Welcome to the website of Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility. Each month shma.com posts a few of the essays that appear in the print journal. Sh'ma invites some of the most thoughtful writers of contemporary Judaism to create a thought-provoking conversation-in print. Each issue of Sh'ma , which is sometimes referred to as a Jewish newsletter because of its accessible format, focuses on a topic that raises critical questions about communal issues, Jewish education, synagogues, personal theology, philanthropy, Israel, community transformation, Jewish arts and culture, Judaism and the Diaspora, and much more. Regular features include Nish'ma , a simulated page of contemporary Jewish Talmud, book reviews, and a practical Jewish ethics column.
Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility publishes ten issues a year, from September through June. In addition to the print journal, Sh'ma helps synagogues, schools, Jewish federations, and Jewish Community Centers facilitate a new initiative, The Sh'ma Salon , a discussion forum where stimulating talk is built around the informative and accessible journal.
The Founding Editor of Sh'ma , Eugene Borowitz, teaches at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. He is the author of many books on theology and moral virtues. Launching the journal Sh'ma , he was described as a midwife of ideas. He had a unique ability to cross religious, cultural, and political boundaries and maintained a passion for inclusiveness and diversity. In founding the journal in 1970, Borowitz aimed at "a vigorous dialectic of opinion... If we could learn to listen to one another, particularly when we are in fundamental disagreement, we might thereby give a sign of how society can become community." Over the course of 455 issues of Sh'ma , Gene built a journal of ideas and a community of disparate voices; he created a forum that continues to live as a unique home without walls for contemporary Jews to courageously think out loud about social, religious, political, cultural, and communal issues.
Today, Sh'ma is edited by Susan Berrin. Susan is also the Editor of two landmark Jewish anthologies, Celebrating the New Moon: A Rosh Chodesh Anthology and A Heart of Wisdom: Making the Jewish Journey from Midlife through the Elder Years . She lectures frequently on Rosh Chodesh, as well as Jewish midlife and elder issues. She has contributed essays to several books, most recently, Praise Her Works: Conversations with Biblical Women , The Women's Passover Companion: Women's Reflections on the Festival of Freedom, In Women's Hands: Letters from Mothers to their Children, and Jewish Mothers Tell Their Stories : Acts of Love and Courage .
Yosef I. Abramowitz, the publisher, is CEO of Jewish Family & Life! and winner of the 2004 Covenant Award in Jewish Education. Named by the Forward as one of the top 50 influential Jews in America, Yossi is the co-author of the best-selling Jewish Family & Life: Traditions, Holidays and Values for Today's Parents and Children (Golden Books), and is at the forefront of innovative strategies and programs that address Jewish values through multimedia projects and teaching.
To join the Sh'ma conversation, stay informed, and subscribe to the print journal, email shmasubs@JFLmedia.com .
