Yom Kippur Books

Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Fall Holidays -- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot

Paul Steinberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

JPS's new holiday books take us through the joys, spirit, and meaning of the seasons. Blending the old and the new, they ground us in the origins and traditions of each holiday and open up to us ways we can add our own expression to these special days. Although synagogue ritual is touched upon, the real focus here is on our personal connections to each holiday and our home observance.

As we move from season to season, Paul Steinberg shares with us a rich collection of readings from many of the Jewish greats -- Maimonides, Rashi, Nachmanides, Shlomo Carlebach, Marge Piercy, Elie Wiesel, Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Arthur Green, and others -- and he guides us in discovering for ourselves the many treasures within each text.

The readings teach us about the history of each holiday, as well as its theological, ethical, agricultural, and seasonal importance and interpretation; others give us inspiration and much food for thought. These stories, essays, poems, anecdotes, and rituals help us discover how deeply Jewish traditions are rooted in nature's yearly cycle, and how beautifully season and spirit are woven together throughout the Jewish year.

Mahzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Jules Harlow

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

My favorite High Holy Days prayerbook 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful.

This is the official machzor of thr Conservative machzor. It presents the services for both Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kipur together in a single volume. The main body of the text is mostly traditional, and people who went to Orthodox and Conservative synagogues will be familiar with it. However, there are a number of important modifications. In keeping in line with Conservaive theology, references to the Temple and animal sacrifices have been modified: The text recalls the glory of the ancient Temple service, but stresses that in our day it is ethical living, following the will of God, and repentance that bring salvation, not animal sacrifice.

It has less Ashkenazic piyuttim than other machzorim: it is not so huge and encyclopedic like Orthodox works, yet it is much more comprehensive than Reform or Reconstructionist works. A nice touch is that it includes a selection of religious poetry from the Sephardic rite, as well as some nice prayers from some ancient machzorim. There are a number of welcome egalitarian changes as well.

Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit

Shimon Apisdorf

List Price: $14.95 By: Leviathan Press Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $1.83

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Timeless classic that will please Jews of all disciplines. 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

What a great book - even if you aren't sure what kind of Jew you are. Definitly a must for everyone. Apisdorf reveals incredible sensitivity and insight. Amazon.com asks that I limit my words to 1,000, but frankly 35,000 would still not adequalty describe just how strongly I feel about this book.

Generally well done 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is a good general guide to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I especially liked (1) Apisdorf's ability to draw a distinction between the two holidays and what you should get from them: Rosh Hashanah as the forest (i.e. a general overview of life and Jewish theology), Yom Kippur as the trees (i.e. a detailed accounting of one's sins); (2) his brief guide to the prayers for each holiday. One minor quibble: his concept of what exactly we have to repent for. He talks about the sort of sins one either commits or abandons completely, but the sort of minor social sins that most non-criminal people commit most often (e.g. gossip) may be more amenable to gradual, marginal improvement. If you liked this book, I would recommend a couple of others as follow-ups: (1) The Rosh Hashanah Anthology by Phillip Goodman (an older book, probably more accessible in libraries than in bookstores), (2) the Book of Jewish Values by Joseph Telushkin (for those of you who have difficulty remembering our sins over the past year).

Editorial Review:

It blends wisdom, humor and down-to-earth spirituality, and transforms the holidays into an inspiring, and meaningful experience.

Family Blood: The True Story of Yom Kippur Murders : One Family's Greed, Love, and Rage

Marvin J. Wolf, Larry Attebery

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

"UNBELIEVABLE.....BUT TRUE!!!!!" 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

