Never Mind The Bullocks is the latest advice to bar and batmitzvah students from Liberal Judaism. For the phrase — a reference to a verse in Isaiah — is the title of a textbook written by the chairman of its rabbinic conference, Rabbi Pete Tobias.
It takes the form of a conversation between a rabbi and the prophet as preparation for a bar/batmitzvah course.
The author sees it as “more than just a bnei mitzvah textbook. It is also meant as a presentation of a Liberal Jewish attitude to the Torah.”
Praising the concept, Reform movement head Rabbi Tony Bayfield said the textbook made “the Bible relevant and accessible and doesn’t fudge the difficult questions.
“It may be addressed to teenagers but adults would certainly benefit from the author’s attractive and humorous approach which overlies a deep seriousness and challenging honesty.”
The book will be launched next month with a question and answer session at Rabbi Tobias’s congregation, The Liberal Synagogue Elstree.
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