Chapter 16: Sacredness Reimagined - Memory, Identity, and Community Today

This chapter is part of the book The Sacred Editors: Judaism.

"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you." — Deuteronomy 32:7

Chicago, Tuesday evening, February 2023. Three generations sit around a study table in Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel examining the same page of Talmud their ancestors might have studied in Vilna or Baghdad. But the scene would be unrecognizable to those ancestors: the group includes men and women studying as equals, the ancient Aramaic text appears on tablets alongside traditional leather-bound volumes, the discussion moves fluidly between Hebrew, English, and Spanish, and several participants join virtually from Tel Aviv, São Paulo, and Mumbai.

Rabbi Sarah Lefton, a thirty-something Conservative rabbi with a PhD in medieval Jewish philosophy, guides the conversation about a passage concerning charity obligations. Across from her, seventeen-year-old Marcus Chen—whose Chinese-American mother converted to Judaism—debates whether ancient principles about helping the poor apply to cryptocurrency donations to homeless shelters. His grandmother, Holocaust survivor Esther Goldberg, listens thoughtfully before offering insights from her own experience of receiving aid as a refugee.

When the session ends, Marcus posts a TikTok video explaining the Talmudic principle they discussed, using examples from contemporary social media fundraising. It receives 50,000 views within hours, reaching audiences from secular Jewish teenagers in Brooklyn to Buddhist students in Kyoto interested in comparative ethics. Meanwhile, Dr. James Kugel's latest book on biblical interpretation—citing both ancient rabbinic sources and cutting-edge archaeological discoveries—sits open on the table alongside a printed responsum about pandemic-era virtual mourning from the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

The texts being studied are the same ones that have anchored Jewish intellectual life for over a millennium. But almost everything else about how they function in contemporary Jewish life has been fundamentally transformed. The authority once residing primarily in claims about divine origin and perfect transmission now derives increasingly from these texts' capacity to generate meaning, build community, and guide ethical reflection across vastly different circumstances.

This transformation didn't happen overnight. Part IV has traced how Jewish sacred texts navigated the challenges and opportunities of modernity: archaeological discoveries that revealed textual diversity, denominational movements that developed competing approaches to tradition, ongoing scholarly and rabbinical debates that continue reshaping interpretation, and digital technologies that have democratized access while creating new forms of authority and community. Through all these developments, a fundamental shift has occurred in how sacredness operates.

From Revelation to Relationship: The Archaeological Revolution

Chapter 13 demonstrated how modern biblical scholarship and archaeological discoveries challenged traditional assumptions about textual origins and stability. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 by Muhammad edh-Dhib provided dramatic physical evidence that biblical texts had never been as uniform as many assumed. The scrolls contained familiar books in unfamiliar forms: a version of Jeremiah one-seventh shorter than the traditional text, Psalms collections with additional compositions, and books like 1 Enoch and Jubilees that some Jewish communities had preserved as Scripture for centuries before they were excluded from the rabbinic canon.

Historical-critical methods showed evidence of human composition and editorial activity throughout what tradition considered pure divine revelation. Source criticism identified different literary traditions within the Torah. Form criticism examined oral traditions behind written texts. Redaction criticism studied how biblical editors shaped materials to serve particular agendas. Textual criticism compared manuscript traditions to reconstruct textual development.

Rather than destroying faith in sacred texts, these challenges forced Jewish communities to develop more sophisticated approaches to sacredness. If texts were not divinely dictated in final form, they might still carry divine inspiration mediated through human creativity. If they had not been transmitted unchanged, their authority might derive from communities' ongoing engagement with them rather than from pristine preservation of original content.

Emanuel Tov's textual criticism revealed that "the Masoretic Text represents one tradition among several ancient witnesses rather than necessarily preserving the most original readings."¹ Lawrence Schiffman showed how the Qumran community preserved authentic Jewish traditions that were later marginalized but not eliminated.² James Kugel argued that modern scholarship should enhance rather than replace traditional approaches to reading Scripture, attempting to bridge academic and religious interpretation.³

The result was a shift from static to dynamic concepts of revelation. Texts became sacred not because they preserved eternal divine speech but because they enabled ongoing encounter between human communities and transcendent meaning. Authority resided not in the texts themselves but in the relationship between texts and interpreting communities.

