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American Jewish History 91.1 (2003) 181-183



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Judaism in America. By Marc Lee Raphael. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. viii + 234 pp.

In 1957, Nathan Glazer published a volume entitled American Judaism as a part of a series in the Chicago History of American Civilization.1 The work was a marked improvement over previous publications relating to American Judaism; however, the focus of the book was on the social history of Jews in America rather than on "Judaism." Recent years have witnessed an outpouring of studies on every aspect of American Jewish life including the variety of expressions of Jewish religion in America. Samuel Heilman in Synagogue Life studied the patterns of behavior in a modern Orthodox congregation.2 Charles Liebman, in a series of essays published under the title Aspects of Religious Behavior of American Jews, described the "communal aspects and institutional forms of Orthodox Judaism in the United States" as well as the nature of Reconstructionism.3 The volume entitled The American Synagogue: A Sanctuary Transformed, edited by Jack Wertheimer, includes essays describing the major synagogue movements as well as depictions of individual synagogues.4 And Marc Lee Raphael himself has authored a volume entitled Profiles in American Judaism, which describes the history and characteristics of the major Jewish religious movements in America.5

All of these works and many others contain valuable insights into aspects of American Jewish religious institutions and practices. But none have observed as closely and as comprehensively the practice of contemporary Judaism in all its permutations and combinations as Raphael's Judaism in America. In his introduction, Raphael defines his intent to "explore the history of Judaism, the religious tradition in the setting of America." This, he states, "remains to be told by historians" (3 ). In his succinct but comprehensive narrative, Raphael takes a first step in fulfilling this need.

In the course of his research, Raphael attended worship services in "more than one hundred Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist and Reform Synagogues all over the United States" (vii). In addition, he has used archives, conducted interviews with rabbis and laymen, and [End Page 181] even recorded sermons. As a result, he presents us not only with a historical review, but also with a "participant observer" description of Judaism in contemporary America (vii). He describes not only the differences in beliefs and ritual practices between movements, but within each movement as well. The picture is complex, but Raphael succeeds in capturing its density as well as its diversity. For a reader unfamiliar with Jewish religious practice, this is an illuminating guidebook. But even for those who think they are familiar with the panorama of American Judaism, the explication of the variety of current practices is edifying.

In thirty tightly packed pages, he outlines the history of Judaism in America, describing mainstream developments but including observations of nuances such as "Orthodoxy's rebirth" (67 ), havurot, and women rabbis. He concludes with an assessment that "what strikes the contemporary observer of the synagogue is its vitality" (72 ).

One of the strengths of this volume is the clear and concise explanation of all Hebrew terms, concepts and phrases. His treatment, for example, of the many Jewish festivals is comprehensive but succinct and includes even such minor holidays as Tu B'shvat and such new observances as Yom HaShoah. He also manages to summarize the institutional and organizational kaleidoscope of American Jewish religious life without omitting any significant participant. Any fragment in the collage of American Jewry will find itself acknowledged, even the Belzer, Breslover, Chernobyler, and Skvirer Hasidim.

Raphael devotes one chapter to "select profiles of Judaic thinkers" (135 ). Admittedly, the contribution of "thinkers" to American Judaism is less than stellar. However, even in this limited category, some of Raphael's selections are open to question. Isaac Mayer Wise, great organizer that he was, was held in contempt by contemporary intellectuals like David Einhorn and Kaufman Kohler. The inclusion of Rebecca Gratz, Henrietta Szold, and Trude Weiss-Rosmarin in the roster of "thinkers" probably owes more to the requirements of feminist inclusions than to intellectual profundity. The list would have...

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