Calls for Submissions

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The CCAR Journal welcomes submissions that fulfill its Statement of Purpose, whatever the author’s background or identification. Submissions to the CCAR Journal are sent out to a member of the editorial board for anonymous peer review. Any submissions may or may not be used, and those that are used will be published under the copyright of the CCAR. Your submission constitutes permission by CCAR to use your contribution, and to edit for length or consistency with our house style. We look forward to receiving your submissions. 

The CCAR Journal publishes four types of material:

1. Articles of about three to four thousand words in length, from a scholarly or practical rabbinic perspective (or both).
 
2. Book reviews of about two thousand words in length, featuring critiques of recently published books that inform the work of the Reform rabbinate.
 
3. Contemporary Jewish poetry
 
4. Primary sources (Maayanot) that offer new translations of significant Jewish texts, accompanied by an introduction as well as annotations and/or commentary. 
 
 

Guidelines for Submitting Material

Article proposals should be sent to the editor-in-chief, Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, at rabbi@cbsw.org. Please submit a one-paragraph abstract before writing a full article.
 
Book reviews should be sent to Rabbi Ari Lorge at alorge6@gmail.com
 
Poetry should be sent to Rabbi Edwin Goldberg at rabbi@cbsw.org
 
Maayanot should be sent to Rabbi Daniel Polish at dpolish@optonline.net

 
Other than commissioned articles, submissions to the CCAR Journal are sent out to a member of the editorial board for anonymous peer review. Thus, submitted articles and poems should be sent to the editor with the author’s name omitted. Please send submissions as Microsoft Word attachments, double-spaced in Times New Roman (twelve point) with one-inch margins. The message itself should contain the author's name, phone number, and email address, as well as the submission's title and a one- or two-sentence biography. 
 
 
Format for Notes:
  1. Norman Lamm, The Shema: Spirituality and Law in Judaism (Jewish Publication Society, 1998), 101–6. [book]
  2. Kari Hofmaister Tuling, "God's Identity: Perspectives from Jewish Philosophy," in Inscribed: Encounters with the Ten Commandments, ed. Oren J. Hayon (CCAR Press, 2020), 3-4. [chapter in a book]
  3. Richard Levy, “The God Puzzle,” Reform Judaism 28 (Spring 2000): 18–22. [article in a periodical]
  4. Sara Halpern, "The Integration of Jewish Refugees from Shanghai into Post–World War II San Francisco," American Jewish History 104, no. 1 (January 2020): 87-114. [article in a periodical]
  5. Philissa Cramer, "An $18 Wager Reveals Jeopardy!' Contestant's Jewish Bona Fides," New York Jewish Week, June 16, 2020. [newspaper or periodical with date only]
  6. Jonathan Kligler, “Remembering the Words of Rev. Martin Niemoller,” Lev Shalem Institute of the Woodstock Jewish Congregation, January 5, 2017, https://lsi-wjc.org/remembering-the-words-of-rev-martin-niemoller/. [online source, with publication date]
  7. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Martin Niemöller: ‘First They Came for the Socialists . . . ,’” Holocaust Encyclopedia, accessed February 27, 2017, https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392. [online source, no publication date]
  8. Lamm, Shema, 102. [short form for subsequent reference; do not use ibid.]
  9. Levy, “God Puzzle,” 20. [short form for subsequent reference] 
Format for Bibliography: 
Lamm, Norman. The Shema: Spirituality and Law in Judaism. Jewish Publication Society, 1998. [book]   
Tuling, Kari Hofmaister. "God's Identity: Perspectives from Jewish Philosophy." In Inscribed: Encounters with the Ten Commandments, edited by Oren J. Hayon, 3–8. CCAR Press, 2020. [chapter in a book]
Levy, Richard. "The God Puzzle." Reform Judaism 28 (Spring 2000): 18–22. [article in a periodical]
 
Biblical References 
Capitalize and roman for English scroll titles in the running text, as well as in notes and the bibliography: "in the beginning" (Genesis 1:1); the Book of Genesis; Genesis 1:1–3 [en dash for ranges].
Spell out books of the Bible.
Use roman numerals for I Samuel, II Samuel, etc, when cited by chapter and verse: I Samuel 3:19. 
 