Denominational Diversity as Creative Tension

Chapter 14 explored how different Jewish movements developed competing approaches to textual authority that reflected broader theological and cultural commitments. The Pittsburgh Platform of 1885 crystallized Reform Judaism's radical reinterpretation of tradition, declaring that only the "moral laws" of the Torah remained binding while ritual observances were "apt to obstruct rather than further modern spiritual elevation."

Orthodox Judaism emerged as conscious resistance to such changes, maintaining divine origin and textual integrity while developing sophisticated responses to modernity. Modern Orthodox institutions like Yeshiva University embraced secular education while preserving traditional religious practice. Haredi communities often rejected extensive engagement with secular culture. Hasidic movements emphasized mystical interpretation alongside strict halakhic observance.

Conservative Judaism sought balance between Orthodox reverence for tradition and Reform openness to change. The Jewish Theological Seminary trained rabbis expected to master both traditional Jewish learning and contemporary scholarship. Conservative responsa addressed modern questions through traditional reasoning adapted to contemporary circumstances.

Reconstructionist Judaism under Mordecai Kaplan reinterpreted Judaism as an evolving religious civilization rather than revealed religion. Jewish Renewal emphasized mystical dimensions while remaining open to contemporary insights. Post-denominational trends among younger Jews created more fluid relationships to textual authority.

Rather than fragmenting Jewish civilization, these differences created productive tension that enriched engagement with sacred texts. David Ellenson documented how Reform responsa literature demonstrates ongoing commitment to halakhic reasoning even within movements that reject traditional authority structures.⁴ Judith Plaskow critiqued all denominations for incomplete integration of feminist insights.⁵ Shaul Magid explored post-denominational trends as evidence of broader transformation in Jewish religious life.⁶

Different denominational approaches highlighted different aspects of textual meaning while maintaining shared commitment to the importance of inherited tradition. The emergence of independent minyanim and chavurot demonstrated how authority could be shared without being abandoned.

Living Interpretation in Global Context

Chapter 15 examined the ongoing mechanisms through which Jewish communities continue adapting sacred texts to contemporary circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a dramatic example when rabbis worldwide issued responsa about virtual minyanim, drawing on centuries of precedent to address unprecedented questions about digital religious community.

The responsa tradition—she'elot u-teshuvot (questions and answers)—represents Judaism's most dynamic mechanism for applying sacred texts to changing circumstances. Modern responsa have tackled medical ethics, technology and Sabbath observance, gender equality, economic ethics, interfaith relations, and digital age questions. The Global Responsa Database at Bar-Ilan University contains over 400,000 responsa spanning 1,000 years, making historical precedents instantly searchable.

Contemporary scholarship has integrated critical methods with traditional interpretation in ways that enrich rather than threaten textual engagement. Feminist biblical scholarship by scholars like Tikva Frymer-Kensky and Amy-Jill Levine revealed alternative perspectives that traditional interpretation often overlooked. Queer theory opened new avenues for understanding biblical discussions of sexuality and family structures. Post-colonial interpretation examined how assumptions about power shape traditional readings.

The emergence of global Jewish voices has expanded the interpretive conversation beyond its traditional European and Middle Eastern centers. Sephardic and Mizrahi traditions that were marginalized in European-dominated institutions have gained new recognition. Ethiopian Jewish traditions maintained books like 1 Enoch and Jubilees as sacred literature for centuries outside the rabbinic mainstream. Indian, African, and Latin American Jewish communitiesbring distinctive perspectives shaped by their particular historical experiences.

Digital technology has democratized access to Jewish learning while creating new forms of textual community. Platforms like Sefaria.org provide free access to Jewish literature with sophisticated search tools. Online study partnerships connect learners across geographic boundaries. Social media enables new forms of Torah discussion that reach previously excluded audiences.

Elliot Dorff demonstrated how traditional halakhic reasoning can address contemporary bioethical questions.⁷ Rachel Adler pioneered feminist halakhic methodology that generates new insights without abandoning Jewish law.⁸ Jay Michaelson explored how LGBTQ+ perspectives can find support in traditional sources through alternative interpretive lenses.⁹

Pluralistic Engagement and Digital Revolution

The Interlude explored how Jewish texts function in pluralistic and interfaith contexts where they are read and interpreted by people outside Jewish communities. This development creates both opportunities for dialogue and challenges for maintaining distinctive Jewish interpretive authority.

