Contemporary Humanistic Judaism

Adam Chalom is dean for North America of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism and rabbi of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in suburban Chicago. Jodi Kornfeld is rabbi of Beth Chaverim Humanistic Jewish Community in suburban Chicago and past president of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis.

"Contemporary Humanistic Judaism offers a vision of Judaism that is deeply root­ed in human experience and creativity, and provides an alternative approach to what it means to be Jewish in the modern world."-Jenna Cohen, Jewish Chicago “Finally-a book that speaks wisely and powerfully to the secular Jew who seeks Jewish connection and meaning without traditional God-worship. Contemporary Humanistic Judaism is the crucial primer for all those who want to understand the foundational ideas of Humanistic Judaism and find the path to a vibrant Jewish life expressed through liturgy, ritual, education, celebration, and yes, the transcendent.”-Abigail Pogrebin, author of My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew “Contemporary Humanistic Judaism is a must-read, especially for anyone who ever felt like a ‘bad Jew’ for not believing in God, for intermarrying, or for otherwise not conforming to traditional movements’ constructions of Jewish identity.”-Keren R. McGinity, author of Still Jewish: A History of Women and Intermarriage in America “Through essays, case studies, liturgy, cultural offerings, and more, this important collection evocatively makes the case for deeply engaged, deeply principled, deeply intentional Jewish living that does not center God. Contemporary Humanistic Judaism demonstrates that, as ever, Humanistic Judaism raises essential questions about contemporary Judaism and offers piquant responses.”-Rabbi Deborah Waxman, president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism “I love it! Contemporary Humanistic Judaism is comprehensive, engaging, and compelling. I plan to assign it to my students.”-Phil Zuckerman, associate dean of Pitzer College “Magnificent! The clearest and most engaging volume on the history and meaning of Humanistic Judaism ever written.”-Rabbi Evan Moffic, author of The Happiness Prayer: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for the Best Way to Live Today “This is an important anthology that ought to be widely read and studied. It is essential to any college or adult ed course addressing the complicated map of current liberal Judaisms.”-Rabbi Edmond Weiss, coauthor of Making Arguments: Reason in Context “Humanistic Judaism’s contributions to the broader landscape of Jewish life are too often overlooked. Contemporary Humanistic Judaism will expand and challenge many traditionalist readers’ sense of what Judaism is and has been-while simultaneously offering much-needed affirmation to readers with less-traditionalist instincts.”-Lex Rofeberg, senior Jewish educator of Judaism Unbound

• Preface: Introducing This VolumeAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Judaism beyond God, Torah, and Israel Part 1. Beliefs and EthicsIntroduction 1. The Jewish ExperienceSherwin Wine, “Jewish History-Our Humanist Perspective” (1985) 2. The God QuestionSherwin Wine, “Judaism without God” (1983)Yaakov Malkin, “God as a Literary Figure” (2007) 3. Positive HumanismSherwin Wine, “Believing Is Better Than Non-Believing” (1986)Greg Epstein, “What Is Humanism?” (2009)Peter Schweitzer, “Purpose” (2022) 4. EthicsDaniel Friedman, “After Halakha, What?” (1996)Adam Chalom, “Are There Jewish Values?” (2009)Amos Oz, “Jews Argue with God” (2017)Denise Handlarski, “Truth and Reconciliation on Race” (2016) 5. SpiritualityYaakov Malkin, “What Makes the Secular Need Spirituality” (2003)Judith Seid, “A Secular Spirituality” (2001)Terry Toll, “Lighting Candles” (1994)Humanistic Judaism Facebook Discussion on Ritual Practice (2020) Part 2. IdentityIntroduction 6. Jewish Self-DefinitionSherwin Wine, “Kinship” (1985)International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, “Who Is a Jew?” (1988)Association of Humanistic Rabbis, “Statement on Conversion/Adoption” (2005)Karen Levy, “Changing Perceptions, Changing Realities” (2002) 7. Welcoming and InclusionTamara Kolton, “Healing the Jewish People through Pluralism” (2005)Jeffrey Falick, “Dancing at Two Weddings” (2014)Miriam Jerris, “Gate Openers: Reaching Out to the Next Generation of Children from Intermarriage” (2017)Society for Humanistic Judaism, “Radical Inclusion” (2021) 8. Israel/Zionism and DiasporaSherwin Wine, “Being a Secular Humanistic Jew in the Diaspora” (1993)Shulamit Aloni, “One Hundred Years of Zionism, Fifty Years of Statehood” (2000)Tzemah Yoreh, “Constructive Conversations about Israel” (2019) Part 3. CultureIntroduction 9. Cultural JudaismAmos Oz, “A Full Cart or an Empty One? Thoughts on Jewish Culture” (1983)Yehuda Bauer, “Judaism Is . . .” (1995)Daniel Friedman, “Recovering Our Stories” (1995)Sivan Malkin Maas, “Cultural Zionism: Reclaiming Convention” (2009) 10. A Cultural Jewish CanonJulian Levinson, “People of the (Secular) Book: Literary Anthologies and the Making of Jewish Identity in Postwar America” (2009)Jodi Kornfeld, “Of Course There’s Jewish Art!” (2022)Jonathan L. Friedmann, “Music by, for, as Humanistic Jews” (2023)Nathan Englander, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank” (2012)Etgar Keret, “My Lamented Sister” (2016)Nicole Krauss, “Adding to the Jewish Story” (2017) Part 4. Jewish LifeIntroduction 11. Living Humanistic JudaismEva Goldfinger, “Is Judaism Worth Preserving?” (1995)Society for Humanistic Judaism, “Statement of Values” (2021) 12. LiturgyMarcia Falk, “Honoring Torah” (1996)Adam Chalom, “Our Quarterback, Our King: Two Problems with Liberal Theology” (2007)Adam Chalom, Jodi Kornfeld, Jeremy Kridel, Peter Schweitzer, and Frank Tamburello, “Liturgical Readings” (2019)Yehuda Amichai, “A Man Doesn’t Have Time” (1986) and “The Waters Cannot Return in Repentance” (1986)Peter Schweitzer, “The Passover Symbols” (2003) 13. Life CycleLeadership Conference of Secular and Humanistic Jews, “Circumcision and Jewish Identity” (2002)Camila Grunberg, “The Meaning of Life” (2016)Association of Humanistic Rabbis, “Wedding Ketubah Texts” (1999)Sherwin Wine, “Sitting Shiva” (1992) 14. EducationMitchell Silver, “Treasures of the Legacy” (1998)Ruth Duskin Feldman, “Jewish Education and the Future” (1991)Sherwin Wine, “The Torah” (1985)Denise Handlarski, “The Torah, the Ten Commandments and Us” (2019)Society for Humanistic Judaism, Curriculum for Children’s Education, “Philosophy” (2013) Afterword: Choosing to Live as a Secular Humanistic Jew: Declaration of Eighth Biennial Conference of the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, 2000 Go Forth and LearnSource AcknowledgmentsAppendix: American Jews’ Identity and BeliefsNotesBibliographyIndex