Holidays, History, and Halakhah

In the essays presented in Holidays, History, and Halakhah the reader will come to appreciate that practices considered indispensable to today's standards were once topics of heated controversy between proponents of differing interpretations of Judaism.

Readers will glimpse into ancient and medieval sources and identify with predicaments that previous generations faced as they steered the precarious paths between loyalty to their heritage and relevance to their age, between pride in one's religious identity and receptiveness to outside cultures.