Blessed Are You, Wondrous Universe

A Siddur for Seekers

By: Herbert J J Levine

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Paperback | 25 March 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
220 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.86 x 15.24 x 1.17

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$47.28

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Blessed Are You, Wondrous Universe: A Siddur for Seekers offers a much-needed bridge between secular and religious approaches to Judaism. It takes what is most important in each world view and seeks to create a new synthesis.

From secularism, this siddur takes its commitment to facts and scientific method. From religion, it adopts a stance of wonder and gratitude. Drawn from both worlds, it embraces a commitment to individual and collective responsibility for our lives.

People with a religious world view may find themselves having to stretch toward seeing the world as a face of God that deserves our blessing. Those with a secular world view may find themselves having to stretch toward the possibility that words like "blessed" and "holy" are compatible with the humanist premise that only humans can attribute such qualities to our experience. In a traditional siddur, God is the ultimate actor whose intervention we seek, whether through blessing, redeeming, healing, or forgiving us. In this siddur, we praise the universe, the earth, and Jewish tradition. With respect to moral choices, we address ourselves; humans are the agents who need to hear our own prayer.

Industry Reviews

An exercise in holy audacity."

-Dr. Shaul Magid, author, The Necessity of Exile

"Herb Levine has fashioned a sparkling collection of prayers for a thinking, feeling modern person who wants to express gratitude for the wonder of existence. His powerful prayers are revolutionary, because they are both spiritually uplifting and scientifically accurate. If you're troubled by traditional Jewish prayers and think they're rather outdated, here is an alternative."

-Daniel Matt, translator of the Zohar, author, God and the Big Bang, The Essential Kabbalah, and Becoming Elijah

"Herbert Levine's liturgical innovations have the potential to heal the rift between secular and religious approaches to Judaism."

-Rabbi Everett Gendler, author, Judaism and Universalism and A Passionate Pacifist

"Anyone wanting to continue Kaplan's project of helping Judaism to evolve should be consulting this work."

-Professor Emeritus Mel Scult, Brooklyn College, author, The Radical American Judaism of Mordecai M. Kaplan

"This is a wonderful resource - inspirational, comforting, uplifting and insightful."

-Rabbi Adam Chalom, co-author, Contemporary Humanistic Judaism: Beliefs, Values, Practices

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