The Scriptural Reasoning movement brings Jews, Christians, and Muslims together for careful study of each other's scriptures. Participants read texts not to convert but to understand how different communities find meaning in shared literary heritage. Dr. David Ford describes the practice as "reading together without aiming to convert or convince, but to understand how different communities find meaning in shared literary heritage."¹⁰

The digital revolution has fundamentally transformed how sacred texts circulate and function. Universal access means biblical and rabbinic texts are available to anyone with internet connection. Collaborative interpretation through platforms like Sefaria's crowd-sourced translation projects engages volunteers worldwide. Virtual study partnersconnect learners across continents. Social media Torah includes Instagram midrash and TikTok discussions that make ancient wisdom accessible through contemporary media.

Yet digital access creates new challenges. When anyone can post textual interpretations online, traditional gatekeeping mechanisms no longer control access to sacred texts or their interpretation. Digital study may lack the embodied relationships and community accountability that have traditionally shaped Jewish learning.

New forms of sacred expression have emerged: Digital midrash through multimedia interpretations, remix cultureapplying sampling techniques to Jewish texts, participatory commentary platforms allowing readers to contribute interpretations, and algorithmic analysis using computational methods to discover textual patterns.

Dr. Heidi Campbell argues that "online Jewish learning often strengthens rather than weakens traditional authority by making classical sources more accessible."¹¹ Dr. Jeffrey Shandler warns that digital culture risks creating "postvernacular" relationships to tradition where symbols become aesthetic choices rather than lived commitments.¹²

Contemporary Sites of Sacredness

These developments have contributed to a fundamental expansion of where and how sacredness is located in contemporary Jewish life, moving beyond traditional textual boundaries to encompass new forms of meaning-making and community formation.

Memory and Trauma have created new sites of sacred meaning. The Holocaust and other experiences of persecution draw on biblical and rabbinic traditions while addressing circumstances those traditions never directly anticipated. Holocaust memorial liturgy, Yom HaShoah observances, and survivor testimony have become forms of sacred text that function alongside traditional sources in shaping Jewish identity and memory. The Kaddish recited for Holocaust victims carries sacred weight not because of its textual origins but because of its role in preserving memory and expressing ongoing obligation to the dead.

Social Justice and Activism ground contemporary political engagement in textual interpretation that finds prophetic mandates for current concerns. Liberation theology influences within Judaism have created new forms of midrash that read ancient texts through contemporary experiences of oppression and resistance. Aryeh Cohen's work on Jewish social justice demonstrates how traditional sources can ground contemporary activism while acknowledging how historical circumstances shape interpretive priorities.¹³

Feminist and Queer Interpretation have developed alternative approaches to traditional sources that challenge patriarchal and heteronormative assumptions while remaining rooted in Jewish textual tradition. These movements have created new liturgical innovations, ritual practices, and interpretive communities that expand rather than abandon engagement with sacred texts. The Torah: A Women's Commentary (2008) provides verse-by-verse interpretation that centers women's experiences throughout the biblical text.

The Siddur as Everyday Torah represents one of the most significant yet often overlooked sites of contemporary sacred text. For many Jews, the prayer book functions as daily encounter with sacred literature, chronicling thousands of years of textual selection, adaptation, and ritualization through lived prayer. Its evolution reflects ongoing decisions about which texts deserve preservation and how ancient words can speak to contemporary spiritual needs. Modern siddurim include feminist liturgical language, prayers for contemporary concerns, and alternative readings that demonstrate how traditional forms can carry new meanings.

Israeli Culture and Hebrew Revival have created new contexts for engaging with biblical and rabbinic texts as living literature rather than just religious authority. The revival of Hebrew as a spoken language means that biblical texts now function in everyday conversation, political discourse, and popular culture. Israeli education mandates biblical study for all students, creating shared cultural literacy that transcends religious boundaries. Bible competitions, archaeological discoveries, and intra-Israeli debates about tradition all demonstrate how ancient texts remain vibrant in contemporary Middle Eastern context.

