More Unfinished Business / / W. Gunther Plaut.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Toronto Press eBook-Package Archive 1933-1999
• VerfasserIn: Plaut, W. Gunther,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2016]; ©1997
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (376 p.)

More Unfinished Business is a companion to the first volume of Rabbi Plaut?s 1981 memoir, Unfinished Business, offering readers his reflections on the unfolding of his life and work, and of events that touched him, during the past two decades. In some of these events ? for instance, in the case of his report on refugee policy and his role in shaping the direction of the Reform movement in Judaism, his reach has touched the lives of many thousands of people. This is a book of doings and musings rather than a detailed analysis of events. Rabbi Plaut considers how the events and issues he was involved with forced him to confront and reassess his life?s work, his religious, institutional, and political commitments. To understand this process, the reader is invited to consider something of the private man behind the events. It is this effort to reveal himself as a person, rather than as an actor in history, that gives added meaning to his reminiscences and his discussion of his concerns, involvements, and disappointments ? wrestling with prayer, the future of Judaism, ageing and mortality, parting with material possessions, even his passion for tennis.Rabbi Plaut is an exceptional writer and story-teller. This is a remarkable book by a remarkable man.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Part One: The Common Weal -- Chapter One: On Ageing and Obsolescence -- Chapter Two: The Boat Is Full: Refugees at the Gate -- Chapter Three: Canadian Mosaic -- Chapter Four: Human Rights: Sitting in Judgment -- Part Two: Living as a Jew -- Chapter Five: Israel: Love's Ambiguities -- Chapter Six: Israel: Rabin and After -- Chapter Seven: Communal Concerns -- Chapter Eight: Reform Judaism: A Personal Journey -- Chapter Nine: Reform Judaism in Search of Self -- Part Three: At Home and Abroad -- Chapter Ten: Magnum Opus -- Chapter Eleven: Books, et cetera -- Chapter Twelve: Travels in Space and Time -- Part Four: Personal Perspectives -- Chapter Thirteen: The Mutti Phenomenon -- Chapter Fourteen: Letting Go -- Chapter Fifteen: Faith, Family, and Future -- Appendix A: Two Letters That Saved My Life -- Appendix B: A Missed Opportunity -- Notes -- Bibliography, 1982-1996 -- Photo Credits -- Index