The Jewish Community and the Synagogue in Perspective

Publication Date: September 1956

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Judah J. Shapiro

Research Area: Culture and religion

Keywords: Religion; Congregations; Jewish Continuity; Jewish identification

Type: Other

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The author asserts that the modern American Jewish conception of the synagogue is fundamentally disconnected from traditional-historical Jewish models. Laity is largely unable to live a full Jewish life in ritual and cultural terms without assistance from rabbis, the author maintains, and this represents a threat to Jewish continuity and a radical shift in the nature of the rabbinical profession. The author traces the development of the Jewish communal profession in light of these paradigm shifts, and advocates a return to a conception of Jewish life as all-encompassing and cooperative.

In Journal of Jewish Communal Service, ed. by Sanford Sherman, v.33, no.1, Fall 1956, p.25-35.