Let Us Learn In Order to Do: A Study Program For Worship/Ritual Committees
The advance readings are preparatory material for each of the program's seventeen sessions. Many of the advance readings are available here. Some, however, have not been provided and are from books that must be purchased or obtained separately. For your convenience, we have provided information links for purchasing the books.
SESSION 1
Prayer? Let's Start by Getting Personal
No advance reading
SESSION 2
God Through the Lens of Liturgy
Lawrence A. Hoffman, ed., My People's Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries, Vol. 1 The Sh'ma and Its Blessings (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing), 1997. Read pages 41–54, 67–82, 83 and 87–99.
SESSION 3
God and Religious Practices in the Reform Movement: A Historical Overview
- Eugene B. Borowitz, "Supplement: The Pittsburgh, Columbus and Centenary Statements: A Comparative Chart," supplement from Reform Judaism Today (New York: Behrman House, Inc.), 1983
- "Emancipation," Encyclopedia Judaica, pp. 696–699
- "Reform Judaism," Encyclopedia Judaica, pp. 24–28
- The 1885, 1937, 1976, and 1999 "platforms" of the Reform Movement
SESSION 4
The History of the Reform Movement: 150 Years of Liturgical Change
- A. Stanley Dreyus, "The Gates Liturgies: Reform Judaism Reforms Its Worship", The Changing Face of Jewish and Christian Worship in North America, Paul F. Bradshaw and Lawrence A. Hoffman, eds., Notre Dame, IN, University of Notre Dame Press, 1991.
- Rabbi Elliot L. Stevens, "The Prayer Books, They Are A'Changin," Summer 2006 issue of Reform Judaism
- Four Versions of the Aleinu 1940, 1975, 1994, 2006
SESSION 5
Rubrics, Blessings, Keva and Kavanah: The Building Blocks of Prayer
SESSION 6
Becoming Familiar with the Service: Erev Shabbat Worship
- Lawrence A. Hoffman, "Halakhic Appendix: What is the Status of Hebrew or of English in a Service?" Synagogue 2000, 1996, pp. 50–51.
- Lawrence A. Hoffman, "The Roots of the Siddur," Keeping Posted 22:6 (March 1977), pp. 7–8, 17. Reprinted in Journey Through Judaism: The Best of Keeping Posted, Alan D. Bennet, ed. (New York: URJ Press), 1991, pp. 123–126.
SESSION 7
Becoming Familiar with the Service: Shabbat Shacharit Worship
Harvey J. Fields, "Section Four: The Reading of the Torah," Bechol Levavcha: With All Your Heart, (New York: URJ Press), 1979, pp. 106–111.
Service Outlines for Shabbat and Weekdays
SESSION 8
A Very Quick Tour Through the History of Jewish Music
- "Introduction," Jewish Music Guide for Teachers, Board of Jewish Education, Inc., 1975.
- Musical Selections (in MP3 format):
SESSION 9
Majesty, Meditation, and Meeting: The Many Faces of Jewish Sacred Music
SESSION 10
Looking at the Big Picture: From Liturgy to Worship
SESSION 11
Understanding Worship As a System: Worship Space and the "Players"
- Lawrence A. Hoffman, "Mistaking the Code, Mixing Messages, and Managing Change," and "Sacred Space: The Message of Design," The Art of Public Prayer: Not for Clergy Only (Woodstock, VT: SkyLight Paths Publishing), 1999, pp. 101–107 and pp. 201–234.
- Daniel H. Freelander, "Why Temples Look the Way They Do," Reform Judaism magazine, Fall 1994, pp. 35–37.
SESSION 12
Lay Involvement in Leading Worship
"The Role of the Shali-ach Tzibur," compiled by Cantor Josée Wolff.
SESSION 13
Shabbat Morning Worship and the Bar and Bat Mitzvah "Dilemma," Part 1
SESSION 14
Shabbat Morning Worship and the Bar and Bat Mitzvah "Dilemma," Part 2
- Janet Marder, "When Bar/Bat Mitzvah Loses Meaning," Reform Judaism magazine, Winter 1992 (and accompanying "Letters")
- Rachel Mikva, Making It Count: A Covenant for Becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah , www.urj.org/worship/bneimitzvah.
- Jeffrey K. Salkin, "Rites and Wrongs of Passage: Putting the Party in Perspective," Putting God on the Guest List (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing), 1992, pp. 57–64.
- "Sumptuary Laws," Encyclopaedia Judaica , p. 515
SESSION 15
"For the Sins That We Committed Willingly or Unintentionally..."
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman's Four "Sins" of Judaism
SESSION 16
A Generation of Seekers
- "The Art of Jewish Self-Discovery"; "From Marx to Moses"; "A Home for My Soul"; "My Temple, My Sanctuary"; "The Spy Who Came into the Shul"; "Who Do You Think You Are?"; "Yes, I am a Genuine Jew," Reform Judaism magazine, Winter 1995
- Wade Clark Roof, "Mollie's Quest," A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby-Boom Generation (San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers), 1994
- Jeffrey Salkin, "How to Be A Truly Spiritual Jew and Avoid the Pitfalls of Quick-Fix Religious Consumerism," Reform Judaism magazine, Fall 1995
- Toward a Language of Contemporary Reform Spirituality
SESSION 17
The Art of Prioritizing Or How to Decide What's Most Important When Your Worship/Ritual Committee is Pulled in So Many Directions
Lawrence Kushner, "The Tent-Peg Business: Some Truths About Congregations," New Traditions: Explorations in Judaism, Spring 1988.
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