Digital and Artistic Creativity has generated new forms of sacred expression. Online midrash, graphic novel interpretations of biblical stories, musical settings of Hebrew texts, and multimedia art installations make ancient wisdom accessible through contemporary aesthetic forms. BimBam's animated videos have reached millions of viewers, making complex Jewish concepts accessible through engaging visual storytelling. Hip-hop midrash interprets biblical stories through contemporary urban experience while electronic music incorporates Hebrew prayers into secular compositions.

Ritual Innovation and Community Formation through independent minyanim, Jewish renewal communities, and alternative spiritual practices have developed new ways of engaging with traditional texts that emphasize participatory learning, musical creativity, and social connection rather than formal religious authority. These communities often blend traditional study methods with contemporary insights from psychology, ecology, and social justice movements.

Concrete Examples of Contemporary Sacred Practice

These theoretical shifts translate into concrete changes in how Jewish communities engage with sacred texts across multiple domains of contemporary life:

Synagogue Innovation reflects new approaches to worship and learning. Many contemporary synagogues feature learner-led services where participants take turns reading and interpreting texts rather than relying solely on rabbinic authority. Contemplative prayer experiences integrate meditation practices with traditional liturgy. Social justice programming explicitly connects biblical and rabbinic texts to contemporary political concerns. Arts-based worship incorporates music, visual art, and creative writing into traditional text study.

Educational Transformation has revolutionized how Jewish institutions approach sacred literature. Jewish day schools increasingly teach biblical and rabbinic literature using critical thinking skills, historical context, and contemporary application rather than just traditional memorization and interpretation. Adult education programs draw on academic scholarship, psychological insights, and interfaith perspectives to make classical sources accessible to contemporary learners. Online learning platforms enable global participation in advanced Jewish study.

Life Cycle Innovation demonstrates how sacred texts function in personal and family contexts. Wedding ceremonies increasingly incorporate personalized textual interpretations that reflect couples' particular values and commitments. Baby naming rituals draw on traditional sources while adapting to contemporary family structures. Coming-of-age celebrations include creative interpretive projects that connect ancient texts to teenagers' contemporary concerns. Mourning practices blend traditional sources with contemporary therapeutic insights about grief and healing.

Political and Ethical Engagement shows how Jewish texts inform responses to contemporary challenges. Jewish approaches to climate change draw on traditional concepts like tikkun olam (repairing the world) and bal tashchit (do not destroy) while addressing environmental concerns that ancient sources never directly anticipated. Economic inequality discussions reference biblical and Talmudic commercial laws while applying them to modern capitalism. Racial justice work finds prophetic mandates for contemporary anti-racism efforts.

Interfaith and Secular Participation represents contexts where sacred texts function beyond traditional religious boundaries while maintaining their distinctive character. Interfaith seder celebrations enable non-Jewish participants to engage with Jewish narratives about liberation and freedom. Jewish-Christian dialogue groups explore shared biblical heritage while respecting interpretive differences. Academic conferences on Jewish texts bring together scholars from multiple religious and secular backgrounds. Cultural festivals featuring Jewish themes demonstrate how sacred narratives can speak to universal human concerns.

What Would Have Changed?

The transformation of Jewish approaches to sacredness was not inevitable. Different historical circumstances might have produced alternative outcomes with significant implications for contemporary Jewish life:

If archaeological discoveries had been suppressed or interpreted within traditional frameworks, Jewish communities might have maintained more uniform approaches to textual authority while potentially missing opportunities for deeper historical understanding. Professor Jonathan Rosen suggests that "earlier discoveries might have been harmonized within traditional interpretive frameworks rather than challenging assumptions about textual development."¹⁴ This could have preserved theological stability but possibly at the cost of intellectual honesty about textual complexity.

If denominational divisions had not emerged or had developed differently, contemporary Judaism might have maintained greater institutional unity while potentially sacrificing the creative tension that has enriched modern Jewish thought. Dr. David Berger speculates that "unified institutional authority might have prevented some of the innovative responses to modernity that have characterized different Jewish movements."¹⁵ Greater consistency might have been achieved but possibly with less adaptability to diverse circumstances.

If digital technology had developed under religious rather than secular auspices, Jewish textual culture might have remained more insular while gaining technological sophistication. Religious control over digital platforms might have preserved traditional authority structures while using technology primarily for preservation rather than democratization. Greater consistency in interpretation might have been maintained, but possibly at the cost of the creative innovation and diverse participation that characterizes contemporary Jewish digital culture.

