Tales Out of Shul: The Unorthodox Journal of an Orthodox Rabbi

Provocative, funny, moving, revealing -- this remarkable book will make you laugh and cry (sometimes simultaneously) as it takes you behind the scenes of Jewish life's most hectic, frustrating, and satisfying job. This riveting journal takes us on a vivid and unforgettable tour of forty years in one of the most successful careers in the American rabbinate, as Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, one of the best writers in the profession, records his achievements and defeats, his hopes and disappointments. We'll meet some unforgettable characters, like the unique "shochet" of Atlanta; the Polish Catholic who hid a Jewish boy during the Holocaust; those who never fail to give charity and those who never do; the woman who never misses a funeral; saints and scoundrels; movers and meek; arrogant and humble, and many more. We'll deal with the mystery of the missing mechitzah, attend a reception where the poor are the guests of honor, and devise Hebrew names for Butch and Nicholas. And we'll enter the rabbi's mind as he ponders if he is really accomplishing anything for Torah and Judaism in this world. Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, presently living in Jerusalem, is one of the most respected and distinguished figures in the American rabbinate. He led Atlanta's Congregation Beth Jacob for almost forty years, from its infancy until its current position as one of America's finest Torah institutions. Ordained by Baltimore's Ner Israel, with degrees from John Hopkins and a doctorate from Emory University, he has taught at Jerusalem's Ohr Somayach Yeshiva, at Bar Ilan University, and at Emory University. Editor-in-chief of Tradition magazine, he has authored four earlier books, including the widely acclaimed On Judaism: Conversations on Being Jewish in Today's World. He has written hundreds of articles in journals like The New Republic, Saturday Review, Judaism, and The Jerusalem Post.