Paul Wilkes And They Shall Be My People

Annotation

A ';lucid, compassionate, [and] inspiring' chronicle of an American Rabbi's struggle to keep the faith of his congregation (Chicago Tribune). Journalist Paul Wilkes spent a year with Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum of Congregation Beth Israel in Worcester, Massachusetts. He silently observed the Rabbi's life and work, got to know his congregation, and listened in as he performed the myriad tasks both spiritual and practical that occupy a Rabbi's long day. Wilkes quickly learned that Rabbi Rosembaum is an extraordinary individuala spiritual leader deeply committed to his congregation, a Jewish scholar steeped in ancient tradition, and an American man too familiar with the temptations of secular society. Wilkes watched as Rabbi Rosenbaum workedwith unyielding confidence and nearly constant frustrationto draw his conservative congregation into more than just intermittent observance. This fascinating, thought-provoking book is at once an intimate portrait of a year in a rabbi's life and a vivid account of the state of American Judaism today.