If global Jewish communities had remained isolated from each other longer, distinctive regional traditions might have developed more fully before being influenced by global standardization. Professor Harvey Goldberg argues that "extended isolation might have produced a more diverse Jewish civilization with multiple distinct canonical traditions, similar to how Christianity developed different Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant approaches."¹⁶ This could have enriched Jewish diversity but might have made Jewish unity more difficult to maintain.

If feminist and other progressive movements had not gained influence within Jewish institutions, textual interpretation might have remained more conventional while potentially excluding significant portions of Jewish communities. Traditional approaches might have been preserved more purely but possibly at the cost of missing insights that come from previously marginalized perspectives.

Scholar Debate

Contemporary scholars continue investigating how modern developments affect Jewish approaches to sacred texts, revealing both consensus and ongoing disagreements about the implications of these transformations:

Michael Satlow examines how communities create and maintain textual authority, using both ancient and modern examples to show that "sacredness is not inherent in texts but emerges through social processes of interpretation and reverence."¹⁷ His work suggests that understanding these social processes can help communities navigate between preservation and innovation more effectively.

Mira Wasserman studies how digital technology is reshaping Jewish learning practices, examining both opportunities for democratization and risks of losing traditional pedagogical relationships. Her research indicates that "digital engagement can supplement but not fully replace the embodied relationships that have traditionally sustained Jewish learning."¹⁸

Neil Gillman argues for approaches to Jewish theology that integrate modern scholarship with traditional spiritual insights, suggesting that "contemporary Jewish thought requires sophistication about both historical development and ongoing religious meaning."¹⁹ His work demonstrates how academic knowledge can deepen rather than threaten religious engagement.

Arthur Green advocates for "radical Judaism" that embraces mystical traditions while engaging contemporary ecological and social concerns, arguing that "ancient wisdom requires creative reinterpretation for each generation's particular challenges."²⁰ His approach suggests that innovation can serve rather than abandon traditional spiritual insights.

Steven M. Cohen and Ari Kelman investigate how younger Jews relate to traditional institutions and sources, finding evidence of both alienation from conventional approaches and creative engagement with Jewish texts through alternative channels. Their research suggests that "post-denominational trends reflect not abandonment of Jewish tradition but its reconstruction according to contemporary values and circumstances."²¹

These scholarly investigations reveal that Jewish textual interpretation continues evolving in response to changing social, technological, and cultural circumstances while maintaining connection to inherited methods and sources. The debates center not on whether change should occur but on how it can best serve both faithfulness to tradition and relevance to contemporary life.

Models for Faithful Innovation

Despite the challenges posed by contemporary transformations, Jewish communities have developed approaches that maintain connection to inherited tradition while remaining open to creative adaptation:

Rooted Innovation maintains deep engagement with traditional sources while applying them creatively to contemporary circumstances. Modern Orthodox communities that use digital technology to enhance traditional learning while preserving halakhic authority demonstrate how innovation can serve rather than replace traditional commitments. Yeshiva University's integration of secular and religious education provides a model for how different forms of knowledge can enhance rather than threaten each other.

Dialogical Interpretation brings multiple perspectives into conversation with traditional sources without requiring consensus or uniformity. Conservative Judaism's integration of academic scholarship with halakhic reasoning provides a model for how different approaches to textual authority can enhance rather than threaten each other. The Etz Hayim Torah commentary (2001) integrates traditional Jewish interpretation with contemporary scholarship, offering multiple perspectives on textual meaning.

Community-Centered Authority locates interpretive legitimacy in committed communities rather than individual preference or institutional hierarchy. Independent minyanim and chavurot that engage seriously with traditional sources while developing participatory decision-making processes demonstrate how authority can be shared without being abandoned. These communities often produce innovative liturgical and educational materials that blend traditional and contemporary elements.

Experimental Traditionalism uses traditional methods to address unprecedented questions while remaining open to innovative conclusions. Feminist halakhic scholarship that applies traditional legal reasoning to contemporary gender issues shows how inherited interpretive methods can generate new insights while maintaining methodological continuity. Rachel Adler's work demonstrates how attention to women's experiences can generate new insights from traditional sources without abandoning commitment to Jewish law.

