Bibliography: Lifecycle
If you are seeking to build your personal Jewish library,
the following are the top books about the Jewish lifecycle recommended by the
editors of MyJewishLearning.com. Click on any book's title to purchase it.
To go directly to a specific category, click below:
General
Celebration
& Renewal: Rites of Passage in Judaism,
edited by Rela M. Geffen (Jewish Publication Society, 1993).
Finding
Each Other in Judaism: Meditations on the Rites of Passage from Birth to
Immortality, by Harold M. Schulweis
(UAHC Press, 2001).
How
to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious
Ceremonies: Vol. I, edited by Arthur J. Magida (Jewish Lights
Publishing, 1996).
Life
Cycles in Jewish and Christian Worship, edited by Paul F. Bradshaw and
Lawrence A. Hoffman (University of Notre Dame Press, 1996).
Teaching
Jewish Life Cycle: Traditions and Activities,
by Barbara Binder Kadden and Bruce Kadden (A.R.E. Publishing, 1997).
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Baby Ceremonies
Celebrating
Your New Jewish Daughter: Creating Jewish Ways to Welcome Baby Girls Into the
Covenant, by Debra Nussbaum Cohen (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2001).
Covenant
of Blood: Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism, by Lawrence A.
Hoffman (University of Chicago Press, 1996).
The
New Jewish Baby Book: Names, Ceremonies & Customs/A Guide for Today's
Families, by Anita Diamant (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1993).
A
Time to Be Born: Customs and Folklore of Jewish Birth, by Michele Klein (Jewish Publication Society, 1998).
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Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Bar/Bat
Mitzvah Basics: A Practical Family Guide to Coming of Age Together, by
Helen Leneman (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1996).
Putting
God on the Guest List: How to Reclaim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child's Bar
or Bat Mitzvah, by Jeffrey K. Salkin (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1996).
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Conversion
Becoming
a Jew, by Maurice Lamm (Jonathan David Publishers, 1991).
Choosing
a Jewish Life: A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and for Their Family
and Friends, by Anita Diamant (Schocken Books, 1998).
Conversion
to Judaism: A Guidebook, by Lawrence J.
Epstein (Jason Aronson, 1997).
Embracing
the Covenant: Converts to Judaism Talk About Why & How, edited by
Allan Berkowitz and Patti Moskovitz
(Jewish Lights Publishing, 1996).
Embracing
Judaism, by Simcha Kling and Carl M. Perkins (Rabbinical Assembly,
1999).
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Marriage
Beyond
Breaking the Glass, by Nancy Wiener (Central Conference of American
Rabbis, 2001).
The
Creative Jewish Wedding Book, by
Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer (Jewish Lights, 2004)
The
Jewish Way in Love and Marriage, by Maurice Lamm (Jonathan David,
1991).
Jewish
Weddings: A Beautiful Guide to Creating the Wedding of Your Dreams, by
Rita Milos Brownstein (Simon & Schuster, forthcoming 2003).
The
New Jewish Wedding, by Anita Diamant (Fireside, 2001).
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Divorce
Divorce
in Jewish Law and Life, by Irwin H. Haut (Sepher-Hermon Press, 1983)
Divorce
is a Mitzvah: A Practical Guide to Finding Wholeness and Holiness When Your
Marriage Dies, by Perry Netter (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2002).
Jewish
Divorce Ethics: The Right Way to Say Goodbye, by Reuven P. Bulka (Ivy
League Press, 1992).
Marriage,
Divorce and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law: A Conceptual Understanding of the
Agunah Problems in America, by Michael J. Broyde (Ktav, 2001).
When
There Is No Other Alternative: A Spiritual Guide for Jewish Couples
Contemplating Divorce, by Sanford Seltzer (Union of American Hebrew
Congregations, 2002).
Women
and Jewish Divorce: The Rebellious Wife, the Agunah and the Right of Women to
Initiate Divorce, in Jewish Law, a Halakhic Solution, by Shlomo Riskin
(Ktav, 1988).
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Death and Mourning
Grief
in Our Seasons: A Mourner's Kaddish Companion, by Kerry M. Olitzky
(Jewish Lights Publishing, 1998).
Jewish
Way in Death and Mourning (Revised and Expanded Edition), by Maurice
Lamm (Jonathan David, 2000).
Jewish
Insights on Death and Mourning, by Jack Riemer (Syracuse University
Press, 2002)
The
Jewish Mourner's Book of Why, by Alfred J. Kolatch (Jonathan David
Publishers, 1993).
Mourning
& Mitzvah: A Guided Journal for Walking the Mourner's Path Through Grief to
Healing, by Anne Brener (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1993).
Saying
Kaddish: How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead, and Mourn As a Jew,
by Anita Diamant (Schocken Books, 1999).
A
Time to Mourn a Time to Comfort (The Art of Jewish Living Series), by
Ron Wolfson (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1996).
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Other Lifecycle Prayers, Ritual,
and Ceremonies
The
Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: CLAL's Guide to Everyday & Holiday
Rituals & Blessings, edited by Irwin Kula and Vanessa L. Ochs (Jewish Lights,
2001).
Healing
of Soul, Healing of Body: Spiritual Leaders Unfold the Strength & Solace in
Psalms, edited by Simkha Y. Weintraub (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994)
Lifecycles,
Volume I: Jewish Women on Life Passages & Personal Milestones, edited
by Rabbi Debra Orenstein (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994)
Tears
of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope: A Jewish Spiritual Companion for Infertility and
Pregnancy Loss, by Nina Beth Cardin (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1999)
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