Essays


Conference Keynote Addresses
2012 CSJO Conference Keynote by Jessica Miron
2012 Twenty-First Century Concerns CSJO Conference Keynote by Maxine Hermolin
2011 CSJO Conference Keynote by Mark Neuman
2010 “My Convictions” by Hershl Hartman
2010 Jew-West Regional Conference 2010 by Sam Ruben
2006 Progress? by Leah Bender Siemiarowski
2005 Voices of the past, Visions of the future by Denora Knecht
2005 Voices of the past, Visions of the future by Judy Seid
2005 Voices of the past, Visions of the future by Jerry Bain
2004 Honoring the People’s Author by Building Communities by Sam Ruben
2004 Naye tsaytn. Naye lider. Singing new songs for new times. by Gerry Kane
2003 Creating & Sharing Jewish Outlooks by Jodi Goldfinger
2003 Creating & Sharing Jewish Outlooks by Roberta Feinstein
2001 Shaping Our Secular Jewishness by Jeffrey Kaye
1988 CSJO Conference Keynote by Amy Meckler
1987 CSJO Conference Keynote by Gerry Revzin
1981 CSJO Conference Keynote by Jerald Bain
1980 A Jewish Alternative To Alienation by Larry Bush
1980 Yiddishkeit/Mentshlichkeit: What’s so new about that? by Hershl Hartman
1974 CSJO Conference Keynote by Gerry Kane
Miscellaneous Essays
2008 Albert Einstein as a secular humanistic Jew: By Bennett Muraskin
2008 Spinoza: The First Secular Jew? by Bennett Muraskin
2008 Torah and Modern Morality by Bennett Muraskin
2007 Secular Jews and Pacifism by Bennett Muraskin (adapted from “Jewish Secularism” in Peace, Justice and Jews: Reclaiming Our Tradition (2007), edited by Murray Polner and Stefan Merken
2007 A Funeral Story by Charles Baron
2006 Looking Back on 9/11 This talk was given on Rosh Hashanah by leader Mark Weber.
2004 Judaism, the Jewish Jesus, and the politics of Judea A workshop presented by Jeff Zolitor offering a look into the political and social settings, surrounding the life of Jesus from a Jewish perspective.
2004 Why you should go to CSJO Written for the summer issue of L’Khaim by Lisa Rothman.
2004 Jewish Is Not A poem written by Corinne Low
2001 Hellenism and the Jews Presented at a workshop at the CSJO conference by Jeff Zolitor, and published by Canadian Jewish Outlook in its Sep/Oct 2001 issue.
2000 The Khazars Presented at a workshop at the CSJO conference by Peter Wolfe and Jeff Zolitor, and published by Canadian Jewish Outlook in its Sep/Oct 2002 issue.
2000 So You Want to be a Secular Humanist Jew Essayist Bennett Muraskin defines the progressive Secular Jewish Movement. Reprinted from Jewish Currents.
1998 Fifty Years of the State of Israel Review of three works presented at the CSJO conference. Introduction by Larry Schofer.
1998 Toward a True Alliance of Humanistic and Secular Jews Hershl Hartman, Educational Director of the Los Angeles Sholem Community Organization/School, offers a study of Secular Jewishness and Humanistic Judaism.
1986 Jewish identity and survival: challenge for secular/humanistic Jews. By Jerald Bain
1975 Secular Jewishness; what’s Jewish about it? An excerpt from Sholom Aleichem Club News & Comment – By Max Rosenfeld
1965 Zhitlovsky: Philosopher of Jewish Secularism from Jewish Currents – By Max Rosenfeld
Sacred Doctrine or Political Manifesto? Ancient Jewish Literature in Context – Jeff Zolitor
CSJO’S Role in Leading the Movement to Greater Recognition and Strength – Gerry Revzin
One-minute rap on who we are. By Judith Seid
Poland and the Memory of the Holocaust Reprinted from the Sholom Aleichem Club (Philadelphia) “News and Comment”.
In Search of Sugihara by Hillel Levine A book review by Jane Schofer, Sholom Aleichem Club, Philadelphia. Reprinted from the Sholom Aleichem Club (Philadelphia) “News and Comment”.
The Jews of Sepharad Jeff Zolitor offers an introduction to the history of the Jews in Spain. Reprinted from the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations (CSJO) newsletter.
Shevuos and the Giving of the Torah Max Rosenfeld (1913-1997), founder and for many years director of the Philadelphia Jewish Children’s Folkshul, was an essayist, folklorist, poet and translator from the Yiddish. Here is his essay on Shevuos, reprinted from his last book Festivals, Folklore & Philosophy. A Secularist Revisits Jewish Traditions (Sholom Aleichem Club Press, 1997). For information on these books, contact the Sholom Aleichem ClubPress.