Simeon J. Maslin (–2022)
Author of Gates of Mitzvah: Shaarei Mitzvah: A Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle
About the Author
Image credit: via CCAR Press
Works by Simeon J. Maslin
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Date of death
- 2022-01-29
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- Rabbi
Members
Reviews
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 11
- Members
- 224
- Popularity
- #100,172
- Rating
- 4.4
- Reviews
- 1
- ISBNs
- 6
I'm glad I read the other book first. This covers the same material plus some additional information as the first third of Rhythm but in a very legalistic manner. It is divided again into three sections -- Birth, Childhood, and Education; Marriage and the Jewish Home; Death and Mourning, each of which is then subdivided into specific mitzvah (commandments) as in:
A1 - be fruitful and multiply, A2 - Birth control, A3 - Abortion, A4 - Adoption, A5 - prayer after childbirth, A6 - gift in honor of new child. Section I covers A (birth) through F, with B = entering the covenant, C = naming rituals and customs, D = adopted children, especially those too old to go through the B and C sections, E = educating from home to Bar/Bat Mitzvah to confirmation, and F = adult education and conversion. The other sections are equally subdivided and arranged in order by the commandments they fulfill.
These 64 pages are followed by 34 pages of notes which cover the sources of the commandments, attached customs, and different ways different branches of Judaism actually practice them. This is followed by 47 pages of essays by a variety of rabbis (unfortunately, since this is a reform document) all male -- I would hope that in the revised version that some female voices are heard as well. The last 15 pages are a glossary, a classic text list, and an index.
While this was written in a very readable style, it fulfills a different purpose than Rhythm. The separation between laws, notes, commentaries, and glossary makes it a more technical read so that one can use it as a reference easily to look up point A6 or E11, rather than the more smoothly flowing narrative style of the other.… (more)