And They Shall Be My People

"A WONDERFUL BOOK...Lucid, compassionate, inspiring, touching, affecting, extraordinarily well-written and well-reported."
--Chicago Tribune
Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, though not famous or especially distinguished, is an extraordinary individual--a spiritual leader deeply committed to his congregation in Worcester, Massachusetts; a Jewish scholar steeped in ancient tradition; an American man all too familiar with the temptations of an affluent, secular society. Award-winning author Paul Wilkes spent a year with Rabbi Rosenbaum--silently observing his life and work, getting to know his congregation, listening in as he performed the myriad tasks both spiritual and practical that occupy a rabbi's long day. This fascinating, thought-provoking book is at once an intimate portrait of a year in a rabbi's life and a vivid account of the state of American Judaism today.
"The heart of his book is the story of a community acting out the dilemma and contradictions of its dual identity....[It is] a useful contribution to the ethnography of modern religious life."
--The New York Times Book Review
"Sensitive and insightful...This is a strong and honest book, and finishing it one can't help but admire Rosenbaum, his long-suffering wife and a patient and observant author for embarking on this journey."
--Newsday
"To call this a 'revealing portrait' is an understatement. It is a mirror of organized Jewish life."
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer