Rites of Passage

Leonard Greenspoon holds the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University. On the Creighton faculty since 1995, Dr. Greenspoon is also Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and of Theology.

The Many Faces of Jewish Ritual Leonard J. Greenspoon has added a thought-provoking anthology to our bookshelves in which the many faces of Jewish rituals (mainly in the United States, England, and Israel) are celebrated. While Jewish feminists, like Debra Orenstein ("Lifecycles""Anthology" [1994]), paved the way for the revival of interest in Jewish ritual, other anthropological studies and contemporary perspectives on Jewish life evolved into rich anthologies, such as Harvey Goldberg's "The Life of Judaism "(2001). Jews' interest and creativity in the area of ritual is, as I have suggested elsewhere, an inherent part and extension of the halakhic paradigm in Judaism, which translates theology into action in the material world. Yet it is unfortunate that a number of essays here, on such topics as egalitarian weddings and rituals celebrated with autistic children, overlook discussions of similar topics previously addressed in other anthologies on Jewish ritual. Steven Puzarne's contribution on rites of passage for children with autism, for example, would have benefited from discussing Miri Lawrence's essay exploring the Passover Seder and Jewish education through the lens of her autistic child, an essay that could be useful to any (Jewish) educator anywhere in the world.[1] The absence of this encounter with other research is unfortunate because rather than continue to develop discussions on these topics, the essays offer as new conclusions perspectives reached by earlier scholarship. Although the subtitle of Greenspoon's book makes explicit reference to the celebrations of "Today's Jews," what I find refreshing in this volume is the addition of historical dimensions to ritual usually missing in similar anthologies. Of special interest to me were Daniel Lasker's essay "Karaism: An Alternate Form of Jewish Celebration," which adds a medieval approach to the question of Jewish pluralism and diversity in ritual as it lays out the main features of the Karaite c Leonard J. Greenspoon, ed."Rites of Passage: How Today's Jews Celebrate, Commemorate, and Commiserate." West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2010. 197 pp. $35.00 (paper), ISBN 978-1-55753-577-1.Reviewed by Einat Ramon (Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies) Published on H-Judaic (January, 2012) Commissioned by Jason KalmanThe Many Faces of Jewish RitualLeonard J. Greenspoon has added a thought-provoking anthology to our bookshelves in which the many faces of Jewish rituals (mainly in the United States, England, and Israel) are celebrated. While Jewish feminists, like Debra Orenstein ("Lifecycles""Anthology" [1994]), paved the way for the revival of interest in Jewish ritual, other anthropological studies and contemporary perspectives on Jewish life evolved into rich anthologies, such as Harvey Goldberg's "The Life of Judaism "(2001). Jews' interest and creativity in the area of ritual is, as I have suggested elsewhere, an inherent part and extension of the halakhic paradigm in Judaism, which translates theology into action in the material world. Yet it is unfortunate that a number of essays here, on such topics as egalitarian weddings and rituals celebrated with autistic children, overlook discussions of similar topics previously addressed in other anthologies on Jewish ritual. Steven Puzarne's contribution on rites of passage for children with autism, for example, would have benefited from discussing Miri Lawrence's essay exploring the Passover Seder and Jewish education through the lens of her autistic child, an essay that could be useful to any (Jewish) educator anywhere in the world.[1] The absence of this encounter with other research is unfortunate because rather than continue to develop discussions on these topics, the essays offer as new conclusions perspectives reached by earlier scholarship. Although the subtitle of Greenspoon's book makes explicit reference to the celebrations of "Today's Jews," what I find refreshing in this volume is the ad