User:Jmbranum/The Jewish Catalog


The Jewish Catalog was a series of books published by the Jewish Publication Society in three volumes (1973, 1976, and 1980), which had a significant cultural impact upon the Chavurah movement of Judaism,[1][2] and in the broader Jewish world, and were said to be "the most widely read books in the Jewish counter-culture,"[3] with total book sales of the series being more than half a million copies.[4]

The series has been described as "a happy mixture of Jewish law and lore, apt quotations, well-chosen photographs, whimsical cartoons, and general irreverence that billed itself as a Jewish 'do-it-yourself kit,' a guide to how to become 'personally involved in aspects of Jewish ritual life, customs, cooking, crafts, and creation,'"[5] that reflected a "personal, voluntaristic spirituality," [6] with an emphasis on there being different expressions of Jewish spirituality.[7]

A key theme throughout the series has been an earnest desire for "cultural authenticity" that rejects both consumeristic values of the dominant gentile culture but also rejects the values of the mainstream mid-century Jewish establishment [8], with a special focus on the concept of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).[9]

Despite the counter-cultural message and aesthetic of the book, it was published by the mainstream Jewish Publication Society in large part due to the vision of JPS Editor-in-Chief Chaim Potok, who saw The Jewish Catalog as a way for Judaism (and Jewish publishing) to remain relevant for the growing youth counter-culture.[10]

  1. ^ Kaplan, Dana Evan "Contemporary Forms of Judaism" The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion and CUlture Ed. by Judith R. Baskin and Kenneth Seekin, p. 459 Accessed Dec. 3, 2021
  2. ^ Sometimes the Havurah movement is even called the "Jewish Catalog Culture" - see Horowitz, Bethamie "Havurah Jews and where they give" Contemporary Jewish Philahtropy in America (1991), p. 188 Accessed Dec. 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Prell, Riv-Ellen "America, Mordecai Kaplan, and the Postwar Jewish Youth Revolt" Jewish Social Studies New Series, vo. 12, Nov. 2, p. 166
  4. ^ Oppenheimer, Mark "DIY Judaism: 'The Jewish Catalog' - a quasi-hip, countercultural book of how-to Judaism - was all the range in the Seventies. How does it hold up now?" Feb. 27, 2017
  5. ^ Sarna, Jonathan "Havorah Judaism: The Havorah movement and The Jewish Catalog blended Judaism with the 1960's counterculture" MyJewishLearning (reprinted from the book American Judaism: A History) Accessed Dec. 3, 2021
  6. ^ Schoenfeld, Stuart "Integration in the group and sacred uniqueness: An analysis of Adult Bat Mitzvah" Persistence and Flexibility: Anthropological perspectives on the American Jewish experience" Ed. by Walter P. Zenner, p. 117-135 Accessed Dec. 3, 2021
  7. ^ Friedman, Norman L. "Social movement legacies: The American Jewish Counterculture, 1973-1988" Jewish Social Studies Vol. 50, No. 3/4 (Summer 1988-Autumn 1993), p.g 127-146. Accessed Dec. 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Blecher, Rabbi Dr. Arthur The New American Judaism: The way forward on challenging issues from intermarriage to Jewish identity (2007), pages 89-90 Accessed Dec. 3, 2021.
  9. ^ Krasner, Jonathan "The place of Tikkun Olam in American Jewish life" Jewish Political Studies Review" Vol. 25, No. 3/4 (Fall 2013), p. 79 Accessed Dec. 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Kelman, Ari Y. "Reading a book like an object: The case of the Jewish catalog" Thinking Jewish Culture in America (book (Dec. 11, 2013), pages 124-125 Accessed Dec. 3, 2021