By
– January 27, 2012
Waiting for Rain is an elegantly written guide to the liturgical themes for the High Holy Days. The first part of the book addresses the major themes of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, giving us the history and rationale for many of the major prayers and Torah readings. The second part details the liturgy for the post Yom Kippur days of Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeret, and Simhat Torah.
Each chapter devoted to these holidays contains Rabbinic commentary and Biblical scholarship by both traditional and modern authors. The themes of repentance, forgiveness, community, and our relationship to each other are treated with serious scholarship and graceful observations. This is a book not only for the High Holy Days, but also for appreciating the beauty and poetry of Jewish liturgy.
Barbara Andrews holds a Masters in Jewish Studies from the University of Chicago, has been an adult Jewish education instructor, and works in the corporate world as a professional adult educator.
