Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit: New Revised and Expanded Edition

Apisdorf, Shimon. "Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit", K'hal Publishing 1997, 2005. Making It Through Amos Lassen Tomorrow we again face the Jewish high holidays and although I love them, many others have a hard time getting through the long services when we are supposed to engage in introspection and ask for forgiveness for our trespasses. Shimon Apisdorf's book is a good guide for those who that problem and I found it to be a fascinating and interesting read. He looks at Rosh Hashanah (New Year) as a forest or a general overview of Jewish life and theology and at Yom Kippur (the day of atonement and our holiest holiday) as the trees that make up the forest and thus gives us a detailed accounting of the kinds of sins so many of us are guilty of. The author uses great insight and sensitivity and I found the book so interesting that I read it in one sitting. I also used it to help a good friend of mine who is converting to Judaism to help explain the various aspects of the holidays. Through humor, wisdom and spirituality, many questions are answered. Apisdorf manages to blend different schools of Jewish thought together and gives us spiritual insight to many questions that we have. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are two beautiful holidays and each is totally relevant to the way we live. Apisdorf gives the practical wisdom of the Jewish religion and shows how we can make it even more relevant. What he writes is meaningful and engages the reader from the first page. I consider myself well informed on things Jewish and I learned a great deal from this wonderful book. It is truly a book that can be not only read and reread but used year after year. In fact my Rabbi was looking for his copy to use in the writing of his sermon for Rosh Hashanah and his recommendation is certainly good enough for me.

You will probably end up reading this book in one day just because you will not want to put it down. It covers all the basics about the holidays that every Jew should know. Very inspiring, educational and entertaining book!

This book is a good general guide to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I especially liked (1) Apisdorf's ability to draw a distinction between the two holidays and what you should get from them: Rosh Hashanah as the forest (i.e. a general overview of life and Jewish theology), Yom Kippur as the trees (i.e. a detailed accounting of one's sins); (2) his brief guide to the prayers for each holiday. One minor quibble: his concept of what exactly we have to repent for. He talks about the sort of sins one either commits or abandons completely, but the sort of minor social sins that most non-criminal people commit most often (e.g. gossip) may be more amenable to gradual, marginal improvement. If you liked this book, I would recommend a couple of others as follow-ups: (1) The Rosh Hashanah Anthology by Phillip Goodman (an older book, probably more accessible in libraries than in bookstores), (2) the Book of Jewish Values by Joseph Telushkin (for those of you who have difficulty remembering our sins over the past year).