Staying Sane in a Crazy World
by Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine
A two-part discussion group
with Rabbi Jeremy Kridel and Miriam Markowitz
January 11 & 25, 2022
7:30 pm – 8:30pm

A note from Rabbi Jeremy:
We live in strange times; that’s always probably been true, but we seem to have felt that a lot more over the last five years than we might have before. Humanistic Judaism’s founder, Rabbi Sherwin Wine, wrote a book that provides one possible path toward staying rooted in reality as the world becomes less real-seeming around us: Staying Sane in a Crazy World. Rabbi Wine’s book addresses real issues for us in our day-to-day lives, like guilt, beauty, happiness, and duty.

Machar member Miriam Markowitz and I will be leading a two session discussion of Rabbi Wine’s book this coming January. I hope that you’ll join us on January 11 and January 25 — Tuesday evenings both, taking the place of our Thinking Tuesday sessions — as we discuss the book with a discussion guide from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism! We’ll meet at Miriam’s home (with COVID-19 safety measures to be followed as with all Machar in-person activities), with an option for Zoom participation for those still avoiding in-person gatherings.

You might have some questions, like:

• “Do I want to read this book?” Take a look at its preamble and an excerpt from its introduction to get a sense of the book.
• “Do I need to read the book to participate?” No, but it helps! Though it’s non-fiction, it’s not a difficult read: Rabbi Wine’s language is very direct, and his focus is on lived reality rather than abstract ideas.
• “Is the book expensive?” No! It’s about $15 for a new paperback, and you can get e-reader versions for as little as $7 or less.
• “It is long?” It’s about 270 pages, but the text is not small.
• “Do I have to buy it from Amazon?” No! You can get it from Amazon (or Barnes and Noble) — or you can buy directly from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, which helps support Humanistic Jewish institutions and learning (including training rabbis).
• “Ok, I’m sold. How do I sign up!?” Just send me an email directly at macharjeremy@gmail.com to stay up-to-date on meeting information!