AS THE "VICE PRESIDENT" OF MANCHESTER PRODUCTS COMPANY, AND VERY
CLOSE TO "STEWART WOODMAN".....MORE LIKE A BROTHER TO HIM..THAN
THE BOOK WILL REVEAL "HE EVER HAD!".....
IT SEEMS THAT TIME HAS PASSED, SINCE THE HORRIFIC FACTS THAT MADE THIS BOOK A "REALITY".....BUT THE SHOCK AND HORROR AND MEMORIES STILL LINGER...AS TO WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1985!!!
EVERYTHING CHANGED.....FOR ME, MY FAMILY AND EVERYONE AROUND US..
NOW IN 2005....ALTHOUGH THE DETAILS OF THIS BOOK SOMEWHAT HAVE PASSED IN TIME..THE PAIN AND SUFFERING STILL REMAINS AS TO REMEMBERING "WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED IN THIS "OUTWARDLY EXOTIC WEALTHY CHARASMATIC FAMILY".....HOW IT HAPPENED AND OF COURSE EVERYONE SINCE 1985 ASKED ME: W H Y ?????
STEWART AND NEIL HAVE BEEN IN PRISON SINCE 1986...AND ALTHOUGH MANY YEARS HAVE PASSED....THE PUNISHMENT WILL NEVER FIT THE CRIME OF WHAT THEY DID TO THEIR PARENTS ON THEIR RELIGIOUS HOLY DAY...AND LITERALLY CHANGED ALL OF LIVES SO "DRASTICALLY" THAT
WORDS COULD NEVER EXPLAIN THE FEELINGS THAT COME OVER ALL OF US WHOM WERE THE "SILENT VICTIMS" WHO ARE MENTIONED IN THIS BOOK....
YET NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT....AFTER THE MANY YEARS OF TRIALS AND
MEDIA COVERAGE WHICH ENSUED AFTER SEPTEMBER 12, 1985.
LIFE GOES ON...HOWEVER...WHEN READING THIS BOOK....TRY TO IMAGINE ACTUALLY "LIVING THE LIFE OF HIGH STYLE" WHICH I DID...
ONLY TO BE LEFT WITH "EMPTY FEELINGS OF GUILT" DUE TO THE FACT THAT ONE ONLY CAN HAVE HOPED....."WHY DIDN'T I SEE THIS COMING?"
AND/OR "WHY COULDN'T I HAVE STOPPED THE BROTHERS IN THEIR FINAL
HORRIBLE DECISIONS THAT CHANGED EVERYONES LIFE?"
STEWART AND NEIL WERE RIDING A WAVE OF ARROGANCE, AND GREED THAT
ONLY CAN BE WRITTEN ABOUT NOW.....NOTHING COULD STOP THEM AND NOTHING "THEY FELT" COULD REACH THEM IN THEIR "ULTRA POSITION" WHICH THEY WRONGLY THOUGHT THERE WERE IN.
THEY RESPECTED "NO ONE"......NOT EVEN THEIR OWN PARENTS!
THEY CARED FOR "NO ONE"......NOT EVEN THEIR OWN FAMILIES!
IF THEY HAD ANY FEELINGS AND/OR LOVING MOMENTS...IT WAS ONLY WITH THEIR OWN SELFISH THOUGHTS OF REVENGE AND HATE.....
IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT 2 BROTHERS COULD HAVE TURNED OUT THE
WAY THIS BOOK PROTRAYS.....ESPECIALLY STEWART, WHOM WAS VERY CLOSE TO ME......AS WE WORKED SO HARD TO BUILD THAT WONDERFUL
PLASTICS BUSINESS AND "FOR WHAT?"....."D I S A S T E R !"
AS THEIR FAMILYS WERE TORN APART...SO WAS MINE.....
AS THEY LOST EVERY DOLLAR OF WEALTH THEY HAD BUILT..SO DID I..
READ THIS BOOK AND LEARN FROM IT.....EVERYTHING "NOT TO DO" OR
LEARN FROM THE WOODMAN FAMILY...."HOW NOT TO ACT OR RE-ACT!"...
THIS BOOK LEAVES HORRIBLE MEMORIES AND PAIN FROM THE FACTS SHOWN
IN GREAT DETAIL.....BUT MAYBE SOMEDAY....SOMETHING POSITIVE CAN
BE LEARNED FROM THIS FAMILY TRAGEDY THAT "NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED!" RICK WILSON (PAGE 69)

Before Hashem You Shall Be Purified : Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on the Days of Awe

Joseph B. Soloveitchik

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Rabbi Soloveitchik, one of the greatest Halakhic minds of the twentieth century, has left a remarkable legacy of public lectures. Among the most popular of venues for these lectures was the Kinus Teshuvah, where the Rav would weave halakhah and homiletics so compellingly that the line between them blurred and often disappeared entirely. Presented in Yiddish, these discourses (teshuvah derashot) combined halakhic depth with emotional power, leaving an enduring imprint on all who attended.

