Jewish Fathers: A Legacy of Love

Jewish Fathers: A Legacy of Love by Paula Wolfson. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781580232043.

Jewish Fathers: A Legacy of Love is a collection of stories and photographs celebrating the lives of contemporary American Jewish fathers. It is a story of struggle and success with a universal message for all fathers who seek to give their children the American dream, a life full of opportunity. The image of the Jewish father is synonymous with the Yiddish word mensch, a good, kind, decent human being. The first mensch that we meet in life is usually our father. Honest. Hardworking. Fair. Charitable. Funny. Reverent. Honorable. Responsible. A mensch. It is a standard we try to live up to, a standard that Jewish fathers have been charged with since the time of the biblical patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This book of photographs and interviews is the first of its kind, exploring and honoring the role of American Jewish fathers. It honestly explores issues facing Jewish fathers in modern American society today: challenges of balancing career and family responsibilities, intermarriage, assimilation, education, single parenting, raising children with special needs, divorce, and religious observance. The men depicted here come from the broad spectrum of Jewish America - from secular to strictly orthodox, new fathers and grandfathers, the famous and the unheralded, rural and urban, immigrants, converts - men with moving and uplifting stories to share. This is the modern world of our fathers. One that is steeped in tradition and exciting transitions.