{"product_id":"awakenings-american-jewish-transformations-in-identity-leadership-and-belonging-hardcover","title":"Awakenings: American Jewish Transformations in Identity, Leadership, and Belonging - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRabbi Joshua Stanton\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eRabbi Benjamin Spratt\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eRev Kaji Dousa\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Strong debut . . . this nuanced portrait of the state of American Judaism proffers a cogent vision of how to revitalize the faith.\" --Publisher's Weekly \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy are religious organizations on the decline?\u003c\/b\u003e What changes have caused many of them to lose touch with modern spiritual needs? What does it take to remain relevant in today's world? Rabbis Joshua Stanton and Benjamin Spratt take on these and other critical questions facing religion today. \u003cb\u003eAnd they have answers that are frank and yet surprisingly upbeat.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNearly every facet of American Jewish life--and of American religious life in general--faces both disruption and great prospects for renewal\u003c\/b\u003e. In every corner of our community, Jewish identity, wisdom, ritual, and power are being remixed and reimagined. As centralized authority declines, American Judaism moves and grows in a multitude of directions. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs technology reduces the importance of geographic boundaries, new opportunities for connection and new modes of exercising power emerge. New mixtures of ancient Jewish practice and modern needs are beginning to shape the renewal of American Judaism, widening access to Jewish wisdom and ritual, transforming Jewish consumers into Jewish co-creators, and building new networks of Jewish belonging.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe initial purposes that inspired much of the American Jewish infrastructure are now falling victim to their own success. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn emphasis on nostalgia and authenticity encourages us to mythologize the past and narrow our awareness of the present. A focus on buildings and centralized power by much of American Judaism reflects the realities of a century ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn understanding what keeps these organizations mired in the past, we can unearth a new purpose to unify the American Diaspora and guide it toward a new golden age. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Foreword by Rev. Kaji Dousa, Senior Pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church, asks what a Black pastor can add to the work of two white rabbis, \u003c\/b\u003e and the answer is that \"cherished thinking needs a hard look \u003ci\u003eeverywhere\u003c\/i\u003e. Particularly as we rightly orient our resources to protecting the good, to eliminating poverty that need not exist, to eradicating the hatred that threatens \u003ci\u003ethe very existence\u003c\/i\u003e of our people--we need to look, together. Blacks and Jews and those living in the intersections therein will only survive and thrive with the survival and thriving of each other. So, of course, it makes sense that we will awaken, together.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Afterword by Dr. Eboo Patel, Founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ecites the story of Rabbi Akiva, who \"did not mourn when he saw the ruins of the Temple but rather was delighted.\u003c\/b\u003e 'We always knew these stones must come down. In order to move forward, this had to fall apart first. Now we can begin.' All of our religions have history and theology like this. I think about the emergence of everything from Catholic orders to Sufi tariqas--renewal movements that changed the map of entire religions. We are at that same point again. Rabbis Stanton and Spratt propose we meet the moment with the generosity and power that are at the heart of all our religions. Their work gives me confidence that we can.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 192\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.71 x 9.13 x 5.98 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 02, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51765882913056,"sku":"9781681150895","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/656dfe9417016114e61f12e6765cf511.webp?v=1780282227","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/awakenings-american-jewish-transformations-in-identity-leadership-and-belonging-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}