Digital Integration leverages technology to enhance rather than replace traditional Jewish learning while creating new possibilities for textual engagement. Sefaria's combination of traditional texts with modern search tools and collaborative features demonstrates how innovation can serve traditional educational goals while expanding access and participation.

Why It Still Matters

The transformation of Jewish approaches to sacredness offers insights that extend beyond Jewish communities to any religious tradition navigating between inherited wisdom and contemporary challenges:

Religious Authority can remain meaningful even when its foundations are reinterpreted or challenged. Communities that engage seriously with traditional sources while remaining open to new insights often develop stronger rather than weaker connections to their inherited traditions. The key is maintaining commitment to the depth and wisdom that make texts worth preserving while adapting methods of engagement to contemporary circumstances.

Sacred Texts derive their authority not only from claims about their origins but from their ongoing capacity to generate meaning for communities committed to wrestling with their implications. Texts that continue inspiring creative interpretation often prove more resilient than those preserved unchanged. The vitality of Jewish textual engagement demonstrates that sacredness emerges from relationship rather than residing in objects.

Community Formation can be enhanced rather than threatened by interpretive diversity when different approaches to tradition engage respectfully with each other while maintaining shared commitment to core values and sources. The creative tension between different Jewish movements has produced richer engagement with sacred texts than any single approach might have achieved alone.

Cultural Transmission occurs most effectively when traditional content is communicated through contemporary forms that speak to each generation's particular circumstances and concerns while preserving essential insights and commitments. The Jewish experience suggests that innovation in form can serve preservation of substance when guided by deep engagement with inherited wisdom.

Interfaith Relations can be built on shared textual engagement that respects different interpretive traditions while creating opportunities for mutual learning and understanding. The Scriptural Reasoning movement demonstrates how communities can study each other's sacred texts without compromising their own distinctive commitments.

The Continuing Conversation

The transformation of Jewish sacred text in the modern era represents not abandonment of tradition but its creative continuation under circumstances that ancient and medieval authorities could never have anticipated. The same texts that guided Jewish communities through exile and persecution continue providing wisdom for communities navigating globalization, technological revolution, and cultural pluralism.

The key insight from Part IV is that sacredness is not inherent in texts themselves but emerges from ongoing relationships between texts and communities committed to finding meaning and guidance within them. This understanding preserves reverence for inherited tradition while creating space for the creative interpretation that every generation requires to apply ancient wisdom to contemporary circumstances.

The sacred editors whose work we have traced throughout this volume—from ancient scribes to medieval commentators to modern scholars and contemporary interpreters—all participated in the ongoing human effort to preserve and transmit wisdom that transcends any single historical moment while remaining accessible to human understanding and application.

Their legacy suggests that the most faithful response to inherited tradition is not passive preservation but active engagement—the willingness to wrestle seriously with traditional sources while remaining open to the new insights that emerge when ancient wisdom encounters contemporary challenges. The conversation between divine revelation and human interpretation that began with the first reading of Torah continues today in study halls and synagogues, academic conferences and online forums, artistic collaborations and political movements where people seek guidance from sources that have shaped human civilization for millennia.

The sacred texts that began as scrolls in ancient caves continue their work today through digital networks and global communities, academic research and artistic creativity, ritual innovation and social justice activism. They remain sacred not because they are preserved unchanged but because they continue enabling encounters between human seekers and transcendent truth that transforms both understanding and practice in each generation willing to engage seriously with their ongoing implications.

The story of Jewish sacred texts is not a story of preservation but of creative transmission—the ongoing human effort to carry forward wisdom that matters while ensuring it remains accessible to each new generation of seekers. That story continues today wherever people gather to ask how ancient words can guide contemporary living, and it will continue as long as human communities seek sources of meaning that transcend the limitations of any single perspective or historical moment.

Understanding this continuing conversation provides insight into how religious traditions remain vital across changing historical circumstances while maintaining essential identity and purpose. The Jewish experience with textual tradition offers a model for how communities can honor their inherited wisdom while remaining responsive to the ongoing human need for meaning, guidance, and connection in an ever-changing world.