Transliteration
These essays are intended for use by educated laypeople as well as clergy; they are not meant to be scholarly. Therefore please transliterate any Hebrew as heard in contemporary Hebrew:
 
“ch” for chet and chaf
 “f” for fei
“k” for kaf and kuf
“tz” for tzadi
“i” for chirik 
“e” for segol 
“ei” for tzeirei 
“a” for patach and kamatz
“o” for cholam and kamatz katan
“u” for shuruk and kibbutz
“ai” for patach with yod
Final “h” for final hei; none for final ayin (with exceptions based on common usage): atah, Sh'ma, but Moshe.
Apostrophe for sh'va nah: b'nei, b'rit, Sh'ma. No apostrophe for sh'va nach
Hyphen for two vowels together where necessary for correct pronunciation: ne-eman, samei-ach, but maariv, Shavuot.
No hyphen for prefixes unless necessary for correct pronunciation: babayit, HaShem, Yom HaAtzma-ut.
Do not double consonants (with exceptions based on common usage): t'filah, chayim, but tikkun, Sukkot. 
Capitalize titles of prayers and ritual texts: Kiddush, Kaddish, Blessing after Meals, the Four Questions.
Capitalize and italicize the Hebrew names of services, parts of the service, and prayers: Shacharit, Yikzor.
Italicize transliterated words from foreign languages.
See Word List for exceptions to the above guidelines, based on dictionary spelling or common usage.
Pattern for Hebrew, transliteration, and "translation"
Follow one of the following patterns: 
- transliteration (Hebrew, "translation"): tfilah (הָּילִ פְּ ת” ,prayer”)
- "translation" (Hebrew, transliteration) : "prayer"  (הָּילִ פְּ ת ,tfilah)
or an abbreviated version of both patterns above, omitting the Hebrew.
 
Gendered Language
Gender is a matter of degree and self-identification more than binary biological categories. The CCAR aspires to make its publications accessible and inspiring for all its potential readers. We provide our authors with an overview on possible gendered references for our publications (additional options can be discussed with CCAR Press). It is the authors’ decision which kind of language to use; please disclose your decision at the beginning of your publication in an endnote.
Gendered language referring to individuals:
- Man/men or woman/women or male-identifying or female-identifying
- He/his/him or she/her/hers or they/them/theirs or XXX who identifies as XXX
- XXX who was identified at birth as . . . and now identifies as (use the person’s current preferred pronoun)
Gendered language referring to groups:
- Jews who . . . they/them/theirs
- A Jew who . . . he/him/his or she/her/hers or they/their/theirs or XXX who identify as XXX used interchangeably whenever historically applicable (“a Jew living in France during the Middle Ages . . . he or she;” but “the High Priest . . . he/his/him)
Gendered language referring to God: God-language has to be gender neutral, unless the argument of the text requires otherwise.                                                                                                                                     
- God/God's or if necessary: He/His/Him or She/Her/Hers or They/Them/Theirs       
To be inclusive of nonbinary genders, use “they,” “theirs,” not “he or she,” “his or her.” The singular “they” should be used when gender is not specified: Each person should go to their room.                                                              


    Style Guide

    CCAR Press Style Guide

     

    Statement of Purpose

    The CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly seeks to explore ideas and issues of Judaism and Jewish life, primarily—but not exclusively—from a Reform Jewish perspective. To fulfill this objective, the Journal is designed to:

    1. provide a forum to reflect the thinking of informed and concerned individuals—especially Reform rabbis—on issues of consequence to the Jewish people and the Reform Movement;
    2. increase awareness of developments taking place in fields of Jewish scholarship and the practical rabbinate, and to make additional contributions to these areas of study;
    3. encourage creative and innovative approaches to Jewish thought and practice, based upon a thorough understanding of the traditional sources.

    The views expressed in the Journal do not necessarily reflect the position of the Editorial Board or the Central Conference of American Rabbis.