Jewish Fathers: A Legacy of Love - Hardcover

Paula Wolfson; Paula Ethel Wolfson; Lloyd Wolf; Harold S. Kushner; Harold Kushner

9781580232043: Jewish Fathers: A Legacy of Love

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1580232043 ISBN 13: 9781580232043

Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004

Jewish Fathers: A Legacy of Love is a collection of stories and photographs celebrating the lives of contemporary American Jewish fathers. It is a story of struggle and success with a universal message for all fathers who seek to give their children the American dream, a life full of opportunity.
The image of the Jewish father is synonymous with the Yiddish word mensch, a good, kind, decent human being. The first mensch that we meet in life is usually our father. Honest. Hardworking. Fair. Charitable. Funny. Reverent. Honorable. Responsible. A mensch. It is a standard we try to live up to, a standard that Jewish fathers have been charged with since the time of the biblical patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
This book of photographs and interviews is the first of its kind, exploring and honoring the role of American Jewish fathers. It honestly explores issues facing Jewish fathers in modern American society today: challenges of balancing career and family responsibilities, intermarriage, assimilation, education, single parenting, raising children with special needs, divorce, and religious observance.
The men depicted here come from the broad spectrum of Jewish America - from secular to strictly orthodox, new fathers and grandfathers, the famous and the unheralded, rural and urban, immigrants, converts - men with moving and uplifting stories to share. This is the modern world of our fathers. One that is steeped in tradition and exciting transitions.

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From Publishers Weekly:

Four years ago, Wolfson, a licensed clinical social worker, teamed up with photographer Lloyd Wolf to produce Jewish Mothers: Strength, Wisdom, Compassion. To provide balance, they now offer a companion volume on Jewish fathers. Their format is straightforward: 44 fathers were interviewed and photographed, and each one speaks for himself about his life and his experiences as a parent. These presentations tend to be autobiographical, often emphasizing activities and achievements that have nothing to do with fatherhood. Theodore Bikel, Stuart Eizenstat and Senator Carl Levin are among the celebrities who talk more about their own careers than about being a father. More space is sometimes given to the interviewee's relationship with his own father than with his children. The men selected for inclusion cover a wide range: observant, non-observant, single fathers, divorced, gay, converts, immigrants, inter-married, rural, urban, famous and obscure. What unites them is that each is a mensch, a man of rectitude and dignity who is "an upright, trustworthy person." A motif that runs throughout the book is the determination of most of the fathers to preserve Jewish continuity. Rabbi Shmuel Simenowitz, who runs a kosher, organic maple sugar farm in Vermont, tells the most unusual story. He uses draft horses for power and carefully observes the Sabbath, following intricate rules, thus setting an example for his children. Jewish sons and daughters will find that this book, which points to the diversity and dedication of Jewish fathers, makes an ideal Father's Day gift.
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist:

The 44 fathers profiled here represent a cross-section of contemporary American Jewish men. There's entertainer Theodore Bikel, best-selling author Shmuley Boteach, a senator, professors, rabbis, musicians, doctors, and lawyers. In their own words they tell how they meet the challenges of parenting. Most of the younger men interviewed spoke about trying to be equal partners with their wives in caring for children and making a living. In researching the book, Wolfson and Wolf crisscrossed the country, from Cape Cod to Hawaii, L.A. to Brooklyn, Colorado to South Carolina, and from Texas to Florida. The men are young, old, Reform, Hasidic, secular, converts, and Holocaust survivors. Wolfson and Wolf earlier collaborated on the book Jewish Mothers: Strength, Compassion, and Wisdom (2000). George Cohen
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved

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