Notes

Emanuel Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, 3rd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012), 313-350.
Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1994), 83-105.
James L. Kugel, How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now (New York: Free Press, 2007), 17-45.
David Ellenson, After Emancipation: Jewish Religious Responses to Modernity (Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 2004), 267-295.
Judith Plaskow, Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990), 78-121.
Shaul Magid, American Post-Judaism: Identity and Renewal in a Postethnic Society (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013), 89-134.
Elliot N. Dorff, Matters of Life and Death: A Jewish Approach to Modern Medical Ethics (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998), 45-89.
Rachel Adler, Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998), 123-156.
Jay Michaelson, God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality (Boston: Beacon Press, 2011), 78-112.
David F. Ford, Christian Wisdom: Desiring God and Learning in Love (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 337.
Heidi Campbell, Digital Judaism: Technology and Religion in Contemporary Culture (New York: Routledge, 2013), 145-172.
Jeffrey Shandler, Adventures in Yiddishland: Postvernacular Language and Culture (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006), 234.
Aryeh Cohen, Justice in the City: An Argument from the Sources of Rabbinic Judaism (Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2012), 145-178.
Jonathan Rosen, The Talmud and the Internet: A Journey Between Worlds (New York: Picador, 2001), 156.
David Berger, The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference (Portland, OR: Littman Library, 2001), 234.
Harvey E. Goldberg, Jewish Passages: Cycles of Jewish Life (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003), 287-314.
Michael L. Satlow, How the Bible Became Holy (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014), 287-315.
Mira Wasserman, Jews, Gentiles, and Other Animals: The Talmud After the Humanities (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017), 234-267.
Neil Gillman, Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990), 123-145.
Arthur Green, Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010), 89-112.
Steven M. Cohen and Ari Y. Kelman, Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and Their Alienation from Israel (Hartford: Jewish Identity Project, 2007), 45-67.

Recommended Reading

Contemporary Jewish Theology and Practice

Gillman, Neil. Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew. Jewish Publication Society, 1990.
Green, Arthur. Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition. Yale University Press, 2010.
Fishbane, Michael. Sacred Attunement: A Jewish Theology. University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Memory, Trauma, and Sacred Meaning

Roskies, David G. Against the Apocalypse: Responses to Catastrophe in Modern Jewish Culture. Harvard University Press, 1984.
Wiesel, Elie. From the Kingdom of Memory. Schocken Books, 1990.
Young, James E. The Texture of Memory: Holocaust Memorials and Meaning. Yale University Press, 1993.

Contemporary Ritual and Community Innovation

Prell, Riv-Ellen. Prayer and Community: The Havurah in American Judaism. Wayne State University Press, 1989.
Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America. BasicBooks, 1993.
Magid, Shaul. American Post-Judaism: Identity and Renewal in a Postethnic Society. Indiana University Press, 2013.

Digital Age and Global Judaism

Campbell, Heidi. Digital Judaism: Technology and Religion in Contemporary Culture. Routledge, 2013.
Shandler, Jeffrey. Adventures in Yiddishland: Postvernacular Language and Culture. University of California Press, 2006.
Cohen, Steven M., and Ari Y. Kelman. Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and Their Alienation from Israel. Jewish Identity Project, 2007.

Israeli Culture and Hebrew Revival

Shavit, Yaacov. The New Hebrew Nation: A Study in Israeli Heresy and Fantasy. Frank Cass, 1987.
Harshav, Benjamin. Language in Time of Revolution. University of California Press, 1993.
Raz-Krakotzkin, Amnon. The Crypt of National Memory: Essays on Modern Jewish History. Academic Studies Press, 2017.

Liturgical Innovation and Prayer

Hoffman, Lawrence A. The Way Into Jewish Prayer. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000.
Reif, Stefan C. Judaism and Hebrew Prayer: New Perspectives on Jewish Liturgical History. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Langer, Ruth. Cursing the Christians? A History of the Birkat HaMinim. Oxford University Press, 2012.

Feminist and Progressive Jewish Thought

Plaskow, Judith. Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective. HarperSanFrancisco, 1990.
Adler, Rachel. Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics. Beacon Press, 1998.
Greenberg, Steven. Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition. University of Wisconsin Press, 2004.

Future Directions and Emerging Trends

Magid, Shaul. The Other Judaism: Toward a Post-Modern Jewish Theology. Academic Studies Press, 2016.
Cohen, Steven M., and Jack Wertheimer. Two Worlds of Judaism: The Israeli and American Experiences. Yale University Press, 1990.
Sarna, Jonathan D. American Judaism: A History. Yale University Press, 2004.