The God-Powered Life: Awakening to Your Divine Purpose
By Rabbi David Aaron
Trumpeter Books
Massachusetts, 2010
192 pages

How do we reach estranged Jews with a Torah message in this post-Oprah world of self-help spirituality? Rabbi David Aaron adopts the language and goals of this genre to teach traditional lessons of Torah observance. The commandments, the Talmud teaches, were given in order to refine us as individuals. Rabbi Aaron takes this to the next level. In his able hands, the Torah, and specifically kabbalah, is a self-help manual that enables its devotees to maximize their personal spirituality. The Ten Sefirot are not just descriptions of God’s interaction with the world, but also ten steps for self-improvement. Judaism consists of instructions for personal healing and achievement. While authentic, this dimension of Judaism focusing solely on individual development is not one that is often emphasized. Indeed, this description of Judaism will be barely recognizable to many readers. However, this bold portrayal of a Judaism of the self may be a form to which a large segment of today’s lost Jewry can relate.

On Changes in Jewish Liturgy: Options and Limitations
By Rabbi Daniel Sperber
Urim Publications
Jerusalem, 2010
224 pages

Rabbi Daniel Sperber, professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University, rose to fame with the publication of his widely acclaimed and award-winning eight-volume study of Jewish customs, Minhagei Yisrael. One would expect a researcher of customs to defend and preserve them. This makes his recent book, On Changes in Jewish Liturgy: Options and Limitations, all the more surprising. With a complete command of prayerbook manuscripts and liturgical history, and somewhat less impressive analysis of halachic sources, Rabbi Sperber permits, coming close to advocating, changing blessings and prayers to wordings that are more inclusive of females. Specifically, he allows for the recitation of “Who has made me an Israelite” in the Morning Blessings rather than the standard “Who has not made me a woman” and the incorporation of the names of the Matriarchs alongside the Patriarchs at the beginning of the Amidah prayer. Permission for these deviations is quite extraordinary within the Orthodox community. I leave to rabbis greater than I the evaluation of whether the changes permitted in this book belong in the Orthodox community.

Shabbat the Right Way: Resolving Halachic Dilemmas
By Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen
Urim Publications
Jerusalem, 2009
203 pages

The application of Shabbat laws to contemporary circumstances is no simple task. So much of daily life has changed over the past century, not least of which is the blossoming of electronic technology, that the rabbinic discussions are dizzying to the untrained. Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen has selected topics on the laws of Shabbat, explaining simply and concisely the different opinions on the issues and offering practical conclusions. The book is not comprehensive, but instead focuses on highlights throughout the twenty-five-hour Shabbat period. He chooses some basic but interesting topics such as the details of Kiddush—the proper way to fill and hold the cup, whether to stand or sit, and more—and complex subjects such as showering on Shabbat and dancing at a sheva berachot. Rabbi Cohen is at his best when presenting the views of great authorities on the issues of the day. His clarity of language and thinking make him an excellent conduit of the halachic decisors of our day.

The Conversion Crisis: A Continuing Discussion
Emanuel Feldman
and Joel B. Wolowelsky, eds.
Ktav Publishing House
New Jersey, 2011
144 pages

The past few years have seen a revival of the Israeli conversion dilemma, in which the status of people who convert to Judaism without becoming fully Torah observant is questioned. This perennial issue remains unsolved despite decades of discussion. The Conversion Crisis: A Continuing Discussion collects essays on this subject from the past forty years. Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein writes of two indispensable aspects of conversion—a rebirth into a new relationship with God and joining the people of Israel. The former requires acceptance of the commandments. Rabbi J. David Bleich surveys the responsa literature and concludes that a convert must accept the commandments with full sincerity. In contrast, Rabbi Marc Angel, Professor Avi Sagi and Professor Zvi Zohar argue that in exigent circumstances, a conversion without acceptance of the commandments is valid and appropriate. To these essays, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Rabbi Michael Broyde and Shmuel Kadosh respond with strong dissent. They contend that no such option exists and the community must find alternate ways—perhaps conversion of minors where the rules differ—to resolve the contemporary dilemma. As the book’s subtitle states, the discussion is ongoing and no proposal has yet been universally accepted.

Rabbi Gil Student writes frequently on Jewish issues and blogs at TorahMusings.com.