Christmas is not everybody's favorite holiday. Historically, Jews in America, whether participating in or refraining from recognizing Christmas, have devised a multitude of unique strategies to respond to the holiday season. Their response is a mixed one: do we participate, try to ignore the holiday entirely, or create our own traditions and make the season an enjoyable time? This book, the first on the subject of Jews and Christmas in the United States, portrays how Jews are shaping the public and private character of Christmas by transforming December into a joyous holiday season...

The inside story and practical lessons from one of the most exciting developments in contemporary Judaism.

"Part description and part prescription, Empowered Judaism is a manifesto for transforming the way Jews pray and--more broadly--for building vibrant Jewish communities.... It] represents the latest chapter in an] uplifting history of religious creativity. This is a book that every Jewish leader will want to read and every serious Jew will want to contemplate."
--from the Foreword by Prof. Jonathan D. Sarna

Why have thousands of young Jews, otherwise...