From 1962 through 1980, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt"l annually presented a two- to- three hour lecture in Yiddish at the Kinus Teshuvah (Repentance Convocation) sponsored by the Rabbinical Council of America. These lectures (derashot) were delivered between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur on the topic of repentance and the Days of Awe.Many of the earlier derashot presented through 1972 were summarized by Rabbi Pinchas Peli inhis classic work Al Hateshuvah, later translated into English as On Repentance. This long-awaited volume is a summary of the derashot delivered from 1973 through 1980.

Dr. Arnold Lustiger has organized the teshuvah derashot topically, from the pre-Rosh Hashanah Selihot prayers through the Yom Kippur Avodah and concluding Neilah services. He has included Biblical, Talmudic and Midrashic sources. He provides cross-references, with citations from Pelis On Repentance as well as from Rabbi Soloveitchiks written works that address and amplify important themes in these lectures in different and often greater detail.

With the publication of this book, an audience anxious to see more of Rabbi Soloveitchiks thoughts in print can once again appreciate use of the definite article when his students and followers refer to him simply as "the Rav".

Yom Kippur Readings: Inspiration, Information And Contemplation

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Jewish and non-Jewish readings, prayers, inspirations 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins edits YOM KIPPUR READINGS: INSPRIATION INFORMATION CONTEMPLATION uses a range of sources, from ancient to modern, Jewish and non-Jewish, to provide a set of readings, prayers and inspirational reflections on the themes addressed on Yom Kippur, surveying the basics and spirit of the holiday season and its relationship to both God and community. From themes of forgiveness and faith to customs and rituals, this reader makes an important point of discussion for both families and classes surveying Yom Kippur's ongoing meaning and history.

Overall a useful anthology 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dov Peretz Elkins has gifted the Jewish world with many useful publications, for which we ought to be grateful. While this anthology has much that is meaningful, moving or scholarly, many of the selections strike me as filler. For those who have both the Yom Kippur and the Rosh Hashanah volumes, you will notice that much material is recycled. There are also prayers and sections of the services for which coverage is scanty or missing. Despite these defects, I am happy to have these books on my shelves and am sure that they will enrich the holidays for many as they have for me. Thank you Dov!

Transliterated Machzor: Yom Kippur (Artscroll Series) (Artscroll Series)

Binyomin Yudin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

If you can't learn Hebrew... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you can't read the prayers in the original (and I mean read them for meaning) the Artscroll Machzor lets you know what they really say.

You lose the poetry, the nuances, and some of the esoterica by using a translation. But at least you'll know what the words mean and the footnotes expand your knowledge.

By the way, going to shul more than once a year is a GREAT way to learn more!!!

Editorial Review:

The complete services for Yom Kippur with line-by-line transliteration and translation, commentary, and explanatory essays. Perfect for beginners to Hebrew.

Justice and Mercy: Commentary on the Liturgy of the New Year and the Day of Atonement

Max Arzt

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

An outstanding commentary on 'Yamim Noraim' 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This commentary reads the texts of the High Holy Days. It provides many profound insights. It captures the spirit of these days and gives much to help deepen the reader's understanding of them.

Justice and Mercy: Commentary on the Liturgy of the New Year and the Day of Atonement

Max Arzt

By: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $8.94

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

An outstanding commentary on 'Yamim Noraim' 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This commentary reads the texts of the High Holy Days. It provides many profound insights. It captures the spirit of these days and gives much to help deepen the reader's understanding of them.