ordinary synagogues than they are. A caveat or two: (1) Schwarz seems to be writing for a distinctly "new agey" audience -- baby boomers, politically ultraliberal, oriented towards mysticism rather than learning. I suspect that many unaffilated Jews aren't the type of would-be congregant that Schwarz is most interested in. (2) I don't think Schwarz emphasizes...more info
Interesting, Thought Provoking and Fun:
The book focuses on issues faced by many of our generation. One can easily relate to the searching and the questions posed by the people portrayed.
The clear and readable style of writing, along with "down to earth" anecdotes makes it an enjoyable read.
Recommended for all those trying to figure out how to enjoy a Jewish spiritual experience in today's world.
Book won't take U.S. synagogue transformation far enough: 
By Alan. D. AbbeyVirtual Jerusalem Senior News and Business Editor
From the title alone, it is clear that Rabbi Sydney Schwarz is taking on a big topic in his book, "Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews Can Transform the American Synagogue." He offers a perceptive analysis of the current malaise affecting American synagogues (of all denominations, although he focuses on the less stringent ones) and some useful suggestions.
Nonetheless, in the end, he falls
short of offering...
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